Night fell without asking anyone.
The city base was still loud, but the loud changed. Less screaming. More arguing. More orders. More crying that people tried to hide.
Floodlights made the rain look like thin needles. The air smelled like wet clothes, blood, and smoke from burning trash.
Luo Yan followed Lan Huan through the lanes between containers. Qin Yi stayed close, quiet now, his earlier smile gone. He looked pale, like using his illusion had taken more out of him than he wanted to show.
Lan Huan didn't walk like he was exploring. He walked like he already owned a route.
He Li and He Chenyu were waiting where the noise was lower, under a tarp tied between two containers. Both stood up the moment they saw Lan Huan.
"Sir," He Chenyu said.
"General," He Li added.
Luo Yan had only heard their names before. Seeing them made it real. They looked like soldiers who had slept in their boots for years.
Lan Huan nodded. "You two are staying with me," he said. No greeting. No softness.
He Li's eyes flicked to Luo Yan. Fast scan. "New?"
Lan Huan's voice stayed flat. "Luo Yan. Void."
He Li's face tightened just a little.
He Chenyu's eyes narrowed. "Rare," he said quietly.
Luo Yan hated that word already.
Lan Huan looked at Qin Yi. "Qin Yi. Illusion."
He Li's eyes sharpened. "What kind?"
Qin Yi's mouth twitched. "The kind that makes people stupid."
He Li didn't laugh.
He Chenyu shifted his duffel strap. "Sir, I got a container," he reported. "Not official. But it's dry. One door."
Lan Huan nodded. "Good."
They moved again. Not running. Not relaxed either. Like the base could change its mind at any second.
When they reached the container, Lan Huan checked the corners before stepping in. Inside was empty except for a tarp on the floor and one crate turned into a seat.
He Chenyu pulled out two bottles of water and a few ration packs from his bag.
Luo Yan stared. "You had those this whole time?"
He Chenyu looked at him like that was a dumb question. "Yes."
Qin Yi sat down hard and rubbed his head. "If anyone asks, I'm dead," he said.
Lan Huan didn't sit. He ate standing.
Luo Yan forced himself to eat too. The ration was dry and salty. It felt like chewing paper.
He swallowed and said, "We need real food."
He said it without thinking.
Lan Huan's eyes flicked to him. "Can you make it?"
Luo Yan hesitated. "If we have a pot and heat."
Lan Huan nodded once. "Tomorrow."
He Li spoke, quiet. "Sir, the fence is weak on the east," he said. "Too many civilians. If there's a push, it breaks."
Lan Huan nodded. "At dawn we check it."
He Chenyu added, "Zhao Qingshan is holding the base together, but his men are stretched. He's already making rules."
Luo Yan swallowed. "Who's Zhao?"
Lan Huan answered, "Commander. City military."
He Li's eyes narrowed. "Rules are coming," he said. "Awakened will get grouped. Assigned."
Qin Yi muttered, "Caged."
Lan Huan ignored the word and looked at Luo Yan. "You said cores drop," he said.
Luo Yan's fingers curled in his pocket around the two cores he'd picked up earlier. "Yes," he said. "Not every zombie, but… enough."
Lan Huan held out his hand. "Show me."
Luo Yan hesitated, then took them out.
The cores were small. Hard. A little warm in his palm.
He Li leaned closer. He Chenyu's eyes narrowed.
Qin Yi stared like he was looking at a winning lottery ticket.
Lan Huan didn't react much. He just said, "How do they work?"
"I don't know fully," Luo Yan said. "But I think awakened can absorb them. To upgrade."
He Li's voice was sharp. "Think?"
Luo Yan met his eyes. "I only read—" he stopped himself.
Lan Huan's gaze snapped to him.
Luo Yan swallowed. "I only know what I saw," he corrected fast. "I picked them up. They felt… useful. Like they fit."
Lan Huan didn't push. He just held out his hand again. "One," he said.
Luo Yan gave him one core.
Lan Huan held it for a moment. Then he closed his fist around it.
Nothing happened.
He opened his hand. The core was still there.
He Li let out a tight breath. "So not that simple."
Lan Huan's eyes stayed calm. "Or not that way," he said.
Qin Yi muttered, "Try not crushing it."
He Li shot him a look.
Luo Yan swallowed. "I think you need to focus," he said. "Like… call your power."
Lan Huan looked at the core again. He didn't close his fist. He just breathed once, slow.
A tiny crackle of lightning flashed between his fingers.
The core warmed.
Then it dimmed. Like a candle going out.
Lan Huan's hand opened.
The core had turned grey and empty.
He Li went still. "It worked."
He Chenyu stared. "You absorbed it."
Lan Huan's face didn't change, but his eyes sharpened. "So it's real," he said.
Luo Yan's stomach dropped.
Because if it was real, it would spread. Not tonight maybe. But soon.
And people would kill for it.
Lan Huan looked at all of them. "We don't talk about cores," he said. "Not to anyone."
Bai Ling wasn't here yet. Feng Yue wasn't here yet. The team was small, but the rule was already set.
He Li nodded. "Yes, sir."
He Chenyu nodded too.
Qin Yi made a small salute with two fingers. "Mouth shut."
Luo Yan nodded, but his heart was still racing.
Lan Huan's voice lowered. "Tomorrow morning," he said, "we find a pot. We find fuel. You cook."
Luo Yan blinked. "Me?"
Lan Huan's gaze held. "If you feed people, they fight better," he said. "And they think less about taking from each other."
Luo Yan swallowed. "Okay."
Outside, the base noise dipped for a moment.
Then a long, low scream rose from the fence line.
Not human.
Everyone in the container went still.
He Li moved to the door and listened.
His face tightened. "East," he said.
Lan Huan's storm pressure rose like he'd been waiting for it. "Up," he said.
They moved out into the rain.
And as they ran toward the east fence, Luo Yan felt his system chime inside his head, crisp and private.
Ding.
DAY 0 MISSION: HOLD UNTIL DAWN
Objective: Survive Night One and keep your unit intact
Time Limit: 06:12:00
Reward: Storage (Preservation) unlock + basic capacity
Reward: Recipe Template: HOT SALT CONGEE (Basic)
The scream rose again.
And this time, it was closer.