The door groaned as it opened, metal scraping against cracked tiles. Yu Ren's breath hitched, the cold weight of tension pressing into his back. He waited a heartbeat longer—then another.
Nothing jumped out at him. No shadows moved. No system message popped up to warn of danger.
Still, he didn't trust it.
He entered slowly, holding the pipe in both hands. The hallway ahead was narrow, barely enough for two people to walk side by side. The walls were scorched, likely from past fires, with soot staining the corners and graffiti scrawled hastily across the plaster. It smelled of mildew, rust, and old fear.
A stairwell loomed to his left, choked with debris and collapsed bannisters. The elevator was jammed open, but a look inside showed only a bottomless shaft. Yu Ren turned away quickly, heart skipping.
"Second floor," he muttered. "Roof access or somewhere defensible."
His legs ached, especially his left thigh where the pavement had scraped his skin earlier. The bleeding had slowed, but dirt clung to the wound. He needed water. Bandages. A plan.
As he climbed the stairs, the System finally chimed.
[Safe Shelter detected: 41% structural integrity.]
[Provisional Shelter Status: Activated for 12 hours.]
[Energy Source: None.]
[Defensive Level: Minimal.]
Yu Ren paused.
"…Twelve hours? What happens after that?"
The System didn't respond. Of course.
He pushed the stairwell door open and stepped into the second floor. It was less ruined than below. A former office floor, maybe. Cubicles half-melted from fire, desks overturned, wires dangling like veins from the ceiling. But it was intact.
He searched for the most defensible room. One with a door that locked—or at least wedged shut. After five more minutes, he found a meeting room with a single metal door and no windows. The lights didn't work, but it was dry. Quiet.
He pushed a table against the door and slumped down behind it.
It wasn't safety, but it was less dangerous.
---
Yu Ren checked his status screen again.
[Name: Yu Ren]
[Level: 1]
[Vitality: 9/15]
[Hunger: 71%]
[Thirst: 88%]
[Fatigue: 61%]
[Trait: ??? (Locked)]
[Skill Slots: Empty]
[Currency: 0 SP]
"SP... Skill Points? System Points?"
The numbers weren't just data—they were a countdown. The thirst percentage made his throat drier just looking at it. He'd gone a full day without water now. That meant less time than he thought.
There was no food in his bag. No first-aid kit. Just an empty thermos, a stolen hoodie, and a rusted pipe that might kill him if it bent the wrong way mid-swing.
He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
It was cold.
---
Yu Ren didn't remember falling asleep. The darkness pressed in, but his body refused to move.
Then—
[Emergency Protocol Triggered.]
[System Challenge: Survive the Night.]
[Optional Reward: Trait Unlock + 10 SP]
[Threat Level: C - Moderate Hostile Presence Detected Nearby]
[Timer: 04:59:59]
He snapped upright. His shoulder screamed in protest, and he grabbed for the pipe, heart pounding.
"System—explain 'hostile presence'!"
No answer. Just the faintest noise outside the door.
Scratching.
Not nails—claws.
---
He froze. The table rattled.
A thud.
Then silence.
Yu Ren bit his lip to keep from making a sound. His breath was shallow, chest barely rising.
A second scratch, lower. Sniffing. The sound of skin against metal. Something with weight.
He didn't know what it was. He didn't want to know. But whatever lay beyond that door, it was alive—and searching.
He pressed himself flatter to the floor, trying to calm the tremor in his limbs.
[Mental Strain: Rising.]
[Fatigue Penalty Active: -1 Reaction Speed.]
He wanted to scream. Or cry. Or run. But he did none of those.
Instead, he focused on the cold under his palms, the sharp pain of his wound, the growing awareness that this was only the beginning.
The scratching stopped. The air thickened with dread.
Then footsteps.
Not animal.
Not human.
Something in between.
---
Minutes passed—or hours. Yu Ren didn't dare check.
At some point, the door's pressure lifted. The presence outside shifted… then faded.
He waited longer still.
Only when the System spoke again did he relax.
[Threat Level: Dormant.]
[Shelter status: 6 hours remaining.]
Yu Ren exhaled.
His hands were numb from gripping the pipe. His whole body shook, not from cold now—but from the sheer pressure of keeping still while something sniffed at him like prey.
He wiped his face, only to realize he'd been crying.
---
The sky outside, when he checked through a slit in a nearby window, was a cold gray. The sun hadn't yet risen. The city was a silhouette of ash and ruin.
And yet, Yu Ren was still here.
---
He stood and searched the office floor. It was a desperate scavenge—no guarantee of anything. But luck, for once, was on his side.
He found:
A half-full plastic water bottle (unopened)
A moldy protein bar (riskier, but edible)
A cracked medkit with a single roll of gauze
A rusted multitool
1 strange black chip that the System immediately identified as:
[System Token: 1 SP added.]
He held it in his palm, confused.
So this was currency. Earned not just by completing tasks, but found in the ruins of what once was.
Was this city a testing ground?
Were the monsters drawn to tokens?
Too many questions. No answers yet.
---
[System Notice: Trait available for unlock.]
[Choose One:]
[Pain Suppression Lv1]
[Awareness Boost Lv1]
[Resource Scavenger Lv1]
Yu Ren stared.
This wasn't a game.
But if he wanted to survive, he'd have to play it like one.
And pick wisely.
---
To be continued.