The hallway was unnervingly quiet.
Lin Xuan Yan walked down the the corridor of the women's dormitory, her footsteps barely audible against the tiled floor. Her senses remained alert, and her gaze moved between the numbered doors lining either side of the hallway.
It was Saturday.
Under ordinary circumstances, the dormitory would have been filled with students chatting, laughing, and preparing to spend their weekends outside. Some would have gone shopping, others would have visited friends, and a few would probably have slept until noon.
But there was nothing ordinary about today.
The world had changed overnight.
Behind several locked doors came the occasional scratching and pounding of dead hands against wood. The sounds were irregular, sometimes growing louder before suddenly stopping.
Lin Xuan Yan glanced at the translucent interface floating before her.
She still had four unallocated status points.
After a moments of consideration, she closed the interface.
There was no need to distribute them carelessly. She had yet to understand the full extent of her abilities, and investing points in the wrong attributes could leave her vulnerable later.
At present, she needed to understand her own strengths and weaknesses before making any long-term decisions.
Spatial Manipulation.
That was the ability she had gotten after killed the bee.
Although she had already managed to use it during her previous encounters, her understanding remained superficial. She could distort small portions of space, interfere with the movement of objects, and create localized spatial pressure.
However, the mana consumption and concentration required varied considerably depending on what she attempted.
She needed more practical experience.
Suddenly, three figures appeared at the far end of the corridor.
Lin Xuan Yan stopped.
Three zombies.
Their appearance were grotesque, their clothes torn and their skin an unhealthy shade of gray. Their heads swayed unnaturally as they approached with stiff, trembling steps.
They were moving slowly.
Nevertheless, Lin Xuan Yan did not lower her guard.
Based on her previous encounters, she knew that even an ordinary zombie could kill an unprepared person.
A single scratch was enough to end someone's life.
She raised her hand.
The space surrounding her fingertips trembled slightly.
A transparent distortion spread toward the approaching zombies.
However, when she attempted to compress the space around their bodies, the effect was considerably weaker than expected.
The zombies continued advancing.
Lin Xuanyan frowned.
She tried again, this time focusing on the space surrounding the nearest zombie's torso.
The surrounding air warped slightly, but the creature barely reacted.
Her ability was not particularly effective when she attempted to manipulate a relatively large area.
Furthermore, the three zombies were approaching simultaneously.
She could retreat toward her room and attempt to use the corpses of the zombies she had previously killed as an additional source of experimental material. However, doing so would mean passing through the corridor again.
The continuous banging behind the locked doors suggested that more zombies would soon emerge.
If she allowed them to gather, escaping the building would become considerably more difficult.
Lin Xuanyan took a slow breath.
She needed another approach.
Her gaze moved over the corridor.
The zombies were slow, but their movements were relentless. Their bodies continued advancing even when they stumbled or collided with obstacles.
Rather than attempting to crush them directly, she could interfere with the space surrounding their movements.
She focused on the floor beneath the nearest zombie.
A faint distortion appeared.
The distance between the creature's feet and the floor seemed to shift momentarily.
Its body lurched forward.
Before it could regain its balance, Lin Xuanyan compressed the space immediately surrounding its head.
The distortion intensified.
Crack!
The creature's head was violently crushed by the concentrated spatial pressure.
Its body collapsed.
Lin Xuanyan's eyes brightened slightly.
It worked.
The remaining two zombies continued approaching.
She repeated the process, although the second attempt was noticeably less stable.
The spatial distortion around the zombie's head flickered before finally collapsing.
The creature continued moving.
Lin Xuanyan immediately changed her approach.
Rather than attempting to compress its entire head, she concentrated the spatial pressure on a much smaller area.
This time, the distortion held.
The zombie's skull caved inward.
The third zombie was already dangerously close.
It stretched out its arms and lunged toward her.
Lin Xuanyan shifted sideways.
At the same time, she distorted the space beneath its feet, causing its forward movement to become unbalanced.
The creature stumbled.
She seized the opportunity and concentrated spatial pressure around the back of its skull.
A sharp cracking sound echoed through the corridor.
The third zombie collapsed.
[You have acquired Soul Power from Normal Zombie – Level 3.]
[You have acquired Soul Power from Normal Zombie – Level 3.]
[You have acquired Soul Power from Normal Zombie – Level 3.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 3. You have received 2 free status points.]
Lin Xuanyan examined the notifications.
She had previously killed two zombies after reaching Level 2 in her room, one of which had been Level 4. The accumulated soul power from the three additional Level 3 zombies had finally allowed her to advance.
She also noticed something interesting.
Every time she leveled up, her physical condition and mana recovered to their maximum.
In other words, even though she had consumed a considerable amount of mana during the previous encounters, her reserves had been replenished.
This was an extremely convenient feature.
However, she did not intend to become dependent on it.
The amount of soul power required to advance would undoubtedly increase as her level rose. Eventually, she might encounter opponents that she could not defeat easily.
She needed to become more efficient before that happened.
Lin Xuanyan examined the fallen zombies.
Their bodies were still leaking blood.
Lin Xuanyan's hunting became considerably more efficient as she descended floor by floor.
She gradually discovered that manipulating small areas of space was much easier than attempting to control an entire object.
For example, rather than trying to stop a zombie's entire body, she could distort the space around one of its ankles.
The effect was subtle but useful.
A small spatial distortion appeared beneath a zombie's foot.
