The man on the ground stared at Lu Zhang, his bloodshot eyes widening in absolute shock. He looked at the clean clothes, the relaxed posture, and then at Cai Dajian, who was casually holding the struggling girl down with a single knee.
"You're... human?"
The gruff man croaked out, his voice hoarse.
He immediately scrambled to his knees, ignoring the dirt and scraped skin. Instead of backing away, he deliberately placed his body between Lu Zhang and the shivering group of survivors hiding around the corner. He kept his calloused hands raised high, palms open.
"We thought you were monsters," he pleaded, his voice thick with desperation. "Or bandits. We didn't know. Please, we're just trying to survive."
[Human Lv 5]
Lu Zhang's eyes flicked to the blue text hovering above the man's head. Level 5. That was incredibly high for a regular human who hadn't been actively hunting. He shifted his gaze to the teenage girl struggling under Cai Dajian's knee.
[Human Lv 4]
He looked past them, inspecting the twelve other people huddled together in the shadows of the alley.
[Human Lv 4]
[Human Lv 3]
[Human Lv 5]
'Interesting', Lu Zhang noted silently. His original group of refugees, the ones they had pulled out from the library, were all Level 1 or 2, if even that. They were weak, terrified, and entirely dependent. This new group had clearly seen action, or at the very least, had survived long enough in the city to naturally level up with the environment thanks to unplanned encounters.
"Let go of her, Dajian," Lu Zhang ordered.
Cai Dajian lifted his knee, stepping back but kept her bat firmly in hand. The teenage girl gasped for air, pushing herself off the dirt. She dusted off her knees, her eyes darting between Lu Zhang, Dajian, and Su Yao.
"I'm Arthur," the gruff man said, letting out a shaky breath of relief. "Thank you. We've been running for days."
"Elena," the girl added quickly.
She stepped around Arthur, moving closer to Lu Zhang. She was surprisingly clean compared to the rest of her group. Her clothes were relatively intact, and she possessed a delicate, striking beauty that seemed entirely out of place in the ruined city.
"How did your group survive so long in the city center?" Lu Zhang asked, his tone perfectly flat.
Elena answered before Arthur could open his mouth. "Luck," she said softly, her voice trembling. She looked down at her hands. "We just kept running. Whenever the beasts found us... Well, there were more of us yesterday. The monsters got distracted by the slow ones. We just kept running."
Cai Dajian frowned deeply, his grip tightening on his weapon. He watched Elena closely as she spoke to Lu Zhang, she subtly adjusted her position, standing just a fraction closer to him than what was naturally polite.
'She's suspicious,' Dajian realized, his jaw clenching. He looked at Lu Zhang, waiting for the leader to say anything. But Lu Zhang simply turned his back on them. Dajian held his tongue. Without proof, speaking out of turn would only cause chaos.
Su Yao watched the exchange with blank, chilling eyes. She knew a little bit of what Elena was doing. She was a parasite latching onto a stronger host. But unlike Su Yao, who offered absolute rationality and utility, Elena was offering nothing but a fragile facade, another burden. Su Yao looked away, entirely uninterested in a defective product that couldn't even demonstrate its worth properly.
"We are heading out of the city," Lu Zhang announced to the combined group, his voice echoing in the quiet street. "You can join us if you want, or continue on your own."
The groups merged awkwardly, inflating their numbers to nearly two dozen people. The dynamic between the survivors immediately shifted. Some of the new survivors with higher levels, took the safer positions in the middle of the formation, pushing the original, weaker refugees toward the dangerous flanks. Others, including Arthur, Elena and three burly men in bloodstained clothes, stayed further out to help with protection.
They resumed their trek toward the city limits. The path was supposed to circumvent the massive, sprawling industrial sector of the city, steering clear of the giant iron factories that loomed in the distance like dark metal mountains.
As they walked, Elena made it a point to stay directly behind Lu Zhang.
When a stray Level 6 Spider lunged from an overturned car, Lu Zhang didn't even break his stride. An Empty Fang materialized, cleanly decapitating the beast in a spray of dark blood.
"That was amazing," Elena gasped loudly, excitement visible on her face. "I couldn't even see you move. It was like Whoosh!"
Lu Zhang did not look back at her exaggerated hero worship.
