No One Survives

The middle-aged man, all bluster and no backbone, hurried out of the room as if fleeing.

Zhou You had wanted to stop him and ask a few more questions, but the system warned him that doing so would result in immediate game failure. He could only shake his head and start by giving the room a quick search.

At a glance, it was an ordinary security office. It was small and a little shabby, with security equipment scattered around. By the door hung information about various municipal departments, along with a patrol map and instructions for his post.

Unlike the security guards at most residential communities, who only had to watch over a single complex, he was responsible for patrolling an entire neighborhood. There was no computer or other work equipment in the room, just an old television. Zhou You tried it and found it had been broken for ages; it wouldn't turn on.

A few newspapers were piled on the desk. Unfortunately, perhaps because of the game's limitations, most of the text had blurred as though soaked with water, making it difficult to read. He could only piece together a few words here and there.

"Accidents... frequent..."

"Billionaire... critically ill... being treated..."

"Urgently hiring... desperately short-staffed... excellent benefits..."

"A street vendor... died from overwork... his family..."

"Embezzlement... investigative reporter... about to..."

"Acquisition... slaughterhouse..."

Zhou You studied them for a long time but still couldn't find any useful clues.

Most of the words were too fragmented to make sense of. The only thing he could guess was that the job ad might have something to do with his current task, based on the words "hiring" and "short-staffed." But what about those "excellent benefits"?

He hadn't forgotten that the introduction had said this job would only keep him from "starving to death."

When he realized there was nothing else to find here, Zhou You turned to the other side of the room.

There sat a sign-in log.

The pages were about four inches square and weren't especially worn, though they were covered in muddy prints and grease stains, as if people hadn't taken much care of them. The first page listed the day-shift patrol staff and their schedules. Nothing seemed amiss. But when he turned to the second page, the night-shift schedule, his expression darkened.

It was filled with names, too. But unlike the day shift, whose staff stayed almost entirely the same, the night patrol roster changed every other day. Not a single name appeared twice.

And, more importantly...

Not one of them had ever finished their shift.

The sign-in column was full of check marks, but the sign-out column was completely blank.

So what had happened to those employees? Why had none of them ever made it back?

Thinking of that, then looking again at the security uniform that seemed to be stained with blood, sent shivers down his spine.

As he was pondering this, a clear chime suddenly rang out. Zhou You looked up at the clock and realized that, while he'd been searching, the hour hand had crept to eleven.

It was time for the night patrol.

The game hadn't specified any penalty for being late, but he had no desire to test what might happen. He tightened his jacket, looked around the security office one last time to make sure he hadn't missed anything, then picked up the flashlight and walked out.

Outside the security office.

The streets lay silent in the night.

From the patrol instructions, Zhou You had learned that the neighborhood had originally been slated for redevelopment as a new urban district. More than half the residents had already moved away, leaving only a few stubborn ones who refused to leave.

It sounded like a reasonable explanation.

But the problem was...

He suddenly looked up and surveyed the area.

Not a single light shone in the old apartment buildings, and there was no sign of human activity. Now and then, faint rustling came from behind a locked door, but the moment he listened closely, the sounds fell silent, as if everything he'd heard had been an illusion.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Even if it was already eleven and more than half the residents had moved away, there was no way this huge neighborhood would be completely devoid of life. Surely there would be at least one lit window.

Unless...

Zhou You didn't pursue the absurd idea forming in his mind. Instead, guided by the dim streetlights, he walked over to a door. He hesitated, then knocked gently.

No one answered.

He gave the door a tentative tug.

The lock wasn't secure. Anyone with a little strength could probably pull it open with ease, let alone a young man like him.

"So if something goes wrong during the patrol, could I use one of these apartment buildings as an emergency shelter...?"

With that thought, Zhou You leaned close to the gap in the door and peered inside.

Then...

He saw a face.

It was grayish-blue, floating in midair, with no flesh or bones. It was strange and twisted, and... it stared straight at him.

Zhou You shuddered and leaped backward.

"—You have been corrupted. Sanity reduced. Current sanity: 85/100."

...A face suddenly appearing like that had startled even him. Fortunately, the ghostly face seemed confined to the building. It didn't follow him when he backed away; all that remained was a faint rustling.

Zhou You took a few deep breaths to steady himself. But then, as if remembering something, he suddenly held his breath, tilted his head, and listened carefully.

Once he was completely still, the other sounds became clearer.

Rustling came from all over the neighborhood. There was so much of it that Zhou You could no longer tell how many there were.

One, ten, a hundred, a thousand, or... tens of thousands?

How many buildings were here? And how many ghostly faces?

"Damn..."

After a long moment, Zhou You voiced a heartfelt complaint.

"I get that you don't want me taking shortcuts, but did you really have to go this far...?"

But his opponent had already gone to these lengths. There was nothing he could do but give up on taking shortcuts and turn toward the main road.

Time passed, but aside from the scare he'd just had, he didn't encounter another monster along the way. He even managed to finish that stretch of the patrol without any trouble.

According to the map in the security office, his patrol route was divided into roughly four sections.

The first ran from the security office to Yuan Shun Intersection. The second went from Yuan Shun Intersection to Shan Huai Hutong. The third ran from Shan Huai Hutong to Chang Song Slope. Then he just had to loop around the bottom of Chang Song Slope, and he'd be done.

Even though he'd now completed a quarter of the route with ease, Zhou You wasn't relieved. If anything, he felt increasingly uneasy.

This was supposed to be a medium-to-low corruption scenario. How could it possibly be easier than Building Four, a beginner scenario? Besides, it had just thrown a jump scare at him to warn him not to take shortcuts. There was no way it would let him breeze through the rest of the route...

Just as Zhou You was beginning to doubt himself, a glimmer of light appeared at the edge of his vision.

And unlike the yellowish streetlights, it was the bright white light of an incandescent bulb.

It was also the only light in the dark city that shone with any real brightness.