Huang Wei collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. His lungs felt like they were on fire, and every muscle in his body screamed in agony. Sweat mixed with infected blood streamed down his temples, dripping into his stinging eyes. The aluminum baseball bat in his hands was now dented in several places, warped from the relentless impacts, showing just how brutal the fight had been.
He'd managed to defeat the five infected that appeared in the doorway, but the cost was enormous. His entire body felt crushed, as if hit by a freight train. His enhanced stamina and endurance had helped him last longer than he should have, but even with those stat boosts, Huang Wei still felt a suffocating exhaustion threatening to drag him into darkness.
'Is it... finally over?' he thought, his vision blurring as he stared at the infected corpses littering his dorm room floor, forming pools of thick black blood.
His answer came in the form of hoarse growls from the hallway. Huang Wei's heart sank. With movements that felt like lifting a ton of weight, he turned his head. Two new figures appeared in the doorway—an old man in a dirty janitor's uniform and a short man in athletic wear, both with glowing red eyes and gaping mouths.
"Shit... there's more?" he groaned, his voice hoarse and filled with bitter frustration. Was this apocalypse never-ending? Would he have to keep fighting until his last breath?
Though his body protested with every fiber, Huang Wei forced himself to stand. His legs trembled violently, his muscles twitching uncontrollably, and his grip on the bat wasn't as strong as before. Every movement was a struggle. But he knew there was no other choice. Fight or die. And dying meant breaking his promise to grandma—the promise that now served as his anchor in this storm.
The janitor infected charged in first, followed by the short man who moved with surprising speed. Huang Wei shifted sideways, barely dodging the first attack, his movements feeling much slower than in previous fights. His muscles tensed, but his response wasn't as quick as he wanted.
CRASH!
The short infected slammed into the study desk, destroying the laptop and books on top. Taking advantage of the moment, Huang Wei swung his bat at the janitor infected.
THWACK!
His strike landed on the infected's shoulder—not enough to disable it, just making it stagger. The infected turned and clawed, nearly scratching Huang Wei's arm, its putrid breath hitting his face.
The fight continued fiercely, more brutal and exhausting than the first. Huang Wei's movements slowed drastically due to extreme fatigue, each swing of the bat a painful exertion of energy. But his determination didn't waver. Serenity might provide mental clarity, but it didn't erase the pain and despair looming over him. He kept moving, looking for openings, remembering every lesson from previous fights. After five minutes of combat that felt like eternity, with sweat and blood soaking his entire face, he managed to bring down the janitor infected with a series of strikes that crushed its head.
The short infected proved much harder to handle. It moved fast and agile, forcing Huang Wei to completely drain his stamina to keep up, even pushing beyond his physical limits. His breathing was now erratic, his vision starting to blur. Finally, with one desperate move that was more like falling than attacking, Huang Wei sacrificed his balance, throwing himself forward while delivering a devastating blow to the short infected's head.
CRACK!
The sound of a skull fracturing rang out clearly, and the last infected fell. Along with it, Huang Wei also collapsed to the floor, completely drained of energy—even the last reserves. His vision blurred, and for several moments, he just lay there staring at the ceiling, trying to regulate his ragged breathing. Pain washed over every inch of his body.
'I need to... secure... this room...' A faint thought, a remnant of burning determination, crossed his mind.
With what resolve remained, Huang Wei crawled toward his bed and grabbed the frame to pull himself up. His legs shook violently, barely able to support his body, as if his bones had turned to rubber.
His eyes swept across the room now filled with infected corpses—ten bodies sprawled across the floor covered in thick black fluid, eleven if he counted Lei Jiang's body under the blanket. The metallic and rotten smell pierced his nose, nausea attacking again. His gaze fixed on the large wardrobe in the corner of the room.
'That's it... The only way.'
With stumbling steps, Huang Wei approached the large wooden wardrobe. Gathering his remaining strength, he let out a deep roar of frustration and pain, pushing the wardrobe toward the broken door.
SCREECH!
The sound of wood scraping against the dirty floor filled the room. Every inch of the wardrobe's movement felt like lifting hundreds of kilograms, an exertion beyond his physical limits. Sweat poured down, soaking his entire face, and his muscles screamed for rest that wouldn't come.
"Aaarrgh!" With one final desperate cry, Huang Wei managed to position the wardrobe right in front of the broken door, blocking the only access to his room. The wardrobe stood crooked, holding against pressure from outside—a rickety last fortress.
As soon as the wardrobe was in place, all of Huang Wei's strength evaporated. He immediately collapsed against it, sliding down to the cold, dirty floor. His breathing was choppy, and his consciousness began to fade, pulled into an abyss of exhaustion. Before darkness consumed him, Huang Wei heard a clear system notification sound and caught a glimpse of a transparent blue screen appearing before him.
---
Huang Wei woke up hours later. The sunlight streaming through the window showed it was already afternoon. His entire body felt stiff, sore, and aching in every joint, but at least he was still alive. He'd managed to survive.
Slowly, he sat up and leaned against the wardrobe he'd used to block the door. His eyes swept over the horrific scene in his room—eleven infected corpses scattered about, dried black blood everywhere, destroyed furniture, and his belongings strewn around. The putrid smell of death still hung thick in the air.
'What should I do now?' he wondered, hunger beginning to gnaw at his empty stomach.
His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since... whenever. Huang Wei crawled toward his overturned drawer and opened it. Inside were several bags of chips, a chocolate bar, and two bottles of water.
'Very limited food supplies...' he muttered bitterly, staring at the water bottles with hope. His life now depended on things as simple as this.
That's when Huang Wei remembered the system notification he'd seen before passing out. In a quiet voice, he mumbled, "Status System."
A transparent blue screen appeared before him:
=====
[STATUS SYSTEM]
Name: Huang Wei
Gender: Male
Age: 20
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength: 10 Stamina: 8
Agility: 7 Endurance: 9
Vitality: 6 Mana: 0
Free Points: 5
[SKILLS]
Innate Skills: Weapon Mastery
Passive Skills: Serenity
=====
Huang Wei's eyes narrowed seeing the five free points that had suddenly appeared. He wasn't surprised—not as relieved as before—but there was a sense of confirmation.
"Five free points," he muttered, his voice hoarser than usual. "So it's true."
Then he remembered the ten infected he'd killed. His brain quickly connected the two pieces of information.
"Every ten infected I kill, I get five free points..." A thin smile, full of irony, appeared on his face. This was a cruel game where points were earned through blood and death. Every increase in power meant more blood on his hands.
This familiar game logic now felt so real and terrifying. He was no longer just playing. This was a way to survive, a way to become stronger to face all of this. And with every point he gained from others' deaths, he felt further from his former self, deeper entangled in this brutal game.
"I'll use them," he whispered, his resolve hardening. "To survive. To make amends."