The rooftop was crowded with hundreds of panicked people. A few soldiers stood guard near the exit, armed heavily, seemingly deployed from a helicopter.
As far as the eye could see, there was chaos. Many were injured, their wounds severe. Some had even lost limbs. Military medics moved swiftly among the victims. They knelt beside the wounded, skillfully stopping the bleeding with makeshift bandages and gauze. Some of them were covered in blood up to their elbows, fighting desperately to keep the victims from losing too much blood.
Adrian weaved his way through the frantic crowd, finally reaching the railing. He peered over the edge, and his stomach twisted at the sight below. The chaos was unimaginable—strange, monstrous creatures tore through the streets, attacking anyone in their path without mercy.
Adrian shuddered in horror, suddenly feeling a soft touch on his shoulder. Vanessa shot Adrian a sharp look, her brows furrowing deeper with each passing second. Her frustration quickly boiled over into anger as she snapped, "I thought I made myself clear—get out of here immediately! Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?!"
Adrian squared his shoulders, matching her glare. "And I made myself clear too—I can't just leave," he shot back. "If I ditch work before my shift's over, I'm done for. And besides, you didn't explain anything! You just ordered me to leave without a reason. If I'd known this place was about to turn into an alien war zone, do you really think I'd still be standing here arguing with you?!"
The doctor sighed, rubbing her forehead, realizing no point in holding back her explanation.
"This isn't some alien invasion," Vanessa snapped. "These are mutated humans—victims of an event called The Daydream. I've been studying this outbreak since the first case showed up a year ago, but even now, I still don't have a solid answer to give you."
"The Daydream event?"
"Yes. It sounds like a video game, but that's what it's called. If you get infected by this outbreak, you enter a bizarre parallel world where you have to fight others to survive."
"In every server world, you're pitted against 20 other people, and you've got just 48 hours to fight it out," Vanessa explained, her voice dropping to a grim tone. "Only five of you will make it out alive. And if that wasn't bad enough, you'll also be up against mutant creatures—monsters strong enough to tear down entire buildings."
"If you lose, you'll open a gateway for these monsters to enter. But if you win, you wake up as 'The Finalist,' gaining special abilities," Vanessa concluded.
It all sounded like a twisted nightmare to Adrian. "Wait, so you're telling me all those mutants down there... they're the people who lost in their Daydream event?"
The doctor nodded.
"Then why don't I see any Finalists around?" Adrian asked again.
The doctor gave a bitter smile. "Becoming a Finalist is no easy feat," she murmured. "It's so grueling that sometimes a server doesn't even have a single survivor—everyone gets wiped out by the monsters before time's up. That's why you hardly ever see them now."
Adrian nodded, understanding.
"By the way, I'm Adrian," he said, extending his hand with a hint of a smile.
"Vanessa," she replied, gripping his hand firmly in a brief shake.
Suddenly, the military commander's voice cut through the chaos, sharp and urgent.
"The third and second rings have fallen. Seal the door now and prepare for a last stand!"
A makeshift barricade was quickly thrown together, using whatever was left—broken furniture, crates, anything that could hold. The soldiers, running on fumes, worked with what little strength they had left.
"This won't end well," Adrian wiping sweat from his face. "A barricade with just a dozen soldiers isn't strong enough to hold off those mutants."
Vanessa felt the same way. Anxiety and despair. There was no other way out of this place. Death was near.
"Look!"
Panic swept through the crowd as they screamed and pointed to the sky. An evacuation helicopter was creeping toward the building, its rotors chopping through the air.
"Help is coming! We're saved!"
Adrian and Vanessa looked at each other, speechless. Each of them had heavy thoughts.
Just as the joy surged, the rooftop door suddenly made a loud noise, sounding almost like an explosion. The atmosphere fell silent as everyone froze.
BOOM!
The noise came again, this time denting parts of the door.
BOOOM!
The final, loudest sound rang out.
SWUNG!
The metal door was blown off its hinges.
"Open fire!" The commander screamed.
A deafening barrage of gunfire erupted from a dozen machine guns, the sound cutting through the air like a storm. Those who were slow to cover their ears were left reeling, the sharp, piercing ringing in their heads drowning out everything else.
Bullets flew towards the mutants who crazily charged at the barricade line. However, the mutants were only momentarily halted. The bullets felt like mere taps. Their skin was too thick and tough for regular caliber bullets to penetrate.
Seeing the soldiers' desperate faces, everyone knew they were f*cked up.
"Run to the helipad now! The helicopter is our only chance to survive!" someone yelled.
In a frenzy, everyone dashed toward the helipad, fighting to be the first to get evacuated from this hell. Everyone knew that one helicopter couldn't fit them all. It was a life-or-death competition.
Adrian was about to sprint to the helipad with the rest of the crowd. His life might be miserable, but he didn't want to die being eaten by mutants here. However, he stopped when he saw Vanessa still standing in place, dazed.
"What are you waiting for?!" Adrian shouted urgently.
"There won't be enough space for me," Vanessa said in despair.
"Stupid doctor!"
Adrian didn't have time for more words. Without a second thought, he scooped Vanessa into his arms, he sprinted toward the helipad with everything he had.
Vanessa was shocked. "What are you doing, you pervert?! Put me down!"
"Don't act like a hero!" Adrian scolded her harshly.
As the helicopter landed, Adrian, with his incredible physical strength, pushed through the crowd to stand as close as possible to the helicopter.
The rescue team opened the door. Everyone went crazy trying to get into the cabin, but the crew quickly pushed them back.
"We're only taking doctors and executives!" one of the rescuers shouted, his voice cold and commanding. "The rest of you, step back now, or we'll shoot!"
"I have Dr. Vanessa!" Adrian yelled amid the chaos.
The rescuer recognizes Vanessa. Nodding, he said, "Get her on board."
After lifting Vanessa into the cabin, Adrian tried to climb.
"ARGH!"
Adrian stumbled back. The rescuer had just stomped on his fingers.
"Are you deaf or what?! Only doctors and executives get in! You're fucking janitor!"