From high above the ruined city, the world looked like a sprawling, shattered canvas of grey and crimson. The towering glass skyscrapers that once defined the bustling skyline were now nothing more than jagged, broken teeth jutting violently into the thick, smoke-filled air.
Massive concrete structures were crushed into rubble, wide asphalt roads were violently torn apart to reveal the dirt beneath, and the hollow, burning shells of civilian vehicles littered the streets like discarded metal toys.
The foul stench of widespread death, burning rubber, and settling ash hung heavily over every single block. It was a panoramic view of an entire civilization completely overwritten by a brutal, ecosystemic war in mere hours.
Underneath the dark, overcast clouds, down in the claustrophobic shadows of a narrow alleyway, the horrifying reality of the ground level became entirely clear.
A small, twisted creature crawled out from beneath a rusted metal dumpster. It resembled a mutated, oversized rat with razor-sharp, hardened quills lining its spine. It sniffed the damp air, its glowing red eyes locking onto a group of humans moving cautiously through the shadows of the alley.
Before the weak creature could even hiss or lunge at its prey, a massive, imposing shadow loomed over it from the side.
Cai Dajian brought a heavy, thick metal pipe down with terrifying, bone-crushing force. The mutated rat was crushed instantly, turning into a bloody smear on the cracked pavement before it could make a sound.
He did not break his rapid stride, his visibly larger muscles bulging under his dirt-stained and blood-soaked shirt.
He was leaning heavily into his overwhelming physical endurance and brute strength, acting as a relentless, unyielding shield for the rest of the group.
Further back in their defensive formation, another mutated beast leapt from the rusty rungs of a fire escape.
It was a feline creature with elongated, venomous fangs, moving with frightening agility. It bypassed Cai Dajian entirely, aiming directly for the small cluster of terrified civilian survivors huddled in the middle of the group, right near Anne. The beast descended from the sky, its sharp claws fully extended for a lethal strike.
[Inferno]
A concentrated, blinding burst of intense, roaring flame erupted from the darkness.
Su Yao stepped forward calmly, her pale hand outstretched toward the falling beast, the intense fire swallowed the leaping creature mid-air entirely.
It shrieked in sudden, agonizing pain as its fur and mutated flesh were charred to a crisp in mere seconds. The blackened, smoking corpse fell to the ground with a heavy thud, scattering ash across the alley. Su Yao lowered her hand, her expression completely calm. She immediately turned to check on Anne, to ensure the little girl was completely unharmed before returning to her vigilance.
At the very rear of the group, trailing slightly behind to cover their blind spots and secure their escape routes, Lu Zhang stood amidst a carpet of dismembered corpses.
Mutated dogs, heavily armored insects, and dozens of stray zombies lay scattered around his feet, all bearing the identical cuts and furrows of his signature Empty Fang.
He had killed the absolute highest number of threats during their long trek, surpassing Cai Dajian and Su Yao combined. Yet, he stood perfectly still, staring at his floating blue system panel with a slight frown on his face.
[Level: 10]
[First Limit reached!]
No matter how many low level creatures he slaughtered, his level remained completely stagnant.
'A limit,' Lu Zhang thought, his sharp mind dissecting the new information. 'So I need to find a specific way to break through this limit before I can grow stronger through regular killing.'
He closed the frustrating notification and opened his status screen to inspect the rewards he had reaped from the Wind Mantis once more.
But before he focused on the strange new skills, he thought about his own body.
His right shoulder, which had been pierced cleanly through by the Mantis' cruel scythe, was completely healed. The gaping, bloody hole was entirely gone, replaced by smooth, unblemished skin and muscle.
His foot, which had been brutally pinned to the floor by the insect, was equally flawless and free of pain.
'Levelling up provides a restorative healing effect,' Lu Zhang realized, clenching his fist tightly as he tested his mobility. 'That's good to know for the future.'
He turned his full attention to the text of the new skills.
[Mandate Lv 1]
[The authority of a King.]
Lu Zhang read the cryptic, useless text twice over.
It offered absolutely no active function, no visible mana cost, and no clear, immediate utility for combat.
'Useless for now,' he dismissed it instantly, pushing the skill to the back of his mind without a second thought. He had absolutely no time to solve riddles in the middle of what was essentially an active warzone.
The second skill, however, was entirely different and immediately drew his eye.
[Devour Lv 1]
[Absorb the vitality of your enemies to heal your own wounds. Requires direct contact to initiate the drain.]
A pleased smile formed on Lu Zhang's face as he read the description.
It required direct bodily contact, and at Level 1, the amount of health it drained from a single touch was likely negligible.
For a normal survivor at this point in the apocalypse, getting close enough to physically touch a monster for a prolonged period was a guaranteed death sentence.
But for Lu Zhang? If he could apply this skill rapidly, the negligible healing would stack into an overwhelming, unstoppable tide of rapid regeneration. It was an incredibly dangerous tool in his hands.
