On the 37th Day of the Apocalypse, I Picked Up a Monster That Bowed Only to Me - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Qin Jichuan was severely injured.

There was a deep gash on his right shoulder and back, so deep that bone was visible. It looked like it had been torn open by a shell, but instead of flesh and blood, it was filled with semi-solidified black crystals.

When I used iodine to clean his wound, he trembled with pain but didn’t make a sound.

Only the tip of his tail curled tightly against the floor, over and over.

I asked the manual, “Will he die?”

[Current Sanity Value is below 30%. High risk of frequent berserk states.]

[Recommendation: Stabilize emotions, replenish energy, and establish a Belonging Anchor.]

A Belonging Anchor?

I stared at those words for a long time before tentatively placing my hand on the top of his head.

His Bone Armor was very hard.

And very cold.

“Qin Jichuan.”

“You’re home.”

In that instant, a “ding” sounded in my head.

[Sanity Value: 23% → 26%.]

I froze.

He froze, too.

Then, he slowly lowered his head and pressed his forehead into my palm, remaining still.

That night, he slept on the living room floor.

I had intended to lay out a quilt for him, but he absolutely refused to get on the bed or even go near the bedroom. He just stood guard at the door, like a dog that had recognized its master and immediately started watching the house.

In the middle of the night, I woke up thirsty. Just as I pushed open the bedroom door, I saw a spindly Infected clinging to the outside of the living room window. Its face was pressed against the glass, its mouth full of jagged fangs.

It grinned at me.

My scalp instantly went numb with terror.

The next second, Qin Jichuan sprang up from the darkness.

I didn’t even see how he moved.

The glass shattered.

Shadow collided with shadow, accompanied by a sickening sound of tearing flesh.

By the time I rushed over clutching a kitchen knife, the thing outside the window had already been pinned against the railing, a claw thrust through its throat.

Black blood pooled across the floor.

When he turned back to look at me, the red tint in his eyes had deepened.

His mouth was covered in blood.

My hand shook as I held the knife.

He seemed to understand. His movements suddenly stiffened.

A moment later, he actually took two steps back of his own accord, shrinking into a corner. He lowered his head, no longer looking at me.

He looked like he had done something wrong.

Or like he was afraid I would find him disgusting.

I stood where I was, my chest feeling tight.

Since the world went mad, I had seen too many people turn evil.

People who stole water from the elderly, people who used children as bait, people who pushed their companions out the door just to get into a base.

Those were all living humans.

But now, a blood-stained monster, after killing something that wanted to eat me, had reacted by hiding because he was afraid I would hate him.

I put the knife down and walked over.

He immediately tensed up, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if he were restraining something.

I reached out and wiped the blood from his mouth.

“I wasn’t afraid of you.”

“I was afraid of the thing outside the window.”

He was stunned.

I gave the bony spur behind his ear a little squeeze and whispered, “You were protecting me. I know.”

[Sanity Value: 26% → 31%.]

Watching the numbers jump, I suddenly understood.

A Belonging Anchor wasn’t about feeding him.

It was about letting him know that he wasn’t just some dangerous object I had picked up.

He was someone I had chosen to keep.