As the moon's rays retreated under the radiant light of the sun, a large brown canine figure could be seen tearing into a smaller canine corpse.
It's ear had been torn off in it's battle against the smaller Laconian, covered in claw marks and bites, but it ultimately emerged victorious.
[Fierce Laconian Lv 5]
It's sensitive nose picked up a familiar scent on the wind, of the most delicious carrion it had ever eaten. It perked up, dropping the torn off foreleg it had been nibbling.
'Huma-'
It's predatory thoughts were cut short in an instant, as it's head was pierced through before it even realized what had happened.
It's corpse stiffened, swaying briefly on it's legs as Lu Zhang shook his hand free of blood, wiping it against the beast's fur as it collapsed limply onto the sidewalk.
The entire neighbourhood was silent, save for the few Laconian stragglers that were put on high alert due to Lu Zhang's arrival.
Su Yao knelt next to a patch of grass that had been completely churned in place from what was presumably dozens of large beasts. The pawprints and claw marks left no doubt at the identity of the creatures, as the remaining Laconians observed the group from afar.
'There's almost no chance of his family having escaped this sort of tide of beasts.' Su Yao analyzed clinically. She hadn't given this much attention to the others' families.
'Because it's an entirely different thing when the strongest being among us breaks down, compared to one of them.'
'If he weakens, all of our chances of survival go down.'
Cai Dajian silently followed Su Yao. His own family wasn't in the country, but he didn't know if this strange phenomenon spanned the entire globe.
He stopped his foot moments before he set it down, seeing a giant ant before him, the size of his forearm.
[Black Ant Worker Lv 7]
With a frown, Dajian crushed it's grotesque head under his heel, it's Endurance strangely disproportionate to it's level.
'I don't like it.'
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Lu Zhang strolled down the path that had once felt like home.
Except now, instead of a phone, he had blood on his hands.
There was no smell of food coming from the elderly neighbours' house anymore.
Instead, he could see a half-eaten zombie corpse hanging outside the window, wearing a familiar nightdress.
Instead of the vehicles roaring down the road, there was only the occassional monster crossing warily.
And worst of all, the front door that was usually kept shut tightly was left wide open. He didn't know if it was his imagination but the air seemed a bit colder.
He stepped over a bloodstain, splattered with fragments of flesh, bone, and hair.
'One of the monsters has been in here,' Lu Zhang noted idly, sidestepping the puddle that had once been a person.
It's just a Game.
Lu Zhang stepped into his house while Su Yao and Cai Dajian protected the rest of the group outside.
"I'm home."
No one answered.
Lu Zhang took off his shoes next to the door, setting them on the shoe rack.
It's just a Game.
He saw a familiar mountain of blankets piled upon the couch, a bag of chips spilled upon it. A professional slacking technique he used to use with his sister.
It's just a Game.
He walked further in, his face impassive. In the kitchen, he saw the door slightly ajar, a partially eaten zombie corpse with it's head smashed in. It wore the same night clothes his father wore when walking outside in the garden.
It's just a Game.
Deeper into the kitchen, there was splattered blood congealing everywhere. Draped over the counter, he saw a scrap of blue fabric.
It's just a Game.
There was no more sign of his sister, but the pool of blood and hair at the front came to mind.
It's just a Game.
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Su Yao watched with furrowed brows as Lu Zhang walked out of the house, completely unbothered. He didn't seem to have been crying recently either.
'Is he bottling it up?' She thought to herself as he walked up to the group.
"We'll be leaving the city today," Lu Zhang announced suddenly. Despite this always being the plan, the people were still hesitant towards the idea of leaving civilization behind for forests and plains.
'This further proves it. More and more monsters are heading deeper into the city, slowly establishing their own twisted ecosystem while hunting down humans.'
'The average level in the city will keep increasing faster and faster, under the same principle of a Gu poison pot.' Su Yao thought to herself as she surveyed their surroundings to ensure they weren't being sneaked up on.
The group of survivors began their journey towards the edge of the city without any voiced dissent. Lu Zhang's word, backed by his own overwhelming strength, Su Yao's cold enforcement and Dajian's loyalty, was law.
"We'll move past the iron factories on our way, circumventing them entirely." Lu Zhang spoke flatly as they reinforced the route they would take out the city.
"Outside... The aim is this village here." He pointed to a dot on the stolen map laid out on the hood of a ripped open car, some distance from the edge of the city.
Lu Zhang was going to explain why he chose it, but since no one had any complaints, he kept silent as well.
'After this, it's best to start levelling up as fast as possible. If we ever want to take back the city in the future that is.' Lu Zhang mused to himself as he stepped past a lunging spider the size of his torso, letting Su Yao burn it to a crisp.
Suddenly, Lu Zhang saw an attack coming for him. This one, he didn't dodge, instead grabbing the metal pipe and dragging out the person holding it around the corner.
The gruff looking man stumbled and fell forward as the pipe was ripped violently from his grasp.
He wore a red beanie and had an unkempt beard, paired with shaggy black hair and bloodshot eyes. HIs navy jacket had seen better days, and the brown pants were torn at the knees.
As he fell, he quickly tried to kick Lu Zhang and crawl away, but Lu Zhang simply caught his foot.
Behind him, a teenage girl raised a baseball bat into the air, intending to smash it down with all her strength, when Lu Zhang's arm flickered out of view briefly.
The metal pipe drilled through the wooden baseball bat, halting her momentum instantly as Cai Dajian grabbed her by the face and pushed her to the ground, subduing her quickly as he pressed his knee against her back.
"Wait."
At Lu Zhang's command, Su Yao halted the flame that had been spiralling in her palm. However, she was still ready to attack at any moment.
Behind the girl, there was another group of people, holding improvised weapons but evidently too scared to use them.
Lu Zhang squatted next to the downed man, who seemed shocked to see more living people.
"A bit rude of you to attack someone without even seeing who they are, isn't it?" He asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"What should we do with these troublemakers, I wonder?"
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[Name: Lu Zhang]
[Level: 10 (First Limit)]
[Strength: 26]
[Speed: 59]
[Intelligence: 28]
[Endurance: 26]
[Stat Points: 15]
[Mana: 280/280]
[Skills: Inspect lv 5, Empty Fang Lv 7, Double Jump Lv 4, Mandate Lv 1, Devour Lv 3]