Near the safe zone exit, Thuong Sinh stood ready to depart.
His backpack was light and compact, his sword strapped to his waist. He stood tall, looking like someone long accustomed to stepping out of such gates alone.
Van Binh leaned against the steel railing, arms crossed over his chest. He scanned Thuong Sinh from head to toe, frowning. "Are you really not going to let me follow you?"
"No," Thuong Sinh replied curtly. "I told you, it's an independent mission. Only I am permitted to leave."
Van Binh clicked his tongue. "Damn it, you're always like this. Rushing out alone—if something happens—"
"Nothing will happen," Thuong Sinh interrupted, his gaze calm. "This is what I need to do."
Van Binh stared at him for a few more seconds as if to argue, but finally let out a heavy sigh and looked away. "Fine. Just make sure you come back alive."
On the other side, Minh Thong and Thanh Tien had also heard the news.
Minh Thong walked up and pressed a small packet into Thuong Sinh's hand. "Emergency medicine. It's not much, but it might save your life in a crisis."
Thanh Tien didn't say much, only nodding with a deep voice: "The outskirts aren't like they used to be. If it looks bad, retreat."
Thuong Sinh accepted it and nodded slightly. "I know."
No more words were spoken.
The gate guard looked at him, checked his mission tag one last time, and signaled. The heavy steel gate slowly ground open, the sound of metal friction echoing dryly through the early morning air.
A wind blew in from outside, carrying the scent of dust, rust, and a familiar smell—the smell of death.
Thuong Sinh stepped forward.
Behind him, Van Binh suddenly called out, "Hey!"
He stopped and turned his head.
Van Binh smiled, though his grin lacked its usual playfulness. "Don't make me go out there to collect your body."
Thuong Sinh's lips curved slightly, but he didn't answer. He turned and stepped through the gate.
Thud—!
The gate closed behind him.
Inside was the noisy safe zone, filled with people and lights. Outside was the total opposite: a sprawling, ruined city where collapsed buildings were submerged in thin mist.
Thuong Sinh stood still for a heartbeat, then moved on. He left the outermost line of defense, his pace slowing as the signs of the safe zone behind him vanished.
He headed southwest.
That wasn't a direction usually assigned to zombie-hunting teams. The area was an old residential district mixed with abandoned factories—labyrinthine streets, poor visibility, and rarely patrolled due to the extreme danger.
The morning sunlight was sliced into fragments by the concrete ruins, falling onto the ground in mottled patches. Wind whistling through the gaps in the buildings sounded like long, weary sighs.
Thuong Sinh was in no hurry, keeping a steady pace. His sword remained sheathed, but his hand rested on the hilt, ready to strike at any moment.
He had walked for less than half an hour when he stopped.
Ahead was a large intersection that had almost entirely collapsed, vehicles piled up like mounds of steel carcasses. On the road surface, drag marks stretched toward an alley on the left.
The blood wasn't fresh, but it wasn't ancient either. Thuong Sinh knelt, lightly touching the ground. His finger paused.
"Something is here..."
He stood up, his eyes tracing the alley. The air here was unnaturally quiet. There were no scattered growls, no aimlessly wandering shadows.
It was too clean. Thuong Sinh turned into the narrow alley; after only a few steps, a pungent, metallic stench hit him. Before him were zombies piled on top of one another, most of them torn apart. Some were missing their upper halves, others had their chests crushed with ribs exposed—yet there were no signs of sharp weapon wounds.
He looked around. No crystals.
"They've been eaten clean," Thuong Sinh whispered, his grip on the sword hilt tightening.
Right then, a very faint sound came from the end of the alley—not a growl, but the sound of concrete being crushed underfoot.
Thuong Sinh looked up.
A tall, dark figure stepped out from the shadows, its frame nearly blocking the entire alleyway. Muscles bulged beneath deep gray skin, its two long arms hung low, and its claws scraped against the ground with an ear-piercing screech.
Its dark red eyes locked onto him.
Without hesitation, the creature crouched and lunged.
Boom—!
The ground cracked beneath its first stride.
Thuong Sinh drew his sword. Instead of retreating, his blade flashed the moment the monster reached him, an upward diagonal slash aimed directly at its throat.
Rip—!
Black blood sprayed, and the massive body jerked to a halt.
But it wasn't dead. The monster let out a dull roar, sweeping its hand—large as a steel fan—horizontally. Thuong Sinh leaned away, but the shockwave still caught him. His body skidded several meters, his back slamming hard into a wall.
Boom!
The concrete fractured.
He propped himself up with his sword, his breathing a bit heavy as he scolded himself. "Careless."
The monster stumbled a step, then tilted its head back and shrieked.
The shriek wasn't loud, but it was sustained, vibrating like low-frequency sound waves that pierced through the ruins and spread far into the distance.
Thuong Sinh's heart sank.
One second. Two seconds.
Then, from all directions of the small alleys, heavy footsteps began to echo one after another.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
Two shadows appeared first. Then two more from behind.
A total of four. They surrounded him, leaving Thuong Sinh no way out.
Thuong Sinh was officially besieged.
The first one, blood still streaming from its neck, kept its dark red eyes locked on him before charging like a moth to a flame.
Thuong Sinh spun and delivered a horizontal slash, his sword intent exploding as the creature's head flew off. But the moment his blade stopped, a massive impact struck him from behind.
Crack.
A faint sound of something breaking rang out in his chest.
Thuong Sinh spat out a mouthful of blood, his body rolling across the ground. Before he could stand, claws slammed down right beside his head.
He rolled away in the nick of time, a chunk of his hair torn off.
