The slight drizzle was a welcome relief from the earlier oppressive heat, but it brought with it a new problem.
The streets, already choked with debris, were now slick with a shallow film of rising water. The city's ancient drainage system had clearly failed, a likely consequence of the catastrophe, turning the lower roads into slow, murky streams.
Lin Kai, leading the group, was thankful it wasn't a downpour yet. He scanned the wet cityscape, his eyes moving not just over the buildings, but over the invisible flow of energy.
He stopped abruptly, his body turning rigid. He could sense a cluster of aether signatures—a sizable group of Corrupted, mostly Low and Mid ranks of Zero Order, lurking near a derelict children's park just ahead.
Perfect, he thought, a cold, calculated satisfaction settling in his mind.
This is exactly what they need. A controlled skirmish, not a desperate fight. The opportunity was ideal for their rapid ascent, a swift baptism in blood that would accelerate their survival rate.
He turned to the twenty survivors behind him. Their faces were still marked by the terror of the previous encounter, but now a faint spark of excitement, a nascent confidence born from Rong's earlier success, flickered beneath the fear.
"Up ahead," he announced, his voice low but cutting through the hiss of the rain.
"A group of Corrupted. Enough for everyone to get a kill and evolve. Now, the rain is increasing. We can find shelter now and wait it out, or we can move forward and hunt."
He let the choice hang in the humid air, testing their newly forged resolve.
It didn't take long. Voices rose in a clamor of hurried, determined agreement.
"We go forward, Young Master Lin!"
"We need to get stronger! Let's hunt!"
"I don't want to break the leader's expectations! Let's move!"
Their eagerness was palpable. The slight rain was failing to dampen the newfound fire in their bellies. They had tasted the satisfaction of survival and power, and they craved more.
"Good," Lin Kai said, a curt nod acknowledging their consensus. "Then we march."
They reached the park's entrance. The corrupted group immediately sensed their presence, their guttural moans rising into a chorus of hungry death.
They charged, a messy wave of shambling, lower-grade monsters moving with surprising speed. Several survivors flinched, instinctively stepping back, their previous courage momentarily dissolving into pure fear.
But no one bolted. Their eyes darted to Lin Kai, their silent faith holding them in place. Rong immediately steadied herself, the small knife in her grip, ready to guard the flanks.
Lin Kai didn't move. He simply released his aura—a silent, intense pressure that was a byproduct of his Zero Order (Peak) status. It wasn't a roar; it was a physical weight of consciousness pressing down on the environment.
The effect on the corrupted was instantaneous and drastic. Their charge slowed to a stumbling shuffle, their limbs moving sluggishly as if struggling against thick mud. Their attacks were labored and weak, their movements difficulty constrained.
"Now!" Lin Kai commanded, his voice sharp. "Go! Kill them!"
The survivors stared for one stunned moment at the spectacle, realizing that their leader had just handicapped the enemy. This was not a fair fight; it was a guaranteed opportunity.
Shame mixed with exhilaration. They dropped their backpacks, which contained the necessary survival and hygiene items he had insisted upon, and rushed forward, a mixed group of terrified and determined novices, armed with kitchen knives, chair legs, and lengths of fence wire.
The park devolved into a chaotic, messy skirmish. Some survivors, fueled by adrenaline, finished their first corrupted in seconds.
Others, battling deep-seated psychological barriers, struggled, taking minutes to land a final, effective blow.
The people were learning on experience. Few got thrilled at first, few got disgusted, but all of them were now surviving on this brutality.
Lin Kai moved along the periphery, encouraging them. "Focus on the throat! Harder! Don't let it touch you! That's it, thrust!"
The brutal truth of the new world was permanently etched onto their consciousness. The smell of copper and rot, the wet ground beneath their feet, the primal screaming—it had all been a necessary, ugly exchange for evolution.
But as the killing fervor faded, a raw, fragile pride took its place. They looked at each other, not as strangers, but as fellow initiates who had shared a secret, bloody baptism. They were bonded by the shared experience.
While the others were engrossed in the killing and frenzy atmosphere, Lin Kai noticed Rong. She was standing silently at the edge of the fight, her small knife hanging loosely at her side, watching the chaos with an almost clinical detachment.
"Rong," he called, stepping over a fallen corrupted. "Why aren't you going? The field is clear."
