"Hmm... I look quite good."

Bai Li said that in her head while looking at herself for a moment, slightly tilting her head like she was actually judging herself seriously. It wasn’t really about looks though. It was more about the feeling. She looked... ready. Calm. Not nervous, not scared like most people would be in this situation. Just steady.

Then with a simple thought, Whisperfang appeared in her hand.

It still felt a little unreal every time it showed up like that. One second her hand was empty, the next second the dagger was just there, resting perfectly in her grip with its scabbard. She slowly pulled it out, and that soft metallic sound echoed just a little in the quiet room.

The blade came out smoothly, shining faintly under the light.

She held it up and looked at it again.

No matter how many times she saw it, she still couldn’t get used to how good it looked. It didn’t feel like a normal weapon at all. The surface looked clean, almost too clean, like it didn’t belong in a messy world like this. Even the faint patterns on the blade made it look... special.

For a second, she actually hesitated.

It was weird.

She didn’t really want to dirty it.

A small part of her just wanted to keep it safe, maybe store it somewhere and just... look at it from time to time. It felt like one of those things that shouldn’t be used casually.

But then she let out a quiet breath and shook that thought away.

That’s stupid.

A weapon is meant to be used.

Not admired.

She slid it back into the scabbard and looked around the apartment one last time. Everything was in place. Supplies, setup, security, everything she worked on for the past few days. It felt safe here.

Too safe.

Which meant it was time to leave.

She walked out, closed the door behind her, and locked it properly. The click of the lock sounded a bit louder than usual in the quiet hallway.

The corridor outside was silent.

Not peaceful silent.

More like... empty silent.

She started walking toward the elevator out of habit, but just before reaching it, she slowed down and turned left instead. Without thinking much, she headed toward the staircase.

Using the elevator right now was just asking for trouble.

Even if the electricity was still working, stepping into a closed box and then walking out blindly on the first floor didn’t sound like a good idea at all. If there were zombies waiting there, she’d have no space to move.

No way out.

Too risky.

She reached the staircase door, unlocked it, and pushed it open. The inside was dim, quiet, and felt a bit colder than outside. Without hesitating, she stepped in and started going down.

Her footsteps were light, controlled.

Floor after floor, she moved steadily.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

There were no sounds of fighting, no screams, no movement. It felt like the entire building had gone into hiding. People were probably locked inside their homes, too scared to even peek out.

When she reached the tenth floor, she slowed down a little and glanced toward the corridor.

It was empty.

All the doors were shut tight.

No movement anywhere.

It looked normal... but also not normal at all.

Just as she was about to keep going down, she noticed something.

One of the doors was slightly open.

Just a little gap.

Before she could react, a woman’s face appeared there, peeking out carefully. Her eyes were wide, full of fear, like she had been standing there for a while, trying to see what was going on outside without actually stepping out.

Then she saw Bai Li.

Standing there.

Holding a weapon.

Dressed like she was about to go out into chaos.

The woman froze for a split second.

Then....

Bang.

The door shut immediately.

Fast.

Like she was afraid Bai Li might rush over the next second.

Bai Li blinked once, then couldn’t help but let out a small breath, almost like a silent laugh.

She didn’t blame her.

In this situation, anyone would be scared. And from that woman’s perspective, Bai Li probably didn’t look any safer than whatever was outside.

She kept going down without stopping, her steps steady and quiet, and even when she reached the fifth floor, there was still nothing. No movement, no sounds, no signs of anything wrong. It almost felt like the building was still normal, like nothing had happened outside at all. Every door was shut tight, and the silence was kind of heavy, like everyone inside was just holding their breath and waiting for something to pass. But Bai Li knew better. This kind of silence wasn’t safety. It was just the calm before things reached here too.

She continued down, but the moment she stepped toward the fourth floor, her body reacted instantly.

She stopped.

Three figures were standing between the stairs of the fifth and fourth floors.

Zombies.

They weren’t moving much, just swaying slightly, making low, uneven sounds like something stuck in their throats. They hadn’t noticed her yet, which meant she still had the advantage. Bai Li immediately slowed her breathing and stayed completely still for a second, watching them from above.

