Chapter 11: Other Awakened

The next afternoon, the rain was still pouring in torrents, as though the sky had been punctured with countless holes.

Han Ning put on a relatively loose jacket, concealed his trusty kitchen knife inside, and headed up to the fourth floor.

The scene at the fourth-floor stairwell was completely different from the seventh floor he was accustomed to. As soon as he approached, a strange odor hit him. It was a stale mix of sweat, mold, rotting food, and a faint metallic tang of blood.

Discarded furniture, wooden planks, and even twisted metal security doors were piled high at the stairwell. These barricades were stacked layer upon layer, completely blocking off the path to the third floor. They left only a narrow gap, barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. Two men armed with crude weapons stood guard at the opening.

Seeing Han Ning approach, one of the men seemed to receive an unseen cue and stepped aside. Han Ning squeezed past.

The fourth floor had evidently been transformed into a large survivor stronghold. Most of the suite doors lining the corridor were wide open. As he walked by, he could clearly see men and women sitting or lying inside.

However, the atmosphere here was far from harmonious. A group of relatively muscular men gathered near the stairwell and the doorways of a few rooms. They muttered among themselves, looking entirely idle—much like the street punks who used to loiter outside school gates.

Meanwhile, the weaker women and children sat inside the suites. Most of them lacked energy, their faces carrying a dazed, hollow expression born from prolonged starvation. A few children nestled in their mothers' arms, entirely stripped of their youthful liveliness.

Han Ning silently took all of this in. The concentration and unequal distribution of resources were simply the norm in any crisis. The fact that Liu Feng could integrate so many people and establish a relatively orderly base proved he had real methods. But with limited food, provisions were undoubtedly prioritized for the young and able-bodied.

"Han Ning! I knew you'd come!" As Han Ning reached the middle of the corridor, Liu Feng walked out of a suite and greeted him with immense enthusiasm. "You're just in time. The other two just arrived not long ago."

"The other two Awakened?" Han Ning asked.

"Yeah, follow me."

Liu Feng led Han Ning down the corridor, ignoring the curious glances from the people in the rooms, until they reached a suite deep in the hallway.

Pushing the door open, they entered a living room lit by seven or eight candles. The interior was lavishly decorated; it was obvious the homeowner was wealthy. Han Ning estimated that the renovation costs alone were at least five times higher than his own fully-furnished apartment.

A pot of tea was brewing on a solid wood coffee table, heated by a portable cassette stove. Two men were already seated nearby.

One was exceptionally burly, sporting a trendy middle-part haircut. He wore a tight black tank top that revealed knotted muscles and peculiar tribal tattoos running down his arms. He gave off the vibe of a fitness bro who frequented high-end gyms and excelled at picking up girls. Right now, he was holding a block of compressed rations, chewing it expressionlessly as if gnawing on a rock. Seeing Han Ning enter, he merely lifted his eyelids for a fleeting glance. His eyes were indifferent, radiating a cold, unapproachable aura.

The other man was relatively slender, wearing a gray hoodie pulled down low to cover most of his face, revealing only his chin. He sat quietly on a carved wooden chair, silently sipping his tea. While the survivors outside looked sickly and malnourished, this guy was casually enjoying expensive black tea. He seemed completely unfazed by Han Ning's arrival, not even bothering to look up.

"Come, come, Han Ning, let me introduce you." Liu Feng enthusiastically invited Han Ning to sit down. "This is Mr. Chen Yan. His Awakened Superpower is strength-based. His skin is incredibly tough, and he possesses immense physical power. He's a resident from Building C-3 next door."

Liu Feng pointed at the burly man. Hearing this, Chen Yan merely grunted through his nose in acknowledgment.

"And this is Mr. Lu Minghu. He Awakened a speed-type Superpower. He is exceptionally agile and can scale walls and run across rooftops with ease." Liu Feng gestured toward the slender man sitting further in.

Lu Minghu paused his tea-drinking and looked up, revealing a relatively young face. He gave Han Ning a slight nod. "Hello."

"As for Han Ning... he can control vines. He excels in both binding and attacking, possessing incredible crowd-control capabilities."

Han Ning's primary method of attack was indeed shooting vines, so Liu Feng's summary was accurate enough. He didn't bother elaborating.

After briefly introducing Han Ning to the pair, Liu Feng took the initiative to explain his own abilities. "Finally, there's me. I can use my mind to control objects for offense or defense. I suppose it's similar to Telekinesis in the movies."

"Nice to meet you both," Han Ning said, nodding in greeting before taking a seat on the south side of the coffee table.

"Oh, right, I have more good news," Liu Feng continued. "The final Awakened I found has also accepted my invitation. She possesses ultra-long-distance observation and locking capabilities, making her a rare scout. She was held up by a minor issue, but she should be here any minute."

Hearing Liu Feng's introduction, Han Ning kept quiet on the surface, but inwardly, he found it very strange. The Superpowers of these people seemed heavily specialized in a single direction—whether it was physical enhancement, increased speed, or superhuman vision.

Meanwhile, he had directly Awakened the abilities of an entire class. Not only did he have vine attacks, but he also possessed Healing for injuries and the ability to accelerate plant growth. Recently, he had even Awakened a new ability to forge contracts with animals. He was practically an omnipotent all-rounder.

He wondered, "Did they not Awaken a class panel? Do they only have a single, specifically enhanced ability?"

Han Ning kept his confusion to himself and didn't voice his questions out loud.

Just as the group was talking, the door was gently pushed open. A woman in her early thirties, wearing glasses and looking gentle and refined, walked in. She had an ordinary appearance and wore her hair in a neat ponytail. A few strands, wet from the rain, clung to her forehead. She wore a well-fitted hardshell jacket.

"Sorry, I had to handle some matters. I'm late," the woman said calmly.

"Not late at all, right on time!" Liu Feng clapped his hands. "Now that everyone is here, let me introduce you all properly."

Through Liu Feng's introduction, Han Ning learned that this seemingly emotionally stable woman was named Zhou Wan, and she was also a resident from the neighborhood. She didn't know Chen Yan or Lu Minghu prior to this.

"Alright, since everyone knows each other, I'll get straight to the point." Liu Feng dropped his smile, his expression turning serious. "I plan to depart tomorrow around noon. That's when the sky is brightest, and visibility is at its clearest.

"Our tentative goal is the road leading toward Bailu Port, focusing primarily on scouting the path.

"The reason I gathered everyone today is, first, to get to know each other, and second, to finalize our division of labor and teamwork."

He walked over to the coffee table, where a simple hand-drawn map was spread out. Though roughly sketched, it outlined the location of their apartment building and the route toward Bailu Port. By the bright candlelight, the five of them began to study it.