*Chapter 38: Happy Halloween, Grundy*

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

Was Solomon Grundy born on a Monday? Nobody knows.

The only thing Cody could be sure of was that he died in the nineteenth century, specifically in 1894. It had been a hundred years since his body was dumped in the swamp. Now this monster had risen from the dead in that swamp, but he had a new name.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday!"

He sang the nursery rhyme he'd heard as a child, casting himself as the Solomon Grundy in the story, because it was the only name he could think of in his few remaining memories.

His pale, corpse-like body, his tattered, smelly clothes, his bulging, powerful muscles with veins popping out, and his horrifying, square face with a natural look of menace – a terrifying living dead man had arrived in the world.

Watching the nearly ten-foot-tall behemoth charge through the sewer, Cody's heart started pounding. A half-ton monster running creates a terrifying pressure, the vibration and loud noise like a speeding truck heading right for Cody himself.

"I stumble towards you~"

That familiar melody involuntarily popped into Cody's head.

"Holy crap, now is NOT the time for a soundtrack!"

He immediately started frantically searching the store. When he found 'Rapid Life Recovery,' he quickly selected it to use on Solomon.

"Hold on, the target's life form is too special. Rapid Life Recovery can only restore it to a normal state for a certain period of time. The effect on the current target will last twenty-four hours. Confirm purchase?"

Are you kidding me? Twenty-four hours, ten thousand asset points? You might as well just rob me!

And what if "restoring to normal" means turning him back into a corpse? How's he gonna eat a burger then? You expect me to force-feed a corpse?

Cody could only look for other methods. The guy had superhuman strength, stamina, and immortality – invulnerable to bullets and blades, and rapid self-healing. Maybe it was Superman-level ability, maybe it was just beyond human-level, but it made no difference to Cody.

Either way, one punch and he'd be toast.

"What do I do? Is there anything that can control Solomon, or anything that can make him temporarily drop his hostility towards me?"

Solomon's footsteps were getting closer. His massive size meant enormous strides, resulting in a fast straight-line running speed. In just over ten seconds, he had already charged into the range of the pumpkin lantern's light.

"Holy crap, hurry up! Hurry up!"

Cody was frantically scrolling through the search results when he suddenly saw an item that made his eyes light up.

*Halloween Night Pumpkin Head*

*Price: $200*

*Note: Trick or Treat!*

*Note 2: This product is suitable for all ages. Kids can wear it to trick-or-treat, and adults can wear it to ask kids for candy.*

*Note 3: Adults? Total jerks!*

*Special Effect: Can be purchased using a homemade pumpkin. The carving effect of the pumpkin enhances the product's effectiveness.*

Cody immediately clicked purchase. The pumpkin head he had previously received in his system storage suddenly lit up with an idea, shining brightly. Items bought from the system store could be stored in the system, and this pumpkin was one he'd bought there, which he'd just turned into a headpiece himself. To his surprise, maybe because it was ugly enough, even after being processed, it was still recognized as a system item and could be directly stored.

After Cody bought the "Halloween Night Pumpkin Head," the item name of his pumpkin headpiece immediately changed.

When he originally bought it, its name was "Pumpkin." After carving and processing, its name became "Ugly Pumpkin Headpiece." And now, its name was "Sanity-Dropping Ugly Pumpkin Headpiece."

The word "Ugly" was definitely stuck.

Solomon Grundy was originally charging at the guy who had intruded on his territory, but just as he was about to hit him, he suddenly saw him turn his head.

No, that wasn't a head. It was a monstrous, terrifyingly ugly pumpkin creature, grinning like a ghost at the charging Grundy.

It turned out the person holding the pumpkin had no features, not even a head. There were just hollowed-out holes for eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Eerie light shone from the holes on its head, staring directly at Grundy.

Its features seemed alive, making all sorts of expressions and movements. The huge pumpkin mouth split into a wide grin, and the round eyes narrowed slightly, as if mocking Grundy for walking into its trap.

"No head! No head! Pumpkin man!"

Grundy immediately put the brakes on his charge. His memory was almost completely gone, and his reason and intelligence had vanished with it. His IQ and thinking ability were almost like a child's; he didn't understand good or bad. But similarly, it was hard for a normal person to convince him with complex logic and consequences. But today, he was having some bad luck.

Because he happened to run into a total jerk who was very good at bullying kids.

"Grundy! Grundy! Solomon Grundy!"

The pumpkin man's voice was eerie and terrifying, just like the scary monsters in fairy tales that eat children. It walked step by step towards Grundy. The light from the pumpkin lantern it was holding suddenly turned a chilling green, as if a cluster of spooky ghost fires were burning.

"Born on a Monday, christened on Tuesday!"

"No, no! Grundy doesn't want! Pumpkin man, don't come over!"

"Married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday!"

Its voice got louder and louder, almost deafening. Fear immediately filled the big guy's heart. He watched Cody walk slowly but surely towards him, his eyes wide, trembling all over, his body rigid as he twisted around, wanting to run.

"Worse on Friday, died on Saturday!"

Thump, thump, thump sounds rang out. The big guy, with his back to the terrifying pumpkin man behind him, turned his head and started running like crazy. At that moment, he just wanted to escape the eerie green light and that terrifying guy chanting his name.

"Buried on Sunday, that was the end of Solomon Grundy!"

"Solomon Grundy! Buried on Sunday, that was the end of Solomon Grundy!"

"No—!"

Bang!

Fear made his legs and feet, already like a zombie's, even more rigid and numb. Grundy tumbled to the ground with a splash. When he twisted his head to look, the pumpkin man holding the lantern had already walked up to him.

He closed his eyes, shivering, and curled up, but he didn't feel the pumpkin head's gaping maw.

"Huh?"

When he opened his eyes, he saw the pumpkin head had simply placed a bag on the ground. An enticing aroma floated out of the bag, smelling better than the rats and garbage he had eaten.

"Solomon Grundy, Happy Halloween."