Creak, creak. A female corpse lying in a pool of blood suddenly twitched, letting out strange noises.
The overhead light flickered weakly, like it was running out of power. With a stiff motion, the female corpse abruptly sprang upright. It had come back to life!
"Ah!!!"
An animalistic roar burst from the zombie's mouth. Her normal teeth fell out one by one. Sharp fangs grew in their place, each one two to three centimeters long. Her lips could no longer fully close; only her teeth could meet.
Her hands also began to mutate. The knuckles became thick and hardened, and her nails started to extend. One by one, like steel hooks.
Beside the female zombie lay another mangled male corpse. It remained still, showing no sign of change.
The female zombie lifted her head slightly, her nose twitching as if sniffing intensely. She seemed to have locked onto a target and moved faster toward the door.
The hunt had begun.
—
Room 815. Leonard returned to his room before nightfall. He had to verify for himself just how dangerous the night really was.
Standing by the door, he peered out through the peephole. The field of view was limited. He could only see the three dorms directly across the hall. Strange noises began to echo outside, roars and growls.
It had to be zombies. And more than one!Leonard frowned and gripped his fire axe tightly. Saying he wasn't nervous would be a lie.
The player group chat was in chaos.
[Zombies! There are zombies outside!]
[Seriously? Don't scare me!]
[I saw them too! They're covered in blood, and their teeth are like wild beasts!]
[I've played horror escape rooms before, where staff dressed up as monsters. Maybe these zombies are fake too?]
[I want to go home! Please, let me go home!]
[Who's behind all this? Who's pulling the strings?!]
Leonard scrolled through the chat silently. Meanwhile, the admin group had an entirely different tone. Those twisted admins were excited, some even said this was their favorite part. Nighttime was the real highlight of the game.
Suddenly, a nearby roar snapped Leonard's attention back. It was close, very close.
He focused on the door.
A female zombie was moving down the hallway, just slightly slower than a human, her motions rigid. She had a mouth full of fangs and a terrifying face. Seeing the zombie with his own eyes damaged Leonard's "Sanity" stat—it dropped 3 points instantly. He recognized her immediately. She was the corpse he'd seen earlier in one of the nearby rooms! That outfit, that skirt. It was definitely her.
This confirmed his earlier suspicion.
"The corpses scattered around the building. At night, they become zombies!"
"They're not just props!"
Leonard felt a chill in his heart.
The female zombie sniffed the air again, dog-like, searching for her prey.
She stopped directly across from Room 815.
Leonard's heart leapt into his throat.
Was he really this unlucky? Already targeted on the first night?
Lady, pick another door! This one's too sturdy for you!
The zombie's eyes flashed with aggression, then with a low growl, she turned and ran toward Room 838.
Outside that door, she began slashing wildly with her claws, gouging deep marks into the wood.
Inside, Rebecca's screams rang out, genuine and panicked, not the least bit fake.
Leonard let out a breath of relief. At least it wasn't his door getting attacked.
This zombie wasn't so bad after all.
Rebecca quickly messaged Leonard in private, begging for help.
[Hey, come save me please! The zombie's right outside my door! If you save me, you can do whatever you want with me. I'll do anything you say!]
Leonard read it and calmly replied:
[Don't panic. Wait a little longer.]
[Wait? Are you serious?! The zombie's about to break in! You've got a weapon. You can kill it! Be a hero and save me! I'll obey your every command, I can be your little pet, woof woof woof!]
Leonard could feel her desperation even through her shameless words.
But he didn't move.
He remembered the admin group mentioning details about the first night.
Tonight was meant as a tutorial. The difficulty was low.
The zombies were Level 1, and it was nearly impossible for them to break through a door. If you stayed put, you had a high chance of surviving.
Crack! Crack!
The zombie kept clawing at the door, damaging it and leaving deep scratch marks.
After a dozen strikes, realizing she couldn't break through, the zombie growled and turned away.
She wandered off, sniffing as she went, searching for her next target.
[Haha! It's gone! Thank God!]
Rebecca was overjoyed.
Logically speaking, the zombie gave up too easily. It had to mean there was some kind of "behavior logic" coded into them like NPCs.
Scratching the door was one of the routines. If it failed, they would move on instead of getting stuck.
"This really is a game. But one you have to experience personally. It totally immersive."
Leonard felt a chill run through him.
Just then, the admin group discussed something important.
[Zombies on the first night are slow and weak. Perfect for players to strike back. But look at them, all hiding in their rooms.]
[They're all newbies. It's normal to be scared. Only after experiencing survival once will their thinking start to change.]
[Whoever kills the first zombie will trigger a hidden First Kill reward: a guaranteed skill card, one stat point, and an item. A huge bonus.]
[Let's see who has the guts.]
[You can't do it bare-handed. At least you need a weapon. Smash the zombie's skull, and it dies.]
Leonard's heart skipped a beat.
First kill? Hidden rewards?
From the sound of it, the rewards were massive.
"Should I go for it? It's risky…"
His heart pounded with excitement and fear.
Facing a zombie head-on took serious guts.
This was no video game. You were risking your actual life.
Leonard took three deep breaths, balancing the excitement and fear.
The zombies were weakest on the first night. If he didn't act now, things would only get harder.
If not now, then when?
Let's do it!
Leonard's gaze sharpened. He gripped his fire axe in his left hand, wooden shield in his right, and quietly opened the door. He didn't charge out recklessly. Instead, he raised the shield and crept toward the zombie, quietly approaching from behind.