'I wonder...' he pondered, his mind racing with possibilities.
'It's quite similar to Empty Fang, isn't it?'
The theory was present. He just needed to use them simultaneously in reality.
He raised his right hand in the air. A glowing, azure blue Empty Fang flared into existence, wrapping around his fingers like a spectral beast's tooth. He focused his mind on the pulling, draining sensation of Devour, willing the parasitic energy to channel not through his bare skin, but directly through the mana-filled claw itself.
He dashed forward past the group, his extreme speed rendering him nearly invisible to the one-eyed zombie he found wandering near a looted storefront. He thrust his glowing Empty Fang deep into the zombie's chest cavity. Instead of just ripping it apart to kill it instantly, he activated Devour.
The azure Empty Fang suddenly glowed with a faint, pulsing reddish hue beneath the blue light. Lu Zhang felt the slight warmth of pure vitality entering his body, flowing rapidly up his arm alongside the usual, refreshing influx of stolen mana. Suddenly, his barely healed shoulder felt a bit easier to move, as if it had been massaged thoroughly, and not in a bad way.
The zombie withered before his eyes, its remaining flesh losing whatever force was still in them, as its life force was violently stolen.
[Empty Fang Lv 7 -> Empty Fang Lv 8]
[Devour Lv 1 -> Devour Lv 2]
The experiment was a complete success. His primary weapon now siphoned both mana to sustain his relentless attacks and vitality to heal his ongoing injuries.
[Devour Lv 2 -> Devour Lv 3]
He scouted out another alley and killed another wandering zombie, testing the limits of the drain.
'It costs quite a bit more than a regular Empty Fang now though...'
He deemed it best to not use it on easy prey and waste mana, focusing on things that had greater vitality.
The group continued their slow, stealthy progression through the ruined city streets.
Their desperate goal was to move carefully from place to place, attempting to find the surviving families of the terrified refugees they had gathered from the library.
It was a truly harrowing, exhausting journey.
Su Yao was tired. Even her vast reserve of mana couldn't keep up with how easily [Inferno] burnt it away.
Yet, she still held Anne's small hand tightly, and persevered.
Earlier in the day, a genuine miracle had occurred.
One of the male survivors had actually managed to rescue his wife, finding her alive and hiding quietly in the dark basement of a ruined bakery. She had joined the group, crying tears of profound joy. It was a beautiful, heartwarming moment.
And it was the absolute worst thing that could have possibly happened to group morale in Su Yao's opinion.
That single, isolated success had infected the rest of the desperate survivors with a potent, blinding false hope. They truly believed their loved ones were also waiting for them in their homes, safe and sound from the monsters.
They finally reached a small, two-story suburban house with a white picket fence.
The woman who had led them to this place gasped loudly, rushing forward toward the wooden front door before being held back by Dajian.
"My husband! He should be inside!"
The group infiltrated the house quietly, weapons drawn and skills ready.
The living room was completely trashed, the television shattered, and dark blood was splattered across the floral wallpaper.
Standing alone in the center of the kitchen was a single figure. It wore a torn, bloodstained business suit. Its jaw was unhinged, hanging loosely, and its eyes were a milky dead white.
It was a Level 3 zombie. The woman collapsed to her knees on the floorboards, sobbing uncontrollably. The blinding false hope shattered into a million painful pieces.
Lu Zhang stepped silently into the kitchen. He looked at the zombified husband, then at the weeping woman on the floor. His expression was completely unreadable, devoid of any pity or malice.
He did not immediately strike the creature down, opting to instead restrain it with Dajian's help. He lowered his hand, allowing the broken woman a brief moment to look at the twisted face of the man she loved, to process the cruel, unforgiving reality of the apocalypse.
Ten seconds passed in heavy silence before Lu Zhang moved. He speared through the zombie's skull completely, ending its unnatural existence in an instant while ensuring the face looking back at the woman wasn't her husband's.
He did not say a single word.
They decided to pick the house itself to stay and rest for a few hours.
The sun was high in the sky, and the sheer number of powerful beasts roaming the open streets was becoming entirely unmanageable.
They would rest in silence and move only at night, using the deep cover of darkness to hide their numbers.
During the tense rest period, Su Yao sat alone near a closed window, looking out at the burning city.
Their next target on the route was her own home. In a rare occurence since the apocalypse began, her perfect composure seemed a bit shaky. Her pale hands trembled slightly as she squeezed the arm of the chair she was using, long brown hair sweeping over her eyes.
But she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and assured herself in a quiet, inaudible whisper, locking her emotions away once more.
Because the only way for a defective product to survive, is to be useful.
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[Name: Su Yao]
[Level: 9]
[Strength: 19]
[Speed: 17]
[Intelligence: 36]
[Endurance: 17]
[Stat Points: 25]
[Mana: 360/360]
[Skills: Inspect Lv 5, Inferno Lv 3]