Darkness, thick as ink, saturated the campus. The occasional shatter of glass or brief scream from afar pierced the stillness like needles.
Inside the dormitory, three phone screens glowed faintly, the only vestiges of civilization in the cramped space. Yet the relentlessly flashing red low-battery warning icons were more nerve-wracking than the darkness outside the window.
"Damn it, mine's down to 8%." Jiang Jin tapped his screen impatiently, trying to close all background apps, but the light faded visibly. "When the hell is the power gonna come back on in this godforsaken place?"
Lu Zhao said nothing, merely dimming his phone's brightness to the lowest setting. His fingertips unconsciously traced the cold screen before he decisively shut it off and tucked it back into his pocket. His battery was also nearly depleted. This phone was their last fragile link to the world they'd left behind, as well as their most crucial tool and limited source of light. Every bar of battery drained felt like drawing on their dwindling hope.
Gu Xun's phone lay flat on the table, its screen displaying the downloaded offline map. The battery indicator read 15%. His voice was calm and unusually clear in the darkness: "We should conserve the phone's light. Save it for the most critical moment. Right now, we need a stable, sustainable light source to formulate our plan and navigate the initial darkness outside."
His gaze settled on Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin froze for a moment before understanding Gu Xun's implication. He drew a deep breath, focused his mind, and attempted—at first, only a few sparks flared between his fingers. Then, a steady, orange-red flame flickered and rose above his palm, dispelling a small patch of darkness around the table and illuminating the anxiety etched between his brows even more clearly.
Though the flame flickered, it possessed a strange vitality, far more reassuring and intimidating than the cold, dying glow of a phone screen.
"Alright, this 'flashlight' works." Jiang Jin tugged at the corner of his mouth, seeming to find a shred of satisfaction in the practicality of his ability, but it was quickly overshadowed by the pressing urgency of reality. "So, how exactly do we get down?"
"Charge straight down!" Jiang Jin growled, clenching his fists as the flames surged. "How many ghostly things could be in the stairwell? Perfect to test our strength on them!"
"No way!" Lu Zhao objected immediately. It wasn't fear—the heat radiating from Jiang Jin's fist set off alarm bells in his mind. "The stairwell is too narrow. If we get trapped, your fire will roast us alive first! And all that noise? You want to invite every monster in the building to dinner?"
Jiang Jin's Adam's apple bobbed as if he'd forced back a retort. Frustrated, he kicked the nearby bed frame, sending a dull thud echoing through the room.
Gu Xun, who had been standing by the window observing below through the curtain slits, turned around. His face appeared unusually calm in the dim light, his voice low yet strangely penetrating, instantly overpowering their standoff: "Take the stairs, but don't force our way through."
Both men turned to look at him.
"Lu Zhao's concerns are valid," Gu Xun's gaze swept over Jiang Jin. "Therefore, we descend stealthily. Jiang Jin, your flames are for illumination only—use them only as a last resort. Lu Zhao, let your wind serve as our ears and eyes. I'll cover any gaps." He paused, fixing his gaze on the door leading into the unknown. "Our objective is to slip to the first floor like shadows."
The plan was clear, and no one objected.
Lu Zhao closed his eyes, channeling his wind abilities to the fullest, sensing the slightest air currents beyond the door, trying to sketch the corridor's outline. Gu Xun and Jiang Jin silently shifted the heavy objects blocking the doorway.
The door creaked open a crack.
The stench of decay and blood instantly thickened. Jiang Jin extended his flame-lit hand, the yellowish glow dispelling the darkness before the door and illuminating the corridor—long trails of blood streaked the floor, unidentified stains splattered the walls, and several mangled corpses lay in twisted positions. At least, there were no moving shadows.
"Left side clear. Right side... something's banging on the third door." Lu Zhao's voice was a whisper, laced with tension. "Stairwell... two of them, pacing back and forth."
"Take them out. Quickly. Quietly." Gu Xun ordered.
Lu Zhao nodded, drawing his hands before him. Two near-transparent wind blades shot low along the floor, slicing precisely through the ankles of the two zombies at the stairwell entrance. The faint crack of snapping bones was drowned out by the wind's roar as the zombies stumbled and fell. Just as they opened their mouths, their growls about to erupt, Jiang Jin darted forward like a shadow. His burning palm slammed over their mouths and noses. Flames smoldered in the confined space, emitting faint popping sounds. The acrid stench of burning flesh spread, and the two zombies soon ceased moving.
