The Jeep jolted slightly as its wheels rolled over the fractured road surface. On both sides were wild forests interspersed with collapsed factory buildings, the afternoon sunlight piercing through the windshield.
Lam Thanh Moc sat in the passenger seat, silent for a long time.
She didn't ask immediately; she only watched Thuong Sinh's hand on the steering wheel. Those deep purple veins had receded, leaving only normal blue veins, as if that day had never happened.
But she knew better; she simply chose not to ask.
"Back at the second line... and at other times too," she finally spoke, her voice very soft, as if afraid of touching something fragile.
"That state of yours... it doesn't seem like an Ability."
Thuong Sinh did not turn his head. The car maintained a steady speed, neither fast nor slow, heading straight northwest.
"Your eyes changed color," Lam Thanh Moc continued. "Your breathing changed, and the pressure was different too."
"It's like... you weren't like a normal human."
After a while, Thuong Sinh finally replied.
"Yeah."
Just a single word in response.
Lam Thanh Moc lightly squeezed her fingers. "What is it?"
Thuong Sinh let out a long, very slow breath. He didn't lie, but he didn't tell the whole truth either.
"A Transcendent state," he said.
"A... slightly more special kind."
Lam Thanh Moc turned to look at him. "How special?"
"Not like an Ability user."
"And not like a mutant," Thuong Sinh said steadily, as if reciting a concept foreign even to himself.
"It is something I stepped into myself."
He paused for a beat. "In exchange, there are side effects."
The atmosphere in the car grew heavy. "What side effects?" she asked immediately.
Thuong Sinh frowned very slightly, then relaxed, as if intentionally making his voice sound more casual. "Fatigue, and it's a bit harder to control my emotions."
He glanced at her very quickly. "But it isn't dangerous."
Lam Thanh Moc didn't say anything right away. She didn't feel like Thuong Sinh was lying, but she sensed a part was being hidden—a void behind that explanation.
"You aren't very good at lying," she said softly.
Thuong Sinh chuckled faintly, a very thin smile. "But I didn't say anything wrong."
He looked straight at the road ahead. "Just... don't worry. I know when to stop."
That sentence made Lam Thanh Moc hesitate, not because she was reassured, but because she understood: "knowing when to stop" didn't mean "not having to pay a price."
The wind gusted through the door gaps, carrying the smell of damp earth and rusted metal. The car continued toward the northwest, leaving Dong Kinh Camp behind, heading toward a region of the map that had been erased from most old records.
Lam Thanh Moc leaned back into her seat, whispering to herself as much as to him: "Next time... if you have to use it again."
Thuong Sinh didn't turn his head. "Mhm?"
"...Warn me first."
He didn't answer immediately. A long while later, as the car navigated a long curve, he replied very softly: "If there's still time."
The road ahead was long, desolate, and silent. The car left the cracked asphalt and transitioned onto an old route. The wheels rolled through potholes, causing the body to vibrate gently.
Thuong Sinh was currently looking at the familiar blue system panel before him.
[ Thuong Sinh ]
[ Cultivation ]: 866/2000
[ Realm ]: Essence Gathering (Middle Stage)
[ Combat Skills ]: Blade Wind (Minor Accomplishment), Phantom Steps (Minor Accomplishment), Sword Kinesis: Gale Transformation (Entry Level)
[ Accumulated Points ]: 854
After that day, his points had increased significantly—so much so that he hadn't even noticed. With this many points, he could buy quite a few things.
As for his cultivation, throughout this journey, he had used zombie blood to practice. Whenever he lacked it, he could easily obtain more; there was no need to worry that a shortage would slow his progress.
Thuong Sinh looked at the accumulated points for a few more seconds before closing the system panel. The dim blue light faded, leaving only the steady hum of the engine and the dirt road stretching out before the car's nose.
"Vile Blood Heart-Corroding Art" was powerful, but its price wasn't paid during its circulation, but afterward. Every time it was used, the blood poison would eat back at his body, his veins would disorder, and his heart would skip beats. If Lam Thanh Moc hadn't interrupted him that day, he wasn't sure he would have stopped in time.
He needed a defensive technique—not to attack, but to take hits when his body was in its worst state. He opened the system panel again and went to the manual category.
[ Blood-Condensing Mace ]
[ Grade ]: Mortal Rank - Middle Grade (Defense / Blood Attribute).
[ Effect ]: Forcibly compresses blood and toxic True Essence into a single point on the body. At that point, the blood will solidify instantly, becoming as hard as black iron to block physical attacks.
[ Price ]: 600 Accumulated Points
[ Description ]: Blocks physical damage by aggregating toxic blood. Causes blood stasis and paralysis at the impact site; overuse will result in exhaustion and severe circulatory disorders.
Thuong Sinh looked at the description for a long time.
He chuckled silently.
It wasn't something for the cautious. It was for someone accustomed to walking on the edge of a cliff, needing just one more layer of protection so as not to fall immediately.
The Blood-Condensing Mace wouldn't make the Vile Blood Heart-Corroding Art safer. But it could give him an extra life; when the blood poison erupted, he could force all that chaos to gather in one place, blocking a fatal blow in exchange for time to retreat or... finish the opponent.
Thuong Sinh confirmed the purchase without hesitation.
Suddenly, a manual appeared before him. On the cover were deep crimson patterns like dried-up blood vessels.
Thuong Sinh was startled—not by the manual itself, but because his first reflex was to tighten his grip on the wheel. He was used to the system existing only within his vision. Anything with physical form meant it could potentially be seen by others.
He turned his head quickly inside the car. Lam Thanh Moc was leaning back in the passenger seat, her gaze originally fixed out the window. But at that exact moment, she tilted her head back—not out of curiosity, but because she felt something move.