She turned, her movements calm and controlled, a stark contrast to the frenzy around them. "Leader," she replied, her voice steady.
"I have already killed earlier. The chance of evolving again on these few lower-grade corrupted is too low to expend the energy. Let others take the opportunity."
Lin Kai was genuinely surprised on her analysis of the risk-reward, and her thinking of the others' collective growth.
"You show remarkable insight," he praised, nodding slowly. "And unusual patience. Well done."
A faint, almost imperceptible blush rose on her cheeks. "Thank you, Leader. I know what I need to do to protect those who matter to me."
After nearly an hour, the battle ended. The twenty survivors stood amidst the corpses, panting and covered in a mixture of rain, blood, and mud.
They had blood on their slightly wet clothes. Every single one of them had a new light in their eyes.
The soft, authoritative voice of the mental decree had confirmed it in their head that they have now ascended and few of them managed to evolved in Zero Order (Mid). He was quite satisfied and praised them on their success.
Then, the sky opened up. The drizzle transformed instantly into a torrential downpour, the rain slamming against the pavement and instantly deepening the floodwater.
"We rest," Lin Kai announced. He quickly directed them to a nearby residential apartment building, moving them with practiced efficiency up the stairwell to the upper floors to avoid the standing water.
They settled in a spacious, mostly untouched apartment bedroom on the third floor—dry, safe, and relatively clean.
"You will rest here until the rain passes," Lin Kai instructed, looking around the room at the tired faces.
"Clean yourselves immediately. Use the supplies in your bags. The blood and dirt are breeding grounds for infection. Change your clothes in the other rooms."
Most of them now understood why their leader had insisted on carrying bags and clothes earlier; he had already predicted the need for cleanliness and sanitation. Their admiration for him grew a little more in their hearts.
After a few minutes of cleaning and changing, they all settled in the room. The collective sound of conversation—of fear being processed into shared experience—was the first truly human sound Lin Kai had heard since the calamity began.
They began to chat and share what they gained and what their stats were. This created a harmonious atmosphere which had eased the tension on Lin Kai's shoulder, and he smiled on seeing this.
He also checked his mental interference, ensuring it was as usual, and checked his condition:
Vitality: 650/700
Aether: 390/400
Order: Zero Order (Peak)
Rune: Locked.
He was amused on seeing his Aether being saved and decided to continue utilizing this strategy in the future. He knew how debilitating low Aether felt—the mental pressure was almost unbearable.
The power of his Zero Order (Peak) was proving to be an exponential advantage. It wasn't just raw strength; it was the sheer density of his Aether pool, allowing the effortless projection of oppressive mental pressure.
He realized that this capacity to cripple enemies without expending lethal Aether was his primary tool for managing large groups of lower-grade corrupted, ensuring his longevity and the survival of his team.
Aether saved is Aether that keeps my mind clear and my future open, he concluded, the thought lending a colder resolve to his gaze.
Lin Kai was sitting near a man who was actually the professor of the botany department in Yunnan Provincial High School, named ProfessorShen. The man began to speak, his eyes wet with emotion.
"Lin Kai," Professor Shen said. "I—I really didn't expect that someday you'd be the one teaching me, a professor, how to survive. How to fight."
He paused, looking around at the exhausted but evolving group. "I truly am proud of the man you've become. Please, continue doing this. We need you."
Lin Kai immediately directed his gaze, momentarily cutting off his mental interference to focus entirely on the man, and listened.
"Professor Shen," Lin Kai replied, his usual deadpan expression softening slightly. He chose his words carefully, ensuring they conveyed both his respect and his stark new reality.
"I am not a teacher, Professor. I am just a survivor doing what is necessary. You are an adult, and what I taught today was not botany or history—it was brutal necessity. You and everyone else here must learn to rely on your own strength, not mine. I can show you the door, but you have to be the one to kill the monster and walk through it."
He looked the professor straight in the eye, the rain drumming a steady rhythm against the glass. "But thank you. Your faith means something. Now, go clean yourself. We rest until the rain stops."
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Author's Note:
Haah, don't know what to tell u. I know many of u are reading by coming this part but didn't add my novel on ur collections. This small thing is the support which i want and this motivates me for writing more chapters for u. I appreciate if you can comment freely also and share ur thoughts for next chapters.