About a week after Thuong Sinh's breakthrough, the silence of the forest was shattered by a very faint sound.
Clink—!
The sound of cans colliding from the eastern edge of the forest, where Thuong Sinh had set a simple wire trap beneath the leaves.
Thuong Sinh was sitting on the porch, re-sharpening his dagger; his hand stopped instantly. His deep black pupils narrowed; he didn't even need to look to sense through the surrounding blood power pressure that there was only one life—a heartbeat thumping erratically from exhaustion and fear, with heavy footsteps dragging across the ground.
Lam Thanh Moc stepped out from the house, carrying a basket of freshly picked wild vegetables; one look at Thuong Sinh's posture and she understood immediately. She set the basket down; the vines around the porch vibrated slightly according to her thoughts.
"Only one person," Thuong Sinh said in a low voice. "Doesn't seem like a patrol soldier."
He stood up, threw his black coat over his shoulders, signaled Lam Thanh Moc to stay, and vanished into the thickets.
At the edge of the trap, a man in his early thirties, clothes in tatters and face smeared with dirt, was scrambling to his feet after tripping over the wire. On his back was a bulging backpack, and in his hand, he held a wooden staff for support.
He looked around in a panic, muttering: "Dammit, what was that... did I just trip over something?"
Just as he was about to take another step, a chilling aura of death suddenly pressed close from behind. A blade, reflecting no light, was placed gently against his throat.
"Don't move."
Thuong Sinh's voice was cold as if echoing from the depths of the earth. The man froze, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. He felt a terrifying pressure radiating from the person standing behind him, making even breathing feel difficult.
"I... I have no ill intent! I'm just a traveler!" the man cried out tremblingly. "I took the forest path from the neighboring province to avoid the undead on the highway; I didn't know whose territory this was!"
Thuong Sinh narrowed his eyes slightly. Through his life senses, he saw that this man's blood flowed fast but normally, with no signs of the virus. This was truly just an ordinary survivor seeking a way to live.
Thuong Sinh retracted his sword but maintained his distance: "Turn around. Look at me."
The man slowly turned. When he saw Thuong Sinh—a young man with bottomless eyes and a profound aura—he froze, then let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it was a human and not a Zombie.
"Thank you... thank you for not striking," the man panted, sitting flat on the ground. "My name is Tran Tu Pham, just a laborer. I heard that crossing this mountain range leads to a small refuge in the West, so I risked coming into the forest."
Tran Tu Pham looked up at the wooden house glimpsed in the distance, his eyes flashing with longing: "You live here? What a wonderful place..."
"Stop looking," Thuong Sinh interrupted the longing in the man's gaze. "This place isn't as wonderful as you imagine."
Tran Tu Pham startled, quickly averting his gaze with a forced smile: "You're right... in these times, it's the same everywhere. Having a roof to shield from rain and sun is already better than the thousands lying out on the streets."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Lam Thanh Moc, who had just stepped forward. Seeing a beautiful girl standing next to someone carrying an aura of death like Thuong Sinh, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"You two, I only ask to rest for a moment; I absolutely have no intention of prying." Tran Tu Pham spoke while patting his backpack, which bore the insignia of a pierced eye. "I have some dry rations; if you don't mind, I can trade them for a spot to rest in the shade over there."
Thuong Sinh stared at the backpack. That insignia seemed to be reminding him of the black threads and the death of the underground faction in Luc Thuy.
"Keep your rations for your journey to the West," Thuong Sinh said coldly, then turned to Lam Thanh Moc. "Get him some clean water and some foot ointment."
Lam Thanh Moc nodded, quickly bringing out a bottle of filtered water and a handful of crushed medicinal leaves for reducing inflammation. She placed them before the man.
Tran Tu Pham was overjoyed as if he had found gold, repeatedly bowing in gratitude: "Thank you, miss. You are too kind... Actually, on my way, I saw several groups of people in gray clothing also heading North. They looked terrifying, so I had to turn deep into the forest to avoid them."
