The next afternoon, the rain continued to pour relentlessly, as if the sky had been punctured with countless holes.
Han Ning wore a relatively loose jacket, concealing his commonly used kitchen knife inside, and made his way to the fourth floor.
The scene at the stairwell entrance of the fourth floor was drastically different from the familiar seventh floor he knew.
As he approached, he detected a strange odor lingering in the air.
This smell was a mix of sweat, mildew, rotting food, and a faint trace of blood.
The stairwell was barricaded with piles of discarded furniture, wooden planks, and even twisted metal security doors.
These makeshift barriers were stacked layer upon layer, reinforcing the blockage toward the third floor, leaving only a narrow gap barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways.
Two men armed with crude weapons stood guard.
As Han Ning approached, one of the men seemed to receive a signal and stepped aside to let him pass.
Han Ning squeezed through.
The fourth floor had clearly been transformed into a large survivor stronghold.
Most of the suite doors along the corridor were left wide open.
As he passed by, he could clearly see men and women sitting or lying inside.
However, the atmosphere here was far from harmonious.
A group of relatively strong men gathered near the stairwell and a few doorways, chatting idly, looking very much like the delinquents who used to loiter around school gates.
Meanwhile, the weaker women and children sat inside the suites.
Most of them appeared listless, their faces bearing the dazed expression of prolonged hunger.
Several small children huddled in their mothers' arms, devoid of their usual liveliness.
Han Ning silently took it all in.
The concentration and uneven distribution of resources were common in any crisis.
Liu Feng had managed to organize so many people and establish a relatively orderly stronghold—he certainly had some skills.
But with limited food supplies, priority would naturally go to the able-bodied young men.
"Brother Han Ning, I knew you'd come!"
As Han Ning reached the middle of the corridor, Liu Feng emerged from one of the suites and greeted him warmly.
"You're just in time. The other two brothers have also just arrived."
"The other two Awakened?" Han Ning asked.
"Yes, follow me."
Liu Feng led Han Ning down the corridor, ignoring the curious glances from the people inside the rooms, until they reached a suite at the far end.
Pushing the door open, they entered a living room illuminated by seven or eight candles. The interior was luxuriously decorated, clearly the home of someone wealthy.
Han Ning estimated that the cost of this apartment's renovation was at least five times higher than his own well-furnished home.
On the solid wood coffee table, a pot of tea was brewing over a cassette stove with a gas canister.
Two men were already seated nearby.
One was exceptionally burly, sporting a trendy middle-parted hairstyle and wearing a tight black tank top that revealed his bulging muscles and arms adorned with intricate tattoos.
His demeanor resembled that of a gym enthusiast who frequented mid-to-high-end fitness centers and excelled at picking up women.
He was chewing on a piece of hardtack expressionlessly, as if gnawing on a rock.
When Han Ning entered, he merely lifted his eyelids to glance at him, his gaze indifferent and exuding an air of aloofness.
The other was relatively thin, wearing a gray hoodie with the hood pulled low, covering most of his face and revealing only his chin.
He sat quietly on a carved wooden chair, sipping tea in silence.
While the survivors outside looked haggard and worn, this guy was leisurely enjoying expensive black tea.
He seemed completely unfazed by Han Ning's arrival, not even lifting his head.
"Come, come, Brother Han Ning, let me introduce you."
Liu Feng warmly gestured for Han Ning to sit.
"This is Mr. Chen Yan. His Awakened ability is strength-related—his skin is incredibly tough, and his physical power is immense. He's a resident of the neighboring C-3 building."
He pointed at the burly man with a center-parted hairstyle.
Chen Yan merely snorted through his nose in acknowledgment.
"This is Mr. Lu Minghu. His Awakened ability is speed-based—his agility is extraordinary, scaling walls and leaping rooftops is nothing to him."
Liu Feng then turned to the thinner man sitting further inside.
Lu Minghu paused his tea-drinking and raised his head, revealing a relatively youthful face.
He gave Han Ning a slight nod. "Hello."
"As for Brother Han Ning… he can manipulate vines, excelling in both binding and attacking, with exceptional control abilities."
Han Ning's primary means of attack currently was launching vines, so Liu Feng's introduction was accurate enough that he didn't feel the need to elaborate.
After briefly introducing Han Ning to the two, Liu Feng then spoke about himself:
"Lastly, there's me. I can use my mind to control objects for offense or defense—something like telekinesis in movies, I suppose."
"Nice to meet you both."
Han Ning nodded at the two men in greeting and took a seat on the south side of the tea table.
"Oh, and one more piece of good news."
"The last Awakened I found has also accepted my invitation. She possesses long-range observation and targeting abilities—a rare scout. She's delayed by some matters but should arrive soon."
Hearing Liu Feng's introduction, Han Ning remained silent on the surface but felt inwardly puzzled.
These people's abilities all seemed to focus on a single aspect.
For example, enhanced physique, increased speed, or superhuman vision.
But his own ability was like awakening an entire profession—vines for attack, healing for recovery, and even accelerating plant growth.
Now, he had also awakened a new ability to form contracts with animals.
He was practically an all-rounder, capable of everything.
"Could it be that they didn't awaken a profession panel and only gained a single specialized ability?"
Han Ning found it strange but didn't voice his question.
Just as the group was conversing, the door was gently pushed open.
A bespectacled woman in her early thirties walked in, looking scholarly and composed.
Her appearance was plain, her hair tied into a neat ponytail, with a few strands dampened by rain clinging to her temples. She wore a well-fitted windbreaker.
"Apologies, I was handling something and got delayed," the woman said calmly.
"Not at all, you're just in time!"
Liu Feng clapped his hands together.
"Now that everyone's here, let me introduce you all properly."
Through Liu Feng's introduction, Han Ning learned that this seemingly unflappable woman was named Zhou Wan, also a resident of the area.
She had not known Chen Yan or Lu Minghu before this.
"Alright, now that we're all acquainted, I'll get straight to the point."
Liu Feng's smile faded as his expression turned serious.
"I plan to set off around noon tomorrow when the daylight is brightest and visibility is clearer."
"Our tentative target is the road leading toward White Egret Port, mainly for reconnaissance purposes."
"I've gathered everyone today for two reasons: first, to get acquainted with each other, and second, to finalize our division of labor and coordination."
He walked over to the coffee table where a hand-drawn, simplified map was spread out. Though somewhat crude, it roughly marked the apartment building's location and the route toward White Egret Port.
The five of them examined it under the bright candlelight.