Facing the Abyss as a Demon Cultivator

Chu Xiu rapidly shuttled between residential buildings, his powerful physique allowing him to search for prey at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary Awakeners.

Having two Yin Ghosts at his command made things incredibly convenient.

Upon discovering a target, he only needed to point, and the two Yin Ghosts would swiftly emerge, tearing the target to shreds.

Even if he accidentally attracted a horde of ghouls, it didn't matter. He could simply deactivate their physical forms and hide again.

This allowed him to be bolder in his actions, greatly increasing his efficiency.

No need to personally engage, just command from the shadows. This risk-free combat style was right up Chu Xiu's alley.

Unfortunately, encountering that elite Corpse Hound seemed to have exhausted all his luck. He didn't encounter any more elite monsters for the rest of the afternoon.

Only those cunning, rat-like ordinary ghouls remained. Often, Chu Xiu would painstakingly search for an hour, only to be rewarded with a measly "Profession Experience +6."

"8 Karma Points, 44 Profession Experience. That's all I got."

"Tsk, as expected, luck is conserved."

Chu Xiu shook his head.

However, it was worth mentioning that after the bountiful harvest that day, Chu Xiu finally completed the task of killing one hundred ghouls.

[Challenge Task Completed! Reward: 150 Karma Points!]

Including his previous gains, his total Karma Points reached 267!

Chu Xiu glanced at the sun, which was about to completely disappear below the horizon.

"Let's call it a day."

He was exhausted and needed a good rest. Upgrading was the main event for the night.

Moreover, he needed to carefully consider how to spend the substantial amount of Karma Points he had suddenly acquired.

Returning to the apartment building, Chu Xiu headed towards the stronghold upstairs. He successfully returned before darkness completely enveloped the sky, even managing to find and kill a Black-Furred Ghoul along the way.

This put Chu Xiu in a good mood.

Humming a tune, he cheerfully reached the thirty-second floor. As soon as he emerged from the stairwell, he heard bursts of cheerful laughter.

Chu Xiu followed the sound and saw that Shen Zhuo and the others had all returned. They were currently gathered around a table, chatting and laughing.

Upon closer inspection, Chu Xiu realized they were playing mahjong!

At the table, Yun Lu's face was tense, while Shen Zhuo and Wu Xinyi appeared calm and composed. Li Shan was also present, his small eyes darting back and forth between two tiles, seemingly hesitant.

"Hurry up," Shen Zhuo urged with a smile.

Li Shan gritted his teeth and slammed one of the tiles onto the table.

"Six Bamboos!"

"Ha!" Wu Xinyi excitedly pushed her tiles forward. "I win!"

"Damn it, I should've played the Four Bamboos!" Li Shan lamented, his face full of regret as he reluctantly tossed out a few pieces of dried meat.

The jerky seemed to be made from venison. It seemed the people in the stronghold had figured out how to extract edible salt from the expired ones.

One had to admit, although these auxiliary professions couldn't fight, they could certainly improve the quality of life.

Wu Xinyi happily collected her winnings, and the onlookers burst into laughter. Yun Lu let out a sigh of relief, seemingly grateful that she hadn't been the one to lose. A cheerful atmosphere filled the room.

Suddenly, Li Shan's eyes flickered as he noticed Chu Xiu passing by.

The others followed his gaze, and the atmosphere instantly cooled down.

Fortunately, Chu Xiu's footsteps never stopped. He merely glanced over as he passed, his figure quickly disappearing through the doorway.

"Ah," Yun Lu opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to greet him, but before she could speak, Chu Xiu was already gone.

Wu Xinyi snorted, "Putting on airs. I bet he's regretting it now. He just can't swallow his pride. Does he think it's easy to survive in this apocalyptic world alone?"

The others chimed in, especially the two with auxiliary professions.

However, their voices were hushed, clearly not wanting Chu Xiu to overhear.

Guan Ke shook his head in amusement.

"Alright, everyone has their own choices," Shen Zhuo interrupted their criticism of Chu Xiu and stood up. "I'll go talk to him about equipment upgrades."

Hearing this, the combat group followed him out. Although they disliked Chu Xiu's aloofness, they still needed his help to upgrade their equipment.

"Knock, knock, knock."

A minute later, Shen Zhuo knocked on Chu Xiu's door.

Chu Xiu opened the door and, after a quick glance, immediately understood their intentions. "Equipment upgrades?"

"Indeed," Shen Zhuo nodded. "Same price as before?"

"Mm."

"Follow me."

Shen Zhuo led Chu Xiu to the room where they stored the corpses. Chu Xiu was surprised to find no less than twenty ghoul corpses piled up inside!

"You had quite the haul today," Chu Xiu remarked.

"Jealous?" Wu Xinyi said smugly. "Let me tell you, this is only half of what we got today. We couldn't be bothered to carry back the badly damaged ones."

Chu Xiu glanced at Shen Zhuo and casually asked, "Challenged a horde?"

Silence descended upon the room as Wu Xinyi froze momentarily. She then replied, "You're pretty sharp, I'll give you that. We found a small horde at the shopping mall today. We managed to wipe them all out with everyone working together. We even took down an elite!"

"This is the power of teamwork. Didn't the teachers emphasize this countless times back in school?"

Chu Xiu smiled noncommittally. He never denied the importance of teamwork. It was already the fourth day since they arrived in the Abyss. Everyone's levels had increased, and with Shen Zhuo, the "rich kid," leading the charge, killing an elite wasn't impossible.

After consuming this wave of experience, the combat group's levels should have all risen to level 3 or higher, with Shen Zhuo, their leader, most likely reaching level 4.

Their strength had grown by leaps and bounds; no wonder everyone was in such high spirits today.

"Congratulations," Chu Xiu offered sincerely.

The stronghold's increased strength, to a certain extent, also improved his own safety.

He was always prepared. If he encountered an enemy he couldn't defeat, he would lure them towards the stronghold and let the others distract them.

"Chu Xiu, why don't you just rejoin us? It's dangerous for you to be out there alone, not to mention you can only hunt solitary ghouls, which is very inefficient," Yun Lu persuaded.

Chu Xiu could tell that the girl genuinely cared for him. Although he didn't understand why, he still replied politely, "Thank you for your concern, but I have my own plans."

He then turned to Shen Zhuo and tapped the table. "That elite corpse will cost extra."

Shen Zhuo rolled his eyes. "A beautiful girl is showing concern for you, and all you can think about is money?"

Yun Lu's face flushed red. However, Chu Xiu simply said indifferently, "Let's not waste time with useless chatter. I'm charging extra."

Shen Zhuo immediately switched gears. "15 Karma Points."

"30. Not a point less."

"..."

Shen Zhuo shot Chu Xiu a frustrated look, wondering if the guy had mind-reading abilities. How else could he accurately pinpoint his psychological price every single time?

He refused to give up. "Look, for Yun Lu's sake, can you give us a discount? I'll throw in some extra venison."

"No." Chu Xiu refused without hesitation.

Seeing him acting all high and mighty, the others were so angry their teeth itched. However, they had no choice.

Chu Xiu held a monopoly on this.

Finally, Shen Zhuo sighed in resignation. "Fine, deal."

(End of chapter)