The next day.
The main gate of the safe zone opened wide, busier than usual. Teams of Ability users gathered, checked their gear, received their missions, and departed. The sound of chatter mixed with the clashing of metal created the familiar rhythm of the morning.
Thuong Sinh stood alone before the gate.
He didn't lean against the wall or rest on the railing; he simply stood straight. His sword was strapped to his hip, and the Gale Leather Armor clung tightly to his frame. From a distance, he projected a completely different aura than in days past.
He did nothing, yet the eyes of others constantly drifted toward him.
Someone walking past lowered their voice: "That's him..."
The surrounding whispers were quiet. The looks directed his way were no longer just wary; there were gazes of evaluation, curiosity, and even admiration.
Van Binh stood a few steps away, arms crossed with a helpless expression. He tilted his head and whispered, "I'm telling you, the pressure of standing next to you right now is immense."
Thuong Sinh glanced at him. "You could stand further away."
Van Binh chuckled softly. "No, no. If I stand further away, it'll just look like I'm the servant of the 'Madman'."
As soon as he finished, several eyes nearby flickered toward him, and he immediately shut his mouth.
Not long after, the first to appear was Van Thieu. He stepped out of the crowd, his combat attire immaculate. Just by standing there, several people nearby instinctively made way. Van Thieu looked at Thuong Sinh and spoke:
"Glad to see you again. I didn't expect you to choose our group to accompany you."
Thuong Sinh looked at him and nodded. "Likewise."
It was a succinct response, as if the two were more accustomed to standing on the same battlefront than making small talk. Van Thieu's lips twitched into a very faint, almost imperceptible smirk.
The second to arrive was Lam Thanh Moc. She took half a step forward, standing beside Van Thieu. Her gaze swept over the scar on Thuong Sinh's right eye. "Is your injury stable?"
"It's fine now."
Lam Thanh Moc said nothing more and nodded, as if she had already anticipated the answer.
One by one, the remaining two arrived. Thanh Dao and So Sinh took their familiar positions. No one said much; the formation closed naturally, the distance between each person perfect for combat.
Van Binh saw this and laughed. "Seems like I don't need to do introductions this time."
This mission didn't just include their group; several other squads were present, though they would be scouting different directions surrounding Thuong Sinh's designated area.
At that moment, a middle-aged man led a group toward Thuong Sinh. He wore a long black robe over white inner clothing, with a large saber strapped to his back. His members followed closely behind.
"Hello. You must be Thuong Sinh, right?"
The middle-aged man's voice carried no malice, but no warmth either. His gaze lingered on the scar on Thuong Sinh's eye for a beat longer before sweeping over the sword at his hip.
Before Thuong Sinh could reply, the man continued, looking directly at him: "I am the captain of Team 3. My name is Phan Tan Trung."
He gestured to the five people behind him. It appeared this entire squad consisted of Ability users. None looked down on Thuong Sinh's group, but they weren't friendly either.
"Regarding the southwest direction this time," he spoke bluntly. "We have been assigned to the outer perimeter. But your route coincides with the path where the scouting signal was lost."
His gaze grew more serious. "The higher-ups mentioned you've traveled through there once."
"Yeah," Thuong Sinh replied.
Just one word. Tan Trung didn't ask for further details and merely nodded.
"Good. We will maintain our distance. If anything happens, we will provide backup."
Having said that, he didn't wait for a response, turning to lead his team away. He was very decisive.
Van Binh watched their departing backs and muttered, "That man isn't simple."
"Indeed," Van Thieu agreed.
The morning wind blew through the safe zone gate, carrying the scent of rust and incinerated zombie remains. A short siren blast rang out from the command tower.
It was the order to depart.
The teams left the gate one by one, scattering toward their pre-assigned directions. Team 7 was in no rush. Only when the crowd had thinned did Van Thieu nod and take the lead for the group.
They left the outermost line of defense and exited the safe zone. Their pace slowed as the familiar sight of the defensive gates vanished behind them.
The group began heading southwest. About an hour later, the terrain began to change. Collapsed buildings appeared more frequently, the road surface was fractured, and weeds grew through the concrete. A faint metallic stench lingered in the wind.
Thanh Dao suddenly raised her hand, and the group froze instantly. She closed her eyes to sense the surroundings for a moment before reopening them.
"There are sounds of movement ahead, but it's not a swarm."
Lam Thanh Moc was currently sensing the surrounding flora. Slender vines crept through cracks in the pavement, moving slowly.
"It's not just one," she whispered. "Disconnected movements, irregular distances."
Van Thieu signaled with his hand, and the team immediately spread out into their familiar formation. No one spoke; there was only the dry sound of boots touching the ground in a steady, light rhythm.
So Sinh crouched low, his eyes scanning the dark gaps between two collapsed buildings. His body was tense like a predator stalking prey. His leopard transformation wasn't active yet, but his reflexes were primed.
Van Binh swallowed and lowered his voice. "This doesn't feel like stray zombies."
Thanh Dao didn't answer, only gave a very slight shake of her head.
Thuong Sinh stood in the middle of the formation, his sword unsheathed. He closed his eyes for a beat, circulating his breath. The wind gathered very thinly around him—not enough to create a noticeable vibration, just enough to bring back sensations.
Something was avoiding them. It wasn't the instinct of a common zombie. It was the habit of something accustomed to hunting humans.
"Stop," Thuong Sinh said softly.
The group froze instantly.
At that exact moment, from the second floor of a leaning building ahead, a very faint scratching sound echoed, like claws scraping over concrete.
