Eric felt a surge of relief, delighted to have finally undertaken a comparatively less arduous quest. Tidying her clothing, she returned to the task hall, glanced briefly at the bulletin board to confirm the absence of urgent news, then departed.
The transit station bustled with a myriad of faces—some solemn, others adorned with faint smiles. She even observed couples hand in hand, joyfully entering the marketplace.
A microcosm of humanity unfolded here.
Contemplating this, Eric returned to her room and devoted two hours to rigorous exercise. The inn possessed a remarkable feature: no matter what noises she made within her room, provided doors and windows were securely closed, not a sound escaped to disturb the lodgers below.
At precisely six o'clock, darkness enveloped the exterior. Acclimated now to the perilous ambiance beyond, her appetite remained unshaken. After dining, she paced thoughtfully within the room, replaying the day's two missions in her mind. By eight o'clock, she bathed, and by nine, slipped into an undisturbed slumber.
The next morning, brimming with resolve, Eric returned to the task hall to commence her next assignment. As she passed through the luminous portal, she found herself confined within a cramped space. A quick inspection revealed she was inside a closet.
Inside a closet?
Unwilling to open it recklessly, Eric pressed her ear against the door, straining to catch sounds beyond.
Clang!!
"Where is this? Who locked me in here?"
A distant voice echoed, seemingly from an adjacent room.
Someone forcefully yanked open the closet door, then—
"Ah!"
"Help!"
Cries for assistance erupted; from the sounds, two people were running in panic, pursued and attacked relentlessly. Their pleas were filled with despair, sending a chill down Eric's spine.
After several minutes, the voices abruptly ceased.
Eric probed the confines of the closet once more—it was painfully small; curled within, she could only hug her knees, shoulders drawn inward, her form compressed into a tight ball.
Given the prior commotion, she surmised this closet served as an "initial safe point." To abandon it, she would need the means to defend herself.
From the supermarket interface, she retrieved a kitchen knife, then quietly eased the closet door open.
Despite her caution, the door's creaking betrayed her.
Her heart leapt; light poured through the widening gap, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely.
Upon locking eyes, the creature lunged with terrifying ferocity.
Eric discerned it to be a monkey. Evading deftly, she swung her knife in defense.
The blade struck rock-hard flesh, pain shooting through her hand.
The injured monkey emitted a sharp, enraged screech, leaping onto a nearby table, hissing furiously at Eric, claws poised like gleaming daggers.
Glancing at her knife, stained red, she recognized that despite the monkey's anomalous toughness, it was not invulnerable—her blade could inflict harm.
The monkey's left arm hung limply, fueling its rage. After a barrage of guttural calls, it attacked with renewed vigor.
Its speed intensified!
Steel-nerved, Eric braced herself to meet the assault.
The battle was primal: each tested the other, scratching and slashing in unyielding combat. As a human wielding a cold weapon, Eric held a distinct tactical advantage in intellect and armament, yet the monkey's agility was unmistakably superior.
Soon, lagging in evasion, Eric felt a sharp sting in her right arm, though she landed a simultaneous blow on the beast.
The monkey's assault succeeded, yet her counterstrike found its mark.
The blade bit into its back, inciting further fury; its jaws gaped wide, eyes an ominous shade of bleeding red.
For the first time, Eric confronted such raw, bestial malice and murderous intent. Even the giant python's blood-red eyes had often possessed a cold, disdainful hunger; this creature's hatred was palpably fierce.
Fueled by fierce resolve, Eric vowed to overcome this mutated simian.
The monkey's hatred equally consumed it; after a menacing display, it launched another furious assault. Soon, numerous scratches adorned Eric's skin, testament to the relentless exchange.
The duel was fierce and unyielding, but Eric's advantages endured—her knife scored countless wounds upon the vile creature.
The enraged monkey's ferocity waned; its body bore the cruel marks of blade and blood, its fur soaked crimson, transforming it into a nightmarish blood-streaked beast.
Reluctance flickered in the monkey's eyes. Seizing the moment, Eric struck its neck decisively.
Watching the creature writhe on the ground, convulsing through final throes, Eric gasped deeply before cautiously approaching the door.
Peering through the glass pane on the door, she beheld a throng of monkeys leaping and bounding with fierce aggression. Scattered upon the floor lay fragments of bone and tattered garments, evoking memories of the anguished screams she had just heard. As the echoes of their torment lingered in her mind, she realized that other players in nearby rooms must have also endured savage attacks. How many players remained alive, she wondered—
"Are there any survivors? We must unite and cooperate!"
