Returning to the stone pillar forest, Eric felt as though she had finally come back to life!
Her body was bruised and battered, plagued by unbearable pain. Had she gazed into a mirror, she would have seen her face pale to a ghostly white, her lips tinged with a chilling shade of purple.
The snake that had bitten her was venomous.
Quickly, she applied a healing kit and sank to the ground, resting until the agony eased before rising to continue onward.
Though this mission appeared to be a complete failure, Eric comforted herself with the thought that at least she had gained valuable experience and lessons.
She needed to strengthen her physical stamina, hone her powers of observation, run swifter, react more swiftly, and sharpen her senses.
In short, she needed to become significantly more formidable.
Ah, but she had indeed acquired some tangible spoils: wild berries, mud, wild mushrooms... and a snake egg.
Inside her room, a gleaming stainless steel cup perched atop the alcohol lamp simmered with fresh mushroom soup, its rich aroma gradually filling the chamber. Newly washed, Eric sat upon her bed, unblinking, her gaze fixed upon the snake egg resting in the center.
Yes, a snake egg.
She had spotted it as soon as she caught sight of the halo, pressed firmly beneath its radiant core. In the dire moment of lunging into the halo, her instinct had driven her to push the egg aside.
How she managed it, she wasn't sure—perhaps it was a fleeting impulse amidst life-or-death urgency, an incongruous thought: Could she take this with her?
With that thought, an almost instinctive action ensued, and the supermarket interface stored the egg away.
Exhausted upon returning, after washing, she retrieved food from the supermarket and then noticed the egg beside the mushroom pile. She truly had smuggled the snake egg out!
Handling the egg, Eric seated herself cross-legged, her expression grave as she stared intently.
The egg was black with white streaks, its surface rough to the touch. Eric recalled the glistening black python and imagined what might emerge if the egg were to hatch—if indeed it harbored life.
Austin had said that items from dungeons could not be removed, nor could players bring goods acquired in transit stations back into quests, yet her supermarket hack evidently defied such limits.
Ordinarily, she fetched food and tools this way, but this time, she had illicitly smuggled a snake egg out—could the Rainforest Python dungeon even be reset?
She could not fathom it and elected to cease pondering.
For now, her foremost concern was the egg itself.
If it were a dead egg, could it be eaten? Poisonous? Nutritious?
If alive—and the odds favored this—why else would the python guard it so jealously beneath the pit during periods of rest?
If it was alive, could she hatch it? Would it become a docile pet obedient to her commands—or a lethal predator wielding death's scythe?
Studying the jet-black egg, Eric sank into contemplation.
After long deliberation, she resolved to experiment. Using a knife, she sliced her finger and dripped two drops of blood onto the egg. To her surprise, the egg vibrated violently!
Startled, Eric recoiled instinctively.
The egg absorbed the blood as agitation continued momentarily before subsiding.
Truly, it was a living egg.
A mixture of joy and dread filled Eric's heart. She knew this was a perilous ordeal, yet she felt compelled to proceed.
After only a few days here, loneliness had already settled upon her. With much time ahead, she would guard her supermarket secret alone, likely forging no friendships. In such a fragile world, she preferred isolation—better to avoid attachments only to see friends perish the next day in dungeons, an unbearable sorrow.
Life was dreary and solitary; the prospect of a pet snake offered her a glimmer of hope she could not deny.
After a moment's admiration, Eric returned the egg to the supermarket, placing it securely within a large white bucket, covering it with a stool.
Having enjoyed the sweet mushroom soup, she took a nourishing nap, reviving her strength.
Around four o'clock, she proceeded to the quest hall to embark upon her second mission of the day.
Inhaling deeply, she stepped into the halo.
A flood of brightness greeted her; squinting, she shielded her eyes from the fierce sunlight with a haphazard canopy of her hand.
Around her were many people; the cacophony of loud impacts echoed, followed by fearful cries.
All wore school uniforms except for her and a man in his thirties—clearly, the only players present.
They exchanged a glance, silently acknowledging one another.
"What do we do? They're coming up!"
"I'm so scared, boohoo…"
The students were riddled with terror. Eric refrained from rushing to questions, instead advancing to the rooftop's edge to peer below.
Indeed, she had appeared here atop the rooftop, accounting for the blinding sunlight.
The air was thick with the stench of blood; below lay a crimson-stained expanse.
Eric spotted uncanny figures staggeringly wandering, limbs contorted, heads twitching spasmodically. Her heart caught—a chilling realization: these were zombies, straight from the horrors of film.
Bang!
The roof's door crashed with tremendous force, prompting a terrified scream from a student.