Before they could pinpoint the direction, a dark figure plummeted.
It didn't roar or lunge directly. It landed on all fours—a thin, elongated body with dark gray skin. Its head looked up, twisted at an unnatural angle.
Mid-tier zombie.
But it wasn't alone. From the alleys on both sides, two more figures stumbled out. Their movements weren't fast, but they were consciously maintaining their distance.
"Three of them."
"Maintain formation," Van Thieu replied. No one rushed to strike.
Thuong Sinh took half a step forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, but he did not draw it. He was observing. These three zombies showed no signs of mutation; they were ordinary mid-tier zombies. When his gaze swept over them, one of them retreated half a step.
Just half a step, but it was enough to judge: they were survivors who had lasted quite a while, not newly turned mid-tier ones.
Lam Thanh Moc clenched her hand slightly. Vines began to crawl up the walls, but she hadn't bound them yet, waiting for a signal.
Van Binh licked his lips. "Finish them cleanly?"
Van Thieu nodded.
The moment the nod fell like an order, he lunged forward. The ground beneath his feet rippled slightly, spreading out like a spiderweb. A block of concrete suddenly surged upward, blocking the retreat of the zombie in front of him.
So Sinh leaped, his movements as fast as a hunting leopard. Claws flashed, slicing the neck of the creature before him, but the cut wasn't deep enough to kill it. As it counterattacked, So Sinh immediately flipped in mid-air and retreated.
Lam Thanh Moc raised her hand, and vines shot out from the wall cracks, tightly binding the other two zombies, giving them no chance to move.
The injured one turned and shrieked. A bolt of brilliant gold lightning flashed—a terrifying surge of electricity that charred it instantly. Its body was blackened into small, scorched fragments; Van Binh had unleashed a palm strike.
Behind them, Thuong Sinh was astonished. He hadn't realized that during this time, he wasn't the only one getting stronger; the others were also improving day by day.
Suddenly, he remembered what Van Binh had told him: thanks to the red crystals extracted from mid-tier zombies, his lightning ability had become easier to control and significantly more powerful. At the time, he had only half-listened, but now he saw it clearly.
The three zombies fell under the group's coordinated effort. The smell of scorched flesh and blood mingled in the air. No one was panting, and no one looked relieved.
Thanh Dao quickly stepped forward, closed her eyes to sense again, and then opened them. "No more movement nearby."
Van Thieu retracted his ability, and the ground settled as if it had never been torn open.
Thuong Sinh's gaze rested on the corpses of the three mid-tier zombies. He leaned over and used the tip of his sword to flip the neck of one over.
Old marks.
Not bite marks from their own kind, but shallow yet clean wounds.
"They were injured before, and not by other zombies," Thuong Sinh said.
The group fell silent. Lam Thanh Moc clenched her hand, and the vines slowly withdrew.
"Someone fought them before but didn't kill them."
"Or couldn't kill them," So Sinh added, his voice deep.
Thuong Sinh stood up, looking deeper into the ruined street. The wind blew past, carrying a thinner stench, but also something else—a very faint smell of old metal.
"The scouting team lost their signal... it might not have been a direct ambush."
"They were being tracked," Thanh Dao followed up.
Van Binh stepped forward with his dagger. "Whatever it was, we need to collect the crystals first."
Three crystals were extracted and placed neatly into a specialized containment bag.
Once finished, Van Thieu signaled to keep moving. The formation remained unchanged. Thuong Sinh now walked in front alongside Van Thieu, with Thanh Dao and Lam Thanh Moc in the middle, and Van Binh and So Sinh at the rear.
The deeper they went, the quieter it became. It wasn't a safe silence, but a compressed stillness, as if the entire block were holding its breath. The buildings on both sides grew shorter, interspersed with collapsed warehouses, tilted signs, and dangling, broken power lines. The sunlight was obscured by gray clouds, leaving only patches of light and shadow on the ground.
As they walked, Thanh Dao suddenly opened her eyes and looked to the right. "There's a large obstacle ahead."
Van Thieu stepped up and looked in the direction she indicated, nodding and raising his hand to slow down. "There's a fairly large vehicle in front of us."
"It's the scouting team's vehicle," Thanh Dao said, her voice dropping.
So Sinh tilted his head, sniffing the air. He hadn't transformed, but his nose still caught a faint scent of blood. "The smell of old blood, not fresh."
The group pressed on until they saw it clearly.
In the middle of the ruined intersection, an old armored vehicle lay on its side. The hull was riddled with holes, as if some object had latched onto it and bored dozens of holes into the interior. The side door had been torn open from the inside out. On the ground, dark streaks of dried blood led into a nearby alley.
Van Thieu stopped completely. "It really is their vehicle."
Thuong Sinh stood behind him, his eyes lingering on the holes in the vehicle's body. He slowly took a step forward, stopping at the edge of the blood trail.
"It wasn't a surprise ambush," Thuong Sinh said. The group turned to look at him. "They resisted and tried to retreat, but failed."
The tire tracks were skewed, and footprints were layered over each other; there were no signs of frantic, scattered panic.
Lam Thanh Moc tightened her grip. "If it were zombies, the scene would be messier."
So Sinh nodded. "And there would be bodies."
Thanh Dao looked toward the alley. "That thing isn't here anymore. I can't sense any organisms nearby."
Van Thieu was silent for a few seconds, then signaled not to advance further.
"We won't go deeper. Mark the location and report back to the safe zone."
His gaze rested on the alley one last time.
"Something is out there hunting."