Chapter 28: Standoff

The face-to-face encounter with the Mountain of Corpses was, as it turned out, rather more mundane than Qin Changsheng had imagined.

The monster had clearly locked onto him, but its writhing mass moved sluggishly. It did not lunge at him directly; instead, it dragged the road sign along the ground, creating a harsh, grating screech. This piercing sound was designed to wear down Qin Changsheng’s resolve.

Having witnessed the entire battle between West Wind Gale and the Mountain of Corpses from start to finish, Qin Changsheng knew exactly what he was up against. In moments like these, panic was the enemy. He had to treat the situation like a surgical procedure—every move had to be executed with absolute precision, without a hint of deviation.

Qin Changsheng calmed his heart, shutting out all noise, and waited patiently for the creature to act. The Mountain of Corpses had undoubtedly seen many poor souls paralyzed by terror, but Qin Changsheng was different; his silence was merely the prelude to an impending strike.

As he watched the creature edge closer, Qin Changsheng found its movements remarkably easy to read. This matched his expectations. He had discovered that the creature followed a specific logical pattern, reacting according to the actions of its target. By standing perfectly still, he had forced the creature into a more monotonous and predictable behavior.

He waited patiently. Meanwhile, the Rice Flour Hero, watching from the second floor of the shopping mall, dared not make a sound, merely observing the two of them in silence.

Closer. Even closer.

The Mountain of Corpses was almost face-to-face with Qin Changsheng. The latter could even feel the waves of heat and the stench of decay radiating from the countless human bodies that composed it.

Just as Qin Changsheng had anticipated, the creature’s response to a stationary opponent was straightforward. It raised its arm, lifted the road sign it had been dragging, and brought it crashing down toward the center of Qin Changsheng’s face.

Had that blow landed, even a simple road sign would have been enough to cleave his skull in two.

But Qin Changsheng had been waiting for this downward strike; he was already prepared. As the creature swung, he sidestepped. Simultaneously, Mo-Mo, perched atop his head, suddenly transformed, shooting out like a black arrow and striking the building’s wall nearby.

Mo-Mo’s body elongated, forming a ribbon between the wall and Qin Changsheng. The road sign slammed into this ribbon, but instead of cutting through, it stretched Mo-Mo like a rubber band, driving him deep into the ground. Mo-Mo was incredibly elastic; the force of the creature’s blow pulsed through him, only to rebound back toward the road sign.

With a sharp "clink," Mo-Mo’s body acted like a released bowstring, instantly snapping the road sign back. The creature’s own power was fed back into it, driving the road sign into the top of its own head.

The cage perched on the creature’s neck shattered instantly. The human bodies trapped inside had no time to scream before they were sliced into segments without the slightest resistance.

Seeing this, Qin Changsheng realized his earlier assessment had been too optimistic. If that sign had hit his face, it wouldn’t just have been his skull that split in two.

However, the first step of his plan was a success.

Taking advantage of the creature clutching its face in pain, Qin Changsheng retreated, widening the gap between them. He did not run away, however; he stopped after a short distance, waiting for the creature to recover.

As expected, after the many bodies fused to the creature let out a collective wail, the severed limbs began to knit together. Blood bubbles rose from the jagged wounds, popped, and healed. The creature pulled the road sign from its head and flung it aside, its wounds fully restored.

Ending this thing would not be simple. Qin Changsheng had been mentally prepared for that.

Fully restored, the Mountain of Corpses turned its attention back to the man who had not fled. Beneath its deathly exterior, Qin Changsheng could feel a surge of burgeoning rage.

Success. He had finally drawn its aggro. The easiest part was done. Now, the real performance began.

Qin Changsheng watched the enraged creature in silence, slowly backing away to increase the distance while keeping his eyes locked on the monster, never letting it leave his field of vision. According to the behavioral logic he had observed, the massive beast would soon...

Before the thought could fully form, he saw the creature suddenly grab one of its own arms.

Here it comes!

The bodies fused to the creature let out a shrill, piercing cry. Then, a spray of blood erupted from where the arm connected to its torso as it tore the limb clean off.

The severed arm remained active. The bodies forming it curled and twisted in ways no human could, locking together until they formed a massive, fleshy sphere. The creature held this sphere, drew its arm back, and assumed a textbook throwing stance.

Qin Changsheng could see the muscles across its entire frame tightening; beneath the layers of bodies, a terrifying amount of power was accumulating.

Everything rode on this moment.

Qin Changsheng dared not relax. He focused his entire being on the creature, waiting for the critical threshold of power to be reached—waiting for that single, fleeting moment of explosive release.

He knew the incoming impact would push his limits to the breaking point. Even a glancing blow would mean death or grievous injury. He could not afford a single lapse in concentration.

He waited, watching as the creature’s power neared its peak, and then—it was released!

*WHOOSH!*

A massive sonic boom echoed out, but before the sound could even reach him, the giant fleshy sphere was already upon him.

It was so fast that his brain hadn't even registered it. To his eyes, it was as if nothing were there at all.

It was fast, indeed! Faster than he could even see!

But he didn't need to see it.

The massive sphere slammed into Qin Changsheng. Under normal circumstances, he should have been reduced to a pile of gore. The sheer force would have left him no time to feel pain; the air pressure generated by the strike alone should have shattered him.

That was how it should have been.

Yet, the Rice Flour Hero, watching from the second floor, was left stunned, witnessing a sight that defied all logic.

The sphere thrown by the Mountain of Corpses did not crush Qin Changsheng, nor did it pierce through him.

Qin Changsheng stood his ground, neither moving nor dodging. The sphere struck him square in the chest, pushing inward, and inward, and inward...

And then, it stopped.

It was unbelievable. Qin Changsheng’s body seemed to have turned into highly elastic rubber. As the sphere sank into him, it stretched his body back, pulling him far, yet it simply could not penetrate.

The sphere contained the immense power the creature had been building up—a force so strong it had created a sonic boom at close range. Yet, this world-shattering power was gradually being sapped away by Qin Changsheng’s body, like a torrential rain falling into a vast ocean, silenced and swallowed whole.