The air in the ruined building was so thick with unspoken threats it was almost hard to breathe.
The cold, calculating look in Shen Feng's eyes was more terrifying than any aetheric roar Lin Kai had ever heard.
The man was walking slowly towards him, his men positioned behind him, their guns at the ready.
Lin Kai felt a chilling certainty settle over him: there would be no negotiation. This man was a predator, and he saw Lin Kai's people as nothing more than prey.
His mind raced, analyzing the situation with the cold precision of a battle-hardened veteran.
A frontal assault was suicide. Aetheric combat was fast, but bullets were faster. The only way to save his people was to create a diversion, a moment of confusion that would allow them to escape.
As Shen Feng closed the distance, his eyes fixed on Lin Kai, he saw his chance.
When Shen Feng was within three meters, Lin Kai took action. He didn't run. He didn't fight. He simply vanished.
In a blur of impossible speed, he closed the remaining distance, his body moving with a silent grace that defied physics. He was a whisper in the air, a shadow in the ruins.
One of his blades appeared at Shen Feng's neck, the cold steel pressing against his skin.
At the same time, his other hand, a blur of motion, disarmed the gun from Shen Feng's hand, dismantling it with a quiet, efficient series of clicks.
The silence that followed was absolute. The soft cries of the survivors were instantly stifled. Shen Feng's men, their guns still pointed at Lin Kai, froze in place, a collective gasp of shock escaping their lips.
They had seen their leader, a man who had survived a prison break and a world's end, taken hostage in the blink of an eye. They were terrified.
Lin Kai spoke, his voice a low, persuasive whisper that only Shen Feng could hear. "Tell them to stand down. Tell them to stay right where they are. Don't move a muscle, or you're dead."
Shen Feng's men, seeing their leader's predicament, began to shift, their bodies tense with a mix of fury and confusion.
They were a well-oiled machine, and seeing their leader captured by a single man was a direct violation of every command they had ever known.
They began to move forward, their guns slowly raising, their faces contorted with a silent rage.
"Don't!" Shen Feng roared. His voice was laced with a chilling authority that cut through the silence. He gave a subtle hand signal.
His men, seeing the signal, stopped dead in their tracks. Their hands were on their triggers, but their guns were lowered, and their bodies were still.
Lin Kai, seeing that his command had been obeyed, spoke loudly, his voice echoing in the silent room. "Let my people go! Release them now! I will stay here with you. I know I am worth far more to you than they are. You have what you want."
His words hit the prisoners like a thunderclap. They looked at each other, confused, and then at their leader.
One of them, a burly man with a scarred face, opened his mouth to question the order, but then he saw the look on Shen Feng's face—a subtle nod, a silent command. The man shut his mouth.
Shen Feng was terrified. How? How could a human move so fast? I am a Zero Order (Mid), and yet I had been taken hostage by a mere boy.
He was still a prisoner in his mind, and his entire world revolved around power. But when he heard Lin Kai's words, a cold, predatory smirk formed on his lips.
This kid is a fool. A naive, foolish, merciful kid. This boy think that he could take on a whole group of hardened criminals and win by a mere show of power with these blades at this modern world.
The kid was a Zero Order (Peak), but that meant nothing to a man with a gun in his hand. No matter how strong he was, a single bullet could end him.
He would play along, let his group go, and then, in a moment of carelessness, he would kill the kid and take his core. With his core, he would become a king, and his group would become unstoppable.
"Let them go," Shen Feng said, his voice calm, but his eyes were filled with a terrifying, predatory glee. "They are useless to us. This kid is the real deal. He is the one we want."
His men, who were already in a state of shock, were even more surprised by their leader's words.
Lin Kai was more valuable to them than a dozen people? They had heard of the power of aether cores. They had seen what they could do. They knew they had to follow their leader's order.
Lin Kai signaled Han Zhe to come near him, his eyes locked on his friend's. "Listen to me, Han Zhe. You and Jiang Lie are going to get everyone out of here. Take them to a nearby building, a good hiding spot, and wait for me there. I will find you."
Han Zhe was worried. His face was a mask of fear and anguish. "Lin Kai… no," he pleaded, his voice a low whisper, "don't die for us. We can… we can find a way. We can stall them. You can escape. You can take revenge for us later. I know you will be stronger."
Lin Kai's heart melted. The man's worry, his genuine concern, was a stark contrast to the cold-blooded nature of the people around him.
He saw the genuine fear in Han Zhe's eyes, and he knew he had to reassure him. "Uncle, trust me," he said, his voice filled with a quiet resolution. "I will be fine. I can finish them alone. I will not die easily."
Han Zhe looked at Lin Kai's determined expression, and he sighed in defeat. He knew arguing was useless. "Okay. Fine then. But don't… don't be a hero. Be smart."
Shen Feng was still in his own mind, lost in his delusional thoughts of grandeur. He didn't pay attention to the conversation between Lin Kai and Han Zhe.
He was too focused on the future, a future where he was a king, and aether cores were his currency.
He and his men laughed quietly, a chilling sound in the silent room. They were admiring their leader's intelligence and thinking about their good future.
Han Zhe and Jiang Lie, with the other survivors, quietly made their way out of the building. Han Zhe, a man who had been a cautious survivor, was now a leader.
He found a building near them, a hiding spot on the upper floor, and with a vigilant expression, he began to keep watch from the window, his eyes fixed on the building where Lin Kai was being held hostage.
Shen Feng, seeing the survivors leave, laughed loudly and brazenly. "Hahaha! Don't worry, kid. After you, I'll go after them. You are lucky to die in my hands."
