Lucas squirmed on the floor, contemplating his next move. The stuffiness in the room was becoming unbearable, and he longed for a breath of fresh air. However, the fear of potential zombie visitors kept him hesitant to open the door.
He fiddled with the leather vambrace, inspecting its details. The engraving on it showed a simple arrow pointing upwards. "Maybe it's an upgrade thing?" he speculated.
With a sigh, he decided to lie back down, attempting to make himself as comfortable as possible on the hard, cold floor. He tried to drown out the oppressive heat and his anxiety about the closed environment by closing his eyes.
Hours passed, and the temperature in the room gradually cooled. The incessant buzz of mosquitoes and the occasional distant groan of a zombie outside became the ambient soundtrack to his restless attempt at sleep.
***
January 23, 2029
"Ugh." Lucas yawned, checking his phone—it was five in the morning. "Guess I hit the sack early last night."
To pass the time until sunrise, he put on the arm protector thing and his shirt. After stretching, he checked out the room. It was clean, and there wasn't any dust except the bit stuck to him.
"Next time, I need a place with a bathroom."
Brushing off the dirt from his clothes, Lucas packed up the pillow and blanket he used last night, stuffing them into his small pouch. The white building looked clean, but somehow, he was the only one covered in dirt. He sighed in frustration.
Approaching the building again, he pressed the button, only to be greeted by a notification screen. "Come on, give me some guidance," he grumbled, unsure of what to do in this phase 1 thingy, especially when the system hadn't explained anything.
Feeling a bit lost, Lucas stepped outside and surveyed the morning scene. The sunlight was slowly breaking through, revealing a quiet and seemingly empty landscape.
The building, from the outside, looked pristine white like a chapel, its roof a mix of white and grey, and the outer wall completely white, as if someone had thrown a bunch of white paint at it.
Not knowing what else to do, Lucas turned away and walked out from the front of the building. Even if it was related to the system, there wasn't much he could do about it now. As he walked, he didn't see a single person in sight.
"Where is everyone?" he muttered to himself, looking around. The village was usually bustling in the early morning—people chatting, kids playing, and the usual noise of daily life. But now, it was just silent. Of course, it's an apocalypse, but surely, there's no way everyone is dead.
Two hours passed, and the sun went up, lighting the white building through the gap at the door. Happy not to use his flashlight anymore, he charged it with his power bank and put it in his bag.
'I can't be the only one left. Where is everyone?' he wondered as he went out.
"HELP ME!!" a girl screamed, breaking the quiet. Lucas spotted her running from an alley between the buildings, chased by three zombies.
Behind a tree, Lucas had to make a choice; rescue her or let the zombies catch her.
After a quick look, Lucas took a deep breath. Instincts kicked in, and without hesitation, he sprinted towards the girl and the approaching undead.
"UGH! @?!%$ It!" Gripping his spear and baseball bat, Lucas charged at the zombies.
"Hey! Over here!" he yelled, diverting the zombies' attention from the girl.
"HELP ME! HELP ME!" The girl, wide-eyed and panicked, changed her direction toward him as soon as she saw him.
Ignoring her pleas, he threw his spear at the nearest zombie, hitting its chest. With a strong jump, he smashed the other zombie's head with his baseball bat, breaking it.
"Crack!" His baseball bat was gone. Lucas stood, shocked, looking at the broken baseball bat. He quickly threw the pieces at the zombie with its organs falling out and grabbed his spear.
With all his power, he thrust it through the head of the other zombie with one of its legs gone as it hopped towards him.
"AHHHH!" A scream came from behind him, shocking Lucas, as another zombie appeared from nowhere, running towards her.
Looking back, he shouted, "GET AWAY FROM THERE AND STOP SHOUTING!"
Holding his dagger, he threw his spear at a zombie with a bite mark on its shoulder next to the girl. Jumping into action, he attacked the zombie, holding the dagger with both hands and stabbing its throat.
"Sqwelp!"
Luckily, only one more zombie came because of the girl's scream. If more came, they might both be zombie food now. With a bit of time, Lucas checked his notifications.
---
[Level 1 Zombie Killed, Awarding 50 Exp!]
[Level 1 Zombie Killed, Awarding 50 Exp!]
[Level 1 Zombie Killed, Awarding 50 Exp!]
[Received 5 Coins!]
---
"Only three? I'm pretty sure I got more," he said, confused by the difference.
Looking at the girl, who seemed like she needed help but was still scared, Lucas quickly forgot about helping her. Instead, he focused on checking the zombie bodies, making sure they were dead.
"This one's dead for sure," Lucas said, turning to another zombie's body.
"Screech!" A noise came as he got close to the zombie with its organs falling out, about two meters away. The zombie was still trying to get up, with green blood coming from its chest.
"Oh, it's this one," Lucas said before going over and finishing it off.
"Sqwelp!" The zombie's head fell off.
Maybe the girl saw it because Lucas looked at her and saw the horror on her face. He chuckled a bit, cleaning his dagger with a water bottle while getting notifications in his ear.
---
[Level 1 Zombie Killed, Awarding 50 Exp!]
[Received 5 Coins!]
---
Lucas sighed, glancing again at the girl with teary eyes, as if silently pleading for help. Trying to lend a hand, he felt a bit puzzled. The girl seemed to be around his age, a bit shorter at about 160 cm, with short black hair and a school uniform. He reached out to her.
"Get up. The road is uneven."
On seeing his extended hand, the girl looked at him and burst into tears.
"Sob... Sob..." She sniffled, wiping away her tears in an attempt to compose herself.
Lucas, a mix of concern and confusion on his face, hesitated before gently patting her shoulder.
"It's okay. What happened? Why are you crying?" he asked, hoping to understand and offer any help he could.
Lucas paused, looking at her with a furrowed brow.
"If you don't stand up now, I'm leaving you behind," he warned, retracting his hand.
Swiftly, the girl grabbed his hand, pulling herself up, tears still streaming down her face.
"I... I thought I was going to die. Thank you," she said, stuttering.
Observing her, Lucas sighed and shook his hand a bit to free it.
"You're welcome."
Now that he could see her face, with her eyes and lips, he noticed she looked pretty average—just like him. Of course, he didn't say that out loud. Even in a world messed up by some higher power, he stuck to being polite and not saying things that might upset others.
'Mount Tai is high, but Mount Everest is higher,' he thought to himself.
"Um... What are you doing here?" Lucas asked, looking down at the girl, who still had tears in her eyes. She heard his question and looked back at him; her voice was shaky as she told her story.