Ethan clutched the paper bag, knuckles bleaching white.
His eyes locked onto the factory entrance—empty.
11:02.
Seconds bled away.
No Chen.
Did he miss the signal? Was I too subtle?
The cooldown ticked over. Finished.
> ACTIVATE: EYES OF THE DOOMED!
"Relax! The villa's just the outer shell. They'll never find the entrance!"
Wang Zichen's voice held shaky confidence.
None expected what came next.
The disguised monsters moved with chilling purpose.
Straight toward the bathroom.
Leading them—an old woman in cleaner's uniform.
Face frozen in that plastic smile.
She stopped before the split toilet.
Eyeballs plopped out with a sickening squelch.
Skin turned vegetable-green.
CRACK!
Her iron-gray hands seized the bowl.
Ripped it apart!
"Holy SHIT! How'd they find it?!" Wang shrieked.
"What now?" Future Ethan demanded.
"No sweat! Still got eight layers! Fort Knox—"
Wang fumbled lighting a cigarette. Hands trembling.
On screen, the horde stumbled into the tunnel.
A gleaming alloy wall slammed down.
Barrier One.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Lead monster hammered the metal.
Others shed human skins.
Dozens of green fists pounded.
Wang puffed his chest. "See? Solid as—"
CRACK!
The barrier shattered like glass.
Monsters poured through.
Wang's jowls quivered. "Run. RUN!"
He scrambled deeper into the arcade.
Future Ethan and Chen chased him. "But seven more barriers?!"
"All same damn strength!" Wang wheezed, finding a hidden panel.
Future Ethan's voice spiked. "That's your 'Fort Knox'?!"
One flimsy barrier down. Seven to go.
Their faces paled.
"Move! Didn't know they hit this hard!" Wang surprisingly outpaced them. "Never blow cover in Disaster-Class events! Amateurs!"
They burst into a narrow tunnel.
"Another exit?" Chen gasped.
"Course! Three escapes! Name's Wang Zichen, genius strategist!"
Ethan finally had a name.
The tunnel opened into an underground garage.
Two armored vehicles waited.
"Military APCs?! Where—" Future Ethan stared.
"No time! IN!" Wang vaulted into the driver's seat.
Future Ethan and Chen dove behind.
"Seatbelts! NOW!"
Engine thundered to life.
Garage door heaved open.
APC shot out like a bullet—
—into a public restroom's back alley.
This guy really has a toilet fetish, Ethan thought grimly.
Wang drove one-handed, phone pressed to ear:
"John! Compromised! Heading your way… Two newbies. Guy and girl…"
Weaving through traffic at 100 mph.
CRUNCH!
A sedan flew sideways.
"Humans" crawled from the wreck—
—twisting, sprouting green hair, giving chase.
THUD! SCRAPE!
More cars flipped. More monsters spawned.
A swarm gathered.
Vile green sludge smeared the rear windshield.
Something pulsed against the glass—a rotting face.
They'd kicked the hornet's nest.
Monsters swarmed the APC.
Clawed hands gripped door handles.
Bodies thudded onto the roof.
"FUCK!" Wang swerved violently.
Metal shrieked as attackers scraped off.
Ahead: highway on-ramp.
"Why the highway?!" Future Ethan yelled.
"John's compound past the farms!" Wang shouted back.
APC surged toward the ramp—
—when darkness blotted the sky.
BANG!!!
Something massive smashed the hood.
Reinforced windshield caved inward.
Future Ethan's head snapped forward.
Everything went black.
Ethan's vision returned to agony.
Future Ethan woke—
—to teeth.
Green-haired monsters ripping flesh.
He felt every bite.
Every strip of skin torn away.
Seconds later.
Future Ethan.
Dead.
Time snapped back to 11:02.
Ethan gasped, jolted from the Death Replay.
Real time: seconds passed.
Replay time: thirty grueling minutes.
He rubbed arms, phantom pain lingering.
So much intel…
First: Chen got his message. Came to factory.
Then: Market exposure.
Enter Wang Zichen. Their rescue.
Fatal mistake: leading monsters to his door.
Bunker failed.
Escape…
Pole…
Teeth…
Brutal end.
Wang's words echoed: Disaster-Class… Extinction-Level…
Game mechanics?
Wang was a veteran player.
And that call: "Got two newbies."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
He meant us.
Chen and I…
We're the new players.