Ch. 2 - Drenched in Terror

The group was far from convinced.

One man sneered. "Pfft, and here I thought you had a shred of credibility. You're just some shady insurance salesman acting all high and mighty."

"You won't even share your name, but you expect us to work with you? Why don't you set an example first? Tell us what your item does. Otherwise, how do we know you're not planning something dodgy?" A heavyset man scoffed and stepped forward, glaring at the suited man with disdain.

Although it was their first time in this bizarre game, everyone instinctively understood that the items granted by their starter packs were their lifelines—their only means of survival.

Sharing such critical information carelessly was unthinkable.

The suited man opened his mouth to respond but hesitated.

After a long pause, all he managed to say was, "I'm Liu Shuang."

He offered nothing about his item nor its ability.

The few people who had been swayed by Liu Shuang's earlier appeal for cooperation reconsidered immediately.

They had been on the verge of revealing their own items, but now they clammed up.

The realization hit them like a cold slap—why should they expose their cards to strangers?

In the real world, one wouldn't divulge private information to someone they'd just met. Why should this game be any different?

Liu Shuang snorted, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Fine. Suit yourselves. Go back to your rooms. Let's see who's still around after five minutes."

Seeing that any hope of an alliance was dashed, Liu Shuang wasted no time. He took out his key and retreated to Room 207, the place where he had woken up.

Meanwhile, the girl in the school uniform stood off to the side, her wide, innocent eyes darting between the others.

She mumbled incoherently, glancing at the skill she had received from her starter pack: [Double Kick].

Something seemed to click in her mind, and she fell silent.

As the white glow outside the carved window began to dim, she slipped quietly into Room 203 without another word.

...

Zuo Chengan shut the door of Room 204.

Instead of retreating to the far corner where it might be safer, he sat by the door.

An axe and a shield in the room were already positioned within his arm's reach so he could grab them in an instant.

Ever since gaining the Eye of Truth, Zuo Chengan could perceive things that were not observable by players' eyes.

When he focused his attention on the axe, a line of text appeared in his vision:

[Axe: A thoughtful gift from the owner of Blissful Apartment for the new players. Don't be shy, use it to your heart's content.]

[Small Wooden Shield: In a pinch, it might save your life. So say it now—thank you, Small Wooden Shield! (P.S.: It's not very reliable.)]

Neither the axe nor the shield was classified as an item, and Zuo Chengan had subtly tested this fact earlier during the day.

No one else in the group could see these annotations on ordinary objects, which meant he had access to exclusive, first-hand information.

For instance, he now knew this place was called "Blissful Apartment," though their activities were restricted to the second floor.

They couldn't even descend the stairs to view the whole of the building.

From what he could infer, this instant's setting only required a single corridor—the rest of the apartment might either be irrelevant or part of other dungeons entirely.

...

Zuo Chengan didn't bother retreating to a corner of the room. After all, the space was so cramped it couldn't even accommodate a bed—hiding anywhere would make little difference.

Instead, he stationed himself just behind the door. By staying there, he could listen for any commotion in the corridor once the so-called Hunters emerged, gathering valuable intel in real time.

His eyes were not idle either. They stayed locked on the hovering stream of messages, absorbing every word that appeared:

[How much longer until nightfall? I can't wait!]

[Almost there! Just 30 seconds left! Let the slaughter begin! Hahaha!]

[I hope the Hunters put on a good show—make it as bloody as possible. I'm planning to record it for my collection.]

...

After everyone retreated to their rooms, the corridor fell into an eerie silence.

When the five minutes were up, the last glimmer of light outside the window vanished, plunging the entire hallway into pitch darkness.

Creeeaak!

In the stillness, even the faintest sound became strikingly clear. The corridor's enclosed structure amplified every subtle noise, echoing it over and over until it grew unnervingly loud.

[Here they come! The Hunters are here!]

[Whoa, looks like the drop zone is near Room 208.]

[Finally, the bloodshed begins! I was about to switch to the Meat Can Factory stream.]

[I was in the Meat Can Factory just now. It definitely lives up to its reputation as the meat grinder of Stage 1 instant—it was so gruesome I got sick of it and ran over here for something lighter.]

