Chapter 15: Otherworld Ghost Hater

History has shown that the general public often harbors misconceptions about many things.

For instance, they tend to believe that "technological inventions" are completely removed from the lives of ordinary people, and that famous inventors are all untouchable "geniuses."

In reality, however, creating an invention isn’t difficult. It doesn’t even require profound academic expertise. A vast majority of the "inventions and creations" in this world are actually just recombinations of everyday objects.

For example, combining a hook and a stick creates a clothes hanger, while combining wheels and wooden boards creates a wooden cart. Similarly, combining hangers and rope results in a multi-tiered hanger, and combining a wooden cart with a horse results in a horse-drawn carriage.

And by that logic, combining a hemp rope and a rooster results in... a hemp rope tied to a rooster.

Lawrence stared blankly as Xiahou Yan tugged the rope, lifting the dead rooster off the ground.

It was a plump, round-faced rooster, tightly bound with rope. The Lord held the other end of that rope. For a brief moment, Lawrence felt as if the Lord were wielding a "Rooster Meteor Hammer."

Xiahou Yan pulled the rope taut and weighed the contraption in his hand. Then, winding up his arm, he swung the Rooster Meteor Hammer through the air a few times—just like a real meteor hammer—before revealing a satisfied expression, having confirmed the rope was sturdy enough.

"This is the legendary Zombie-Hunting Divine Artifact!" Xiahou Yan declared, pinching the dead rooster by the neck and thrusting the pitiful, tethered fowl in front of Lawrence’s face.

Lawrence and the dead rooster stared blankly at each other. He felt that out of the three of them—himself, the Lord, and this rooster—at least two were suffering from some kind of mental issue.

"So..." the middle-aged Guard confirmed with difficulty. "You’re going to use this rooster to ’fish’ for zombies?"

"Exactly!" Xiahou Yan was very pleased with his subordinate’s comprehension skills. "As far as I know, zombies have a massive craving for fresh flesh and blood, right?"

Lawrence nodded blankly. Having been "fresh flesh and blood" himself, he had experienced this firsthand right before his death.

"This rooster hasn’t been dead for long, so it’s definitely going to be incredibly attractive to the zombies!" Xiahou Yan whispered excitedly. "Plus, it’s just the right size—barely enough for a single zombie to eat! So, as long as we toss it over there and wait for some unfortunate zombie to bite it, we can just reel the rope back in. Won’t we have ’fished’ a zombie right up?"

Lawrence blinked. His initial reaction was that there didn’t seem to be anything inherently wrong with the Lord’s plan. But why did this whole "zombie fishing" endeavor give him such a profound sense of absurdity?

While Lawrence was still staring off into space, the Lord had already stood up straight, Rooster Meteor Hammer in hand, and kicked the Guard’s backside.

"I didn’t bring you here for sightseeing. Hurry up and get your Saber ready! As soon as I reel a zombie in, use the back of your blade to knock it out!"

Would a zombie even fall unconscious from a blow to the head? Lawrence really wanted to ask, but ultimately, he just obediently drew the Saber from his waist. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he nervously assumed a combat stance.

Taking a deep breath, Xiahou Yan stepped forward with the dead rooster, aiming at the undead horde at the bottom of the hill. He felt that if this great show of "zombie fishing" took place back on Earth in his previous life, he would definitely have to start an outdoor livestream and get his bros to drop a few Rockets for it to be truly satisfying. Unfortunately, being in the Otherworld meant he didn’t have as many gimmicks to play with. What a shame.

Standing at the top of the hill, Xiahou Yan locked his eyes on the edge of the zombie horde below. He lifted the Rooster Meteor Hammer and started with two small test swings by his side. Gradually increasing his force, he twirled the Rooster Meteor Hammer above his head until it became a blur. As the blur spun faster and faster, the Lord let out a low shout and released his grip. The dead rooster traced a graceful parabola through the air before crashing into the ground like a ballistic missile’s nuclear warhead, landing precisely two meters away from the nearest zombie.