At this stage, zombies were still basic. Slow, clumsy, and not very aware unless they heard something. As long as she stayed quiet, they wouldn’t notice her easily. But even knowing that, when she actually looked at them properly, she couldn’t help but feel a slight discomfort in her chest.

They looked... horrible.

Not just injured.

Completely ruined.

The man looked like he had been bitten badly on the side of his face. The flesh there was torn open so deep that parts of his bone were visible underneath. One side of his face had basically collapsed inward, and one eye looked like it was barely hanging in place, cloudy and lifeless. His mouth was slightly open, and thick dark blood had dried around his lips and chin, cracking in places. Every time he moved, there was this wet, choking sound coming from his throat.

The woman beside him wasn’t any better. Her neck had deep bite marks, and parts of the skin there were missing, exposing raw flesh underneath. It looked like something had tried to tear her apart and failed halfway. Her hair was messy and stuck together with blood, and her hands kept twitching in a weird, unnatural way, like her body didn’t fully listen to itself anymore. Her jaw hung slightly open, and there was something wrong with the way her head tilted, like her neck couldn’t hold properly anymore.

Then there was the girl.

She looked the youngest, maybe in her early twenties, but honestly, it was hard to tell properly anymore. Half of her face was gone. Not fully gone, but enough that you could see parts of her teeth through torn flesh. Her cheek had been ripped open, and dried blood had covered most of her neck and clothes. Her eyes didn’t focus on anything. Just empty, dull, like there was nothing left inside.

Bai Li watched them quietly for a few seconds.

If a normal person saw something like this for the first time, they would probably freeze on the spot. Maybe scream. Maybe faint. It wasn’t just scary, it was... wrong. The human brain wasn’t built to process something like this calmly. That’s probably why so many people died in the early stages of the apocalypse. Not because zombies were fast or strong, but because people couldn’t move when they saw them.

Fear locked them in place.

And that was enough.

Looking at the three of them, Bai Li could already guess what happened.

A family.

The man and woman looked like they were in their forties, and the girl was probably their daughter. Maybe they tried to escape together. Maybe they thought staying together would keep them safe. But it didn’t matter anymore.

They failed.

Now they were just... this.

She let out a small sigh without even realizing it.

For a moment, there was still a bit of pity in her eyes.

But it didn’t stay.

That feeling disappeared quickly, replaced by something much colder and clearer.

They weren’t human anymore.

Not in any way that mattered.

And in this world, hesitation would only get her killed.

Bai Li’s eyes sharpened slightly as she tightened her grip on Whisperfang. Whatever they used to be didn’t matter now. Right now, they were enemies.

And enemies... needed to be dealt with.

Besides, She won’t hesitate to kill even if the opponent is a human as long as they are her enemy.

Bai Li stood there for a few seconds longer, just watching them like she was studying something instead of facing something dangerous. Her eyes moved slowly from one to another, noticing the way their bodies swayed, how their heads tilted slightly at random, how their arms moved without any proper coordination. There was no rhythm, no intelligence behind it, just instinct. Raw, ugly instinct. It honestly felt a little disappointing. She had mentally prepared herself for something more intense, something that would at least require effort, but looking at them now, it almost felt like she was about to test something rather than fight for her life. Still, she didn’t let her guard down completely. Even something weak could become dangerous if you got careless for even a second. With that thought, she let out a slow breath, adjusted her grip on Whisperfang, and stepped down toward them.

Her movement was smooth, controlled, and quiet, but she didn’t go out of her way to stay completely silent anymore. At this distance, it barely mattered. The moment her foot landed on the step just above them, the male zombie twitched slightly, its head turning in her direction with that dull, lifeless gaze. It was like it sensed something was there but couldn’t fully understand it. That half-second delay was already enough. Bai Li didn’t wait. She stepped forward in one fluid motion, her body leaning in slightly as her hand moved. Whisperfang slid out of its scabbard mid-motion, the blade catching a faint glint of light as it came free, and before the zombie could even react properly, she swung.

The strike was fast, clean, and completely direct.

