The ash crunched under Shen Yuan's feet as he moved deeper into the canyon, every sense sharpened by the memory of the scavengers from yesterday.
The System's presence pressed at the back of his mind like a coiled predator.
Keep your guard up.
"I am," he muttered, scanning the jagged rocks for movement. The canyon was narrow here, funnelling the wind into thin, moaning gusts that sounded far too much like voices.
No. You're tired. You're slower than you think. You'll die if you don't stay sharp.
Shen Yuan bit back a retort. The System was right. He hadn't slept properly since leaving the cavern. Every moment of rest was haunted by the thought of being discovered, of waking to a blade at his throat.
He stepped over a collapsed skeleton, its storage ring already pried from the finger. He ignored the hollow sockets staring up at him and crouched low at the edge of the path, scanning ahead.
The canyon widened here into a shallow basin. Half-buried corpses lay scattered in the dust. Some had been here for decades; others were recent, their faces still twisted with terror.
Shen Yuan crouched beside one of the fresher bodies. The man's robes were torn, the insignia long faded, but his storage bag was still at his hip.
Shen Yuan hesitated.
Take it.
"I…"
Take it. You need resources. Or do you think honor will fill your stomach?
He unfastened the bag, feeling the chill creep into his chest. It was nearly empty: a cracked qi stone, a rusted dagger, a few strips of dried meat so stale they crumbled at his touch.
Shen Yuan pocketed the dagger.
The System's voice was dry. Better than nothing.
He crossed the basin cautiously, weaving through the corpses. A faint trail of bootprints cut through the dust—recent, only hours old.
Shen Yuan's gut tightened.
Scavengers, the System murmured. And close.
He had just enough time to draw the dagger before a shadow peeled from the rocks behind him.
A man lunged, spear thrusting low. Shen Yuan twisted aside, the spear's tip grazing his ribs. Pain flared, but he didn't have time to think.
Two more shapes emerged from the dust, weapons drawn.
"Another one," one of them snarled. "Fresh enough to have something worth taking."
Shen Yuan backed up slowly, the dagger slick in his hand. "I don't want trouble."
The first scavenger sneered. "Then die quietly."
They lunged together.
The first strike clipped Shen Yuan's shoulder, spinning him. He lashed out with the dagger, opening a shallow cut across one attacker's thigh, but the man barely flinched.
He was too weak. His body hadn't recovered enough for this.
Focus! the System roared. Use the environment!
Shen Yuan stumbled back toward a jagged outcrop, forcing his attackers into a narrow funnel. The scavenger with the spear lunged again. This time, Shen Yuan sidestepped at the last second and slammed the man's arm into the rock. The spear clattered to the ground.
Shen Yuan snatched it up, driving the butt into the man's ribs. Bone cracked.
The other two charged.
Pain exploded across his back as a sword bit shallowly into his shoulder. Shen Yuan gritted his teeth and rammed the spear's tip into the man's stomach.
The scavenger gasped, collapsing in a spray of blood.
The last man hesitated.
"Go," Shen Yuan said, chest heaving.
The man looked at the corpse, then at Shen Yuan. His eyes hardened. "No witnesses."
He lunged.
Shen Yuan ducked under the swing and drove the spear upward with both hands. The point punched through the man's throat.
He fell without a sound.
Shen Yuan stood over the bodies, his hands shaking. Blood slicked his palms, sticky and hot.
He wanted to be sick.
Good, the System said coldly. Now strip them.
Shen Yuan stared. "What?"
They would have stripped you. Take everything—storage bags, weapons, even their clothes if it keeps you alive.
"I'm not—"
You're not what? A scavenger? The System's voice cut through his protest. This is Grave Omega. You will either take what you need, or you will join them in the dust.
Shen Yuan's jaw tightened. He knelt and unfastened the storage bags with trembling fingers.
One had three qi stones, all half-spent. Another carried a small bundle of dried meat and a cracked canteen of ashwater. The last had a talisman—faded, but still faintly humming with energy.
Better, the System said. That talisman could buy your life if you use it well.
Shen Yuan didn't answer. He tied the bags at his belt and wiped the blood from his hands on the scavenger's tattered robe.
As he stood, a flicker of energy pulsed at the edge of his awareness.
The System's presence sharpened instantly. Hide.
Shen Yuan ducked behind a boulder just as three more figures entered the basin, each wearing the same scavenger rags.
The newcomers stopped when they saw the bodies.
"Damn it," one hissed. "Someone's picking us off."
They knelt, checking the corpses.
Shen Yuan's heart pounded. If they found the tracks, he was finished.
But after a tense moment, the scavengers turned and headed back the way they had come, dragging the bodies with them.
Shen Yuan exhaled slowly.
You're lucky, the System said. But luck won't save you forever.
Shen Yuan tightened his grip on the spear. "I'll survive."
Then prepare, the System said. Because the ones you just killed belonged to a faction. And factions here do not forgive.
Shen Yuan looked out at the canyon's desolate horizon, the weight of the words settling heavy on his shoulders.
He wasn't just fighting to survive the suppression field anymore.
Now, someone would be hunting him.