Eric turned to the gate, guessing correctly that the assailants were the undead.
Another player approached: "There are only two of us here. Let's cooperate."
He asked Eric to call him Mr. Wang; she replied, "Then call me Rookie."
Mr. Wang nodded and suggested, "Rookie, we must first escape this rooftop. Do you have any ideas for our next move?"
"Search the school thoroughly." From cinematic lore, Eric knew one must flee crowds during a zombie outbreak, yet what if the halo lay within the school? Leaving might render it forever elusive.
Thus, the school must be explored.
"True enough. You seem young—were you a student here once?" Mr. Wang cast a glance at the trembling students. "Either high school or university age, close to your own. With your schooling experience, what buildings stand out?"
"The library… the auditorium, gymnasium. Compared to academic buildings, the lecture halls and computer labs might be special." Unsure, Eric gazed outward; the library loomed some two hundred meters ahead.
Mr. Wang looked as well. "Then let's head to the library first!"
With the next destination set, escaping was far from straightforward.
The pounding upon the door grew deafening, and the students' faces drained of color in terror. Eric herself was gripped by genuine fear; what had once seemed thrilling and adventurous on screen had transformed into sheer dread in reality.
The main door was impassable—they had no choice but to ascend the drainpipes clinging to the outer walls.
Mr. Wang volunteered to lead, with Eric following close behind.
"Are you really going to climb down there? It's terribly dangerous!"
"We're climbing too! The door's about to give way!"
Eric carefully scaled the drainpipe, calmer than when she had once rolled through floodwaters into another building. She took solace in her own growth, silently praising herself: "Well done."
Maintaining her composure, she observed that Mr. Wang similarly remained steadfast. Yet the students lacked such experience; amid the cacophony of pounding doors, their panic escalated, and some faltered—fingers slipping, causing falls.
Eric sensed a shadow descending and instinctively clutched the pipe to avoid being struck.
Someone grazed her arm before plummeting, creating a crimson splash upon impact.
Zombies stumbled forward from an adjacent path, eagerly pouncing upon their prey.
From five floors above, Eric vividly witnessed the ghastly scene—the zombie tearing off the broken arm of the fallen student and gnawing upon it like a mere chicken wing.
Nausea overwhelmed her, icy coldness creeping through her limbs.
"Ah!"
The students burst into terrified screams as even more scrambled to climb the drainpipes.
Presuming the rooftop door had been breached, Eric quickened her ascent, refusing to linger.
Mr. Wang reached the fourth floor first and peered ahead. "This is indeed an academic building; classroom doors are open, but no one is inside. Let's continue downward."
Eric nodded in assent.
As she reached the fourth floor, more students tumbled from above, and to her alarm, she felt the drainpipe trembling beneath her touch.
Looking upward, she saw many clinging desperately, striving for survival. But as zombies surged onto the rooftop, trapped students were hunted relentlessly, tumbling helplessly downward.
A bloodied zombie leaned over the railing, reaching a hand toward a struggling student on the pipe.
"No! Please save me! Help!"
Despite pleas, the student was dragged upward; the stench of blood thickened the air.
In the next instant, Eric saw zombies climbing down after them, awkwardly fumbling with the pipe—clearly incapable of such delicate maneuvers—falling in rapid succession. Worse, their wild grasp nearly pulled Eric off. A cold sweat broke out; instinct urged flight. Without hesitation, she leapt into a nearby classroom on the fourth floor, glimpsing Mr. Wang entering one on the third.
Upon entering, Eric rushed to close the door.
A grasp seized her foot, nearly stopping her heart; she instinctively kicked back, dislodging the hand.
Turning briefly, she saw a half-mangled undead torso dragging intestines, its remaining arm flailing with predatory intent.
She snapped her gaze forward, securing both front and back doors, shutting all glass windows, and barricading the entrance with several desks.
With her defenses in place, she sank against a table, gasping for breath.
"Hiss!"
A student crawled through a window, collapsing heavily to the floor. Pain etched across his face, he leaned against the wall and reached out to aid comrades beyond.
Eric rose, pressing against the wall to peer out the window.
Outside, not a soul stirred—not even zombies. She guessed they had pursued survivors away from the rooftop, likely the very place where she had just arrived.
A spark of opportunity ignited within her.
Resolutely, Eric reopened the window, slipped out, and crept into the corridor beyond.
"Ah—" a student reached out toward her.
Several students, still trembling from fright, murmured anxiously. One asked, "How could she dare to go out? What are we to do?"
Another hurried to close the glass window, then returned to the others, whispering, "This classroom is safe for now; let us remain quiet and await rescue."
Yet as Eric left the classroom, at the stairwell's bend she glimpsed a lone zombie.
