Global Fog Survival

Chapter 6: The Kill

Colin swung his iron axe with all his might, striking the twisted, terrifying head of the monster.

“Thud!”

The disturbing influence that muddled his thoughts vanished with a dull, heavy sound. The sensation through the axe handle was like striking an unpeeled coconut. The expected splatter of brain matter and the creature splitting like a watermelon didn’t happen. Colin almost lost his grip on the axe due to the recoil.

“Damn, lack of experience. I should have aimed for the neck!”

Re-gripping the axe, Colin didn’t hesitate and struck again, this time targeting the neck. The axe embedded only a few centimeters and didn’t sever it completely. The monster fell to the ground but wasn’t dead yet.

Meanwhile, the two servants charged forward, battering the creature with their sticks. After a frenzied assault, the monster was reduced to an unrecognizable pulp, no longer moving.

Colin saw the kill notification and quickly stopped the servants’ angry attacks: “Stop, it’s already dead!”

Ignoring the servants, Colin focused on the other notifications that popped up.

?Congratulations, You have killed the ‘Penitent Priest – Suffering Citizen’.?

?Would you like to disassemble it??

“‘Penitent Priest – Suffering Citizen’?”

Colin was puzzled. Did this count as a “Mutant”? Without looking at the disassembly option, he quickly took out a parchment from his ?Inventory? and opened the task list. Seeing the task, previously marked with a question mark, now a glowing exclamation mark, Colin felt relieved. He swiftly confirmed the task’s completion.

?Congratulations on completing the daily task “Face Your Fear.” Rewards: Stiff Black Bread *1, Foul Tainted Blood 100ml?

“Task rewards have been sent to your ?Inventory?. Please check.”

Colin looked at his ?Inventory?, finding the quantity of black bread had increased to two, and there was now a glob of dark red liquid.

?Foul Tainted Blood: Obtained by killing Mutants or completing tasks. Burns for one hour per 100ml.?

Without hesitation, Colin used the blood. The lantern refilled more than halfway with the dark liquid.

?An old-fashioned lantern. You think it can burn for another hour and thirty-seven minutes.?

“Phew.”

Colin sighed, feeling a significant weight lift from his shoulders. He then glanced at the grotesque remains of the “Suffering Citizen” and muttered, “I wonder what it can still yield in this state.”

Curiously, he selected the disassemble option.

“You have obtained ‘Foul Tainted Blood 16ml’, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Thorn of Suffering’ *1, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Foul Bones’ *7, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Bloodstained Broken Wooden Wheel’ *1, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Twisted Soul’ *1, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Lightly Rotten Flesh’ *4, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Lightly Rotten Venison’ *1, added to your inventory.”

“You have obtained ‘Mist Points’ *3, added to your inventory.”

Colin’s attention was fixed on the “Thorn of Suffering” item.

?Thorn of Suffering: Thorns grown from the “Suffering Citizen”. Can be used for weapon crafting or combined with clay to create a ‘Thorn Barricade’ to block the gray fog!?

“It can block the gray fog permanently…”

Colin took a deep breath, realizing the significance of this item. With it, he could expand his territory. While most people would still be hiding in their huts, he could happily farm around his wooden house.

Huh? Why is my first thought about farming when expanding territory?

Gurgle, gurgle…

Colin’s stomach growled loudly, reminding him that now wasn’t the time to reflect. The immediate priority was to address his hunger. Though Colin had been out for only about half an hour, the servants’ satiety levels had dropped to single digits, making their legs weak and shaky. If they don’t eat soon, they might starve to death.

After looting the “Suffering Citizen” completely, Colin followed the prompts to find the mentioned river. It wasn’t far—just a few steps away—and they reached it.

Upon arrival, the two servants were about to drink directly from the river, but Colin stopped them immediately: “Do you want to die? Don’t let hunger cloud your judgment. Wait until we boil the water!”

Had he not seen the prompt stating the river was ?Contaminated Water? and could cause diarrhea, he might not have stopped them.

“Thank you for your guidance, my lord.”

The servants, though not understanding what boiling meant, grasped Colin’s intent. It meant heating the water… This was a practice they had never adopted before. Although the water looked dirty, it seemed clean enough…

Unable to comprehend, they complied with the lord’s order without complaint.

Colin then took out the novice chest, intending to make full use of it, and filled it with about five liters of river water. At this moment, a system message appeared before him.

“Would you like to purify 1 liter of river water for ‘Grade 3 Water’? Each liter costs one ‘Mist Point’.”

“Refuse.”

Colin’s mouth twitched. The system was too greedy, charging a mist point for a bit of water. Mist Points, as he had learned, could be used for various benefits, like purchasing loudspeakers, recruiting servants, purification, and upgrading villagers.

With just three Mist Points, he could recruit a servant. And now, one Mist Point for a few liters of water? It was a rip-off.

Moreover, the prompt indicated that boiling the water would yield the same effect as purification with Mist Points.

“If I didn’t have this prompt, I might have foolishly used the purification option…”

Wondering how many people would fall for this, Colin shook his head, knowing it wasn’t his concern. Taking out the ?Crafting Table?, he used some stones he found earlier and, following the prompt, synthesized a set of stone cookware.

He built a fire, set up the stone pot, poured in the river water, and after a few minutes, a pot of hot ?Grade 3 Water (Slightly Contaminated)? was ready.