The Path of No Return

Shen Mu gasped, stumbling forward as the world around him twisted and cracked like shattered glass. The endless void, the ancient voice, the weight of revelations—it all disappeared in an instant.

His vision swam, his body collapsing onto the cold, hard ground. He barely caught himself, his palms scraping against rough concrete. His breath came in ragged bursts, his mind still reeling from what he had just witnessed.

A lost civilization. An apocalypse that had come before.

The system had shown him more than just information. It had forced him to experience the echoes of a dead world, pressing the weight of history onto his shoulders.

He was the last of his kind. The final line of defense.

A wave of nausea rolled over him. He clenched his fists, forcing himself to steady his breathing. His surroundings slowly came into focus—the same ruined cityscape, the same suffocating silence. But everything felt different now.

He knew too much.

A sharp movement nearby snapped him back to reality. His instincts flared, and his hand shot to his weapon, but it was just Mei.

She was watching him with wary concern, her brows furrowed. "You spaced out," she said cautiously. "Like… really spaced out."

Shen Mu exhaled, shaking off the lingering dizziness. "I'm fine."

Mei didn't look convinced, but she didn't press further. Instead, she adjusted the straps on her backpack and looked off into the distance. "I should get moving."

Shen Mu turned to her, frowning slightly. "You're leaving?"

She nodded. "I appreciate the help. Really. But I work better alone."

There was a firmness in her tone—one that told Shen Mu she had already made up her mind.

He wasn't surprised. Mei was a survivor, like him. She had her own way of doing things, and she wasn't about to change that.

Still, he hesitated. "It's dangerous out there."

She smirked. "And it's not dangerous wherever you're going?"

He didn't argue. They both knew the answer.

But before she turned to leave, he added, "There's a place. A fortress. I'm building it up. If things get bad, you can go there."

Mei's expression flickered, her sharp eyes assessing him. "A fortress, huh?"

He gave a slight nod. "Somewhere safe."

She didn't respond immediately, but after a moment, she exhaled and offered him a small, fleeting smile. "Alright. If I ever need it, I'll find my way there."

With that, she adjusted her grip on her weapons, gave him one last nod, and disappeared into the ruins.

Shen Mu watched her go, lingering for a moment before turning back to the path ahead.

He didn't dwell on it. Mei could take care of herself.

And he had his own journey to continue.

A faint noise broke the silence. A scuffle against the debris-strewn ground.

Shen Mu stiffened. His senses sharpened, his body instinctively tensing for battle.

His eyes scanned the crumbling ruins, searching for the source of the sound. The air was thick with the scent of rust and damp concrete. The stillness of the city was unsettling.

Then he saw it.

A hunched figure, crouched near the wreckage of an overturned truck. Human—or at least, it appeared to be.

Shen Mu's grip tightened around his knife. He had encountered too many things that looked human only to turn into nightmares.

The figure shifted, revealing hollow, sunken eyes. Their clothes were torn, their body smeared with grime and dried blood.

A survivor.

Shen Mu hesitated. Not out of fear, but caution. He had seen situations like this before. A lone survivor could mean anything—desperation, deception, or a trap.

The figure flinched as their eyes met and instinctively shrank further into the wreckage.

"Wait!" The voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Shen Mu remained silent, assessing the man's body language. The flicker of fear in his eyes, the tension in his limbs—this wasn't an act. He was genuinely terrified.

"You're not infected?" Shen Mu finally asked, his voice low.

The man shook his head frantically. "No… no, I—" He coughed violently, clutching his side. "I was just… looking for food…"

Shen Mu didn't lower his guard. Instead, he scanned the surroundings once more. In this world, trust could get you killed.

"How long have you been out here?"

The man swallowed dryly. "Days… maybe a week. I lost my group." His eyes darted nervously around, as if expecting an attack at any moment. "Please… I won't cause trouble. Just let me go."

Shen Mu studied him for a long moment before finally lowering his knife slightly. "If you're lying, you won't get a second chance," he warned.

The man nodded swiftly, his body tense. He must be young—probably mid-twenties—but suffering and exhaustion had aged him.

Shen Mu exhaled and took a step back. "Come with me."

The man hesitated. "…What?"

"I have supplies," Shen Mu stated flatly. "I'm heading back to my shelter. You can come if you want, or you can take your chances out here."

The man's expression shifted from fear to disbelief. "You… you're serious?"

Shen Mu didn't respond. He simply turned and walked away.

There was a long silence before hurried footsteps followed.

Shen Mu didn't trust him. Not yet. But he knew one thing—if their situations had been reversed, he would have wanted someone to give him a chance too.

As they moved through the ruins, his thoughts drifted back to what the system had told him.

He clenched his jaw. He didn't need to be a hero. He didn't care about saving the world.

But he did care about surviving.

And maybe, just maybe, he cared about making sure there were still people left worth saving.

The future was uncertain, but one thing was clear—there was no turning back.