This creature had but a single foot, trapped as it crawled up the stairs. Sensing the scent of the living, it lifted its head with a guttural howl, teeth stained by flesh, a gaping wound bleeding profusely, staining the entire staircase crimson.
She did not retreat. Fingers loosening and then tightening once more, she raised the leg of a stool high—
Stepping forward swiftly, Eric swung with great force, sending the zombie tumbling down the stairs.
Treading through the sticky pool of blood, she forced herself to ignore the sensations underfoot, sprinting down the stairwell in one breath. Glancing back, she saw several zombies clawing and snarling as they pursued her, likely drawn by the sound of her footsteps.
"Over here!" Mr. Wang called from the corner ahead. Eric ran toward him, and together they raced toward the library.
Before the library's entrance, a horde of zombies gathered, the glass doors trembling, barely holding.
"The library is too dangerous—let's head to that building instead, it should be the auditorium!"
Mr. Wang acceded to Eric's suggestion, altering their course.
Students dashed wildly through the campus like them, pools of blood stark and unsettling upon the ground. Eric forced herself not to dwell on the bodies and severed limbs scattered amidst the crimson, lest her legs buckle and her breath falter.
"Help! Help me!"
A cry for aid drifted from above. Eric caught a glimpse of a student on the rooftop calling desperately, only to falter the next instant as he fell, warm blood splattering her face. She stood frozen, watching the once pleading student collapse motionless like mud, while the accompanying zombie rose, twisting grotesquely to envelop and feed upon him.
The zombie lifted its head to meet her gaze; one eyeball dislodged and rolled away.
The gruesome tableau rattled her composure, disrupting her stride.
Yet she swiftly regained control of her breathing, pressing her feet relentlessly onward.
Should she fail, this would be her fate within the dungeon, indistinguishable from that student's ghastly end. She did not know whether her healing kit affected the zombie virus; all she could do was ensure she would neither be caught nor bitten.
Navigating around zombies and skirting flowerbeds, Eric and Mr. Wang arrived in quick succession at the auditorium.
It was a veritable inferno; even before crossing the threshold, she glimpsed a sea of blood within and countless distorted figures swaying unnatural and menacingly.
Mr. Wang's face paled ashen. "Let's go—quickly!"
Once again, they fled, their bodies relentless in motion since arriving.
Crossing a bridge, they dodged clusters of shuffled undead, their throats burning from exertion.
"I can't go on—let's rest a moment," Mr. Wang suggested.
Eric glanced about; no immediate danger loomed. She nodded, sitting cross-legged, massaging her legs and monitoring her breathing, ever mindful: where, indeed, was the halo?
Mr. Wang collapsed onto the ground, lying still for some seconds before sitting up.
"I think there's no point searching further. The school is overrun; we must evacuate! Let's head straight for the main gate—where there's a way out, the halo will surely be close."
Mr. Wang's words brought sudden clarity to Eric's jumbled thoughts.
She realized her inexperience across quests limited her mental flexibility when solving puzzles. Skipping ahead to search the main gate was indeed a viable strategy—something she had not yet considered.
Had she explored more locations without success, she was confident she could have conceived the logic of targeting the gate. But that would be too late. She wished to be like Mr. Wang—experienced and decisive—a goal she yearned to achieve.
"Mr. Wang, how many ordinary quests have you completed?" Eric asked as they resumed running.
"Countless, I've lost track," he replied casually, grinning as if sensing her thoughts, encouraging her: "Keep honing your skills—you'll get there."
"Thank you, Mr. Wang."
Both were physically robust; even when surrounded by zombies, so long as they were not fully encircled, they could break free and shake off their pursuers.
After veering wrong thrice, they finally glimpsed the school's main gate.
The radiant halo beckoned them, but both halted suddenly.
"Zombies guard it," Eric whispered, hidden behind a verdant tree.
Mr. Wang watched quietly nearby. "We must devise a plan."
"I have an idea," Eric proposed. "Didn't we pass some corpses on the way? Previously, I lured the python with a bloodied glove; zombies are drawn to flesh and blood as well—this could work."
Mr. Wang nodded in approval. "Let's do it then."
Before they could act, the horde suddenly surged in one direction.
Mr. Wang squinted from a distance, and after ten seconds, caught sight of three figures dashing toward the gate. His expression brightened: "Other players! They must be drawing the zombies away with bait. We reap the benefits of their courage—let's go!"
Eric followed swiftly, stepping into the halo and instantly returning to the stone pillar forest.
[Player Eric has successfully completed the Ordinary Dungeon: Zombie Schoolyard, earning 4 points.]