When the last sparks died in the darkness, the corridor fell silent once more.
Though the clash lasted mere seconds, the exertion felt like a marathon. The three leaned against the wall, hearts pounding so loudly they could almost hear the thudding in each other's chests. Gu Xun lowered his voice: "Keep moving." His tone remained steady, but the knuckles pressing against the wall turned slightly white.
The trio exchanged a glance, maintaining their formation as they descended the stairs. Darkness pressed against their senses like a tangible force. Jiang Jin's flames were the sole source of light, casting flickering, eerie shadows across the walls. Lu Zhao's senses were stretched to their limit, the wind like invisible tentacles, forewarning of potential dangers lurking around every corner. Gu Xun brought up the rear, a faint glow and mist swirling around his fingertips, ready to respond to any sudden threat.
They moved like three ghostly figures, creeping along the stairway of death.
By the time they reached the first floor, cold sweat had soaked their backs. Seven or eight shadowy figures roamed the lobby, their low growls echoing through the empty space.
"We can't go through here," Gu Xun declared sharply, swiftly pointing to another corridor leading to the rear of the dormitory building. "That way—out through the window."
They slipped silently into the corridor, which was indeed much more open. The bolt on the window at the end was rusted shut. Jiang Jin concentrated his palm flame to burn it for a moment. Gu Xun then drew on the thin moisture in the air, cooling it with a sharp hiss. Lu Zhao seized the moment, using wind pressure to push the window open with a loud creak.
The cold night wind rushed in, carrying the scent of freedom but also the ever-present danger. One by one, the trio climbed out and stepped back onto solid ground.
The path to the small supermarket was equally fraught with peril. Lu Zhao's heightened senses served as their most reliable radar, allowing them to repeatedly evade small groups of zombies in advance. His wind blades grew increasingly precise, capable of silently severing a zombie's nerve center from twenty meters away. Jiang Jin, meanwhile, operated like a savage sweeper, incinerating unavoidable obstacles with the most direct method.
When they finally reached the small supermarket and saw the side door pried open, its interior a chaotic mess, their moods grew heavier.
The search for supplies was tense and oppressive. Collapsed shelves, scattered goods, dried bloodstains... all bore witness to the tragedy that had unfolded here.
Just as Lu Zhao struggled to drag a box of unopened bottled water from the bottom shelf—
From the shadows deep within the shelves, a dark figure burst forth at a speed far surpassing its kind! It was a clearly mutated creature, moving on all fours with contorted joints. Its claws sliced through the air with a shrill screech, aiming straight for Lu Zhao's unguarded back!
"Watch out!" Gu Xun's warning came simultaneously with his action! A water curtain, glowing with a milky-white aura, instantly solidified behind Lu Zhao!
"Rip!" The mutant's claws tore through the resilient water barrier as if ripping cloth! Yet its momentum faltered violently!
Lu Zhao felt a vicious gust of wind strike his back. Survival instinct drove him forward, his shoulder crashing into the opposite shelf, narrowly evading the deadly claw strike!
Missing its target, the mutant's blood-red compound eyes instantly locked onto Gu Xun, who had repeatedly unleashed his abilities. Its hind legs tensed as it lunged forward again with even greater speed! Its stance screamed a vow to tear apart this source of light radiating that detestable energy!
"You're fucking asking for it!!" Jiang Jin, closest to the fray, his eyes bulging with rage. A savage fury and an inexplicable protective instinct ignited within him! Every muscle in his body tensed to its limit. In an instant, his right arm was completely engulfed in blazing flames—no longer flickering sparks, but a solid, fiery warhammer! Without any flourish, he twisted his waist, thrust his shoulder forward, and channeled every ounce of his strength into this single punch. From bottom to top, he slammed it viciously into the mutant's charging chest and abdomen!
"BOOM!!"
The heavy thud echoed like a drumbeat! Flames erupted violently at the point of contact! The mutant's terrifying forward momentum was brutally halted by this savage punch, its body flung upward in the air, emitting a shrill, agonized howl!
Now!
Gu Xun suppressed the waves of dizziness and stabbing pain in his mind caused by continuous spellcasting, a resolute silver gleam flashing in his pupils. He abandoned the area-of-effect light, compressing his remaining mental energy to its absolute limit. A beam of blinding white light, as thin as a hair yet intensely concentrated, erupted from his fingertip—like a ray of light drawn by the hand of God itself. It pierced with pinpoint accuracy into the mutant's gaping, foul-smelling maw, opened wide in agony!