Ming Sulin and Nancy trudged back toward the Lakeside cabin, the night unnaturally calm after the slaughter.
The lantern lights inside flickered, voices low and steady.
Just as they reached the porch steps and pushed the door open—
—everything ripped away.
The air shimmered, sound distorted, and the world lurched violently.
"—ahh!" Nancy gasped, stumbling as the cabin dissolved from her vision.
Ming Sulin staggered, her stomach twisting as nausea gripped her.
The smell of pine smoke and fire gave way to sunlight, harsh and blinding.
Her ears rang, and the metallic taste of blood coated her tongue. She pressed her palm to her temple, breathing hard.
Then, the screams and clang of battle rushed back in.
Daytime. Day Three.
They were back at the RV, surrounded by shambling undead pressing in from all sides.
Derek swung his axe wildly, hacking down another hound. Tally, steel bat in hand, was laughing between swings as she cracked skulls like melons.
Jake and Steve were holding the line near the back of the RV, while Gregory and Margaret threw rocks, sticks, anything they could get their hands on to keep the creatures at bay.
Nancy spun in circles, panic rising. "W-what…? How are we—? We were just—!"
Ming Sulin shook her head sharply, forcing herself to focus.
She tasted bile, but she swallowed it down and steadied herself.
"It's the dungeon. Time bends here. Don't think about it. Just move."
Nancy's lips trembled, but she nodded.
Tally shouted over the chaos. "Amy! The RV's about to get swallowed! Either it runs or we all die here!"
Ming Sulin didn't answer—she sprinted straight for the RV door. "Cover me!" she barked.
Inside the vehicle, the smell of oil and metal filled her nose.
She pulled her repair kit from her inventory and dove beneath the driver's console.
Sparks flew as she worked, hands moving fast and steady despite the pounding of zombies on the RV's metal siding.
A sharp ding echoed in her ear.
[You have repaired Blue-Grade RV | 40 EXP received]
[Skill unlocked: Apprentice Repair | Current EXP: 20/1000]
Ming Sulin's eyes widened slightly, lips twitching upward. "Finally. A skill worth keeping."
Outside, Derek's voice cracked with strain. "We can't hold 'em much longer!"
Ming Sulin shoved her tools away, slammed the driver's seat forward, and twisted the ignition. The engine roared to life. "Get in!"
The survivors piled inside, slamming the door shut behind them just as the horde crashed against the walls.
Ming Sulin stomped the gas, the RV lurching forward.
The wheels churned dirt, and then the vehicle barreled straight into the pack of zombies. Bodies crunched under the tires, notifications chiming in her head one after another:
[You have killed x7 Yellow-Grade Zombies | 35 kill points | 630 EXP]
[Loot auto-added: x4 yellow-grade leather pelts , x1 broken machete, x1 small satchel, 12 copper coins]
She jerked the wheel hard, whipping the RV around in a wide arc that scattered the crowd, then gunned it down the cracked forest road.
Nancy clung to the passenger seat, wide-eyed, while Tally whooped from the back.
"That's what I'm talking about!"
They didn't stop until the looming outline of the Ranger Station appeared through the trees.
The building was old, weather-beaten, and clearly abandoned for years.
The RV rolled to a halt in front. Everyone spilled out, scanning the surroundings. That's when they saw him.
A zombie shuffled near the entrance, dressed in a faded ranger's uniform. A ring of keys dangled from his belt, clinking faintly as he moved.
"The cabin's locked," Steve muttered after trying the front door.
He jerked his chin toward the zombie. "Guess where the key is."
Ming Sulin's grip tightened on her fillet knife and dagger. "Then I'll take it."
She moved in, silent and precise, but the moment her eyes locked with the zombie ranger's… she froze. Its gaze wasn't dull and empty like the others.
There was something there.
A flicker of awareness, almost human.
Her breath hitched.
Probably Blue-grade.
"Get back! Everybody get back!" Ming Sulin snapped, her voice cutting sharp.
The group stumbled backward, eight long paces, leaving the field clear.
The ranger zombie blurred.
One moment it was ten feet away; the next, it was right in front of her.
Its clawed hand smashed into her chest, flinging her through the trees.
"—Pfghh!" Blood burst from her mouth as her body cracked against trunks, splintering wood before she finally hit the ground.
[You have sustained -30 HP of damage]
"Dammit!" Ming Sulin spat, forcing herself to her feet. Her vision swam. "Even at level five… not enough."
She wiped the blood from her mouth and took one step. Then another. Pain lanced through her ribs, but she broke into a full sprint.
Her Huntress skill ignited, giving her speed and clarity. The world slowed. She could see it now—the ranger zombie wasn't coming for her. It was heading straight for Nancy.
"No!" she roared, intercepting its path and tackling it to the ground.
The zombie twisted, jaws snapping. It rolled her beneath its weight, clawing and tearing at her arms and face. She blocked desperately, blades flashing, but the force of its strikes rattled her bones.
[You have sustained -10 HP of damage]
[You have sustained -12 HP of damage]
Her rage boiled over. With a guttural curse, she rammed her dagger into its ribs and shoved it back. They grappled, exchanging blow for blow, until Ming Sulin finally managed to flip it over and pin its back to the dirt.
Snarling, she jammed the blunt edge of her fillet knife between its teeth, forcing its jaws open, her elbow grinding against its skull to keep it down.
The ranger zombie thrashed, screeching.
"Stay down!" Ming Sulin hissed, then raised her tactical dagger high and brought it down hard. Bone cracked.
She shifted, driving both knives into its skull in quick succession.
The body went limp.
[You have killed x1 Blue-Grade Zombie (Ranger) | 8 kill points | 100 EXP]
[Loot auto-added: x1 Blue-Grade Ranger's Key Ring, x1 Ranger's Hunting Rifle, x2 Blue-Grade Bullets, x1 Ranger's Notebook]
Silence fell. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, blood dripping down her arms and chin.
Slowly, she pushed herself off the corpse.
Before she could speak, the world shimmered again.
The dungeon froze.
The others blurred like afterimages, color draining away until everything went black.
When Ming Sulin opened her eyes, it was no longer Day Three.
It was Day Four.