He swung his sword again.
"Blade Wind · Slash"
One lunging creature had its head severed on the spot by the sword intent. After the move, he caught a glimpse of another creature swinging its claws at him from behind.
Thuong Sinh was forced to use his movement technique to evade.
"Phantom Steps"
Thuong Sinh's figure split, two blurred images overlapping as his body glided across the ground. The claws tore through the air, only catching an afterimage and leaving deep gouges in the concrete behind him.
But he hadn't even stabilized yet.
The third creature lunged from the right into the opening, as if it had seen through the rhythm of his movement.
Boom!
Thuong Sinh's left shoulder took the hit. His bones vibrated violently, his arm went numb, and his sword nearly slipped from his grasp.
He gritted his teeth, forcing his body to pivot, and drove the sword tip straight into the creature's eye socket.
Thwack!
But just as he withdrew the blade, the fourth creature was upon him. No gaps, no room to breathe.
Thuong Sinh was knocked backward, his back hitting the ground hard as his vision went dark. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his collar.
"Cough..."
He leaned on his sword, trying to stand.
Too late.
A dark shadow loomed over him, claws descending toward his chest.
In that instant, Thuong Sinh's eyes turned completely cold.
"It's time."
He relaxed his movement technique.
The Essence in his body was forcibly drained and poured entirely into the tip of his sword.
"Blade Wind · Ultimate Form"
No complexity, no flair—just a single straight slash.
The Essence was compressed to the limit and shot out like an invisible blade, piercing through the body of the creature pouncing down.
Zip—!
From left shoulder to right hip, its body was sliced in two, collapsing to either side.
At the same time, Thuong Sinh was struck by the residual force, flying back and rolling several times. He spat out mouthfuls of blood.
Only one remained.
It stood still, growling fiercely, but it didn't charge immediately. Its dark red eyes stared at him as if evaluating him.
Thuong Sinh knelt on one knee, his sword stabbed into the ground, his entire body trembling. His Essence was nearly depleted, his meridians burning as if they were about to crack.
499/500.
Still that number.
The monster roared and lunged one last time, no longer dodging.
Thuong Sinh looked up.
The moment the claws were about to touch his head, he let go of his sword and pressed his palms together in front of his chest. The remaining Essence was no longer circulated according to the technique; it was forcibly compressed—pressed so hard his body throbbed with pain.
Boom—
Inside his body, something shattered.
It was the sensation of that invisible wall, which had stood for days, finally cracking wide open.
Thuong Sinh opened his eyes and pushed his hands outward. An invisible force exploded in front of him.
The monster was blasted backward, slamming hard into a wall with the sound of snapping bones. Before it could stand, the sword was back in Thuong Sinh's hand.
A final strike.
The air in the alley went silent, blood dripping.
Thuong Sinh stood there, his body aching, but for the first time, his breathing was fluid. The Essence in his body no longer stopped at the old wall; it was circulating on its own.
Slow, but steady.
He closed his eyes.
"Finally..."
The door had been pushed open.
Thuong Sinh stood still for a moment longer—not to rest, but to observe his surroundings. The wind blew through the dark alley, carrying the scent of blood. In the more distant alleys, he could hear faint growls echoing—deep, disjointed, and approaching.
He looked down at the corpses on the ground. Within their chests, a faint red light flickered—crystals. He only had to reach out... but Thuong Sinh immediately looked away.
"Not the time."
He turned and, without looking back, blurred out of the alley.
His figure was no longer as frantic as before. Although his Essence had not fully recovered, each step was lighter and more stable. The heavy sensation that had clung to him for days had vanished.
He crossed two streets, avoiding open areas, and followed a row of semi-collapsed buildings, finally stopping in front of an abandoned subway maintenance station.
The iron door was tilted, and the interior was pitch black. No scent of blood, no fresh tracks.
Safe.
Thuong Sinh pulled the door shut, barring it with a broken steel rod before heading deeper inside. In the basement, an old technical room appeared—thick concrete walls and a narrow ventilation slot just large enough to let in a sliver of light.
He sat down and took a deep breath.
The Essence in his body circulated naturally, without needing guidance, spreading through his meridians lap after lap. The bottleneck was broken, but his realm had yet to be consolidated.
He opened the Shop interface.
[ Pill · Essence Condensation Pill ]
Thuong Sinh selected the purchase. The pill suddenly appeared before him; he immediately snatched the small, ivory-white round pill. Covered in a faint layer of light, its appearance caused the surrounding air to vibrate slightly.
Without hesitation, he swallowed it.
The pill dissolved the moment it touched his throat, turning into a warm stream of heat that flooded down into his Dantian.
Boom—!
The Essence that had been flowing calmly suddenly turned violent. It began to condense, like boiling water being forced into a smaller vessel.
His meridians stretched—painful, but not breaking. The pill's power pressed the Essence bit by bit, beginning to gather it toward a single point.
The Dantian.
Thuong Sinh gritted his teeth, cold sweat running down his spine.
One breath. Two breaths.
Then, Boom—!
A dull explosion rang out from within his body. The Essence was no longer the raw "Qi" of the Body Tempering stage; it was giờ là True Essence.
Thuong Sinh opened his eyes, a flash of light flickering deep within his pupils before quickly receding.
His breathing slowly stabilized, his entire body felt lighter, and every cell seemed to have been washed clean. He raised his hand, and a thin thread of True Essence condensed at his fingertip—stable, unwavering, and perfectly controlled.
Thuong Sinh spoke softly, his voice barely a whisper:
"Essence Gathering."