Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Sixty-Five: Joining Forces

Lu Yi held a gun in one hand and a dagger in the other, advancing into the chaotic horde of zombies as he fired, while Xu Anxuan conjured blades of light and followed closely behind, dispatching any stragglers that escaped Lu Yi’s assault.

As for the others, Li Xinran was positioned on the side with fewer zombies—a deliberate arrangement by Xu Anxuan. The rest, though reluctant to press forward, knew there was no chance of turning back through the zombie-infested streets. So, they hunched low, heads bowed, and followed the three at the front step by cautious step.

Soon, under the leadership of Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan, the group made it through the swarm of zombies.

“What are your plans now?” Lu Yi asked, glancing at the group, but his gaze lingered especially on Xu Anxuan and Li Xinran—most of all on Xu Anxuan, who now counted as at least a partial ally.

In this kind of shared dream, monsters might appear that Lu Yi alone could not handle, and besides, as someone who entered later, he was not well versed in the nature of this dream.

“Someone broadcast from a plane, saying the East City Railway Station has been reclaimed. Our plan is to go there and see for ourselves. If we can join forces with others, it should be safer and we’ll better understand our situation,” Xu Anxuan replied, her words veiled but clear enough for Lu Yi to grasp—she too had yet to discover a way to break free from this dream.

“In that case, let’s keep moving,” Lu Yi said, continuing onward.

Just then, in the distance, dark shapes suddenly flew into the air. Focusing his gaze, Lu Yi saw they were just ordinary zombies—not flying, but being hurled by a much stronger mutant.

Soon, Lu Yi heard heavy, urgent footsteps and saw the beast—a towering, muscular creature, over three meters tall and colored a deep, bruised purple.

The hulking zombie charged toward Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan, seized a bicycle, and swung it at them. But neither was ordinary; both slipped nimbly aside, evading the attack with ease.

Landing from a backflip, Lu Yi quickly switched to another gun and fired repeatedly at the mutant zombie. Yet the creature was unfazed; the bullets merely pricked its flesh, unable to pierce further.

With a shake of its muscles, the bullets clattered to the ground. With a guttural snarl, the zombie stomped, shattering the stones beneath its feet, and used the recoil to leap several meters, pouncing at Lu Yi.

Lu Yi rolled aside, avoiding the lunge, and fired several shots at the zombie’s head. The only effect was a slight shake—it was as if the bullets were nothing.

“We’re done for! The zombies are evolving too fast—they don’t fear bullets anymore. We’re finished,” Jia Jun’s group watched in despair.

Seeing bullets were useless, Lu Yi recognized the daunting challenge of this shared dream. He holstered his gun, drew two combat knives, and touched the ring on his finger, which glowed faintly gold.

With feints, Lu Yi darted to the zombie’s side and hacked down with his blade, but felt only the resistance of thick hide—he had barely wounded the monster.

“It’s useless! Run!” Lu Ningyu shouted. “If bullets can’t hurt it, what can cold weapons do? At this rate, the zombie will adapt to your attacks, and soon, escape will be impossible.”

Lu Yi ignored her, crouched low and slipped under the zombie’s arm, then spun and slashed at its knee joint. The blade left a thin line of black blood—a result that left Lu Yi both relieved and troubled. At least the creature wasn’t utterly invulnerable, but the wound was minuscule.

“Xu Anxuan!” Lu Yi called. Their eyes met, and they quickly adjusted their tactics. They began circling the zombie, seizing every opening to strike at its right knee.

Both understood that killing such a monster with one blow was impossible. Better to cripple it—disable its leg, and attacking or fleeing would be much safer.

Thus the wound on the zombie’s leg grew deeper, but it was also adapting, learning to contend with both attackers where at first it could only track one.

“I told you, these zombies evolve too quickly—and their stamina is endless. How could two mere mortals possibly win?” Jia Jun wailed.

“Shut up, they’ll win!” Li Xinran shouted back. “Don’t you see? The zombie may be blocking some attacks, but it’s growing weaker. It’s barely able to stand and defend itself. Once they sever its leg, it’ll be even more limited—one misstep and it will lose its balance.”

“How is that possible? Haven’t you seen all the varieties of zombies along the way? None compare to this one. Even the weaker ones can heal fast—this one won’t be any less capable,” Xiao Wen muttered, hopeless.

“I think the zombie is getting faster again,” Lu Ningyu suddenly exclaimed.

“Look! Its wounds are healing rapidly,” Jia Jun cried out, pointing at the zombie’s leg.

Li Xinran looked and saw the wound closing before her eyes.

