After everyone gathered in front of the safe zone gate, the participants were divided into six-person teams.
Thuong Sinh and Van Binh were assigned to Team 7, which had been designated earlier.
Upon arriving at the squad's gathering area, Thuong Sinh glanced at the metal plaque hanging nearby to confirm the unit number before entering the perimeter marked by warning tape with Van Binh.
A few people were already waiting inside.
The first to catch his attention was a man with a buzz cut and a rugged build. He stood firmly on the concrete floor with his arms crossed over his chest. He cast a calm, silent glance at Thuong Sinh, saying nothing.
The other man stood slightly further back, with long hair tied low and wearing thin-rimmed glasses. His gaze scanned the surroundings as if committing every detail to memory.
On the other side stood two women.
One had her hair tied in a neat ponytail. She was slender and stood with a straight back, her hands resting on her hips. Even though she was doing nothing, the weeds growing near the edge of the wall vibrated slightly in the wind, appearing to react to her presence.
The other woman had a gentle face, her eyes narrowed as she observed every small detail of the gathering area, her gaze never lingering on one spot for too long.
Van Binh walked up behind Thuong Sinh, scanning the others in the area before glancing at Thuong Sinh.
"Thuong Sinh, you won't have to carry just me this time."
The man with the buzz cut nearby glanced at Van Binh with a sharp gaze but remained silent. He shifted his feet slightly on the ground.
The long-haired man with glasses pushed his frames up the bridge of his nose, his gaze flickering past Van Binh before lingering a bit longer on Thuong Sinh.
"Noisy."
A deep voice rang out. The one who spoke was the buzz-cut man.
Van Binh paused for half a beat upon hearing this, then looked him up and down with a chuckle. "Hello, new teammate. I was just talking for fun, why so tense?"
Thuong Sinh finally spoke, his voice calm: "Van Binh."
Just two words, but they were enough to make the other man shut his mouth.
On the women's side, the one with the ponytail remained still, quietly observing the entire squad. As her gaze swept across the ground beneath the feet of the buzz-cut man, the hair-thin vines by the wall trembled slightly before quickly settling down.
The girl pushed her glasses up, her eyes narrowed as if recording everyone's reactions.
The buzz-cut man stepped forward, his deep voice echoing: "If everyone is here, introduce yourselves first."
"My name is Van Thieu. My ability is Terrain Manipulation."
Following him, the long-haired man with glasses spoke:
"I am So Sinh. My ability is Transformation... specifically, a leopard."
The girl with the ponytail looked indifferent.
"I am Lam Thanh Moc. My ability is Plant Manipulation."
As soon as Lam Thanh Moc finished speaking, she controlled the vines around a nearby tree to stretch straight toward Van Binh.
The girl with glasses also introduced herself in a gentle voice.
"My name is Thanh Dao. My ability is Sensory Perception."
"And as for me, my ability is Lightning Manipulation," Van Binh announced enthusiastically.
The gazes of the others instinctively focused on Thuong Sinh. He was forced to speak.
"I am Thuong Sinh. A Transcendent."
His words immediately astonished everyone, except for Van Binh.
"A Transcendent? I didn't expect our group to have a Transcendent."
Lam Thanh Moc spoke in surprise, staring at Thuong Sinh a bit longer.
Van Thieu briefly showed a look of wariness, which he quickly suppressed.
Hearing this, So Sinh merely raised an eyebrow. His gaze behind the glasses lingered on Thuong Sinh for a beat before moving away. His voice remained steady:
"Whether you are a Transcendent or not, we will find out once we are outside."
Thanh Dao said nothing, but her narrowed gaze intensified as if she were sensing something about Thuong Sinh. After a moment, she withdrew her gaze, her expression unchanged.
The atmosphere of the squad settled.
Just then, the loudspeaker blared again:
"Team 7, prepare to depart."
Everyone turned their heads almost simultaneously.
Van Thieu took half a step forward, his eyes scanning each person, his voice decisive: "Maintain formation once we are out. Thanh Dao scouts ahead, Lam Thanh Moc controls the perimeter. I will clear the path."
No one objected.
Thuong Sinh moved silently into a position half a body length behind Van Thieu. Van Binh followed closely beside him, a smirk still hanging on the corner of his mouth.
The steel gate opened.
A cold wind rushed in.
The moment they stepped past the threshold of the steel gate, the surrounding air changed drastically. The smell of rust, ash, and the faint metallic stench left behind by previous zombie incinerations mixed together.
Thanh Dao paused for half a beat, closing her eyes for a split second before reopening them.
"Three hundred meters ahead, no life fluctuations. It seems safe."
