It was completely dark.
The wind blew through the cracks of the old building, carrying the familiar cold and the scent of mold. The flashlight placed on the floor was only enough to illuminate a small area, nowhere near enough to dispel the darkness.
Two people sat side by side.
They did not speak.
Thuong Sinh leaned his back against the wall, one leg extended and the other bent, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. His respiration was steadier than before, but inside, he was still suppressing something that refused to be still.
Lam Thanh Moc sat half an arm's length away. She intentionally kept that distance—not out of unfamiliarity, but out of fear that if she moved just a bit closer, she wouldn't have enough composure to pretend everything was fine.
She looked at his hand.
That hand had killed many things; it was also this very hand that just moments ago was stained with a deep purple that made her tremble. He was in great pain, she knew that.
She didn't need to look at a wound; the way he was trying to force that thing down was visible in its entirety. It wasn't control, but an acceptance of endurance.
A long while later, she spoke, her voice very small.
"Do you... always force yourself like this?"
Thuong Sinh did not open his eyes.
"Yes."
Lam Thanh Moc smiled slightly, very slightly.
"It's really unfair."
"....."
"You shoulder it all yourself, and then you expect others not to be afraid."
Thuong Sinh opened his eyes. His gaze in the darkness was heavy and deep, no longer red.
Lam Thanh Moc did not look away.
Thuong Sinh did not know what to say; he only looked at Lam Thanh Moc in silence for a long time.
Then he closed his eyes again.
"Sleep."
Only one word, but this was the first time in many nights that he allowed someone to sit beside him without needing to be on guard.
Lam Thanh Moc leaned against the wall and softly closed her eyes.
Neither of them slept deeply; they just closed their eyes, relaxed, and let time pass. Outside the broken window, the faint light of dawn gradually seeped in.
Thuong Sinh was the first to wake.
He opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling mottled with cracks, before slowly sensing a very light weight on his left arm.
Warm.
It was the steady breathing of another person. He stiffened slightly. In the first moment, his defensive instinct almost surged, but then he realized there was no killing intent. It was just Lam Thanh Moc leaning very close; her head was tilted slightly, her hair touching his sleeve.
Too close. So close that he didn't dare move; he didn't know what to do. Push her away? Unnecessary. He looked sideways. Lam Thanh Moc still had her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly—clearly, she wasn't sleeping deeply.
The morning sunlight shone on her face, making her features appear much softer, quite different from her usual composed appearance.
Thuong Sinh took a soft breath.
"...."
He decided to do nothing, but at that exact moment, Lam Thanh Moc also opened her eyes. Their gazes met at a distance so close they couldn't turn away in time.
One second.
Two seconds.
"Ah," she spoke first, her voice still a bit hoarse from just waking up.
Thuong Sinh looked away first.
"It's morning."
A redundant sentence, but he said it anyway.
Lam Thanh Moc looked at her arm leaning against him and retracted it very quickly.
"Sorry," she said immediately, almost instinctively.
"It's fine," Thuong Sinh replied rather quickly as well.
Both fell silent; the atmosphere was a bit strange. It wasn't teenage awkwardness, but the kind of not knowing how to proceed after a night where both understood they had crossed an invisible boundary.
Lam Thanh Moc adjusted her collar, turning her face in another direction.
"I fell asleep."
"Yes."
"I didn't mean to—"
"I know."
He interrupted her, his voice calm, but his ears were slightly hot.
Lam Thanh Moc laughed softly—not teasingly, just a tiny smile. "You always say less than what is necessary."
Thuong Sinh did not argue. He stood up first, put his coat back on, and turned his back to her.
"Get ready."
"Leaving early means fewer zombies."
"Mhm."
Lam Thanh Moc stood up after him, tied back her hair, and her gaze returned to its usual calm. But before going through the door, she paused for a beat, looking at his back. "Thuong Sinh."
He did not turn his head.
"Last night... there's no need to pretend it never happened."
He hesitated for a moment.
"I have no intention of pretending."
The door opened, the morning light flooded in, and the two stepped out. No one said anything more, but the distance between them was no longer as far as before.
The morning sunlight had not yet dispelled the early mist as Thuong Sinh and Lam Thanh Moc stopped at the head of an L-shaped alley.
