The footsteps were slow.
Too slow.
Each step landed with deliberate weight, heel first, toe after—an unmistakably human rhythm. Not the frantic scramble of a survivor fleeing monsters, nor the erratic skitter of something feral.
This was confidence.
Liu Chen stood still on the fourth-floor landing, fire axe held low but ready. Gao Wen froze beside him, fingers digging into Liu Chen's sleeve as if letting go would cause him to fall apart entirely.
The stairwell lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The footsteps paused above them.
Silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Then a voice drifted down the stairwell.
"…I can smell blood."
It was calm.
Curious.
Almost amused.
Gao Wen sucked in a sharp breath before clapping a hand over his mouth.
Liu Chen didn't move.
He raised one finger slowly, signaling silence, then eased backward a step, placing himself half a pace in front of Gao Wen. The axe rested against his shoulder now—not threatening, not passive. Ready.
The footsteps resumed.
A man came into view.
At least, he looked like one.
He wore a security guard's uniform, torn and stained dark with dried blood. One sleeve hung limp and shredded, exposing skin that looked wrong—too tight, too smooth, faintly glossy under the stairwell lights.
His face was intact. No distortion. No exposed bone.
His eyes, however, were black.
Not pupils. Not irises.
Black.
Like someone had poured ink into the sockets and let it harden there.
He smiled when he saw them.
"Ah," he said softly. "Found you."
A faint system prompt hovered above his head.
Not blue.
Not gray.
Crimson.
[ABERRANT ENTITY — HUMAN VARIANT]
[THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN]
Liu Chen's pulse quickened—not with fear, but with calculation.
So the system categorized it too.
Good.
That meant it could probably be killed.
The thing tilted its head, studying Liu Chen the way a collector might study a rare item.
"You didn't run," it said. "Most do."
Liu Chen met its gaze evenly. "You talk too much."
The smile widened.
"That's because I'm still sane," it replied. "Mostly."
It took another step down.
Liu Chen raised the axe.
"Stop there," he said.
The creature glanced at the axe, then back at Liu Chen, unimpressed. "Do you know what happens when people awaken traits that don't match what they are?"
Liu Chen didn't answer.
The creature continued anyway.
"They break. Or they adapt." Its black eyes glimmered. "I adapted."
The system chimed faintly in Liu Chen's mind, unprompted.
[ABSOLUTE ADAPTATION — PASSIVE ANALYSIS ACTIVE]
[WARNING: UNKNOWN ENERGY SIGNATURE]
So it wasn't just physical.
Great.
The creature's gaze flicked briefly to Gao Wen. "And this one… you're protecting him."
Gao Wen flinched.
Liu Chen shifted half a step more in front of him. "Back off."
The creature chuckled. "You think you have a choice?"
Then it moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Just… suddenly closer.
Liu Chen reacted instantly, bringing the axe down in a diagonal arc aimed for the neck.
The blade hit.
And stopped.
Metal shrieked against something hard—too hard.
The creature caught the axe head with its bare hand.
Its fingers didn't bleed.
They dented.
Like striking reinforced rubber over steel.
The impact rattled up Liu Chen's arms, numbing his wrists.
The creature leaned in, face inches from his.
"Too light," it murmured.
Then it twisted.
The axe was wrenched sideways with brutal force. Liu Chen staggered, barely keeping his grip as the creature drove a knee up into his ribs.
Pain exploded through his side.
Air left his lungs in a sharp wheeze as he was slammed against the stairwell wall. Concrete cracked slightly behind him.
[ABSOLUTE ADAPTATION TRIGGERED]
[ANALYZING: BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA]
The creature stepped back, watching with interest as Liu Chen coughed.
"Ah," it said. "You felt that, didn't you?"
Liu Chen forced air back into his lungs through clenched teeth.
Yes.
He felt it.
But the pain already felt… different.
Duller at the edges.
Less panicked.
[ADAPTING…]
[MINOR BONE DENSITY REINFORCEMENT IN PROGRESS]
The creature's smile faltered—just slightly.
"Oh?"
Liu Chen straightened.
Slowly.
He rolled one shoulder, testing range of motion. It hurt—but not as much as it should have.
Good.
Very good.
"You're not the only one who adapts," Liu Chen said.
The creature's eyes narrowed.
Then it laughed.
A harsh, ugly sound.
"Excellent."
It lunged.
This time, Liu Chen didn't try to overpower it.
He sidestepped, letting the creature's momentum carry past him, then slammed the axe handle—not the blade—into the back of its knee.
The impact landed clean.
The creature stumbled forward a step.
Just one.
But that was enough.
Liu Chen brought the axe down again—this time onto the creature's exposed spine.
The blade bit in.
Shallow, but real.
Black-red fluid sprayed across the stairwell.
The creature howled.
Not in pain.
In rage.
