It turns out that he was indeed very prescient; the lamp did work, but the light was unusually bright and glaring. Instead of the gentle, dim orange glow of a regular desk lamp, it emitted a harsh white light, similar to the chandelier in the living room. Without the cover of the quilt, the room would have been as bright as daylight.
He carefully lifted a corner of the quilt, allowing a faint beam of light to shine through, and brought the card closer to examine it closely. After studying it repeatedly, he finally understood its meaning. Then, he turned the card over and found more words on the back.
“Do not turn on the light, as it will attract them.” “How strange that creatures meant to exist in darkness pursue the light.”
Xin Meng suddenly recalled the four bloody characters on the white wall, and a shiver ran down his spine. What kind of horror game was this?
Monsters would be attracted to light, so turning on the light was not an option. But if he didn’t turn on the light, he wouldn’t be able to read the card or the writings on the wall, thus not knowing about the prohibition against turning on the light. What a damned hint—it was a dead end!
Xin Meng wanted to tear up the card in frustration but ultimately set it down reluctantly, as it was his only clue.
He had seen all the hints on the card, but they didn’t provide much information. He had no idea where he was, what was outside, or what the task to clear the level was. It seemed he needed to find his other five teammates and get information from them.
But…
Xin Meng hesitated. To find others, he would have to go out. To go out, he would have to deal with the monsters outside.
Yes, monsters.
He was sure that what was outside was not a wild beast but some kind of monster, as the card mentioned “creatures meant to exist in darkness.” This darkness didn’t seem to refer simply to nighttime. Even if it did, no animal exists only at night. The phrase reminded him of something bad, like vampires.
Although absurd, this was a horror game, so anything was possible, right?
Some things still felt off, but for some reason, Xin Meng subconsciously ignored them.
The immediate task was to figure out what kind of creature the monster outside was. He returned to the living room, quietly moved a few chairs away from the door, and looked out through the peephole.
The house seemed to be an old apartment. Unlike new buildings with only two units per floor, this one had three units per floor, with no elevator, only a dirty stairwell. Xin Meng was in the middle unit and could see the lower half of the staircase from the peephole. There was a window on the half-landing below, and it was indeed nighttime outside, with the glass showing only a pitch-black darkness, like a monstrous maw waiting to devour him. However, due to the earlier collision, the stairwell light was on, so Xin Meng could see clearly. But he saw nothing.
The heavy breathing and low growling outside were still there, yet he saw nothing.
Was the peephole’s view too narrow? Xin Meng leaned closer, but suddenly, the light outside dimmed, and a huge, bloody, pale eye filled the entire peephole, staring straight at him!
Xin Meng almost fell off the chairs in fright!
What the hell!
If he hadn’t remembered not to make a sound, he would have screamed!
That eye was horrifying. It didn’t have eyelids like a normal human eye but was a complete, exposed eyeball. The sclera was a greenish-gray, covered in dark red veins, and the pupil was a dull gray, staring unblinkingly at him!
Xin Meng’s hands started trembling again. In the quiet room, he could clearly hear his own rapid, heavy heartbeat, filling his ears and blocking out all other sounds. He almost wanted to run back to the bedroom and never come near this place again!
But reason stopped him. Xin Meng wanted to survive. He didn’t want to be bitten to death by a monster, nor did he want to starve to death. There was no food in the house, so he couldn’t hide for long. No matter what was outside, he would have to face it eventually. Besides, there was still a door between them.
Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, there’s nothing to be afraid of…
Xin Meng comforted himself while clenching his fingers tightly, mustering his courage to carefully approach the peephole again.
This time, he saw the full appearance of the “monster.”
A zombie.
There was no more accurate description than this: a human-shaped monster that looked as if its skin had been peeled off.
The zombie must have been a grown man when alive, wearing a tattered, bloodstained suit. Its bloated abdomen was split open, with decaying intestines and organs hanging out. Its hair was completely gone, exposing mottled, pale skin, with black and yellow pus oozing from where the skin had rotted away. Inside, blackened bones and hanging flesh were visible. Its face was skinless, with exposed eyeballs and gums, teeth covered in bits of flesh…
Wait, there was another one, a female zombie beside it!
The light in the room had attracted two zombies, now both blocking the door, wandering aimlessly, growling and breathing heavily. Xin Meng saw that the female zombie in tattered pajamas had a dirty, foul-smelling tongue almost split in half, hanging outside her teeth.
They could no longer be considered human.
Whether it was psychological or not, after seeing their appearances, Xin Meng’s previously blocked sense of smell suddenly became clear, and he could almost smell the overwhelming stench of rotting corpses outside the door, making him nauseous.
But beyond the fear and disgust, the immediate situation was dire.
The stairwell light was still on. Who knew how many more monsters would be attracted by it? Even if no more came, there were still these two, blocking the door. What could he do?