The alley wasn't deep, but it was narrow. Between the brick walls, he suddenly heard a sound—not a scream, nor the sound of something being dragged.
Rather, it was a "click... click..." sound. It emitted very steadily, like a metal object lightly striking the pavement with every rhythm. From the intersection ahead, a gaunt figure stepped out.
Not tall, not massive. On the contrary, it was too thin—so thin that its spine and ribs were visible through its gray skin. Its arms were abnormally long, almost touching the ground, and its joints were bent incorrectly as if snapped backward.
Its head was bowed low, its neck elongated, but its eyes were wide open. They weren't clouded or soulless, but a pale yellow, constantly moving as if measuring distance.
The things creating that sound were bone fragments as thin as blades on its forearms and calves; with every step, they scraped against the road, making a metallic noise.
Most importantly, when it met Thuong Sinh and Lam Thanh Moc, it stood still. It didn't lunge immediately, nor did it make any other sound. It just tilted its head, observing as if it were learning how to kill.
Lam Thanh Moc felt her scalp go numb.
"This one..." she lowered her voice.
Thuong Sinh nodded slightly. He also realized this thing wasn't as strong as the one he killed yesterday afternoon, but it carried a sense of greater danger—perhaps because it was patient.
The mutated zombie shifted its foot slightly—just one step. But in that instant, the True Essence in Thuong Sinh's body fluctuated more intensely. It wasn't because of pressure, but the feeling of being targeted. This one wasn't attacking by instinct; it was locking onto the target in front of it.
It stopped.
Then it shifted another half-step, very slowly.
The distance between the two sides hadn't changed much, but Thuong Sinh knew that if he carelessly advanced even one beat, the current stance would be immediately broken.
The zombie tilted its head to the left, its neck elongating a bit more, the joints making a "crack" sound. Those pale yellow eyes flicked over Thuong Sinh, then past him to Lam Thanh Moc behind, pausing for a moment.
Thuong Sinh stepped half-sideways, completely blocking its line of sight.
Immediately, the creature's gaze returned to him.
Lam Thanh Moc gripped the bag at her side, her palms covered in cold sweat. She did not retreat, nor did she ask; she just stood still behind Thuong Sinh, but the sensation of being watched by it made her spine go numb.
"Be careful," she said very softly.
Thuong Sinh did not reply.
He drew his sword.
The white bandage was pulled down. At that moment, the mutated zombie crouched slightly lower, its long arms nearly touching the ground, the thin bone blades on its forearms lightly scratching the pavement.
Click...
The steady sound echoed again, as if counting the beats.
Thuong Sinh did not lunge. He kept his sword low, his gaze locked onto the opponent's shoulders and hips. This thing had no obvious muscle, but every movement carried a sense of pre-calculation.
Does this thing have intelligence?
The question suddenly appeared in Thuong Sinh's mind. The mutated zombie suddenly tilted its body—not moving forward, but shifting to the left, occupying the corner of the alley. At the same time, it lifted one leg very slowly, the bone blade on its calf lightly touching the ground, sounding like thin metal.
Thuong Sinh narrowed his eyes. it was forcing him into a disadvantageous position.
If he continued to stand still, he would be forced to fight in a narrower space. If he advanced now, his left flank would be exposed right within the reach of that long arm.
His True Essence vibrated slightly—not because it wanted to erupt, but because deviant thoughts began to stir. Thuong Sinh took a deep breath, forcing the Essence down, keeping his breathing stable. He remembered very clearly the words he said yesterday.
Not to use it, at least not in front of her.
The mutated zombie seemed to recognize that hesitation. It wasn't in a hurry; it just shifted another step and then stopped, its pale yellow eyes never leaving him for a single moment.
As if it knew that it just needed to wait a bit longer.
He rejected his previous thought—this thing definitely had more intelligence than other mutants he had met; it was analyzing and cornering him into a disadvantage.
He was forced to choose.
Thuong Sinh gripped the hilt tightly. This time he moved up, but not in a direct lunge. He spun his body, his toes sliding on the ground, changing the angle of approach, intentionally pulling the creature away from its favorable position.
