I suppose we should introduce ourselves," he said, his voice deep but calm. "We’ve been through a lot, but if we’re staying together tonight... at least you should know our names."
He pointed to himself first. "I’m Zhao Ren. I was the leader of our SWAT unit. I’m a metal-type awakened. I can control and shape metal, but it drains energy fast if I use it too much. Back then, I used to tear down barricades and shield my team. Now... I do what I can to keep them alive."
He stepped back and nodded to the man beside him, a tall figure with short, dark hair and tired eyes.
"This is Shen Haoran," Zhao Ren continued. "A fire-type. He used to be the most reckless out of all of us, but he saved more lives than any of us could count. If you see something burning, it’s probably him."
Haoran gave a tired smirk but said nothing, just offered a polite nod to the group.
The third man came forward next. He was leaner, with sharp eyes. "My name’s Ji Ming," he said. "Space-type. I can store things like a kind of inventory, but I’m not limitless. I used to be our supply guy... now I just try to make sure we don’t starve," he said with a laugh and backed off.
Next came a man who moved with stiffness in his steps. His hair was a little wild, and there was a faint crackle of energy around his fingers even when he was still. He gave an awkward wave.
"Yun Shuo," he said. "Electric-type. I can short things out, fry circuits, even paralyze zombies for a few seconds if I get close enough. Not the best at talking, but I hit hard."
Then the last two stepped forward, women this time, both with calm, steady expressions. One had a long braid and a pair of medical gloves tucked in her belt, stained faintly with old blood.
"I’m Mei," she said. "Healer-type. I can’t bring back the dead, but I can close wounds, stop bleeding, stabilize the dying. That’s all."
The final woman stood beside her. Her presence was quiet but grounded. There was something soothing about the way she moved, like the calm before a storm. She bowed her head slightly.
"Yan Lin," she said. "Water-type. My power isn’t for offense. But I may manipulate them as I wished. I can purify water. I can cool things down, control small amounts. I used to manage logistics for our team’s evacuation missions. Now... I help where I can."
A faint smile passed through the room after the last introduction. Despite the heavy tension from the approaching rain and the eerie groans of the undead outside, something about hearing names—simple, human names—brought a brief sense of warmth.
Liora also stepped forward next. Her eyes were steady, her presence quiet but confident. She gave a small nod before speaking.
"I’m Liora," she said. "No titles."
Her voice carried the faint sense of aloofness and confidence at the same time.
Beside her, Chen Wei also spoke with a soft expression and loose shoulders. "I’m Chen Wei. Speed-type ability user," he added. "I’m fast enough to dodge bites, I guess. That’s come in handy a lot lately."
He stepped back, and the others followed.
"I’m Zhou Yinuo," said Zhou Yinuo with a soft smile. She didn’t elaborate, and no one pushed her to.
"Liang Zihan," he also introduced himself, and like Zhou Yinuo, he didn’t mention an ability either.
The introductions were simple, but the lack of ability declarations didn’t go unnoticed. Zhao Ren gave a slight nod. He understood.
Not everyone needed to fight with powers to survive. Not everyone could. Some people fought with grit, timing, and a blade in their hand.
And in this world, sometimes, that was enough.
There was a brief silence before Ji Ming chuckled lightly. "Well, now that we all know each other, I suppose that makes us roommates—at least for tonight."
The atmosphere suddenly grew more unusual as everyone introduced themselves in a slightly humorous manner. Small smiles appeared on their faces, and the whole group seemed to light up with energy during the introduction.
"What time do you think the timr is? We’ve been fighting for almost hours," Zho Yinuo sked with a mix of curiosity and impatience. She was eager to know how much time had passed and how much longer the rain would continue.
During the first rainfall, it had poured nonstop for nearly three days without a single pause. People began to believe the city might end up completely submerged.
Oddly enough, despite the continuous rain, the water never seemed to rise or collect. It simply vanished into the ground, leaving no puddles behind.
"It’s 3 AM," Ji Ming said as he pulled out a clock from his storage space. Everyone’s eyes widened at the sight, though they quickly settled down.
They stared at the clock because Zhou Yuan had asked for the time. Most of the clocks had either stopped working or run out of batteries, so they had been estimating time based on daylight and darkness. It wasn’t exact, but it worked well enough.
Now, they had a few batteries but still no working clocks. The batteries they had were ones they had managed to secretly grab from a supermarket.
Zhou Yinuo quickly stood up and walked to her backpack. She searched through it for a moment before pulling something out and rushing back to Ji Ming.
"Here, you’ll need this later," she said, placing a pack of six batteries into his hand.
Ji Ming was touched by her gesture, and a smile spread across his face. He truly needed those batteries. It had been two months since he last had last changed the battery.
He had tried finding another batteries but couldn’t, and no Zhou Yinuo had really solved a big problem.
"Here, this is for you... You will also need it. " Ji Ming said while handling her a small item from his space.
Zhou Yinuo’s eyes lit up with delight as she gazed at the cute item in her hand..