Thuong Sinh stiffened at the mention of "gray clothing." Those were the very people who had ambushed him at the Luc Thuy city gate.
"Where did you see them? How many?" Thuong Sinh asked, his voice carrying a pressure that made Tran Tu Pham shiver.
"About ten kilometers from here, further up the stream. There were about four or five people moving very fast, as if searching for something."
Thuong Sinh turned to look at Lam Thanh Moc. Their eyes met, a silent unease spreading. The military might not have found this place, but the "Pierced Eye" people highly likely had.
"Finish the water and leave immediately," Thuong Sinh ordered, his gaze shifting toward the forest edge. "Follow the setting sun, don't look back, and don't mention to anyone that you saw this house."
Tran Tu Pham nodded hastily, drank the water, hurriedly applied the medicinal leaves to his swollen feet, and stood up; his presence here was a danger.
"I understand. Thank you both again." He hoisted his backpack and began walking West.
Watching the man's silhouette disappear, Thuong Sinh suddenly sat down, his gloved hand touching the ground. He mobilized a thin strand of blood power, following the roots Lam Thanh Moc had planted, sensing every vibration within a one-kilometer radius.
"Thanh Moc, get ready."
"What's wrong?"
"He was right, they are coming." Thuong Sinh stood up, the sword on his back letting out a low, vibrating hum. "The scent of toxic mist... I have felt it from the direction the wind is blowing."
Thuong Sinh gripped his sword, his deep black eyes gradually turning somber. To him, the outside world was hell, and this wooden house with its scent of wood and Lam Thanh Moc's small garden was the last piece of soul he held onto. He would not let anyone touch it.
"Thanh Moc, you stay and hold the house." "Activate all defenses. If anyone breaks through, show no mercy."
Lam Thanh Moc nodded, placing her hands on the ground; the vines around the house began to crawl, their thorns growing long. "Be careful."
Thuong Sinh nodded, began walking toward the head of the stream, his figure gradually lost in the forest.
Over two kilometers away, amidst the canopy, five figures in gray robes were moving. They weren't walking but nearly gliding over the leaves; each was an Extraordinary, holding a metal staff emitting pale gray smoke.
"The blood scent disappeared around here," one spoke, his voice crackling through a gas mask. "He is definitely hiding near the water source."
"Be careful, he managed to kill one of our Herders; he is not simple."
Suddenly, the leader stopped. He felt the air around him turn heavy. A cold aura of death, profound as an abyss, was enveloping the entire forest; he felt someone above them.
"Above!"
the gray-robes looked up, but only saw a dark shadow tearing through the mist as it fell. Thuong Sinh didn't use his sword; he landed in the middle of their formation, his hand wearing the Black Star Glove slamming hard onto the ground.
"Blood Poison Force"
A black pressure erupted from his pores, wiping out their gray mist. Those standing closest immediately collapsed, their masks corroding into rust in mere seconds; their screams were trapped in their throats as their lungs were invaded by Thuong Sinh's blood poison.
Thuong Sinh drew his sword. The blade no longer emitted light; it swallowed all surrounding light. He glided among the remaining enemies, every strike carrying the Aura of Death. One gray-robe raised a metal staff to block, but Thuong Sinh's blade sliced through it like tofu. Both the man and the staff were split in two; before his blood could splatter, it was rotted by the blood poison on the blade, turning into black smoke.
The leader panicked; he retreated, hand trembling as he pulled out a glowing hexagonal medal, intending to send a final distress signal. Thuong Sinh appeared right before him, his hand coiling around the wrist holding the medal.
Crack—!
The sound of the man's wrist bones being crushed. Thuong Sinh seized the medal, then calmly thrust the sword tip straight into his heart.
The battle ended in less than two minutes. Five corpses lay scattered, but strangely there was no foul smell, for Thuong Sinh's blood poison had completely neutralized their life force, causing them to disintegrate into dark ash merging into the forest soil.