It spun, backhanding Liu Chen across the face.
Stars burst behind his eyes as he hit the railing hard enough that the metal bent.
[ABSOLUTE ADAPTATION TRIGGERED]
[ANALYZING: KINETIC IMPACT / FACIAL TRAUMA]
Liu Chen slid down the railing and landed on one knee.
Blood dripped from his lip.
The world rang.
But the ringing faded fast.
Too fast.
[ADAPTATION COMPLETE]
[MINOR NEURAL SHOCK REDUCTION ACQUIRED]
The creature stared at him now—not smiling.
"What are you?" it asked.
Liu Chen wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and stood.
"No idea," he replied. "But I'm learning."
Behind him, Gao Wen suddenly shouted, "Left—!"
Liu Chen moved without thinking.
The creature's clawed hand swept through the space where his head had been a moment ago. He ducked low and shoved forward, shoulder first, driving into the creature's midsection.
For a human, the move wouldn't have done much.
But Liu Chen wasn't just human anymore.
The adapted bone density in his shoulder made the impact solid.
The creature stumbled backward, boots scraping on concrete.
Liu Chen surged forward, attacking relentlessly now.
Axe swing.
Kick to the shin.
A second axe swing—this one aimed for the neck again.
The creature raised an arm to block.
The blade sunk into its forearm and didn't stop.
The adaptation stacked.
Bone resistance versus bone reinforcement.
The axe finally won.
The arm severed at the elbow.
The creature screamed.
That scream didn't sound human at all.
It reeled, clutching the stump as black-red fluid poured out. The crimson system prompt above its head flickered wildly.
[ENTITY STABILITY COMPROMISED]
The creature snarled, stepping back up the stairs. "This isn't over—"
Liu Chen didn't let it finish.
He grabbed the creature's uniform collar and yanked forward with everything he had.
Then he drove the axe blade straight down into its skull.
The resistance was there—but weaker now.
The blade split bone.
The creature spasmed violently, then went limp.
Its body slumped at Liu Chen's feet.
Silence rushed in like a wave.
Liu Chen stood there, chest heaving, axe dripping with dark fluid. His arms ached. His ribs throbbed. His face felt swollen.
But he was alive.
And the system knew it.
[ABERRANT ENTITY TERMINATED]
[SURVIVAL MILESTONE: HUMAN VARIANT DEFEATED]
[LOTTERY POINTS +3]
Another notification followed, heavier than the rest.
[ABSOLUTE ADAPTATION — SIGNIFICANT GROWTH ACHIEVED]
[ADAPTATIONS CONSOLIDATING…]
Liu Chen leaned against the wall as warmth flooded his body—not healing, not exactly, but optimization. His bones felt denser. His perception steadier.
He understood now.
Adaptation wasn't passive.
It rewarded risk.
But only if you survived it.
Gao Wen stepped forward slowly, staring at the corpse in horror and awe. "Y-you just killed that thing."
"Yes," Liu Chen said, breathing evenly now.
"That thing… talked."
"Yes."
"And you still—"
"Yes."
Gao Wen swallowed. "You're insane."
Liu Chen glanced at him. "Alive."
That ended the discussion.
The corpse on the stairs began to dissolve, starting from the head down. Black-red fluid evaporated into gray mist.
Something clinked against the concrete.
A crystal dropped.
This one was bigger—about the size of a coin—and pulsed with faint crimson light.
[MID-GRADE ESSENCE SHARD DETECTED]
Liu Chen picked it up.
It felt heavier than it should have.
More real.
Then the system chimed again.
[DAILY LOTTERY — BONUS DRAW AVAILABLE]
Liu Chen's heart skipped.
"Awarded for challenge completion," the system added.
So fighting stronger entities paid more.
Good.
He closed his eyes briefly and activated the draw.
The familiar wheel spun.
Slower than before.
Heavier.
It stopped.
[TRAIT OBTAINED]
[PAIN DAMPENING (RARE)]
The information settled into his mind.
Pain didn't vanish—but it dulled, filtered, prioritized.
His vision sharpened.
The ache in his ribs downgraded from urgent to background noise.
Liu Chen exhaled slowly.
This was dangerous.
Not because it weakened him—but because it made fighting easier.
Addictive.
He opened his eyes to see Gao Wen staring at him like he was something out of a nightmare.
"…What now?" Gao Wen asked quietly.
Liu Chen looked up the stairwell.
Then down.
Monsters below.
Survivors above.
And somewhere in the building—other things waking up.
"We keep moving," Liu Chen said. "And we don't get careless."
He stepped past the dissolving corpse and climbed upward again.
Behind him, the system's final message lingered.
[NOTICE: HOST HAS ENTERED ACCELERATED ADAPTATION PHASE]
The apocalypse hadn't even finished setting its rules.
And Liu Chen was already breaking them.
To be continued.