The blade came down on the male zombie’s neck without hesitation.

There was a short sound, something like metal lightly hitting something hard, but it didn’t feel like resistance at all. It didn’t feel like she was cutting through bone. It felt like she was slicing through something soft.

And then....

The head came off.

Just like that.

No struggle, no need to push harder, no second strike.

The male zombie’s body froze for a split second, then collapsed backward heavily, its full weight crashing into the two behind it. The impact knocked them off balance instantly, their bodies tangling awkwardly as they fell against the stairs in a messy pile of limbs and broken movement. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Bai Li didn’t immediately follow up.

Instead, she paused for a second and looked down at the dagger in her hand, her brows lifting slightly.

"...That’s it?"

She turned her wrist slightly, looking at the blade like she was trying to understand what just happened. She knew how strong the human spine was. Even trained execution required force, proper angle, and sometimes multiple hits. But that strike just now... it didn’t feel like cutting something hard at all. It felt like she had cut through something soft. Something that offered almost no resistance.

"Feels like cutting tofu..."

She muttered under her breath, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

This was... good.

Really good.

Before she could think further, the male zombie’s body started twitching again, its limbs jerking as it tried to push itself back up despite its head barely attached anymore. The two beneath it were already reacting too. The woman was struggling, her arms pushing weakly against the stairs, her mouth opening wide as a hoarse, broken growl came out. The young girl beside her was also starting to move, her body jerking as she tried to get up from the pile.

Bai Li didn’t rush.

She stepped forward casually, like she wasn’t even under pressure, and placed her foot firmly on the male zombie’s chest, pinning it down without effort. The force of her step alone was enough to stop most of its movement. The female zombie beneath it struggled harder, her arms reaching up in a clumsy attempt to grab at her leg.

Bai Li looked down at her, tilting her head slightly.

"Still trying?"

There was no fear in her voice. If anything, she sounded almost... curious.

Her hand moved again.

One smooth motion.

The blade came down.

Clean.

The female zombie’s neck was cut through instantly, the head separating before the body even had time to react. A burst of thick, dark brown blood shot out, splashing forward with force. The smell hit immediately, heavy and rotten, like something that had been left to decay for days under heat. It was the kind of smell that would make most people gag instantly.

But Bai Li didn’t even react.

The moment the blood burst forward, her body moved instinctively. She pushed off the ground lightly and flipped backward in a smooth motion, landing a short distance away just as the blood splashed onto the steps where she had been standing a second earlier.

She glanced down briefly.

"Yeah... that’s disgusting."

Her tone was flat, almost like she was commenting on something mildly unpleasant rather than something horrifying.

The last zombie, the young girl, finally reacted properly now. It lunged toward her suddenly, arms reaching out stiffly, its movement faster than before but still clumsy and predictable. Bai Li didn’t even step back. She simply shifted her body slightly to the side, letting the lunge pass right next to her. The zombie stumbled forward from its own momentum, completely missing its target.

Bai Li turned with it.

Her arm moved again.

Another clean strike.

The blade cut across the neck effortlessly.

The head separated cleanly, rolling slightly across the step before coming to a stop.

The body dropped.

Just like that.

Three zombies.

Gone.

Bai Li stood there quietly for a moment, looking at the three bodies on the stairs. There was no tension left in her body, no heavy breathing, nothing. It didn’t even feel like a fight.

It felt like... practice.

She lowered the dagger slightly and looked at it again, her fingers adjusting around the grip.

"This thing is way too strong..."

She could already tell that this weapon alone would make things much easier for her going forward. There was no need for brute force, no need to struggle. As long as she hit properly, it was enough.

Then, right on cue, the system’s voice sounded in her head.

"Congratulations, dear. You’ve collected three Level One Zombie Cores."

Bai Li blinked once, then let out a small breath.

"Three..."

Her gaze shifted down toward the bodies again.

Then she looked ahead, toward the rest of the stairs below.

"...Nine hundred and ninety-seven more to go."

There was no fear in her voice.

Only calm.

And a slight hint of anticipation.

.

.

.

To be continued.