Xin Meng was scared and anxious. He wasn’t physically strong; he wasn’t completely weak but had never practiced any martial arts. The force of the two zombies hitting the security door earlier was terrifying, and he felt utterly helpless.
Fortunately, the motion sensor light did not come back on after turning off this time.
Xin Meng let out a small sigh of relief, backed away, staring blankly at the security door, his mind racing.
With two zombies together, he couldn’t handle them. But what if he lured them in one at a time? Let one in while keeping the other outside, kill the first one, and then deal with the other…
No, this won’t work. Not only is the zombie incredibly strong, but he also isn’t confident he can close the door fast enough to keep the other one out. Even if he manages to let one in, he isn’t sure he can deal with it without getting grabbed or bitten.
Yes, Xin Meng definitely doesn’t intend to risk getting injured while killing zombies. Who knows if their filthy teeth contain deadly bacteria? He wouldn’t take that risk.
Is there any other way?
Since it’s a game, it should take into account the player’s physical limitations, so it shouldn’t be impossible for an average person to survive. There must be other escape routes.
Don’t rush. Think carefully, think… think about the characteristics of zombies…
Zombies are attracted to light, so if he turns on a light, it will draw their attention. But what if it’s daylight outside?
Xin Meng suddenly had an idea. What if he waited until the sun came up? Zombies are attracted to light, and if it’s bright outside but dark inside, wouldn’t they be drawn outside?
Waiting in place is actually quite risky, as every moment wasted means more energy lost, and exhaustion could put him in a more dangerous situation. However, Xin Meng couldn’t think of a better plan for now and decided to give it a try. If it didn’t work, he would come up with another idea.
While waiting for daylight, he returned to the bedroom, searching for usable weapons. He didn’t want zombies to get close, so kitchen knives weren’t useful. He needed something long, like a pole or a long stick.
To his surprise, he found one on the balcony. In the middle of a flowerpot, there was a stainless steel pipe, with some withered morning glory vines wrapped around it, likely used by the owner as a flower stand. Xin Meng stripped the dried vines, pulled out the pipe, and cleaned the dirt off. The pipe was a bit longer than his arm and felt good in his hand.
He also went to the kitchen, found a boning knife, and securely tied it to one end of the pipe with a rope, making a makeshift weapon.
Then, he sat down by the security door, quietly waiting for daylight.
There were no intact timepieces in the house. All the clocks and alarms had been broken, the phone was split in half, and his wrist was bare, so Xin Meng had no way to tell the time. He could only listen to the low growls of zombies outside and the heavy, shuffling footsteps, silently counting in his mind, feeling anxious as time passed.
He had never found the night so unbearable.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the sounds outside changed slightly. He heard two heavy breaths suddenly become lighter, and the shuffling footsteps gradually moved away. He quickly stood up and looked through the peephole, excited to see sunlight streaming in through the stairwell window. It was daylight!
The zombies indeed left the dark stairwell, stumbling down the stairs. Their stiff joints made them clumsy, causing them to trip and almost roll down, but they felt no pain and could still get up and continue. This sight made Xin Meng’s hair stand on end.
However, it confirmed his initial thought. The zombies were indeed drawn to the sunlight outside. This was his chance to leave! He pushed aside the pile of furniture blocking the door, checked through the peephole again to make sure no zombies were in the stairwell, and then went back inside to find some relatively intact clothes to cover himself, hiding any exposed skin. Holding the steel pipe, he opened the security door slightly.
A cool breeze blew in from the stairwell window, bringing the fresh, moist air of the morning, which invigorated Xin Meng. The exhaustion and sleepiness from staying up all night were slightly alleviated. He quietly opened the door and tiptoed out.
The stairwell was dim except near the window. The iron handrail was rusty and shaky. He carefully descended the stairs. The next floor was the first floor, and looking out through the open entrance, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar. It seemed to be an old residential area with identical six-story buildings, many of which appeared unoccupied, with windows lacking even glass.
This was probably a good thing, meaning there shouldn’t be too many zombies.
Indeed, as Xin Meng expected, there were only a few zombies on the streets of the residential area. Their dirty, decayed bodies moved stiffly like puppets under the sunlight, leaving behind yellow pus or rotting flesh as they walked, filling the air with a stench that churned his stomach.
It was a nightmare-like scene.
Xin Meng tightened his grip on the steel pipe, controlled his breathing, and cautiously moved along the shadows of the buildings, trying not to make any noise.
This method worked well. The zombies wandered in the sunny areas, rarely venturing into the shadows. He moved slowly but steadily and managed to reach near the residential area’s gate.
However, he couldn’t go any further because there was a large open space before the gate with no cover, and about twenty zombies were wandering under the bright sunlight. There was no way he could avoid them!