Van Thieu nodded and led the group from the front. So Sinh observed the surroundings, poised to transform instantly if anything happened.
As Lam Thanh Moc walked, she sensed the surrounding plants; any movement would be known to her immediately.
Following his habit, Thuong Sinh walked with his hand resting on the sword at his hip. Van Binh walked beside him, looking around and exclaiming.
"Aiya! It's been a long time since I was outside. The air out here really is different."
Thuong Sinh replied with a short, curt sentence:
"Don't be careless."
The squad continued to push deeper into the heart of the city.
The distance from the safe zone gate grew further, obscured by rows of ruined high-rise buildings. Behind them were only empty, dust-covered streets.
Suddenly, Lam Thanh Moc's vines sensed movement and came to an abrupt halt.
Thanh Dao immediately opened her eyes, her voice dropping:
"There is movement."
As soon as Thanh Dao finished speaking, the whole group froze.
Van Thieu raised his hand, signaling a halt, and pressed his foot firmly against the ground. The concrete floor in front of them trembled slightly, and thin cracks spread forward like a spiderweb, yet they made no sound.
"Distance?" Van Thieu asked briefly.
"Two hundred meters ahead."
"There is motion," Thanh Dao continued, closing her eyes to listen to the surroundings. "Not fast, the rhythm is irregular. It could be zombies, but it's not just one."
Van Binh stepped closer to Thuong Sinh and said, "Doesn't seem good, does it?"
Thuong Sinh ignored him, focusing instead on the spiderweb-like cracks beneath Van Thieu's feet, his gaze lingering for a few beats.
Thanh Dao reopened her eyes, looking anxiously toward the back of a bus ahead, her voice urgent.
"They are moving toward our position."
No sooner had she spoken than zombies began to emerge from behind the bus, heading toward Thuong Sinh's group, putting everyone on high alert.
"Why are they coming toward us?"
A bead of sweat rolled down Lam Thanh Moc's temple. Her voice was suppressed, her eyes fixed on them.
At that moment, a zombie leaped onto the roof of the bus. Its head was mutated, missing half of its face, revealing a gaping mouth that stretched all the way to its ears. It stared at Thuong Sinh's group and let out a scream that echoed through the quiet area.
"AHHH—!!!"
The ear-piercing shriek caused Thanh Dao to fall to the ground in terror. All the surrounding zombies, as if possessed by a collective will, lunged toward Thuong Sinh's group.
"Snap out of it! Protect your teammate!"
The ground beneath Van Thieu's feet vibrated more violently.
"Stand firm!"
He shouted, stomping his foot hard once more. The concrete in front of them surged upward, forming a jagged earthen ridge that blocked the path of the first wave of zombies. A heavy collision rang out as several were thrown back, their broken bodies hitting the ground.
"Thanh Dao!"
Thuong Sinh turned his head instantly. Thanh Dao was still collapsed on the ground, her face pale, her hands trembling against the road surface.
Van Binh stepped forward, pulling her back into the center of the formation. His voice was sharp but not loud: "Look at me! Breathe deeply! Don't listen to that noise!"
The shrieks continued to echo. The zombie on the roof of the bus leaped down, its twisted body hitting the ground with a thud as its wide-open mouth continued to emit the piercing sound.
"They are luring us," Thuong Sinh said quickly. "It's not a coincidence."
Lam Thanh Moc gritted her teeth. The vines beneath her feet suddenly surged. From the cracks and roadside planters, they erupted, tightly binding the legs of several charging zombies and pulling them to the ground.
"They have a goal!" she said, her voice more stable. "That call is drawing others here!"
So Sinh did not hesitate any longer. His breathing deepened, his body contracting for a brief moment as his spine arched high and his muscles bulged.
"I'll handle that one!"
So Sinh lunged forward. Mid-air, his body twisted, his spine protruding, and his hands transformed into dark black claws. He plummeted down like an arrow.
Rip—!
The claws tore through the air, slashing directly from the crown of the head down to the chin of the zombie. The heavy impact slammed its body against the ground, crushing its head and cutting the scream short.
At the same time, the zombies in front had crossed the depressions in the road.
"On the left!" Thanh Dao screamed.
Van Thieu stomped hard on the ground.
Boom—!
The road surface cracked open, and a slab of concrete rose like a low wall, absorbing the full impact of two charging zombies.
Lam Thanh Moc raised her hand.
Vines shot upward, tightly binding the wrists and ankles of the ones behind, constricting tightly before yanking them backward. Several lost their balance and fell, piling on top of each other.
Thuong Sinh lunged forward, drawing his sword and swinging it in a clean arc that slashed across a neck.
Thud.
