The two had just passed the abandoned gas station when the sound of a metal latch clicking rang out—not loud, but clear enough.
Thuong Sinh reacted almost by reflex; he instantly spun around, pulling Lam Thanh Moc close against the concrete wall to their right.
"Stay still." His voice dropped heavily.
Boom.
A single shot was fired; the bullet embedded itself into the gas pump near them, sparks flying brightly in the murky gray air.
"Come out."
A raspy male voice echoed from ahead.
"No need to hide, we've seen you."
Three people stepped out from behind a tilted truck. They wore no military uniforms, nor were they dressed shabbily. Their clothes were neatly adjusted, and they held handguns and long knives. Their eyes were alert, showing no signs of panic.
The one in the middle flicked a glance at the sword on Thuong Sinh's back.
"Not a soldier."
Then he looked at Lam Thanh Moc.
"Not a refugee either."
He smiled faintly.
"Then that only leaves one type."
Thuong Sinh did not answer. He stepped forward half a pace to shield Lam Thanh Moc behind his back. His right hand hung loosely by his hip, his left hand slightly raised—a favorable position to draw his sword at any moment.
The three men opposite them fanned out naturally, creating a pincer formation.
The man in the center laughed again. "So calm. I suppose it's not the first time you've had a gun pointed at your head."
He signaled with his hand for the man on the left to lower his barrel slightly, but the finger remained on the trigger.
"We don't kill without reason."
"It's just… do you have anything to trade for your life?"
Thuong Sinh's gaze turned cold.
Lam Thanh Moc, standing behind him, also detected the distinct change in Thuong Sinh's aura and couldn't help but feel anxious.
"What do you want?" Thuong Sinh spoke.
His voice was steady, neither high nor low.
"Simple."
"The girl behind you and all your belongings stay here."
"As for you, I'll spare your life."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the air seemed to constrict.
Thuong Sinh did not reply. His gaze dropped very low, his eyelids drooping, concealing all emotion. In that moment, the three men ahead could not see his face clearly; they only felt a chill run down their spines.
Lam Thanh Moc stood behind him, her heart sinking. She had just realized—it wasn't fear she felt from him, but rage.
"Are you finished speaking?" Thuong Sinh asked.
He didn't need to snarl, and his voice wasn't loud. But this question made the man in the middle hesitate for a moment.
"I ask you once more: what do you want?"
The man curled his lip.
"I just told you. Two things: the girl and the gear."
He shrugged. "Very fair."
Thuong Sinh took half a step forward—only half a step, but it caused all three men to instinctively tighten their grip on their weapons.
"Listen closely."
"You have just crossed the only thing that could have kept you alive."
The man on the left let out a scoff, his finger tightening on the trigger. "Arrogant—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Thuong Sinh moved. His figure lunged diagonally to the right, moving out of the line of fire, while simultaneously swinging his left hand. A small piece of metal shot straight into the gunman's wrist.
Crack.
The sound of breaking bone rang out dryly.
The gun fired off-target, the bullet hitting the concrete pillar behind.
The man screamed.
Before he could retreat, Thuong Sinh closed the distance. The hilt of his sword slammed straight into the man's Adam's apple—not hard enough to kill, but enough to make him collapse, unable to breathe.
The leader drew a knife, his eyes changing completely.
"Kill him!"
The sword left its scabbard. No flourish. No trickery. A single straight slash, from shoulder to chest. Blood sprayed, and the man fell.
The remaining man turned to flee in terror.
Thuong Sinh did not chase; he threw his sword. The blade spun through the air, piercing through the man's calf and pinning him face-down to the ground. He stepped up and stomped on the opponent's back.
"Listen."
His voice was very close, very low.
"You are not alive because I am merciful."
"You live because of the woman behind me."
He knocked the opponent unconscious with a precise strike to the neck using a sword-force pulse. The sword was returned to its white bandages.
Blood dripped onto the concrete floor. The blood essence within him surged violently—familiar, seductive. Just a little relaxation would be enough to end everything faster.
Thuong Sinh gripped the hilt tightly, forcing it down. It was very painful. Behind him, Lam Thanh Moc said nothing. But he knew she was watching.
He sheathed the blade.
"Let's go."
Lam Thanh Moc followed, asking no questions and not looking back. After walking a distance, she spoke softly, her voice so low it almost vanished into the wind: "You didn't have to do that."
Thuong Sinh did not turn his head.
"I had to."
A second of silence followed, and then he continued, his voice deep and clear: "I could become something very terrible, but not today."
The road afterward was very long. There were no more ambushes, no more gunshots or screams. There was only the wind blowing across the open ground, mixed with the smell of gasoline and dry dust. The two walked side-by-side, the distance not far but the pace not slow.
After walking for a while, Lam Thanh Moc slowed by a step. She looked at Thuong Sinh's back—not at his cold combat demeanor, nor at the moment he struck decisively just now. But at the moment after he sheathed his sword, when he forced something down with such intensity, as if he were pinning down a dying beast.
