Chapter 5: First Team, First Kill Order
The corridor fell into a suffocating silence as Lin Yu stepped forward, placing himself between Su Yan and the approaching figures, while the air around him grew heavy with the presence of water gathering at his command. The dim light flickered weakly, revealing the shapes ahead more clearly, and his eyes narrowed the moment he understood what he was facing. These were not ordinary zombies, and not even like the single mutated one he had killed before; there were three of them, each standing at different angles in the corridor, their bodies still and composed, their eyes faintly glowing with a disturbing awareness. Behind them, several normal zombies crowded the entrance, but they did not rush forward. Instead, they lingered, as if waiting.
That alone was enough to send a cold realization through Lin Yu's mind. These creatures were not acting on instinct alone—they were being led.
Su Yan's breathing grew uneven behind him, and he could feel the slight tremble in her grip as she held onto his sleeve. He did not turn back, but his voice came out low and steady, telling her not to panic and to stay close no matter what happened. His tone was calm, but the seriousness behind it left no room for doubt.
The tallest of the three mutated zombies took a step forward, its movement slow yet oppressive, like a predator closing in on prey it had already chosen. Its gaze remained fixed on Lin Yu, as if it could sense the difference in him. The faint glow in its eyes intensified, and for a brief second, Lin Yu felt something press against his mind, like an invisible weight trying to probe him.
His expression hardened instantly.
"So… you can sense me too," he thought, his control tightening as the water around him condensed further, becoming sharper, more lethal.
There was no more hesitation.
The moment the creature took its second step, Lin Yu moved.
He raised his hand, and three compressed streams of water shot forward simultaneously, slicing through the air with a faint whistling sound. The attack was faster and more precise than anything he had used before, aimed directly at the heads of the three mutated zombies.
But what happened next made his pupils contract.
The tallest one moved first, its body shifting slightly as it avoided the attack with minimal movement, while the second raised its arm, blocking the strike as the water blade cut deep into its hardened flesh but failed to sever it completely. The third one reacted a fraction too late, its head partially sliced before it staggered back, letting out a low, distorted growl.
"They can react…" Lin Yu realized instantly, his mind calculating at high speed. "Faster than before."
The corridor erupted into motion.
The injured mutated zombie lunged forward despite its wound, its movements wild but powerful, while the other two flanked from opposite sides, attempting to surround him. Behind them, the normal zombies began to push in, filling the space with suffocating pressure.
Lin Yu stepped forward instead of retreating.
Water surged around him like a rising tide, forming multiple thin blades that hovered at his sides. His eyes turned completely focused, cold and precise. In that moment, he was no longer reacting—he was calculating.
"If I drag this out, I lose," he thought. "Too many variables… too many threats."
So he made a decision.
End it quickly.
The first mutated zombie reached him, its claw tearing through the air with brutal force. Lin Yu did not block this time. Instead, he shifted slightly to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as he extended his hand forward. The water around him compressed instantly into a single, ultra-thin blade.
And he struck.
The blade cut cleanly through the creature's neck.
Its body froze mid-motion before collapsing heavily to the ground.
But there was no time to pause.
The second mutated zombie was already behind him.
Lin Yu's eyes flickered as his perception expanded outward. He could feel it—the moisture within its body, the flow of liquid beneath its hardened flesh. Without turning, he clenched his fist.
"Break."
A sharp internal force surged through the creature.
It let out a choked sound as its body stiffened unnaturally before collapsing, lifeless.
Only one remained.
The tallest one.
It did not rush forward this time. Instead, it stopped a few meters away, staring at Lin Yu with an intensity that felt almost… intelligent. Its head tilted slightly, as if reassessing him, recalculating the situation.
Then—
It smiled again.
Lin Yu's expression did not change, but his guard rose to its peak. This one was different. Stronger. Smarter.
Behind it, the remaining normal zombies surged forward, filling the corridor completely.
Su Yan gasped softly, her back pressing against the wall as panic threatened to overwhelm her, but Lin Yu's voice cut through the chaos, calm and sharp, telling her to stay behind him and not move no matter what she saw.
The water around him began to move violently now, no longer just forming blades but gathering into a swirling mass, dense and oppressive. The air itself seemed to distort slightly as his control pushed beyond what he had shown before.
"I can't hold back anymore," he thought.
The tallest mutated zombie finally moved.
Not forward—
But sideways.
Fast.
Too fast.
It disappeared from his direct line of sight.
At the same time, the horde of normal zombies rushed in, their numbers turning the narrow corridor into a death trap.
Lin Yu's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Trying to distract me…"
He raised both hands.
The swirling water expanded outward in all directions, forming a rotating field around him and Su Yan. The first wave of zombies collided with it—
And were shredded instantly.
Limbs, bodies, and blood were torn apart as the high-speed water currents sliced through them mercilessly, turning the space into a storm of destruction.
But in that chaos—
He felt it.
The real threat.
Behind him.
Without turning, Lin Yu's eyes turned completely cold as he extended his senses inward once more, locking onto the flow of liquid inside the approaching body.
"Found you."
His hand clenched.
But this time—
The response was different.
The creature resisted.
For the first time, Lin Yu's control met opposition.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…It's fighting back?"
In that split second of shock—
A claw tore through the swirling water field and struck toward him.
Too fast to fully avoid.
Lin Yu twisted his body, but the attack still grazed his shoulder, tearing through his clothes and drawing blood.
He staggered back slightly, his control wavering for just a moment.
And the creature stood there, just beyond the storm of water, its glowing eyes fixed on him, its smile wider than before.
Lin Yu steadied himself, ignoring the pain as blood dripped slowly down his arm.
His breathing remained calm.
But his eyes—
Had changed again.
"This one…" he thought slowly.
"…is different."
For the first time since gaining his power—
He felt pressure.
Real pressure.
And behind him, Su Yan watched everything unfold, her fear slowly mixing with something else.
A realization.
The boy standing in front of her—
Was no longer just trying to survive.
He was already stepping into something far more dangerous.
And this battle—
Was only the beginning of something much bigger.