The iron rod slipped from Lothe’s fingers.
It hit the floor with a dull, hollow clatter. He sat in the silence of the corridor, his face completely blank.
He did not look at his hands. He did not look at the dead, green-bleeding wasp beside him.
He only stared at the old man’s face, now peaceful and still. The warmth was entirely gone from the room, leaving behind only the heavy smell of copper, green blood, and chemical foam.
A sharp, digital chime echoed in his brain.
Ping!
[System Integration: Successful.]
A transparent, pale blue screen materialized before his eyes, its light reflecting in his dark, quiet gaze.
[SYSTEM STATUS]
• Name: Lothe
• Race: Human (Latent bloodline undetected/dormant)
• Rank: Level 1, Tier 1
• EXP: 0 / 100
• HP: 100 / 100
• QI: 10 / 20
[ATTRIBUTES]
• Strength: 10
• Agility: 12
• Constitution: 10
• Qi Control: 5
• Unallocated Attribute Points: 20
[CORE SUPERPOWER]
• [Spatial Perception - Level 1, Tier 1]
Description: Senses physical dimensions, structural boundaries, and movement vectors within a 3-meter radius.
• Qi Cost: 1 unit per minute of active use.
Looking at the screen, Lothe knew he wasn’t dreaming. The system wasn’t a game, it was a cold, hard tool for survival.
"I’m sorry."
Seana’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
He looked up, his face returning to its usual calm. He knew she was blaming herself, but he couldn’t hold a grudge.
Old B was just that kind of man. He would have thrown himself in front of the beast even if it were a total stranger, let alone her.
"There is nothing to be sorry about," Lothe said, his voice quiet. He shook his head. "He would have done the exact same thing if it were me, or anyone else."
He stood up, his joints popping slightly in the cold air.
"We have to survive. I promised him."
Seana nodded. She didn’t correct his use of the word "we." Right now her chest felt heavy.
It was hard to process the fact that someone she had just met had laid down his life to protect hers. So, she didn’t want to drag Lothe down with her guilt.
"I believe you also have this screen in your mind," Lothe said, noticing the quiet focus in her eyes.
"Don’t worry. I have finished my integration. I’ll wait for you to finish yours, and then we will find a way out of here."
"What about... him?" Seana asked, looking down at Barnaby.
"I’ll bury him before we leave," Lothe replied softly. "He loved this library."
Seana nodded again. She went to one corner of the hall and sat down on the stone floor, crossing her legs.
As a medical major, her analytical mind was already working. Whatever had entered the air during the blackout was a highly potent, mutagenic force.
It didn’t just kill, it forced the human body to either adapt, mutate, and gain a system, or rot and turn into a mindless corpse.
If the quiet library had become this dangerous, the outside world had to be a slaughterhouse.
To survive without being a burden, she needed to get strong, besides she needed to get to her father.
Thinking of her dad, Seana’s eyes softened. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes, focusing on the flashing icon in her own mind to begin her integration.
Lothe watched her close her eyes. His gaze softened for a fraction of a second.
She was tough, but she was still carrying the weight of a stranger’s death.
He turned his attention back to his own screen. One thing still puzzled him, his Experience Point was still at zero.
System, Lothe thought. Why is my experience zero? I killed several wasps before this.
[Notice: Mutated beasts killed prior to integration do not yield Experience Points. The raw Qi from those kills was consumed to initialize the host’s system database.]
Fair enough, Lothe thought.
He looked at his attributes. They were low. If the creatures outside were stronger than these wasps, he would need to level up quickly to survive.
He looked at his superpower
[Spatial Perception].
He closed his eyes and activated it.
Instantly, his mind mapped out the exact layout of the corridor, the cracks in the floorboards, the shape of the dead wasp, and the draft flowing beneath the heavy oak door, but he could read the environment perfectly.
Next, his mind focused on the word Qi.
[System Notice: Qi is the primordial energy of the cosmos. It acts as your absolute fuel. Whether you strengthen your muscles, manipulate space, or channel elemental force, you must consume the Qi stored within your Core (lower abdomen). Emptying your Qi will cause extreme physical exhaustion.]
He could feel a warm, steady current of energy slowly circulating through his lower belly.
A faint, cold smile touched Lothe’s lips. He closed the panel. Seana was still quiet, her face pale but focused as she integrated with her own system.
Lothe knelt and gently lifted Old Barnaby’s body. The old man felt incredibly light, his fragile frame stripped of all vitality. Lothe carried him toward the exit.
"Can I come?" Seana’s voice rang out from behind him. She had opened her eyes, holding her brass rod in one hand and Old B’s iron rod in the other. Her gaze was steady. "I want to pay my respects."
"Okay," Lothe said, resisting the urge to ask about her awakened ability.
They walked out of the library, their boots sticking to the green-stained floor.
Outside the heavy doors of the library, Lothe paused. Three dead bodies lay scattered on the ground, their skulls shattered by heavy, blunt force. It was Mr. Mercer and two students.
Lothe’s chest tightened. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, but he forced them back.
Old B had never done manual labor in his life, Lothe had always handled the heavy lifting around the library.
Yet, the old man had fought Mr. Mercer and the others with nothing but a stone and a desperate will to survive.
Lothe steeled his heart, keeping his face cold as he carried the body down the main stairs.
They walked out into the central courtyard. The hot afternoon sun was gone, replaced by a dim, eerie purple twilight.
Lothe carried Barnaby to the garden bed beside the main campus road.
Without a shovel, he couldn’t dig a grave. He laid the old man gently onto the soft soil beneath a wild pear tree, smoothing his torn brown jacket.
He plucked a few pale pear blossoms and placed them gently over the old man’s chest.
The reality finally hit him. Old B was gone. No more nagging about making friends. No more complaints about his messy hair.
The man who had taken a stray kid off the street and given him a home was no more.
"Don’t worry, Old B," Lothe whispered, his voice flat but resolute. "I will survive in this new world. I won’t let you down.
So you can rest well."
He stepped back.
Seana stepped forward, placing a single white blossom beside Lothe’s.
"Thank you, Mr. Barnaby," Seana said, her voice shaking slightly but clear. "I will live, and I will get stronger. I promise."
She stood beside Lothe, her long hair lifting in the cool wind.
Together, they looked out at the silent ruin, their minds set on the long road ahead.