Her gaze flicked to the left, seeing Thuong Sinh holding a deep crimson book. She asked curiously.
"What are you holding?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, it's just a book I often read."
"But I didn't see you holding any book earlier."
Thuong Sinh froze for exactly one second.
That moment was enough for him to understand: she had seen it—not the whole thing, but enough to give rise to suspicion.
He exhaled very softly, loosening his grip on the steering wheel slightly as the car continued to roll down the deserted road.
"I hid it in my coat," he said, his voice calm, neither fast nor slow. "An old habit."
Lam Thanh Moc didn't respond immediately. She looked at the book for a while longer. Her gaze didn't stop at the crimson cover, but at the vague sensation that this wasn't just a pile of paper.
"A habit from before the apocalypse?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"It looks... unlike a normal book."
Thuong Sinh curled his lip very slightly, almost a smile. "I'm not a normal person either."
The sentence fell softly, but it was enough to close the line of questioning. Lam Thanh Moc didn't ask again. She understood the boundary: there were some things that, if pursued, would not bring a sense of safety to either of them.
She turned her head to look out the window again.
"Then put it away," she said.
"Don't get distracted while driving."
"Mhm."
Thuong Sinh reached out, and the manual slid into his coat.
For a long time, no one spoke.
Thuong Sinh slowed down, driving the car across a fractured concrete bridge. In the distance, tilted utility poles stood out against the earth. The map Ly Thuong Kiet had given him lay open on the dashboard; several red ink circles marked an area over a hundred kilometers from the camp—an old town that once served as a railway junction, now abandoned midway.
"He didn't choose that place by accident," Lam Thanh Moc said.
"Yeah," Thuong Sinh replied.
She was silent for a beat before asking: "How long do you plan to stay there?"
"I don't know."
He told the truth. "Maybe only overnight."
The wind rushed through the glass. Far away, a flock of black birds detached from a row of trees, soaring up and then scattering as if something had just startled them.
He said no more. The hand on the steering wheel tightened slightly, then released. The faint scratch on the back of his hand—the wound from that day—had closed, but the heavy feeling remained, as if the blood refused to be at peace.
A very light pain throbbed through his temple. It wasn't intense. Just enough to remind him to lower the car window a bit and let the cold wind hit his face.
"We'll arrive before dark," he said. "I don't want to set up camp in the night."
Lam Thanh Moc nodded. She looked at him, then at the road ahead—long, straight, and uncomfortably empty. As the sun touched the edge of the mountains, they saw the town. Low houses had collapsed sideways, and rusted signs hung danging. Old rails cut across the square, weeds growing between the steel bars. No smoke. No sound. An excessive silence.
Thuong Sinh stopped the car on the outer edge.
"I'll go first," he said.
"No." Lam Thanh Moc opened her door at the same time. "This time, together."
He looked at her for a second, then nodded.
The two stepped into the abandoned town as the evening light faded. Their shadows stretched long on the concrete road. There was no sound other than their footsteps striking the debris. The late twilight wind whistled through tilted signs, making a creaking noise.
This town had died in a very "clean" way.
There were no corpses lying in the street, no scattered dried bloodstains. The doors were shut tight, and the windows were mostly intact, just covered in a thick layer of dust.
"It doesn't look like a town overrun by zombies."
"Mhm," Thuong Sinh replied softly.
"They likely withdrew."
He stopped at a small intersection. The old rails crossed through; the steel was rusted, and weeds grew thick between the sleepers. At the base of the rails, there were dragging marks, as if something heavy had been pulled away long ago.
Not fresh, but perhaps a week old.
Thuong Sinh knelt, touching the indentation with his hand.
"Low-tier zombies," he said.
"They might have been led away."
"Led away?"
They had no intelligence, only instinct. If their instincts were stimulated long enough, the entire pack would follow.
The two continued into the center of the town. A small square appeared, with a fountain in the middle that had long since run dry. Around it were several convenience stores; the rolling iron doors were rusted, but the locks were still intact.
Thuong Sinh stood still for a moment, listening to the surroundings. No breathing, no dragging sounds, and no familiar stench of rot.
"This area is currently empty," he concluded.
"Currently?" Lam Thanh Moc asked.
"They might not be here during the day, but at night it's different."
Zombies might not be smart, but they could move much faster and stronger than during the day; fighting them was significantly more difficult at night.
The two checked each house carefully. They didn't break down doors, only opening small gaps to observe inside before entering. A house at the end of the row was chosen. The wooden stairs were still sturdy, and the second floor had a window looking out over the square, enough for observation.
By the time it was completely dark, the two had finished setting up their resting spot.
No fire, no light showing outside, only a thin covering over the window.
Lam Thanh Moc sat leaning against the wall, relaxing her Ability without fully retracting it. Vines were hidden beneath the old wood, like roots in hibernation.
Thuong Sinh sat opposite, wiping his sword bit by bit.
"This town..." she spoke after a moment of silence. "It doesn't look like it was abandoned in a hurry."
"Yeah," he said. "It was an organized departure."
"So that means... there is something nearby, but it's not here."
Zombies lack intelligence, but this area's terrain was very low; perhaps at night, many zombies loitered around here, which is why they moved elsewhere.
A faint noise rang out from afar—not from the town, but from the main road leading in.
Thuong Sinh stopped wiping his sword.
Two seconds later, a hoarse roar echoed—short and decisive.
Then another.
"They are being pulled back," Lam Thanh Moc said.
"Yeah." Thuong Sinh stood up, wrapping the bandages around his sword. "And we aren't the target."
He looked out the window, where the darkness was thickening between the streets.
"Sleep early," he said.
Lam Thanh Moc nodded, turning to lie down, while he sat down and took out the "Blood-Condensing Mace" to read. Thus the night passed; in the distance, screams still echoed but gradually grew faint.