Its movement suddenly became awkward, as though the distance it needed to cross had changed.
The creature stumbled.
Lin Xuanyan immediately approached and struck the back of its skull with the mutated bee stinger.
The zombie collapsed.
She began incorporating this technique into her fighting style.
Sometimes she distorted the space beneath an opponent's feet. Other times, she compressed a small area around its head or redirected the trajectory of an incoming attack.
She also experimented with creating short-lived spatial barriers.
However, these required considerably more mana and concentration than the simpler distortions.
For the time being, she decided to prioritize efficiency.
There was no point developing a complicated technique if a simpler one could achieve the same result.
So far, Lin Xuanyan had killed a total of thirty-three zombies since leaving her room.
A thin distortion spread silently across the floor.
The space surrounding one zombie's ankle suddenly contracted, disrupting its movement and causing its body to almost fall.
Taking advantage of the brief opening, Lin Xuanyan moved behind it.
Her thirteen agility points made her considerably faster than an ordinary person before the apocalypse.
She raised the mutated bee stinger and stabbed forcefully into the back of the zombie's head.
The creature collapsed.
Thirty-four.
[You have acquired Soul Power from Normal Zombie – Level 4.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 5. You have received 2 free status points.
Lin Xuanyan glanced at the notification.
She had needed to kill approximately sixteen zombies to advance from Level 4 to Level 5.
The increasing requirements were beginning to become apparent.
Her stamina had been considerably drained, and she had also consumed a noticeable amount of mana during the previous battles.
Fortunately, the level-up restored her condition.
She briefly examined her surroundings before continuing toward the first floor.
Upon reaching the entrance, her footsteps suddenly stopped.
Something was standing in her way.
Lin Xuanyan stared at the creature blocking the corridor.
It was enormous.
Its height was close to two meters, and its two arms were grotesquely enlarged, each one nearly as thick as an adult man's thigh.
Its shoulders were broad, and its muscles bulged beneath its grayish skin.
This was clearly not an ordinary zombie.
The creature seemed to sense her presence.
Its cloudy eyes turned toward her.
Then it charged.
Lin Xuanyan's expression changed.
Its speed was astonishing.
Although it was slower than her, it was at least twice as fast as the ordinary zombies she had encountered.
The enormous fist came toward her face.
She barely managed to tilt her head aside.
BOOM!
The zombie's fist struck the wall behind her, leaving a deep hole in the concrete.
Lin Xuanyan's pupils contracted.
Had that attack connected, her head would probably have been crushed.
She immediately kicked forward with her fourteen strength points.
Her foot struck the creature's torso, forcing it backward several steps.
Before it could recover, she raised both hands.
The surrounding space trembled.
Unlike her previous attacks, she did not attempt to compress the zombie's body directly.
Instead, she created four separate spatial distortions around its limbs and torso.
The distortions rapidly expanded.
Then, with a sharp movement of her fingers, she compressed the space between them.
The creature's movements became restricted.
Its enormous body lost balance and crashed onto the floor.
Lin Xuanyan immediately advanced.
She raised the mutated bee stinger and drove it toward the back of the zombie's skull.
However, the result surprised her.
The weapon penetrated only a few centimeters before stopping.
Its flesh was extraordinarily tough.
Lin Xuanyan's eyebrows drew together.
The zombie began struggling violently.
Its enormous arms slammed against the floor as it attempted to free itself.
The spatial distortions surrounding its body trembled.
She could feel the mana consumption increasing.
Maintaining four separate distortions against an opponent with such tremendous physical strength was considerably more difficult than restraining ordinary zombies.
She needed to finish it quickly.
Lin Xuanyan tightened her grip on the mutated bee stinger and stabbed again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The creature continued struggling.
Her spatial restrictions began weakening.
She concentrated her remaining mana on the space surrounding its head, preventing it from moving while continuing to attack the same location.
Nearly twenty strikes later, the mutated bee stinger finally penetrated deep enough to destroy its brain.
The enormous zombie convulsed.
Then it became motionless.
[You have acquired Soul Power from Strength Zombie – Level 15. Strength +6. Health +5.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 6.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 7.]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 8. You have received 2 free status points.]
Lin Xuanyan slowly withdrew the mutated bee stinger.
A warm sensation spread throughout her body.
Her physical strength increased noticeably, and the exhaustion caused by repeatedly attacking the zombie disappeared.
She examined the notifications.
A Level 15 zombie had provided an enormous amount of soul power.
The additional Strength and Health rewards were also considerably more valuable than those obtained from ordinary zombies.
She looked down at the enormous corpse.
Something had fallen beside its body.
"Oh?"
Lin Xuanyan approached and picked up the strange object.
It was a small orb with a faintly shimmering surface.
She turned it between her fingers.
A notification immediately appeared.
appeared.
[Rare Treasure Orb: Contains a rare-category treasure inside.]
Lin Xuanyan examined the notification again.
A rare treasure.
Considering that the orb had dropped from a Level 15 Strength Zombie, its contents were undoubtedly worth investigating.
She carefully put it away.
Her gaze then shifted toward the entrance.
She had survived her first major encounter with a stronger zombie, but that did not mean she could afford to relax.
The world outside was undoubtedly even more dangerous.
And if the creatures she had encountered so far were merely the beginning, she needed to become much stronger.
Lin Xuanyan adjusted her belongings and continued forward.
The apocalypse had only just begun.