Clutching the other end of the rope, Xiahou Yan peered down the hill nervously.

Because chicken meat was relatively soft and the surrounding area was overgrown wasteland, the rooster’s fall didn’t make much noise. It only prompted the two or three closest zombies to raise their heads and look around.

However, the aroma of fresh, raw meat quickly spread. The few zombies visibly grew agitated as soon as they caught the scent. They began to crouch low, using their incomplete, half-rotted eyeballs and nostrils to scour the ground around them, seemingly trying to pinpoint the source of the smell.

Under Xiahou Yan and Lawrence’s tense gaze, an unfortunate zombie finally fell into the trap. It was a dry, shriveled zombie whose clothes had nearly completely rotted away, exposing its emaciated, dark green skin. This zombie had chosen the exact right direction to search. It shambled closer and closer to the rooster on the ground until the distance was short enough for it to spot its target among the weeds!

With a low growl, the zombie rapidly lunged at the dead rooster on the ground, viciously sinking its teeth into the chicken meat!

Xiahou Yan didn’t hesitate to pull the rope tight and yank it backward with all his might. And thus, Igor Family Guard Lawrence witnessed an unforgettable scene that would stay with him for the rest of his life:

The Lord was hauling on a rope.

The rope was tied to a dead rooster.

And the dead rooster was clamped in the jaws of a zombie.

Then, as the Lord forcefully reeled in the rope, the dead rooster—with the zombie in tow—began sliding toward the top of the small hill. Since the incline wasn’t particularly steep, the zombie had actually been yanked flat onto its stomach. Now, its entire body was being dragged across the ground, leaving a zombie-shaped trail of flattened weeds in its wake.

However, in all the commotion, both Xiahou Yan and Lawrence had forgotten one thing. One crucial thing. A zombie’s strength was vastly superior to that of a living person!

The zombie was dragged halfway up the hill, completely dazed throughout the ordeal. But soon, driven by instinct, it rejected this passive movement. Still biting down hard on the dead rooster, it suddenly thrust its claws out and plunged them ruthlessly into the earth!

The zombie and the rooster in its mouth came to a screeching halt.

And as the laws of physics dictate, forces are mutual. With the two ends of a rope, if one isn’t pulling the other, then the other is pulling the one...

Therefore, as the zombie viciously jerked its head back with the rooster clamped in its jaws, tragedy finally struck. The Lord, who was already rather scrawny and weak, simply felt the rope go taut in his hands. Before he could process what was happening, let alone let go of the rope, he was yanked down the hill by the zombie on the other end. After stumbling for two steps, he completely lost his footing, faceplanted onto the ground, and tumbled down the hill—TUMBLE TUMBLE TUMBLE...

The Guard beside him, Lawrence, was dumbfounded. He recalled that there were tens of thousands of zombies at the bottom of the hill...

Snapping back to reality, Lawrence didn’t hesitate for a second. Gripping his Saber, he scrambled and stumbled in pursuit. In his desperation to rescue the Lord, the Guard didn’t even stop to consider just how slim a living person’s chances of survival were after plunging into a horde of zombies.

Because of this, he managed to witness a historic moment up close. The Lord rolled like a barrel, coming to a halt right at the feet of a zombie.

The zombie blankly lowered its head, discovering the human by its feet. Xiahou Yan lifted his head, staring at the zombie looming over him, and gulped.

Then, a hint of distinctly human-like panic suddenly surfaced on the zombie’s twisted, hideous face.

Immediately after, under Lawrence’s incredulous gaze, the zombie stared dead at the Lord on the ground, stumbled back two steps, and then completely turned around, fleeing into the distance like a madman without so much as a backward glance...

From the bottom of his heart, Xiahou Yan felt that there was definitely something wrong with this world he had transmigrated to.