'It's just a Game,' he reminded himself as they followed the predetermined path.
Man plans, God laughs.
A massive shadow suddenly swept over the street, plunging them into momentary darkness.
A heavy gust of wind slammed into the group as it passed over them, kicking up dust and ash. Cai Dajian immediately raised his pipe, stepping in front of Anne. Su Yao raised her palm, a spark of flame igniting at her fingertips.
High above them, circling leisurely in the overcast sky, was a creature that defied the natural order.
[Gale-Crested Stryx Lv 11]
It was a colossal bird of prey, barely reminiscient of a owl. Its feathers were a metallic, razor-sharp silver, reflecting the dull light of the burning city. Its wingspan was wide enough to completely cover the thin alleyway they were in.
Lu Zhang stopped, his eyes locking onto the beast. His muscles tensed, the familiar spark of predatory excitement warring with his cold logic.
The Stryx did not dive. Instead, it swooped down gracefully toward a nearby rooftop, its massive talons snatching a Level 5 Laconian that had been watching them from above. The giant dog yelped in terror as it was hauled hundreds of feet into the air.
With a sickening crunch, the bird snapped the dog's spine and simply let go.
The heavy corpse plummeted from the sky, smashing into the asphalt mere feet away from Elena. She yelped, burying her face into the back of Lu Zhang's jacket.
A sharp, mocking caw echoed from the clouds.
"It's playing with us," Su Yao stated clinically, her flame extinguishing to save mana. "It knows we can't reach it up there."
Lu Zhang stared at the sky. He could easily use Double Jump to reach the rooftops, but launching himself into the open air against a highly mobile, flying Level 11 bird of prey was a tactical error. He had no solid footing in the sky. If he missed his strike, the fall would leave him entirely exposed.
"Change of plans," Lu Zhang ordered, his eyes never leaving the circling shadow. "We aren't circumventing the factories. We're going inside."
They abandoned the open road, rushing toward the massive, corrugated steel structures of the industrial zone. The Stryx continued to harass them, diving low enough to let them feel the wind from its razor-sharp wings, but never committing to a lethal strike. It was enjoying the terror it was inflicting, letting out it's cawing laughter.
They reached the largest of the iron factories, slipping through a rusted, half-open door.
The interior was cavernous and dark, smelling heavily of rust, old oil, and dust. Massive, silent machines loomed in the shadows like dormant metal beasts. The ceiling was incredibly high, supported by thick steel beams. The entire upper half of the factory's southern wall was made of thick, reinforced glass panes, allowing the fading evening light to cast long, eerie shadows across the factory floor.
"We stay here for the night," Lu Zhang commanded, gesturing to a clear area between two massive conveyor belts. "It probably won't reach us in here."
The group collapsed onto the cold concrete floor, entirely exhausted. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife. The original refugees huddled together, casting nervous glances at Elena and her quiet companions, who had already claimed the most comfortable spot near a large wooden platform.
Arthur sat alone near the entrance, keeping a watchful eye on the dark corners of the factory.
Lu Zhang sat on a heavy metal crate, crossing his arms. He closed his eyes, as if meditating, but his mind was giddy with anticipation at the thought of facing the Stryx, running through the variables of the inevitable fight. Conveniently, it was as if he had never entered his house earlier in the day.
Hours passed in suffocating silence. The sun completely set, plunging the factory into near-total darkness, illuminated only by the pale moonlight filtering through the massive glass wall high above.
Most of the group had fallen into a restless, terrified sleep, when suddenly, the factory floor began to vibrate slightly.
Lu Zhang's eyes snapped open.
A deafening, explosive crash shattered the silence. The glass wall high above them exploded inward, showering the factory floor with thousands of jagged, deadly shards.
A piercing, ear-splitting scream echoed through the cavernous space, forcing everyone to cover their ears in agony.
The Gale-Crested Stryx had grown tired of playing hide and seek.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Name: Lu Zhang]
[Level: 10 (First Limit)]
[Strength: 26]
[Speed: 59]
[Intelligence: 28]
[Endurance: 26]
[Stat Points: 15]
[Mana: 280/280]
[Skills: Inspect lv 5, Empty Fang Lv 7, Double Jump Lv 4, Mandate Lv 1, Devour Lv 3]