[Heavy gore is my favorite! Thanks for the tip—I'm heading over now.]

...

[Hunter detected. Number deployed: 1]

Creeeaak… Screeeech…

Outside the door, the sound of something sharp scraping along the floor echoed ominously.

A mysterious creature emerged from the wall near Room 208 and began making its way down the corridor, passing by Rooms 207, 206, and beyond.

As if savoring the fear of its hidden prey, it deliberately circled in front of each door, pausing momentarily, but taking no further action.

The doors had peepholes, seemingly baiting the curious to peer through and take a look.

Fearing that even a glance might draw the creature's attention, Zuo Chengan flipped the peephole cover closed and chose instead to monitor the situation through the bullet messages in the air.

Moments later, a faint crash and a gut-wrenching scream echoed from down the hall, followed by the chaotic sounds of struggle. It was too distant to pinpoint which room had been breached.

[Who's in 201? How unfortunate!]

[I wasn't paying attention either—I was too focused on the beauty in 203. Honestly, say what you will about these lower worlds being primitive, but they sure know how to produce gorgeous women.

[Look at that schoolgirl—she's not even fully grown, and she's already a knockout. Imagine how breathtaking she'll be in a few years.]

[She'd need to survive this game first. At this rate, she might not live long enough to grow up.]

[Back to 201, that's a fat guy, right? Ugh, what a horrible way to die.]

[Now you've got my attention. Which camera is on that room? I want to see it.]

...

The player in Room 201 was attacked?

With no indication from the game that daylight had arrived, Zuo Chengan dared not open the door.

...

Inside Room 207, Liu Shuang stood trembling behind the door, one corner of his suit crumpled from nervous fidgeting.

Although anger had flared when his motives for forming an alliance were exposed, he couldn't deny the truth of the accusation.

His intentions weren't entirely pure—how could they be, when the item he'd drawn from the starter pack was utterly useless?

...

[Item: Dried Lamb (Pack)]

Category: Item (White, Consumable)

Effect: Temporarily increases Strength by +1 upon consumption.

Restrictions: None.

Description: Dig in~

...

Liu Shuang's base Strength was a mere 4. Even after eating the dried lamb and raising it to 5, it made no noticeable difference.

Worse still, he discovered too late that the so-called "temporary strength boost" lasted only a minute.

A minute! And it couldn't even be stacked!

What good was that supposed to do? Hell, drinking a glass of water would last longer in his stomach.

If not for the fact that the pack contained five pieces of lamb, he might've completely lost it and started cursing up a storm.

People were inherently selfish. It was hard to stomach others being better off when you're struggling.

After realizing how useless his item was, Liu Shuang couldn't suppress his gnawing curiosity—he had to know if everyone else's items were just as pathetic, barely worth keeping but impossible to throw away.

Lacking the confidence to face any threats, yet forced to remain in close proximity to the dangerous creature outside, Liu Shuang's nerves were frayed to the breaking point.

When he heard the Hunter pass by his door, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.

Thankfully, it didn't stop in front of him. As for the poor soul whose screams he'd heard earlier? That wasn't his problem.

After finishing off the occupant of 201, the Hunter seemed sated and didn't bother seeking a second victim. Eventually, it retreated through the wall it had emerged from, vanishing back into the shadows.

...

[Dawn has arrived! The Hunter has left.]

An announcement echoed.

As though on cue, everyone who had been anxiously waiting in their rooms rushed out into the corridor.

Following the trail of blood, they quickly gathered at the doorway of Room 201—the site of last night's attack.

The wooden door of 201 was now hideously misshapen. A jagged hole about 30 centimeters wide had been gouged out near the lower half of the door. The edges of the hole were caked with flesh and splattered blood, leaving no room for doubt about what had transpired.

Judging by the deformed state of the door, the shards of fat and meat wedged around the hole, and the signs of violent struggle, the Hunter must have smashed through the door to gain entry.

After killing the occupant inside, it had forcefully dragged the body back out through the small opening, leaving a gruesome trail of carnage in its wake.

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