The head of one zombie rolled onto the ground. Without stopping, he spun to the right, the tip of his sword piercing straight through the eye socket of a second one, driving deep inside.
Thuong Sinh withdrew his blade, black blood splattering.
"Get back!"
From behind, Van Binh had gathered powerful electrical Essence in his hands, striking a bolt of lightning through the group of zombies bound by the vines.
Boom—!
Their bodies convulsed violently, black smoke rose, and a scorched smell filled the air.
So Sinh returned to the formation, turning his head to look. "The lururer is dead!"
But from deep within the alleys, other hoarse growls reached their ears, becoming more frequent.
Thanh Dao clenched her fists, her voice urgent: "There's more... they are coming faster!"
"Don't break formation!" Van Thieu shouted deeply. "They want to force us into chaos!"
Just then, from the darkness at the end of the alley, a tall figure stepped out slowly.
It was nearly half again as tall as a normal zombie. Its body was abnormally bloated, its dark gray skin bulging as veins pulsed beneath the surface. Its right arm was unnaturally elongated, with bone protruding like a scythe. Each step it took made the ground vibrate slightly.
Lam Thanh Moc looked at the zombie in front of her, trembling with fear. "What on earth is that!"
Thuong Sinh was also tense. "A mutated type..."
The scream from earlier clearly wasn't just to call a pack. It was to call it.
"I'll handle the noise sources," So Sinh said quickly, his body beginning to transform again. "If they keep screaming, they'll attract even more of them."
He finished speaking and lunged away, disappearing into the alley.
The space in front of the team was now occupied only by the mutated one.
It raised its head, its distorted nose twitching, and its soulless gaze locked onto the group.
It didn't rush. It was choosing its target.
Van Binh swallowed hard. "Thuong Sinh..."
"Get back," Thuong Sinh said.
He stepped forward alone, standing in front of the formation, slowly raising the sword in his hand.
The mutated one roared, its foot stomping hard on the ground. The road surface exploded as its massive body lunged forward like a cannonball.
At that exact moment, Thuong Sinh took a deep breath.
"Phantom Steps"
His figure suddenly blurred in an instant.
Boom—!
The bony arm slammed down, striking only an afterimage. The ground behind exploded, sending concrete fragments flying everywhere.
Thuong Sinh had already appeared at the flank of the mutated creature, the sword in his hand vibrating slightly.
"Blade Wind"
It wasn't a single slash, but sword intent.
Swish—!
An invisible gust of Blade Wind tore through the air, striking the exposed shoulder joint of the monster. The steel-hard skin was ripped apart, and the joint emitted a dry cracking sound.
The mutated creature roared in pain, swinging its other arm down in a crushing blow.
But Thuong Sinh was no longer there.
His figure glided across the ground, moving in three short, successive steps, each leaving a faint afterimage. In the moment the mutated one lost its balance due to the pain—
Thuong Sinh stomped his foot.
He swung the sword upward from below.
"Blade Wind · Slash"
Boom—!
An upward slash. The sword intent exploded, piercing straight from the lower jaw through half of the distorted head. It wasn't just a cut; it was a total tearing apart. Black blood erupted like a waterfall.
The mutated creature froze for exactly one beat.
Then its entire massive body collapsed onto the ground.
Boom—!
The road vibrated.
Thuong Sinh sheathed his sword, standing still. His breathing was steady, his expression unchanged.
From a distance, So Sinh's roar echoed: "The final scream source is handled!"
The tension finally dissipated, and the surroundings fell silent.
Van Thieu looked at the corpse of the mutated creature, his gaze deepening.
"Not an ordinary Transcendent."
Lam Thanh Moc swallowed hard.
Thanh Dao looked at Thuong Sinh, for the first time unable to hide the shock in her eyes. Her gaze lingered on the blade stained with black blood for a beat longer before she slowly withdrew it.
Thuong Sinh sheathed his sword with a clean motion. He turned his head and said one short sentence: "Clean up. Continue."
The surrounding air went still for a moment.
Van Binh finally burst out laughing, his hands on his hips as his gaze swept over the others who were still in a state of shock.
"Hahaha, look at that, look at that." "I told you, don't keep your eyes wide open like that when you're with him."
He tilted his head toward Lam Thanh Moc and Thanh Dao, laughing gleefully. "Our Transcendent... he's just like this normally. You'll get used to it, and it'll be less of a shock."
So Sinh had just landed from the opposite rooftop. He glanced at the corpse of the mutated creature lying motionless on the ground. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He said nothing, silently retracting his claws.
Van Thieu took a deep breath. His gaze toward Thuong Sinh was much more complex than before. He then turned and gave a low shout: "Clean up quickly. We can't stay here long."
The squad began to move again.