“How… how can this be?” All her confidence in Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan evaporated, as if an oasis had turned out to be a mirage.

Xu Anxuan and Lu Yi, fighting up close, sensed the change instantly.

“It’s happening again,” Xu Anxuan murmured.

“What?” Lu Yi dodged another attack.

“Fall back!” Xu Anxuan called, and they each retreated to one side. The zombie swiped at empty air, glancing first at Xu Anxuan, then at Lu Yi, but hesitated to attack.

“Circle around!” Xu Anxuan said, dashing around the zombie. Lu Yi, though confused, followed her lead.

As they crossed paths, Xu Anxuan whispered urgently, “Do you have anything to block the zombie? We need a plan—we can’t keep this up.”

Lu Yi thought for a moment, then called to Li Xinran, “Xinran, take out the statue from the space.”

“Statue? What statue? What space?” Li Xinran was bewildered.

“Just think of it—like this,” Lu Yi said, showing her his Spirit-Link Ring. “You can do it.”

Li Xinran stared at the ring, and suddenly felt one appear on her own finger. “What’s this?” Only then did she recall what she had forgotten.

“How can I help you?” she asked quickly.

“Carry the statue in both hands and walk over to us,” Lu Yi said, dodging a projectile.

Li Xinran did as told, retrieving the statue from the space. Though her steps were shaky and her courage thin, she pressed on toward Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan.

As the statue began to glow, the zombie’s face twisted with visible disgust. Abandoning its previous target, it hurled a stone at Li Xinran.

Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan leapt up, shattering the stone.

Now standing beside Li Xinran, the two faced the zombie, which, repelled by the white light, took up a hunched, aggressive posture, circling the three as Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan had circled it moments before.

Xu Anxuan, panting from exertion, steadied her breath and spoke, “It’s happening again.”

Lu Yi said nothing, but waited for her to continue, machine gun at the ready—if the zombie stopped to pick anything up, he’d shoot, lessening their risk from distance attacks.

The others, meanwhile, had already retreated to a corner when Li Xinran stepped forward.

“I’ve faced mutant zombies several times now,” Xu Anxuan said, glancing at Lu Yi. “Every time, it happens after they start saying those things.”

She looked meaningfully at Lu Ningyu and the others, drawing Lu Yi’s attention as well. “Whenever they talk about how strong or fast the zombies are evolving, the one I’m fighting always mutates rapidly during the battle.”

Lu Yi frowned. “You’re saying…”

“Yes. Their fear is strengthening the monsters in the dream,” Xu Anxuan said with conviction.

“In my own dream, at first the man in black had no real power—he just followed me like a shadow, with irrelevant passersby around. But when I worried they wouldn’t save me, they really did just stand by, and the man in black appeared nearby.

When I feared being stranded somewhere deserted, I soon ran into a narrow, empty alley—and was killed.” Xu Anxuan now spoke of it calmly.

“I fell into a deeper dream. When you entered to rescue me and broke through the third layer, we returned to the previous one. Do you remember what power the man in black had in that layer?” she suddenly asked Lu Yi.

“I remember—he could move swiftly in the dark,” Lu Yi replied at once.

“Right. But at first, he was only a bit quicker than on the first level.” Her words surprised Lu Yi, who had always assumed the first layer was the most dangerous and that each subsequent layer became easier—but now it seemed the opposite.

“Surprising, isn’t it? You thought each layer got harder as you ascended, but from my perspective, going deeper made things worse—though the increase was slight. The real challenge was going back up, as you saw with all those new abilities.” Lu Yi nodded.

“You probably didn’t notice, but when you were evenly matched with the man in black on the first layer, the alley became much brighter,” Xu Anxuan said, smiling.

“I didn’t realize—I was too focused on carrying the statue,” Lu Yi admitted, surprised.

“Yes. You gave me confidence to defeat him, and as my mindset shifted, the alley brightened,” Xu Anxuan said, turning to Li Xinran. “So you need to be brave, too.”

Understanding this was meant for her, Li Xinran nodded at once.

Now everything was clear. This hospital was a place seasoned trial-takers could not enter. According to previous reasoning, as long as one stayed in the designated seat on the bus, death could be avoided. Afterward, the participants would be sent to this hospital, forced to confront their fears and awaken their innate abilities—just as Xu Anxuan had.

Lu Yi finally grasped the hospital’s purpose. Yet a greater problem remained: while facing and overcoming fear could awaken a trial-taker’s talents, succumbing to fear would only make the dream more dangerous.

Lu Yi and Xu Anxuan exchanged a glance.

“We have to finish this quickly,” they said in unison.