She suddenly understood. It wasn't that he couldn't kill; he was locking himself down. Not out of fear, not out of hesitation, but because of her words.
"You…"
Lam Thanh Moc spoke, her voice very soft.
Thuong Sinh did not turn his head.
"Just now, you stopped."
"Yeah."
Lam Thanh Moc lightly tightened her hand.
"Was it because of me?" she asked gently.
Thuong Sinh did not answer. This silence was not an evasion, but an admission of being found out.
Lam Thanh Moc tightened her grip.
"You don't lock yourself down for your own sake. You lock it… for me."
The wind blew through the abandoned gas station, carrying the smell of rust and dry dust. A moment later, Thuong Sinh finally spoke.
"If you are afraid, then I have no place left to stand," he said very lowly.
Lam Thanh Moc looked at him. Only now did she truly understand. To him, her being afraid was more terrifying than betrayal. She felt a surge of guilt that she had become the only boundary he held onto.
Lam Thanh Moc let go of her hands—not because of the cold, but because she realized if she held on any longer, she would unintentionally bind him even tighter.
"Thuong Sinh," she called his name. This time her voice did not drop, nor did it tremble.
"If one day I am afraid, it will be because I am not strong enough to stand beside you," she said slowly.
She looked directly at him.
"Not because you are wrong."
Thuong Sinh's hand tightened slightly, veins appearing on his fingers. He intended to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat.
"I don't want to become the reason you have to cut away a part of yourself."
"I also don't want a moment to come when there truly is no way back, and you end up dying just because you remembered the look in my eyes."
The wind blew harder; the gas station sign creaked.
Thuong Sinh finally turned to look at her. In those eyes, there was no killing intent, only something deeper than hesitation.
"I won't let you turn into something that makes me afraid," Lam Thanh Moc said softly.
"But you must not turn me into the thing that makes you afraid to live."
She walked in front of him. She took the initiative to raise her hand—not to grab him, but to place it lightly on the back of his hand.
"If the day comes when you are forced to use it…"
She raised her head and looked straight into his eyes.
"…then I would rather be afraid once than watch you die in front of me."
Thuong Sinh's hand trembled slightly, then slowly tightened. He didn't pull away, nor did he hold onto her. A moment later, he relaxed his body and let out a sigh—a very light one, as if he had just set down something heavier than life itself.
The blood essence in his body settled. It didn't completely disappear, but was pressed deeper, waiting for its time.
Thuong Sinh turned and walked ahead, his deep voice carrying in the wind: "Let's go, it's getting dark." In the distance, at the end of the cracked highway, a hoarse zombie roar echoed. The numbers were unclear.
The sun had completely vanished behind the row of ruined houses as the two left the abandoned gas station. The last light of the day stretched their shadows across the fractured road. The atmosphere in this area was entirely different.
There was no familiar, pungent rot of zombies, but rather something heavy and metallic, mixed with the smell of moisture and dried blood. Thuong Sinh slowed his pace slightly, his eyes flicking quickly across deep, large claw marks on an abandoned car body by the roadside. Those marks could not have been made by human hands.
"There's something here," he said in a low voice.
Lam Thanh Moc was about to answer when a sound rang out.
It wasn't the sound of dragging footsteps, nor was it an unconscious roar. It was the sound of metal being bent—very light, as if something was using its claws to test the strength.
From the roof of a half-collapsed convenience store, a black shadow dropped down. There was no loud noise upon impact with the ground.
Its body landed as if soundless; only dust billowed up around it. The creature stood up, over two meters tall, its back arched, bones clearly visible beneath black fur. A long tail swept lightly over the concrete, leaving a deep gouge in the surface.
A cat.
But it bore no relation to the cat humanity once knew. Its head was abnormally large, its lower jaw split wide to the sides, and its fangs were long and curved, stained with flesh in the gaps of its teeth. Two blood-red eyes contracted into vertical slits, locking onto the two people ahead. Its gaze carried the raw instinct of a predator.
It tilted its head—a tiny movement, but one that made spines turn cold.
Thuong Sinh immediately pulled Lam Thanh Moc back, shielding her with his body. His hand was on the hilt of the Thuong Sinh Sword, but he did not draw it.
The mutated cat crouched low, muscles bulging distinctly beneath its black fur. it was staring at Thuong Sinh, evaluating him.
"This one is completely different from the ones we've met before," Lam Thanh Moc whispered, her breathing slowed as she forced herself to remain calm.
"Yeah," Thuong Sinh replied.
He looked straight into those red eyes, his mind quickly calculating speed, reflexes, and explosive force. Its skin was thicker than a normal zombie's. If he used Blade Wind at full power, he might be able to break through that thick hide.
The cat in front of them let out a hiss—not loud, but enough to vibrate their chests. In that instant, it moved.
It didn't lunge straight ahead; the massive body vanished from its position, leaving a streak of black shadow tearing through the wind. Its claws swept across at waist level so fast the naked eye could barely track it.
