The laughter from inside the Awakening Hall still rang in Yuan Shenzi's ears as he stood on the cold stone steps. The blood-red sky had deepened into dangerous twilight. Night was falling fast, and with it came the real monsters.
His face burned with humiliation. "Insect Control…? Even the lowest street survivors have better talents. How am I supposed to fight mutated beasts or zombies with bugs?"
He opened his new status panel with a trembling thought.
[Status Panel]
Name: Yuan Shenzi
Age: 18
Level: 1
Talent: Insect Control (F-Rank)
Description: You can weakly influence and command low-level mutated insects within a 5-meter radius. Growth potential: Extremely Limited.
[Stats]
Strength: 8 | Agility: 9 | Vitality: 10 | Spirit: 7
System Energy: 0
The blue window felt like mockery. Shenzi focused on a pile of trash near the steps. A few mutated flies buzzed lazily around rotting food. He reached out with his mind, trying to command them.
They twitched. One or two turned toward him… then scattered uselessly.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
Heavy footsteps approached. The Yuan Patriarch emerged from the hall with Yuan Wei and Yuan Mei flanking him. Their faces were cold stone.
"Father—" Shenzi started.
The Patriarch raised a hand, cutting him off. "The Yuan family has standards. With an F-Rank talent, you are no longer my son. You have until sunrise to leave the family villa. Take nothing but the clothes on your back."
Shenzi's stomach dropped. "You can't be serious. I trained every day. I—"
"Enough," the Patriarch said flatly. "In this world, only strength matters. An Insect Control talent makes you worse than useless. You will drag the family down."
Yuan Wei smirked. "Maybe you can become bug food for the zombies. At least you'll be useful then."
Yuan Mei laughed softly. "Don't worry, little brother. The outer zones always need fresh bait."
Shenzi clenched his fists, anger and betrayal surging through him. "One day… I will make all of you regret this."
The words came out quiet, but they burned in his chest like fire. The Patriarch didn't even blink. Two family guards stepped forward, blocking any path back to the armored vehicle.
"Move along," one guard said, voice bored.
Shenzi turned and walked into the street alone. Behind him, the family convoy pulled away without a backward glance.
Night deepened quickly. Streetlights flickered under the crimson sky as the fortified district prepared for full dark. Distant zombie groans mixed with occasional beast roars from the direction of the Unknown Forests. Patrol teams shouted warnings over loudspeakers: "All civilians indoors! Curfew in effect!"
Shenzi had almost nothing, no money, no weapon, only the thin jacket and pants he wore. His stomach growled. He kept walking toward the outer edges of the safe zone, unsure where else to go.
A street vendor packing up his stall noticed him. The old man hesitated, then tossed a stale ration bar wrapped in plastic.
"Kid… heard what happened. Tough break. Eat something before the night gets worse."
Shenzi caught the bar. "Thank you…"
The vendor waved him off and hurried away. Small kindnesses were rare in this world. Most low-talent people ended up as laborers in the inner zones, zombie bait on scavenging runs, or simply dead within weeks. Academies were the only real path to power and safety. Without a strong talent, you were nothing.
Shenzi tore open the ration bar and ate while walking. In a narrow back alley, he tried his talent again. A small swarm of mutated cockroaches skittered out from under debris. He focused hard, pushing his will into them.
They gathered in a loose cloud, crawling up the wall. But they were slow and weak. Against even a single low-level zombie, they would be crushed instantly.
"Useless…" he whispered.
The howls grew louder as he approached the edge of the fortified district. The barriers here were weaker, the lights dimmer. Patrol teams were spread thin.
Then he heard the shuffling footsteps and low, wet groans ahead.
Three human zombies shambled into the street. Freshly turned, their skin still had patches of color, but their eyes glowed with unnatural hunger. They moved faster than the older ones, drawn by sound or the scent of living flesh.
Shenzi's heart slammed against his ribs. He turned to run, but the alley behind him narrowed. The patrol team was too far away, their flashlights barely visible in the distance.
"Come on!" he shouted, desperately activating Insect Control.
A small cloud of mutated flies and cockroaches rose from the gutters and swarmed around the zombies' heads. They buzzed and crawled into eyes and mouths, buying him a few precious seconds.
But it wasn't enough.
One zombie lunged forward, faster than expected. Shenzi dodged, but his foot caught on broken pavement. He tripped and crashed into the wall of the narrow alley. The cold stone scraped his palms.
The lead zombie, a tall man with half its face torn away — reached for him with rotting claws. Its breath smelled of death and decay.
Shenzi raised his arms in futile defense. "No—"
A strange, intense heat suddenly pulsed in his chest. The same faint light he had felt outside the hall… but stronger this time. It burned like liquid fire beneath his ribs.
His vision flickered.
[Anomaly Detected…]
[Second Awakening Sequence… 12%…]
[Incompatible… Recalibrating…]
The message cut off abruptly.
The insects he had commanded earlier suddenly went into a wild frenzy, buzzing louder, but the zombies kept coming. The lead one's rotting hand closed in, claws inches from his throat.
Shenzi's eyes widened in shock and terror as something unknown stirred violently inside him.