Thuong Sinh stood still, absorbing the remaining extreme poison from the shattered metal staffs. He looked toward the wooden house, saw Lam Thanh Moc's layer of vines, and let out a sigh of relief. He turned back, picking up the new hexagonal medal. This time, he didn't crush it immediately. His gaze peered deep into the pierced eye symbol.
He returned to the wooden house. Lam Thanh Moc was waiting on the porch, her hands still enveloped in the green light of her ability, but seeing Thuong Sinh safe, she let out a low sigh of relief.
"We have to leave, right now," Thuong Sinh said without hesitation.
Lam Thanh Moc looked at the small garden she had just started; her eyes held a trace of regret, but she understood that if they came once, more would follow. "I understand, let me pack up a bit," she replied, quickly heading inside.
About fifteen minutes later, the two donned their simplest gear. Thuong Sinh looked at the wooden house one last time, then turned his head.
"Where to?" Lam Thanh Moc asked.
Thuong Sinh looked West, the direction Tran Tu Pham had gone. "We will cross the western mountain range. If that guy was right about a refuge."
The two quietly entered the deep forest, their pace faster this time. Thuong Sinh led the way, every step carrying an invisible pressure that kept the surrounding beasts from approaching.
The two spent a day traveling West; the terrain became more treacherous with sheer cliffs. Thuong Sinh led, his hand resting on the hilt of the bandage-wrapped sword at his hip. At this moment, he no longer intentionally suppressed his aura. A faint aura of death radiated from his black gloves, drifting through the air, causing the forest beasts to tuck their tails and flee. To them now, Thuong Sinh was like a beast with a pressure even more terrifying than theirs.
"Thuong Sinh, look." Lam Thanh Moc suddenly stopped, pointing toward a high rocky ledge.
In the valley ahead, a chaotic scene unfolded. A military transport convoy bearing Luc Thuy Garrison insignia was trapped in a canyon. It seemed they were on a retreat or transporting important supplies to the West.
Surrounding the convoy were dozens of figures in ash-gray robes. Unlike those Thuong Sinh had just killed at the house, this group was much larger. They didn't attack with guns but controlled surges of gray toxic mist.
"They dare to attack the military?" Lam Thanh Moc was astonished.
Thuong Sinh stood on the ledge, his deep black pupils narrowing. Through his life senses, he saw an even more gruesome sight: the soldiers, after inhaling the gray mist, didn't die immediately; their flesh began to blister, their eyes rolled back, and they slowly turned their guns on their own comrades.
"Their poison has evolved," Thuong Sinh observed, his voice ice cold. "It doesn't just kill; it controls the nervous system."
In the middle of the battlefield, a figure in a gray robe with a prominent Golden Eye embroidered on his back stood atop a large boulder. He wore no mask, revealing a withered face.
Suddenly, a vehicle door burst open. A slash tore through the surrounding air. Thuong Sinh looked at the man who emerged and couldn't help but be surprised.
Tran Chien.
He was a middle-aged man with a dignified face, dressed in a colonel's uniform. He was Tran Pham's father, the leader of the Luc Thuy Garrison. Despite being surrounded, he swung a great broadsword in his hand, every strike carrying the explosive power of a strengthening-type ability user.
"You rats... you want to steal this?" Tran Chien roared, his left hand protecting a tiny metal briefcase.
"What do we do?" Lam Thanh Moc asked.
"If the military loses, those gray-robes will completely dominate this Western road."
Thuong Sinh was silent, his eyes narrowing at that metal briefcase—what could be so important that a colonel would risk his life to protect it, and that organization would mobilize such a large force to intercept and steal it?
"They haven't played all their cards yet. Someone stronger is hiding."
He sensed behind the gray-robes a pressure even more profound and brutal than the one in the gold-embroidered robe. An aura that made his black-armored heart beat faster.