Max grinned and said, "It's nothing, I just came over to make a friend."
"This doesn't look like the kind of place to make friends," Leonard replied coolly.
"That's where you're wrong. Look at the guys with me—they're all friends. You know the saying, 'Fellow sufferers in a strange land, no need to have met before to lend a hand.' At home, you rely on your parents. Out here, it's all about friends."
Max made it sound nice and friendly.
The lackeys behind him all nodded in agreement.
Then Max pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
He lit one for himself and offered another to Leonard.
"Here, friend. Have one?"
"No thanks, I don't smoke," Leonard shook his head.
"This isn't an ordinary cigarette. I found it downstairs. One puff restores 10 sanity points."
"Oh?"
That piqued Leonard's interest.
Losing too much sanity was definitely a bad sign.
Every zombie he'd killed earlier had lowered his sanity a bit.
Now his sanity had dropped to 79, not exactly a safe number.
So he accepted the cigarette.
He used to smoke, though he'd never been addicted.
Max lit it for him, using it as a social tool.
The two of them puffed away, surrounded by clouds of smoke. It did take the edge off.
Leonard's sanity slowly began to recover.
Just then, he noticed one of Max's guys casually drifting to the side, inching closer.
Leonard became instantly alert.
Cigarette in mouth, he took two quick steps back, gripping his fire axe in his left hand.
If they flanked him from the side or behind, it'd be an ambush.
Max quickly pulled the guy back and said, "Don't get the wrong idea. He was just wandering, nothing more."
He even shot the guy a sharp glare.
The lackey smirked and backed off.
The tension finally eased.
Max then tried to get a bit more chummy before getting to the point.
"Friend, I saw you use a skill just now, pretty impressive. Mind telling me where you got it? Let's add each other as friends and share intel. You help me now, and I'll return the favor down the road."
Leonard thought about it.
The existence of skill cards wasn't top-secret.
He decided to play along for now, offering this piece of info in return for the cigarette.
Leonard didn't like owing people.
"It's a skill card, kind of like gear. Just having it on you activates the effect. As for how to get one, it's luck. Mine dropped from a zombie. Sooner or later, everyone's going to have them—I just got one early."
"I see." Max nodded. The cigarette wasn't wasted after all.
Leonard finished the smoke, backed away, and tossed the butt into a nearby trash can.
Still keeping public hygiene in mind, even in a survival game. Classy.
Max and his gang didn't stop him, letting Leonard walk away.
He disappeared down the stairwell, continuing his exploration.
Max crooked his finger, calling a lackey over and whispering a few instructions.
He gave an order:
Go to the 8th floor, find a good hiding spot, and keep long-term surveillance on Room 815!
Leonard had already been exposed as living in Room 815, even caught on camera. It wasn't a secret anymore.
"That guy's killed before. He's higher level than us. We can't take him head-on. Just watch his every move and report back. When the time is right, we'll take him down."
Max gave a cold, sinister smile.
Clearly, this survival game had player-versus-player conflict built in.
Killing each other was inevitable.
Some people were worth teaming up with.
Others needed to be eliminated.
Max knew exactly where Leonard stood.
He was the kind that had to be removed.
—
After looting downstairs and killing two zombies, Leonard leveled up again!
Level 4! All his stats got a minor boost, +2 to Strength and Agility and +1 to everything else.
At level 2, he hadn't felt much change.
But level 4 made a real difference.
He felt much stronger than when he first entered the game. His movements were powerful, his punches packed force, and his body felt brimming with energy.
His reflexes and speed had also noticeably improved.
If he could survive round after round of this game...
His future looked promising!
Zombies dropped two kinds of loot.
One was direct drops.
The other required searching the corpse.
This time, the zombie dropped something instantly, a glowing item.
It was a circular saw blade, its edges lined with sharp, jagged teeth!
"A saw blade drop? Nice! I can finally craft that Madman's Handsaw."
A pleasant surprise for Leonard.
—
Room 815, in front of the workbench.
Leonard took out the scavenged materials and followed the blueprint to craft two new pieces of gear.
With a higher level, his equipment had to catch up.
He added nails, wire, duct tape, a parts kit, belts…
[Acquired: Level 2 Gear – Hedgehog Bracers]
Hedgehog Bracers
Level: 2
Type: Weapon/Armor
Attribute: Spiked
Attack: 5
Defense: 10
Block Rate: 1%
Durability: 22/22
Description: A well-balanced tool for both offense and defense. See those nails? Smash them into someone's face.
—
Next, he used the saw blade, pipes, nails, wire, parts kit, wood...
[Acquired: Level 3 Weapon – Madman's Handsaw]
Madman's Handsaw
Level: 3
Type: Weapon/Tool
Attribute: Physical
Attack: 16
Durability: 27/27
Description: Probably something you'll love. A brutal weapon that cuts in every direction. Let the senseless sorrow be your enemy's burden.
—
With both pieces of gear crafted, Leonard immediately made the switch. He equipped the Hedgehog Bracers on his right arm.
Being left-handed, he wielded weapons in his left hand and used the bracers on his right—both hands ready to strike.
The bracers were secured with a belt, and the outside was lined with rusty, sharp nails, just begging for a tetanus warning.
As for the Madman's Handsaw...
It looked wicked.
The handle was a pipe, with the circular saw blade attached using nails and wire. It had a rugged, homemade feel.
Leonard gave it a few practice swings and got a feel for it.
Its attack power was 3 points higher than the fire axe, definitely an upgrade.
He was about to head out and keep scavenging.
At that moment, faint morning light streamed in through the lattice window. It was dawn.
A loudspeaker echoed through the hallway.
"The first experiment is over. It's clear the zombies have many flaws far below my expectations. More optimization is needed."
"Death is not the end, but a beginning!"
"Only by dying can one truly live and reach eternity!"
The man's voice from the loudspeaker sounded deranged.
Leonard made a reasonable guess.
Maybe this voice belonged to the final boss of this round of nightmare survival.
Then, a series of game notifications appeared before him.
[Good morning, players! Congratulations on seeing the sun rise on Day 2!]
[Since this is a beginner-level game, we'll give you a few extra helpful tips.]
[Abandon your illusions quickly. Adjust your mindset. Embrace the game.]
[Once you change your way of thinking, a new world will open to you. Enjoy the game ahead.]