Suddenly, a voice reverberated, catching Eric's keen attention.
Drawn by the sound, the monkeys surged toward the door, battering it relentlessly.
Unfazed, the speaker declared, "This door is stout—they cannot break through! Listen well: I have access to a computer here. It warns that this entire underground laboratory will be obliterated in twenty minutes, and we shall perish alongside these failed experiments! I have decoded an escape route—we must flee together!"
Eric's heart leapt with urgency.
An underground laboratory set to be destroyed in twenty minutes? There was scarcely time to escape!
She promptly responded, "I am a surviving player—how may I assist?"
"Excellent! I feared all other players were lost. The corridor outside is impassable; we must traverse the ventilation ducts beneath the ceiling. Time is limited. I have identified three passageways. We split up to investigate: whoever finds a clear path must alert the others loudly. Can you do that?"
"I can."
Eric lifted the fallen cabinet upright, climbed atop a chair to reach it, then bent to haul another chair and stack it upon the cabinet. Once balanced, she stepped onto the chair, bringing her within reach of the ventilation shaft.
Using a fruit knife, she pried open the vent cover, discarding the panel below, and strained upward toward the gap.
Meanwhile, the monkeys' furious banging against the door intensified, drawn by her movements and voices. Ignoring the clamorous chaos, she pressed onward—muscles aching, bones throbbing—until she finally climbed into the ventilation duct.
Feeling the sting of muscle strain, Eric acknowledged her need for greater conditioning.
Though since her arrival her health had been at its best pre-illness level, she was not an avid exerciser before, and thus her physical prowess remained limited. The practical training of recent days had yet to yield sudden leaps in stamina.
She required additional real-world experience.
With these thoughts, Eric continued her rapid crawl within the duct, indifferent to the abrasions tearing her hands and knees.
Ahead, a figure appeared; she paused.
"Are you a player?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Wonderful! I'm Christopher. Follow me—the fork in the path is just ahead."
"Alright."
Eric trailed behind the shadowy silhouette.
After crawling three or four meters, numerous branching ducts emerged—apparently leading to other spaces. Christopher seemed to have memorized the duct layout, guiding her unhesitatingly through the labyrinth.
From start to finish, Eric remained silent as they silently crawled.
Twenty minutes was a brutally tight timeframe for escape.
Peering through narrow vent slits along the route, Eric glimpsed corpses clad in white lab coats, contorted monkey faces, and living simians ceaselessly banging and shrieking.
Other than herself and the figure ahead, no third human was in sight.
Eric's eyes settled once more on Christopher's shadowy form, obscured in the dim duct light—enigmatic as his thoughts seemed to her.
Distrustful by nature, she struggled to place faith in a stranger; yet Christopher had provided clear leads and a route in her moment of confusion, leaving her with little choice but to follow.
Should fortune favor her, he genuinely sought collaboration to find the correct way; but if fortune faltered… perhaps he already knew the path and merely sought to use her as bait to divert dangers.
"We've arrived. This is the fork—three routes in total. I do not know which are passable or blocked. We split up. If either of us cannot find a way, we reunite and try the remaining path. But I hope the correct path lies somewhere between the two we choose," Christopher said, stopping and turning to Eric.
"Which route shall I take?" she inquired.
"Go—"
She interrupted hastily, "I'll take the left one!"
Her abrupt decision accelerated Christopher's breathing. Yet upon hearing her choice, he seemed to approve, quickly adding, "Good! Take the left; I'll try the middle. If both fail, we'll return and try the right. I still believe the right path is among the two we selected."
"It will be. Let's do our best!"
Feigning oblivion to his odd reaction, Eric began crawling down the left duct without hesitation.
After some distance, she paused and turned back.
Her movements were cautious and silent, the monkeys' raucous noises below providing ample cover.
Returning soundlessly to the fork, she prepared to enter the middle path but hesitated. Retrieving a flashlight, she inspected carefully.
Dust marks on the right duct revealed recent passage, while the central duct's surface remained undisturbed by any footprints.
Indeed, the evidence was clear!
Facing the worst-case scenario calmly, Eric switched off her flashlight immediately and entered the right duct with stealth. To avoid drawing attention from Christopher ahead, she moved cautiously.
As she crawled, she pondered: if Christopher knew the escape, why summon her? Surely, he could have fled alone. He must require her participation to overcome obstacles along the way.
What dangers awaited on this path? She would soon discover.