Chapter 23: Brother Hero the Utility Man

"It... died?"

Brother Hero had been startled just now, but he finally let out a sigh of relief when he saw Zhang Xiaoman instantly kill that little monster.

"This is just a juvenile Corpse Demon, very fragile,"

Zhang Xiaoman said.

He squatted down and activated his extraction ability to absorb the corpse.

"Ding, Corpse Demon Essence absorbed, points increased by 1."

Sure enough, only 1 point.

Zhang Xiaoman curled his lip. His Holy Water Bullets cost, on average, 1 point per bullet. If he had carelessly fired one more shot just now, he would have been at a loss!

"Xiao Man! What is that over there!" Brother Hero's voice came from the side.

Zhang Xiaoman turned his head and saw, in the light of Brother Hero's phone, a bunch of red oval objects arranged haphazardly.

"Are these... eggs?" Brother Hero asked.

Zhang Xiaoman also walked over and took a closer look at those things.

He saw that these were dark red egg-like objects, with surface and surrounding ground covered with blood vessel-like patterns that would twitch from time to time, incredibly creepy.

"These are Corpse Demon Eggs; no wonder those two Corpse Demons were guarding this spot. It looks like this is indeed their nest. We'd better smash them before they hatch; otherwise, if so many Corpse Demons get out, it'll be troublesome."

Brother Hero nodded in deep agreement.

Zhang Xiaoman raised his Water Gun to shoot but stopped halfway and put it back down.

He thought about the juvenile Corpse Demon that had only provided 1 point when absorbed. If these unhatched eggs were worth even less, he might not even recoup the cost.

Brother Hero looked over in confusion.

But Zhang Xiaoman's face was the picture of calm. He said with an easy gaze, "Brother Hero, leave these Corpse Demon Eggs to you."

"Me?"

Brother Hero pointed at himself in surprise.

Zhang Xiaoman nodded, "That's right. Since you've chosen this path, then you should be prepared for it. These are just some eggs that can't move; if you're too scared to deal with them, how will you confront the strange beings that come from the darkness in the future?"

Well, when Zhang Xiaoman said that, he was actually just too lazy to do it himself; on one hand, because he was lazy. On the other hand, his means were limited at the moment, and he was reluctant to waste Holy Water, so he had to resort to elbow grease instead, which really wasn't good for his image as an expert.

Moreover, having such a large piece of free labor at hand, he'd be foolish not to use it.

Over at Brother Hero's side, having heard Zhang Xiaoman's previous speech, a flush of embarrassment appeared on his face.

He knew in his heart that when he had heard Zhang Xiaoman tell him to smash the eggs, he really had flinched.

With this thought, he clenched his teeth, lifted his head, and said:

"Alright, don't worry! Leave it to me!"

With that, he turned around, found a thirty-centimeter-wide plank on the ground, and approached the eggs with a ferocious momentum, raising the implement high.

"Ha!!!!"

With a powerful shout like a dragon's roar, Brother Hero smacked down with the board, and Zhang Xiaoman heard a "smack" sound. When he looked again, the egg had turned into a puddle of white liquid.

After a successful hit, Brother Hero struck again, his face flushed with excitement.

"Thwack thwack thwack thwack!"

A series of smacks later, not a single intact egg could be found on the ground anymore.

"Whew~ Haha~"

Brother Hero was panting from exertion. He looked away from the Corpse Demon Eggs towards Zhang Xiaoman, excitedly saying:

"Xiao Man, I've finally also taken care of these monsters... their eggs that is!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaoman nodded with satisfaction.

"Brother Hero, well done, you have a lot of potential, I have faith in you,"

Brother Hero's face broke into a beaming smile, bubbling with excitement, showing no signs of having just been used as a tool.

"Let's go for another round here, see if there are any that slipped through the net,"

Zhang Xiaoman said.

Brother Hero responded with readiness.

And so, the two of them did another two rounds on that floor, smashing any Corpse Demon Eggs they found, before finally heading back to the underground parking garage.

Fortunately, all the equipment in the company's old office building was aging, and many of the surveillance cameras were broken. Zhang Xiaoman had checked earlier; it seemed the places he moved through tonight were just in the blind spots of a few cameras.

Besides, now that the Corpse Demon had been eliminated and as long as no one was harmed and no one called the police, no one would bother to check the surveillance footage without cause.

As the two walked, Brother Hero's excitement gradually faded. He glanced at Zhang Xiaoman's pockets, holding the Water Gun, and couldn't help his curiosity:

"Xiao Man, actually, I've been wanting to ask for a while now, those two guns of yours, are they real…"

He paused, then suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Ah, I'm such an idiot, if they weren't real, how could they possibly kill monsters with a single shot."

Zhang Xiaoman looked at him and said:

"The guns are fake, but the bullets are real."

"Huh?"

Brother Hero was stunned.

He took a Water Gun out of his pocket, ejected the magazine, and removed two bullets, saying:

"These are Holy Water Bullets, they have a strong restraining effect on certain monsters. I'm giving these two to you; if you encounter those monsters again, you can throw them at them to buy some time."

Brother Hero hurriedly reached out and carefully cradled the two translucent Holy Water Bullets in his hands.

"I don't have many of these bullets left, only about ten. Holy Water is very rare. I'll give you some more if I get the chance to obtain it later."

Brother Hero was deeply moved, "Good buddy, the barbecue I promised last time is on me."

Zhang Xiaoman's eyes lit up but he pretended to be nonchalant and waved his hand, saying:

"I'm not in a hurry for the barbecue; I quit my job, so I have time every day. It's mainly up to you... How about tomorrow night?"

Brother Hero rolled his eyes in resignation, "Zhang Xiaoman, if it weren't for your revealing your true nature, I would've hardly recognized you."

Zhang Xiaoman laughed, then earnestly advised him:

"Seriously though, I can feel that things have been a bit unsettled recently. Try not to go out and deliver food at night for the next few days. If you run into danger, don't skimp on bullets, throw one right away - staying alive is what's most important."

After a moment's thought, he added:

"Oh, and another thing. The shell of the Holy Water Bullets is very fragile and easy to break, so you better find a bottle to keep them in and add some water to avoid any impact."

Brother Hero nodded earnestly, showing he took note. He and Zhang Xiaoman made their way to his new SUV, but his face instantly fell.

"My car!!!"

Brother Hero jogged up to his deformed car door, looking at the shattered glass on the ground and the seats torn by the monster's claws, his face a picture of despair.

"I haven't even finished paying the loan off..."

Brother Hero looked like a helpless little lamb.

"Old Lu, my condolences…"

Zhang Xiaoman didn't know what else to say; it was indeed an unlucky day for Brother Hero, just by chance it was him that the monster ran into. But in comparison to a car, it's the person being safe that truly matters.

"Xiao Man, Brother Man!"

Brother Hero suddenly looked up, his voice charged with excitement, "You must tell me as soon as you complete the Enlightenment Technique, from now on I'm going to exterminate all these monsters! To avenge my car!!"