Chapter 2: The First Evolution
The rain had weakened, but the air still carried the thick scent of decay. Inside the abandoned convenience store, Lin Yu stood completely still, his breathing slow and controlled, while droplets of water floated silently around him, forming a faint orbit as if guarding their master. A single drop fell from the cracked ceiling, and the sound echoed sharply in the quiet space. Lin Yu's eyes narrowed as he whispered under his breath that it had arrived. Outside the shattered glass door, a shadow shifted, and then a foot stepped into the dim light. Unlike the other zombies, it did not stumble or twitch; it walked steadily, calmly, almost like a living human. Lin Yu's pupils shrank as he realized what he was facing—a mutated zombie.
The creature moved fully into view, nearly two meters tall, its pale gray skin tight and hardened instead of rotting, with coiled muscles visible beneath its surface and sharp black claws extending from its fingers. But what truly froze Lin Yu in place were its eyes, which were not empty like the others but aware, focused, and locked directly onto him. For a brief moment, neither of them moved, and then the creature smiled—a twisted, unnatural smile that sent a chill down Lin Yu's spine. His instincts screamed danger; this was not something he could handle like before, this thing could truly kill him.
Without any warning, the creature suddenly vanished from sight, and Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat as he realized it was too fast. A blur shot toward him, and he reacted instantly, shouting "Water Shield" as the floating droplets compressed into a dense barrier in front of him. The creature's claw slammed into the shield with explosive force, sending water splashing in every direction while Lin Yu was thrown backward into a shelf, pain shooting through his back. Before he could recover, the creature was already in front of him again, forcing him to grit his teeth as he thrust both hands forward and released a "Water Burst." The compressed blast exploded at point-blank range, finally pushing the creature back as it skidded across the floor and crashed into a counter.
However, it did not fall. It stood up immediately, completely unharmed, and Lin Yu's face turned pale as he realized his attack had done nothing. The creature tilted its head as if analyzing him before stepping forward again with calm confidence, as though it already knew the outcome. Lin Yu's mind raced rapidly; normal zombies were fragile, but this one was different—its body was stronger, denser, almost like hardened flesh. Water alone wasn't enough, or rather, it wasn't being used correctly. A thought flashed in his mind: water could cut steel under pressure, rivers could carve mountains over time. Water wasn't weak, it was simply not focused enough.
His breathing steadied as the floating water around him began to change, no longer scattered and soft but compressing into something sharper, denser, more dangerous. Even the air felt heavier. The creature stopped for the first time, as if sensing the change, and Lin Yu slowly raised his hand, forming a thin, clear strand of water at his fingertips. He whispered softly, calling it a water blade.
The creature lunged again, faster than before, its claws tearing through the air, but this time Lin Yu did not panic. His eyes locked onto its movement, and at the precise moment, he swung his hand. A faint line of water sliced through the space between them, almost invisible, followed by a clean cutting sound. The creature froze mid-motion as a deep line appeared across its chest, stretching from shoulder to waist. For a moment nothing happened, and then dark blood poured out as it staggered backward, its eyes filled with shock and confusion. Lin Yu stared in disbelief that it had worked, but before he could relax, the wound began to regenerate slowly, the flesh twitching and closing.
His heart sank at the sight, but the creature's expression changed, anger replacing its earlier calm as it let out a low growl and charged again, faster and more violent than before. Lin Yu clenched his fists and gathered more water around him than ever before, pushing his control to its limits as he unleashed multiple water blades in rapid succession. The creature dodged the first, blocked the second, but the third cut deep into its arm and the fourth tore through its shoulder. It roared loudly, slamming its claw into the ground and shattering the floor, sending debris flying everywhere and disrupting Lin Yu's control momentarily.
That single moment was enough. The creature appeared directly in front of him with its claw raised to strike, and Lin Yu realized he was too slow to react physically. Time seemed to slow down as a single thought emerged in his mind—water was everywhere, not just outside but inside everything, including the creature itself. Something deep within him responded, and suddenly the world became clearer. He could feel the moisture in the air, the water in the ground, and even the liquid flowing inside the creature's body. His eyes turned cold as he whispered that he had caught it.
Before the claw could descend, he acted—not with his body, but with the water inside the creature. With a single command, he forced it to collapse from within. The creature froze, its body trembling violently as something inside it cracked. Its claw stopped inches from Lin Yu's face before it collapsed lifelessly onto the ground.
Silence filled the store. Lin Yu stood there, breathing heavily, his hands trembling as he stared at the corpse. There was no regeneration this time; it was completely dead. He whispered to himself that he had killed it, but instead of relief, he felt a faint warmth emanating from the body. A small glowing core emerged from the creature's chest, floating and pulsing softly. Hesitating for a moment, Lin Yu reached out, and the instant his fingers touched it, the core dissolved into light and entered his body.
A surge of energy exploded within him, causing him to fall to his knees as intense pain coursed through his entire body. His muscles trembled, his veins burned, and yet amidst the pain, something was changing. His control over water deepened, his senses sharpened, and his power evolved. After what felt like an eternity, the pain subsided, leaving him lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Slowly, he stood up again, his eyes now calmer and deeper than before.
With a simple thought, water gathered instantly around his hand, faster and sharper than ever before. He looked at his reflection in a broken mirror and realized that he had grown stronger. Outside, the rain had finally stopped, but the world itself had already begun evolving, and Lin Yu had just taken his first true step onto a path from which there was no return.