Thuong Sinh leaned back, narrowly avoiding it. The hem of his coat was torn, and his leather armor made a metallic scraping sound. He didn't counterattack immediately, using the momentum to quickly retreat two steps, maintaining distance.
Lam Thanh Moc also retreated, matching his rhythm.
The mutated cat turned its head, its tail slamming hard against the ground, sending up clouds of dust. Its eyes flashed with a spark of excitement. It realized the prey was not weak, and that only made it want to tear the prey apart even more.
Thuong Sinh took a deep breath.
The bandages on the sword began to slide down. The True Essence within him was circulating, not yet overflowing. The blood essence surged, but he clamped down on it firmly.
"Kill it quickly," he told himself.
The mutated cat lunged again. Its speed had not decreased; it was even faster now. Its massive form twisted in mid-air, claws sweeping straight for Thuong Sinh's throat.
Thuong Sinh slid his feet to the left. He rotated his wrist, the sword moved—only a thin gale of air clung to the length of the blade.
"Blade Wind"
He mobilized his True Essence, though not at full power. A diagonal upward slash struck straight into the side of the mutated cat.
Zip—!
Its black fur was torn open in a large gash, black blood sprayed out, but the wound was not as deep as he had anticipated. The muscle beneath contracted violently, clamping down on the Blade Wind.
The cat let out a piercing shriek, its body twisting in mid-air before slamming hard onto the ground and rolling several times. But it wasn't dead.
It sprang up almost immediately.
Two blood-red eyes locked onto Thuong Sinh, pure killing intent radiating out. It was no longer testing him.
"Its skin is harder than a normal mid-tier zombie," Thuong Sinh said quickly.
"I see it," Lam Thanh Moc replied, her voice remaining steady.
As the mutated cat stomped its feet preparing to lunge, the ground behind its paws vibrated slightly. Dark green vines erupted from the cracks in the concrete, tightly binding its ankles.
They didn't trap it permanently, only slowed it for a single beat.
But for Thuong Sinh, a single beat was more than enough.
He lunged, his figure closing the distance in the blink of an eye as the cat lost its balance. "Blade Wind" this time clung tighter to the blade, not dissipating outward, concentrated on a single point.
One strike, aimed at the neck.
It wasn't the familiar feeling of tearing through flesh, but of hitting something unnaturally hard.
Clang—!
The wind blade shrieked piercingly. The thin gale was forced off course, sliding away to only cut deep into the black muscle without severing the neck bone.
The cat let out a piercing hiss, its massive body jerking violently, claws sweeping across Thuong Sinh's position.
But Thuong Sinh was no longer there.
His figure split into two faint afterimages—one to the left, one to the rear. The claws tore through the air, only striking the shadow of the afterimage.
Thuong Sinh was now behind its back. Its tail reacted quickly, lashing down at Thuong Sinh's position, forcing him to leap into the air. He spun in mid-air.
The sword had already left his hand.
"Go."
"Sword Kinesis: Gale Transformation"
The Thuong Sinh Sword turned into a deep blue streak of light. It didn't fly high; instead, it skimmed the ground, spiraling from behind and slashing straight into the spine where the vines were pulling tight.
Zip—!
Black blood sprayed out.
The cat roared fiercely, its body rolling on the ground. But at that moment, Thuong Sinh was already standing in front of it. He didn't use the toxic blood, only pressed his True Essence.
"Blade Wind"
A thin sword-force gale, compressed to the limit, left the tip of the blade at a distance of less than three meters, piercing straight into the left red eye socket.
Thud!
The sound of soft tissue being pierced. The mutated cat stiffened throughout its entire body. Its head jerked violently as it screamed in a frenzy. Its massive frame stumbled back, slamming hard into a concrete pillar behind it.
Boom—!
The pillar shattered.
Thuong Sinh gave it no chance. The sword flew back to his hand. This time, he didn't hold back. The blood essence in his body fluctuated visibly—not overflowing, but enough to make the air around him feel heavy.
A horizontal slash.
"Blade Wind" was unleashed at point-blank range. This time, the cat's neck bone couldn't withstand it.
Crack—!
Its head tilted completely to one side. The massive body collapsed, convulsed a few times, and then went still.
Silence. Only the sound of the wind whistling through the convenience store remained.
Thuong Sinh stood still for several seconds before letting out a breath, forcing the rising blood essence back down. He knelt and sliced open the mutated cat's chest. A deep red crystal—larger than normal mid-tier zombie crystals—shone inside, its internal light fluctuating violently as if still carrying the beast's ferocity.
Lam Thanh Moc walked over, looking at the crystal, her gaze darkening.
"So now it isn't just zombies anymore."
Thuong Sinh said nothing, placing the crystal in her hand.
"If you can absorb it, use it."
In the distance, within the dead city, another low sound rang out—not like a zombie, and not like a beast.
Thuong Sinh raised his head.
"Let's go."