Although that was what Bubble Shadow said.
But she had to admit, once she saw that old man’s face clearly, her first reaction was… disgust.
Extreme disgust.
The old man’s face was covered in tumors; these growths looked like a mixture of mushrooms and flesh, piled one after another onto his features.
What was even harder to accept were the tumors on his body, the quantity of which was enough to make even someone without trypophobia feel their scalp crawl.
It was no exaggeration to say that although this old man was merely an infected, his strength was far superior to many Grotesques.
However, since it could not enter the range of the lamp, it could only glare at her viciously from over there.
Under the current circumstances, no matter how fierce it acted, it was nothing more than a dog on a leash.
Bubble Shadow watched the old man, who was gnashing his teeth outside the light but unable to do anything to her, and slowly walked over.
After confirming the distance between them, she took out the large wooden club she had pilfered from Duya’s starter gear and landed a heavy blow right on the old man’s head.
“ROAR!!”
Bubble Shadow retreated after the strike, staying within a safe distance where the old man could not reach her no matter how he stretched, leaving him to only roar hysterically.
“A photophobic infected, no wonder you only show up at night. How pathetic, tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Just as Bubble Shadow wanted to continue taunting and teasing the creature, the lamp on the table behind her… went out.
The room was instantly plunged into darkness.
With a smile still plastered on her face, Bubble Shadow looked at the countless vines behind the old man and his fierce, monstrous expression.
The girl glanced at the large wooden club in her hand, immediately hid it behind her back, and put on an awkward but polite expression.
“Can we reconcile?”
“ROAR!”
The moment the light went out, the old man charged over with incredible speed.
Bubble Shadow did not dare to linger and took off running!
“Which bastard turned off the light!”
Countless vines followed, and the entire house seemed to come alive, making it feel exceptionally terrifying.
Bubble Shadow’s pressure had no effect on half-human, half-ghost creatures like the infected, and her strength was not what it once was, so facing this aggressive infected, her only option was to flee.
‘If it weren’t for those running dogs at the containment facility…’
Bubble Shadow cursed in her heart, but it was precisely because of this distraction that a vine suddenly shot up from the ground, instantly wrapping around her ankle and hanging her upside down in mid-air.
She tried to turn into bubbles to escape the restraint, but these vines seemed to drain her stamina and mana.
Even worse, several more vines attacked, binding her limbs tightly.
Her already low mana was drained further, and Bubble Shadow went limp.
Forget about resisting; she could barely move a finger!
She had researched this place before arriving and knew there was a powerful entity inside, but she never expected it to be an infected instead of a Grotesque!
The tight binding on her body made Bubble Shadow feel a bit desperate.
She closed her eyes, trying to find a way to save herself.
However, the spores emitted by these vines seemed to have… a rather unfortunate effect.
Under the influence of the spores, all that flashed through Bubble Shadow’s mind were tentacles!
Damn it!
It was true she liked tentacle themes, but the problem was she didn’t want to become the heroine of a tentacle story!
The old man arrived beneath Bubble Shadow.
He looked up at the girl whose limbs and body were tightly bound by vines, and that mushroom-covered face slowly split in two, revealing sharp teeth inside.
If she were to be bitten by this thing…
Bubble Shadow’s body could not stop trembling.
‘I am not meant to be a protagonist in such a book!’
Pah!
What a ridiculous thought; one doesn’t compare themselves by looking at trash.
Just as Bubble Shadow was contemplating how to escape, she suddenly spotted Duya, who was hiding in the shadows and watching her.
Why did this man come out of the bedroom?
Duya naturally sensed Bubble Shadow’s gaze.
He looked at the girl bound tight and fell into deep thought.
Truth be told, once this person was tied up like that, she looked strangely alluring.
Especially those two little rabbits emphasized by the tight binding; it was truly hard for a man to hold back.
But the question remained, how did she end up in a place like this?
And… was that old man over there Bulanni’s grandfather?
This thing didn’t look like a normal human being in any way.
“Help, help!”
Bubble Shadow looked toward Duya’s position, attempting to use her voice to lure the old man beneath her toward Duya.
However, the old man remained completely indifferent.
It naturally sensed Duya’s presence, but since the girl had accumulated so much hostility earlier, the old man couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to the Duya behind him; it continued to stare at the dangling Bubble Shadow.
As for Duya, he could see right through Bubble Shadow’s little tricks.
However, after these two encounters, Duya discovered one thing: Bubble Shadow’s intelligence was far higher than other contained Grotesques, possibly even on par with a human’s.
How could this be?
As for saving this creature…
Duya looked up.
Facing Bubble Shadow’s pitiful expression, he crossed his arms and looked at her with indifference.
Who would go out of their way to save their enemy?
Especially since this person was so despicable and even tried to lure the monster toward him.
While Duya watched, the old man revealed a greedy expression.
He could vaguely sense the extraordinary aura emanating from the girl; if he ate her, the boost might be several times greater than eating mushrooms for a year.
The vines lowered bit by bit.
Bubble Shadow watched that mouth full of sharp teeth drawing closer, and her delicate little face turned deathly pale.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die!’
She did not give up, putting on a teary-eyed expression… although it was a bit fake, her panicked tone of begging for mercy was genuine.
“Investigator over there! Help, help! As long as you save me, I’ll do anything! I’m willing to do anything!”
Listening to Bubble Shadow’s plea, Duya felt a bit better after being schemed against by her earlier.
At this moment, the old man turned his head.
He looked at Duya hiding in the darkness, and for some reason, suddenly started walking toward him with heavy, measured steps.
Seeing the creature develop the desire to attack, Duya realized the danger.
Facing the aggressive old man, as a veteran investigator, his observation from the shadows and analysis of the system tasks led to a conclusion.
This old man was afraid of light, so even though his strength was great, banishing him would not be a difficult task.
Consequently, Duya walked quickly to the table, proficiently replaced the tungsten filament in the lightbulb, and flipped the switch.
“CLICK!”
Warm light illuminated the entire living room.
The vines were forced back by the radiance, and Bubble Shadow, who had been tied to the ceiling, fell to the ground with a “THUD,” face-first.
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