Thuong Sinh stood motionless before the door, offering no immediate reply.
From the corridor, the sounds of breathing, the shuffling of shoes, and the presence of people pressing against the door were painfully clear. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, his hand tightening around the hilt of his blade, before he finally spoke.
"Leave now, unless you want to die."
His voice wasn't loud, but it was so cold there was no room for negotiation. Outside, the group faltered for a second. Then, a burst of laughter erupted.
"Ha ha ha..." Trieu Duong laughed as if he'd just heard a joke. "Hey, Thuong Sinh, do you think this is the time to play the hero? I don't have time for this nonsense." He slammed his fist against the wood. "There's food in there, right? Open up. Share a bit with everyone, for old time's sake."
No answer. Only a lingering silence that made the air grow stifling.
Trieu Duong's brow furrowed, his voice dropping into a threat. "Don't push me. In times like these, how long do you think you can hold out alone?"
Inside, Thuong Sinh leaned against the wall, shadows obscuring half his face. His eyes were icy, devoid of hesitation. He understood perfectly: those outside were no longer classmates. They were hungry predators beginning to show their fangs.
He let out a sigh, pushed the barricades aside, and opened the door.
Outside, Trieu Duong began to smirk. "Ha! I knew you'd be reasonab—"
Before the word could leave his lips, a flash of cold light sliced through the dark.
Thuck!
The knife in Thuong Sinh's hand plunged directly into the man's throat. The blade sank deep; hot, crimson blood sprayed outward. Trieu Duong's eyes bulged, his mouth agape, but no sound came out. He stumbled back half a step, collapsing to the floor as his hands instinctively clutched his neck.
His gaze was filled with utter disbelief. He couldn't believe Thuong Sinh actually dared to kill him. Before the others could react, Thuong Sinh moved.
Slash!
A clean arc of the blade swept across the neck of the person standing next to him. Blood splattered against the wall. The body stiffened for a moment before crumpling to the floor without a single cry.
Only then did the reality hit.
"Murderer!! He's killing us!!"
Panic erupted. The hallway became a scene of absolute chaos. Some recoiled, some turned and bolted in terror, while others stood frozen in shock.
Thuong Sinh stood at the threshold, blood dripping from his knife. His cold gaze swept over the crowd. His voice was low, devoid of emotion. "I warned you. If you don't want to die... get out."
He stepped toward a student who was still paralyzed with fear. Before the boy could even regain his senses, the knife swung again.
Slash!
The blade tore through his throat—neat and cold. Blood gushed out as the body jerked once before slumping into a heap.
This level of ruthlessness, in these circumstances, sent a shiver down the spines of the survivors. Thuong Sinh slowly turned, his blade dripping onto the floor, his vacant eyes scanning the hall.
His voice rang out, low but sharp enough to cut through their ears: "I will repeat this one last time. If you don't want to die... stay off this floor."
A single sentence was enough to turn their faces ash-white. No one dared to meet his eyes. Without a word of protest, the crowd turned and scrambled down the stairs, their frantic footsteps echoing through the dark hallway until they vanished.
The hallway returned to a deathly silence. Thuong Sinh stood alone. Beneath his feet, fresh blood pooled and spread into dark crimson streaks on the cold tiles. The air was thick with the metallic stench of gore.
He stood there for a long time, his gaze dark, before slowly retreating into his darkened room.
Once inside, he let his body go limp against the door. His blood-stained hand shook slightly. The sticky, viscous sensation on his skin made his scalp tingle with cold waves of revulsion.
"I have to clean this up, or the scent will draw the undead."
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to be calm. He wiped away the bloodstains and dragged the things that "shouldn't exist" to the back door, tossing them down to the lower floor.
In the dead of night, all sounds were swallowed. It was as if the events of the evening had never occurred.
The next morning, the pale sunlight filtered through the window, waking him.
For a moment, last night's memories felt like a fading nightmare. But the faint smell of copper lingering in the air reminded him it was all too real.
Another grueling day began. His plan was simple: clear the upper floors of the dormitory. He surmised that many zombies still remained up there. To him, they weren't just threats—they were Merit Points. He couldn't afford to waste them. Moreover, he needed more combat experience.
"System."
[ Thuong Sinh ]
[ Cultivation ]: 65/100
[ Realm ]: Body Refinement (Early Stage)
[ Merit Points ]: 131
He had barely slept. Most of the night was spent in meditation, forcing himself to forget the faces from the hallway.
As Thuong Sinh was quietly clearing a hallway, neutralizing the remaining zombies, footsteps echoed behind him.
"Friend... you're the one from the floor below, right?"
Thuong Sinh spun around instantly. Before him stood a group of five or six people, all armed. Among them, he recognized two faces—the intruders who had sneaked into his room before.
Thuong Sinh's gaze turned icy, his hand tightening on his knife. The air grew tense.
A male student in the front raised his hands, lowering his voice. "Wait, we mean no harm. One of our group saw you fighting zombies alone... You must be an Awakened, right?"
Thuong Sinh didn't understand the term. System, cultivation, breathing techniques... those were clearly different from the "Awakened" they spoke of.
Before he could speak, the student continued. "Actually... our group has an Awakened as well."
As he spoke, the others instinctively looked toward a girl standing slightly obscured in the back. Her face was pale, but her eyes were remarkably calm.
"Her ability is Healing," the student said quickly. "She can stop bleeding, dull pain, and make wounds heal much faster than normal."
His gaze returned to Thuong Sinh, becoming serious. "But healing alone isn't enough. We need someone who can fight. Someone like you."
He took a deep breath, as if making a final gamble. "If you join us, we can coordinate. You take the front, we provide support. With a healer, our survival rate will skyrocket. In this world... it's hard to go far alone."
Thuong Sinh remained silent, but for the first time, a genuine ripple of surprise stirred in his heart.
He wasn't the only one. So... Awakened Abilities existed out there?
It was the first moment Thuong Sinh realized that in this new world, he wasn't the only one who had become "different."