The mutated zombie paused for a moment. It moved first—no roar, no direct charge. It stomped hard on the ground, its gaunt body shooting diagonally onto the brick wall to the left, the bone blades on its forearms sweeping across like cleavers.
Click—!
Thuong Sinh leaned against the wall to dodge; the bone blade grazed past his chest, leaving a thin scratch on the Gale Leather Armor.
He counterattacked immediately.
His sword-hand swung out, sword intent taking shape—a clean slash. The intent wasn't necessarily powerful, but it was sharp enough.
Clang!
The sword intent hit the bone, and sparks flew. The zombie did not retreat; its shoulder joint twisted unnaturally, and its other hand stabbed straight down from above.
Thuong Sinh retreated half a step. This thing was fast—too fast for its size.
Lam Thanh Moc held her breath; at this level of combat, she could not intervene.
The zombie did not pursue immediately. It landed, crouched low, and then vanished from sight. It didn't truly disappear; it stuck close to the ground, slithering against the alley wall.
Thuong Sinh frowned. He sensed it not with his eyes, but with the feeling of being locked on. It was on the left—no, behind!
He spun and slashed horizontally.
Zip!
A miss.
A gray shadow glided past his back; the bone blade scratched his shoulder, and blood spurted. Not much, but enough to hurt. In that moment, the blood essence in his body began to boil.
With just one thought—
Toxic blood could overflow, ending this fight in seconds.
Thuong Sinh stopped.
He clenched his teeth, forcing the current down, a sharp pain spreading through his meridians. The sword tip trembled in his hand, but he did not change his stance.
The zombie recognized the slowdown.
It stood straight for the first time since the start of the engagement, its neck elongating, its yellow eyes shining with eagerness.
It lunged.
Thuong Sinh did not retreat. He stepped straight into the path of the attack, his sword held vertically, and "Sword Kinesis" activated.
Just as the bone blade was about to touch his chest, he rotated his wrist. The sword flipped, and the tip pierced through the creature's deformed knee joint.
Crack!
The figure lost its support and collapsed. Thuong Sinh gave it no chance to rise again. He stepped forward and drove the sword tip straight into the back of its neck.
Finished.
The small alley returned to silence. Thuong Sinh stood still for a few breaths, blood dripping from his shoulder. A purple hue briefly appeared and was then forced to dissipate.
The zombie had fallen, the echoes of the combat had not yet faded, but Lam Thanh Moc did not look at the corpse.
Her gaze was on Thuong Sinh's shoulder. She had seen it very clearly—not the finishing blow, but the moment before. When the blood essence in his body surged, if only for an instant, not overflowing, but enough to make the air around him turn cold. That wasn't mere killing intent; it was something familiar... and dangerous.
She stepped forward, unhurried.
"Your shoulder."
Thuong Sinh bowed his head to look at the wound, intending to say it was fine, but Lam Thanh Moc had already raised her hand, lightly touching his arm, and pulling him down to sit on the steps against the wall.
She took out bandages, her movements very slow—not from trembling, but because she was thinking. The blood was normal red, not purple, and there was no strange metallic stench. When she finished tying the bandage, she didn't retract her hand immediately.
"Just now, you stopped."
Thuong Sinh did not answer.
She didn't force him. A moment later, she continued, very softly, as if speaking more to herself than to him.
"I wondered, if you did that in front of me, would I be afraid?"
Thuong Sinh remained silent. She smiled very faintly.
"Yes, I am still a normal human."
He tightened his hand slightly.
"But when you stopped, I understood."
She understood that in that moment, he didn't stop because of hesitation, but because he remembered her words.
Lam Thanh Moc withdrew her hand and sat close beside him, shoulder almost touching shoulder.
"I don't stay because you are clean."
"I stay because you still know how to stop."
A short silence followed. The morning wind drifted through the alley, carrying away the fading scent of blood.
Lam Thanh Moc exhaled softly. "So, if there is a day you cannot stop..."
She didn't finish the sentence, only looked into his eyes. "I will be the first to know."
Not to stop him, but to be there.
Thuong Sinh turned his head away, looking toward the mouth of the alley where the light was growing brighter.
"Let's go," he said.
But this time, when he stood up, he walked half a step slower so the girl behind could keep up.