The night wind howled across the ruins of District 9. Sirens blared uselessly in the distance.
Smoke curled between broken buildings.
And the scent of blood — thick, raw, metallic — tainted the air.
Lin Xue crouched atop a half-collapsed signpost, eyes narrowed. Below her, a pack of corrupted beasts prowled the streets.
Not dogs anymore, not animals,Mutations.
Flesh sagged from twisted frames. Bones jutted at unnatural angles.
Their breathing hissed like broken engines.
They had once been man's best friend.
Now they were harbingers of death.
Lin Xue drew a slow breath. Ten mutated beasts. Foundation Establishment strength crackled beneath her skin, but even so—
Ten on one wasn't a fair fight. It was perfect.
"Let's see how strong I really am."
She stood. No battle cries. No hesitation. Just action.
The first beast sensed her presence and howled — a shriek that shattered windows across the street.
The others snapped toward her location immediately.
They charged.Faster than cars.
Strong enough to tear steel.
But Lin Xue was faster.
She dropped from the signpost like a blade falling from the sky. As she landed, she slammed her palms together.
"Lotus Bloom — Flame Projection!"
The lotus flame erupted outward. Petals of golden fire spun through the air, each one a crescent of destruction.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
The first two beasts caught the petals head-on.
Their heads didn't even have time to split apart.
They simply evaporated into ash.
But the rest adapted. The third and fourth flanked from either side. The fifth leapt high, aiming straight for her throat.
Lin Xue's eyes sharpened.
She ducked low, spinning in a tight pivot. Her flame followed, forming a spinning lotus wheel around her body. The jumping beast was cut mid-air — its body split cleanly into two burning halves.
Blood sprayed. The others hesitated—but only for a second.
"They're learning faster."
The corrupted virus wasn't just random mutation.
It evolved.
It studied.
It hated.
Lin Xue didn't wait for them to regroup. She pressed forward.
Close-range combat.
One palm strike — lotus fire punching a hole through a beast's chest.
One side kick — burning qi exploding against another's ribs.
One precise, brutal thrust — flame condensing into a single spear that pierced a creature's corrupted heart.
Six down. Four left.
But her breath was starting to shorten.
Her muscles ached.
Her qi pathways trembled from overuse.
She gritted her teeth.
"Push through. Push through."
The last four beasts changed tactics.Instead of charging blindly, they spread out — trying to flank, trap, overwhelm.
A smart move.
But Lin Xue wasn't the same desperate, naive girl from her past life.
"You want to surround me?"
"Then die together."
She gathered her flame again—this time, not as petals.This time—
As a blooming lotus field. Golden fire exploded outward in a full 360-degree arc.
The street lit up like dawn. The mutated beasts didn't even have time to scream.
When the flame receded— Only four piles of black ash remained.
Lin Xue stood alone in the ruined street. Chest heaving. Sweat dripping down her back. Hands still burning faintly with residual lotus qi.
But she was alive.
Victorious, and stronger than ever.
[Internal System Update — Hidden Realm Pendant]
Combat Test Complete.
Qi Control: 78% Stability Achieved.
Flame Art Efficiency: +20%.
Body Condition: 64% Integrity — Recommend Recovery Cycle.
Lin Xue exhaled.
"Not perfect.
But alive."
She staggered slightly — not from injury, but from qi exhaustion.Still, a smile tugged at the edge of her lips.
"This world isn't ready for me."
"But I'm ready for it."
[Meanwhile — Far Above, Hidden Surveillance Drone]
Li Zhen watched silently from the steel-blue glow of his Executor System space. The combat footage streamed in crisp clarity:
Her movements: precise.
Her flames: pure.
Her intent: lethal without hesitation.
He leaned back slowly, eyes cold and thoughtful.
"Foundation Establishment in thirty days."
"Real combat readiness in one battle."
He saved the footage. Filed it under a new classification.
"High-Priority Contingent: Recruit or Neutralize."
But deep down, he knew. If they ever stood on opposite sides—
It wouldn't be easy.
And it wouldn't be bloodless.
The night wind dragged smoke and ash across the broken street.
Lin Xue stood alone, breathing steadily, her body aching but her spirit sharp as a blade.
Around her, blackened corpses of the mutated beasts smoldered under the faint glow of her fading lotus flames.
"First real battle post-breakthrough," she whispered. "Passed."
But this wasn't triumph.
Not yet.
Killing beasts was just the beginning.
When humanity broke, when survivors tore each other apart for a can of food or a mouthful of clean water—
That was when the real war would start.
She adjusted her jacket, suppressing the trembling in her limbs. Her meridians were still strained from overclocking her new strength.
"Pushing too hard is suicide."
In the Hidden Realm Space, she set a minor recovery array days ago. She would retreat there soon, soak her wounds in the spirit spring, and cycle her qi through stabilizing rotations.
Not because she was afraid of falling behind.
But because true power wasn't built in a night. It was hammered, tempered, and sharpened—just like her lotus flames.
[Internal System Ping — Hidden Realm Pendant]
Warning: Residual Mutation Energy Detected Nearby. Recommend Caution.
Lin Xue narrowed her eyes. The city wasn't done vomiting monsters yet.
Farther down the ruined street, a new shadow slithered against the broken walls—too large for a dog, too fast for a human.
It wasn't coming straight for her. It was hunting blind, half-formed, newly birthed from corruption.
"Not my target. Not tonight."
She turned away.
Victory wasn't about killing everything in sight.
It was about surviving long enough to matter.
"Save strength. Pick battles."
The motto that had kept her alive before.
The motto she lived by now.
[Meanwhile — Executor System Space, Li Zhen's Observation Post]
He watched her withdraw without hesitation.
No pride.
No desire to grandstand.
No useless slaughter.
Just clean survival instincts.
"Good."
Amateurs fought every battle.
Masters chose the ones that mattered.
Li Zhen shut down the drone feed, his lips curving into a cold, approving smile.
"You're ready for the real endgame."
He closed his eyes briefly, feeling the faint pull of corrupted qi spreading faster across the city.
The countdown had already begun.
Soon, safe zones would fail.
Communication grids would collapse.
Laws would turn to rumors.
And only those who moved now — early, ruthlessly — would survive the long night to come.
[Later — Hidden Realm Space]
Lin Xue sat by the cold spring in her pendant's dimension, her legs submerged up to the knees.
Cool, faintly glowing water pulled the heat from her battered meridians.
She meditated, drawing her qi slowly through her repaired core, smoothing the turbulence caused by battle.
Above her, the spiritual crops swayed gently under the misty sky.
Rows of medicinal plants gleamed with early-stage spiritual light.
"Good," she thought. "In a few more weeks, the herbs will mature."
Pills. Formations. Artifacts.
She needed them all.
Because when true chaos erupted, flame alone wouldn't be enough.
And somewhere far beyond the pendant's space, in the bleeding city—
another soul who had survived the future once already
quietly
patiently
prepared to move toward her.