The library felt suffocatingly quiet.
Rows of tall bookshelves stretched across the second floor like silent walls, blocking sightlines and swallowing sound. Scattered chairs lay overturned across the study area, and dark stains marked the floor where blood had dried. The faint metallic scent lingered in the air, making each breath feel heavier than the last.
Lin Ye walked forward at a steady pace, his steps light and controlled. His perception remained active, picking up subtle changes in the environment. The faint shift of air between shelves. The distant creak of something settling. The almost imperceptible echoes that told him the space was not as empty as it seemed.
Behind him, the girl followed.
Her presence was easy to track. Her breathing was uneven, too loud for a place like this. Every step she took carried hesitation. Fear clung to her movements, slowing her down, making her uncertain.
Lin Ye did not look back.
He already knew what she was like.
And he already knew what would happen if she stayed that way.
Fear led to hesitation. Hesitation led to mistakes. And mistakes, in this world, led directly to death.
They reached the far end of the second floor, where the rows of shelves opened into a wider study area. Long tables were arranged in neat lines, though many had been pushed out of place. A few bodies lay scattered across the ground, unmoving, their presence adding to the oppressive stillness.
Lin Ye stopped.
The girl nearly walked into him before catching herself at the last second. She looked around nervously, her grip tightening around the broken piece of chair leg she had picked up earlier.
"Is it… safe?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lin Ye's gaze swept across the room once more before answering.
"No place is safe."
There was no harshness in his tone, only a simple statement of fact. That made it harder to argue with.
The girl lowered her head slightly, her shoulders tensing.
Lin Ye turned to look at her properly for the first time.
She looked like any other student. Young, probably around his age. Her clothes were slightly torn, and a faint bruise marked her arm. Her face was pale, but her eyes were still clear. She had not broken yet.
That meant she still had a chance.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"…Su Qing."
Her answer came after a brief hesitation.
"Lin Ye."
She nodded slightly, as if trying to steady herself, then asked in a quieter voice, "You're not scared?"
Lin Ye held her gaze for a moment before replying.
"I was."
He did not explain further.
Su Qing did not fully understand, but she could feel the difference. Lin Ye's calmness was not forced. It was not denial. It was something deeper, something that came from experience she could not see.
That alone made her feel a little less alone.
Lin Ye turned away, his attention returning to the room.
"You need to kill one," he said.
The words landed heavily.
Su Qing froze. Her fingers tightened around the wooden stick until her knuckles turned pale.
"I… I can't…"
"You can," Lin Ye replied calmly. "You just don't want to."
Her breathing hitched.
"That's not the same."
"It is."
Silence followed.
The space between them felt heavier than before. Su Qing's eyes trembled as she looked around, as if hoping for another answer. There was none.
Lin Ye did not push her further. Instead, he tilted his head slightly toward a nearby row of shelves.
"There's one behind that section."
Su Qing stiffened.
She followed his gaze slowly, her body reluctant to turn. Between two shelves, partially hidden in shadow, a figure stood motionless.
A zombie.
It had not noticed them yet.
Her first instinct was to step back. Her body reacted before her mind could stop it.
Lin Ye's voice came again, steady and unchanging.
"If you run, it will chase you."
"If you hide, something else will find you."
"If you don't awaken, you won't survive."
Each sentence was simple.
Direct.
Impossible to ignore.
Su Qing's hands trembled. Her breathing grew faster, uneven.
"I don't know how…" she whispered.
Lin Ye stepped forward.
He stopped a few steps away from the zombie, close enough that it began to stir. Its head turned slowly, pale eyes locking onto movement.
Then Lin Ye moved aside.
He left a clear path.
"For you."
Su Qing's mind went blank.
The zombie began walking toward her, its steps dragging, uneven, but steady.
The distance closed.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Her legs felt heavy, as if they refused to move.
She wanted to run.
She couldn't.
"Move," Lin Ye said.
She didn't.
The zombie got closer.
Five meters.
Four.
Three.
"Move."
This time, something in his voice changed. Not anger. Not impatience. Just pressure. Enough to break through the fog in her mind.
Su Qing stepped forward.
It wasn't a decision.
Her body simply moved.
She raised the broken chair leg with shaking hands just as the zombie lunged.
Her scream echoed through the quiet space as she swung.
The first hit was weak, barely enough to stagger it.
The zombie kept coming.
She swung again.
Harder this time.
And again.
Each strike carried more desperation than strength.
Until finally, the zombie collapsed.
The silence that followed felt unreal.
Su Qing stood there, frozen, her arms trembling violently. The broken wood slipped from her fingers and hit the floor with a dull sound.
She stared at the body.
Then a faint light surrounded her.
She flinched, panic rising again.
"What is this…"
A translucent screen appeared before her eyes.
Her breathing quickened as she stared at it.
"I have… something in front of me…"
Lin Ye watched quietly.
"That's your system," he said.
She looked at him in shock.
"You have it too?"
"Yes."
The fear in her eyes did not disappear, but something else appeared alongside it.
Understanding.
Lin Ye stepped closer.
"Check your stats."
Su Qing nodded slowly, her eyes moving as she read.
"I'm… level one…"
Her voice was softer now, less panicked.
"What do I do now?" she asked.
"Survive."
She waited, expecting more.
Nothing came.
"That's it?"
"Yes."
Lin Ye turned and continued walking.
For a moment, Su Qing stayed where she was, staring at the screen only she could see.
Then she quickly followed.
This time, her steps were still cautious, but no longer frozen with fear.
They moved deeper into the library.
The air grew heavier as they advanced. The silence became more oppressive, as if the building itself was holding its breath.
Then Lin Ye stopped again.
His posture changed slightly, his focus sharpening.
"There's something ahead," he said quietly.
Su Qing froze.
"What kind of something?"
Lin Ye did not answer.
He concentrated, letting his perception spread outward.
There was something there.
Not wandering.
Not chaotic like the zombies.
It felt concentrated.
Hidden.
Different.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
A resource point, or something close to it.
Those were rare this early.
Dangerous.
But valuable.
He stepped forward carefully.
Su Qing followed close behind, her earlier fear returning, but now mixed with something else.
Awareness.
They turned the corner.
And saw it.
At the center of a small reading section, the air shimmered faintly. A soft glow hovered just above the ground, like a ripple that did not belong to this world.
Su Qing's eyes widened.
"What is that…?"
Lin Ye did not answer immediately.
He studied it.
This was not a normal drop.
Not a creature.
Something tied to the system itself.
He stepped closer, but kept enough distance to react if needed.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Su Qing nodded quickly.
Lin Ye took one more step forward.
The moment he did, the glow pulsed.
The air shifted.
A pressure spread through the space.
Then a voice echoed in his mind.
[Hidden Event Detected]
Lin Ye's gaze sharpened.
So it really was one.
Behind him, Su Qing felt it too. The change in the air, the sudden weight pressing down on everything.
She held her breath without realizing it.
Lin Ye tightened his grip on the axe.
Whatever this was, it would not be simple.
But this kind of opportunity did not appear twice.
And he had no intention of letting it go.