His men laughed with him, a cold, heartless sound that echoed in the empty room. Lin Kai smiled, a chilling, cold smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Kill me, huh?" he thought quietly, "You will see what happens after." He was calmly analyzing how to manage his speed and kill them.
Lin Kai then asked Shen Feng, his voice filled with a final plea, hoping to change his mind asked,
"See? We can forget this. We can move forward and become powerful together. We can help others and survive this calamity. My mother taught me that we have to help others in need. We can do it together."
Shen Feng listened, a condescending smirk on his face. He found the kid's naivete amusing. He was a fool. "Who cares for other humans?" he spat, his voice laced with a raw, brutal honesty.
"As long as we get benefits by killing the Awakened ones and absorbing their cores, I will be the king, and my subordinates will be my army."
His words struck a chord with his men. They nodded, their faces filled with a raw, predatory hunger. They had found their purpose in this new world. They were not survivors; they were hunters.
Lin Kai sighed, a heavy, defeated sound that filled the silence. He had tried. He had tried to appeal to their humanity, their morality. But there was nothing left.
These people were in no point of return. They were consumed by their hunger for power. He had a choice. He could fight them, and he would have to fight them to the death.
He then swung his blade decisively towards Shen Feng's neck.
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Meanwhile, in a chemical engineering lab, Lin Yu watched in silent horror as the call with her brother ended.
She tried to redial, her fingers fumbling, but the screen only showed a blank signal.
Panic began to set in, but her rational mind quickly took over. She was in her chemical engineering lab, surrounded by equipment that could be used for purification and synthesis.
Her mind, a finely-tuned instrument of logic, was already running scenarios, calculating possibilities for survival.
Her gaze fell to the window, and a gasp escaped her lips. The sky was an impossible, churning vortex of black and purple. The sight of the swirling clouds was enough to make the hairs on her arms stand on end.
She had seen the same thing in her brother's video, but seeing it in person was a different horror. And then, a sound that was not a sound, a voice that was not a voice, boomed directly into her mind: the Primal Decree.
She staggered back, her heart hammering against her ribs. The scene outside was pure chaos. People were writhing in the streets, their bodies twisting into grotesque, inhuman shapes.
They were her friends, her classmates, her neighbors. Now, they were corrupted monsters. She turned away from the window, a wave of nausea washing over her. She took a deep, shuddering breath, her mind trying to process the impossible. It couldn't be real. It couldn't.
She looked around the lab, searching for an anchor, for something familiar in this new reality. Her eyes fell on her teacher, a kindly, middle-aged man who always had a warm smile and a calm demeanor. He was just as he had been a moment ago, but his eyes were different.
She saw not the kindness she was used to, but a chilling, cold calculation. A small, terrible smile played on his lips. A terrible premonition, a cold chill of dread, ran down her spine.
"Teacher? Are you alright?" she asked, her voice a small, wavering whisper.
His smile widened, a terrible thing that did not reach his eyes. "Alright? My dear Lin Yu, I've never been better." He gestured to the window with a sweep of his hand. "This... this is an opportunity. For those of us who were ready."
Lin Yu's blood ran cold. She backed away from him, her heart now a frantic drum. He began to walk towards her, and his calm, professor-like voice was replaced with a cold, hissing whisper.
"I have been observing you for a long time, my dear. The Primal Decree chose a select few of us before this... calamity... to be pre-awakened. I was a Mid Rank practitioner all along, simply waiting for this moment. And of all my students, you, with your high Aether potential, were always the most beautiful specimen."
Lin Yu's mind spun. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously, her voice barely audible.
The professor's face twisted into a mask of greed. "I'm talking about power, Lin Yu. Your power. Your incredible Aether potential. I knew it, and I'm going to take it. This is my chance to rise."
He lunged.
It was not a lunge for her body, but for her very essence. His hand, glowing with a faint, corrupted light, shot out towards her chest, intent on draining her life, her power, her very soul.
She cried out, not in pain, but in sheer terror and revulsion. The betrayal, the cold, calculating evil in his eyes—it was too much.
In that moment of absolute desperation, a different kind of command ignited within her mind. It was a cold, precise fury. An elemental response to the chill in her heart. A cold, blinding blue light erupted from her body, and a powerful, freezing cold radiated outwards.
The professor's arm was instantly encased in ice, the aetheric glow in his hand snuffed out. The ice spread over his body in a flash, encasing him in a single, terrifying block of frozen death.
There was a deafening silence. Then, with a quiet shatter, the block of ice, along with her teacher inside, crumbled into a thousand glistening shards on the lab floor.
A cool, clear voice hummed in her mind.
"Pre-Awakened One Killed. First Soul reclaimed. Evolution to Zero Order (Mid) attained."
She was breathing heavily, her body trembling, but not from fear. A new kind of energy coursed through her, cool and controlled. A familiar mental interface appeared before her, displaying her new stats.
Vitality: 200/200
Aether: 450/450
Order: Zero Order (Mid)
Rune: Ice
She looked at the glittering shards on the ground and felt a profound sense of disgust. Not at the blood, but at the betrayal. At the fact that a person would so readily use his position and power to harm someone for his own selfish gain. The thought made her skin crawl, and a deep-seated coldness settled in her heart.
She would not be like him. She would find her sisters, mother and Lin Kai. She closed her eyes, and a single, perfect snowflake of ice formed in the palm of her hand.
It was beautiful. And it was all she had. She was a survivor now. She would use this power, not for selfish reasons, but to protect her family. She had to. She had to learn.