"At 7:27 AM, Nina will commit suicide…"
Those words came slicing through Ethan's brain.
His heart raced. He didn't even know where she would go, but his feet moved on their own, rushing towards the next room.
The building was quiet, too quiet, and that alone was enough to make panic bite into him.
And then the next thing he heard was a faint clink. He didn't need to grasp another sound to understand that it was the sound of glass.
He followed it immediately, and soon...
Right into the Experiment Room.
There, standing beside one of the lab tables, was Nina, her eyes swollen, her hands shaking, and a conical flask was halfway raised to her lips. The clear chemical inside was strong enough to kill instantly.
He knew.
"Nina!" Ethan burst in. "What are you doing?!"
She didn't flinch. She didn't look shocked. She just stood there with empty, tired eyes.
"Please don't," he said, walking toward her slowly.
"There's no point," Nina whispered. "My brother is gone. The world is gone. Soon enough, we will all turn into those things anyway."
"That's not true," Ethan shot back immediately.
Her voice broke. "Then tell me why I should still be here."
Ethan stopped right in front of her. He didn't know the perfect words. He wasn't a therapist. He was just a guy trying not to lose his body parts and lose another person.
But he still tried.
"Because you survived," Ethan said softly. "You fought your way through hell to reach him. You didn't fail him, Nina. You kept going. You're still going."
She stared at him, face trembling has she still had a wide touch of uncertainty deep in her mind.
"We need you," Ethan added. "I need you. If you give up now, then what was all that struggle for?"
But then, these final seemed to hit hard, surprisingly.
For a long moment, she said nothing, deep in thoughts.
And then, her fingers loosened.pp
The conical flask slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
Ethan let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding.
"Come on," he said gently. "Let's go back."
She hesitated for a moment and nodded weakly, and he led her out of the room, slow steps, her shoulders slumped like all the weight in the world rested on her.
Back at the room, the others stood when they saw them return.
Anna rushed over the moment she spotted them. "Nina, are you alright? We… we were worried.
Nina didn't respond. She just sat on the nearest chair, still looking drained.
Anna looked at Ethan immediately. "Did something happen? What's going on?"
Ethan didn't want to scare them with the truth, so he only said, "Nothing. She just needed some air."
The room fell into a short silence, and everyone somewhere to relax.
However, within minutes, Anna just had to face Nina again after a sudden thought came flashing in.
"Um… Nina. Yesterday you said something about coming through the ruins. We wanted to understand how you got in."
Nina raised her head and then withdrew her face almost immediately. Again, she left no response, acting cold and dull.
So Ethan stepped in, not wanting to leave Anna hanging as he attempted repeating the same explanation Nina had told him the previous night.
"She said there's no way out. It's more deadly out there. If we leave here, we'll all die," Ethan said.
"Does that mean that those monsters are everywhere?" Anna asked with her eyes completely shrouded in fear and panic.
Ethan gave a bold nod, and with that realisation hitting her, she slumped to the side with her face darkened.
"They have a virus..."
Suddenly, Nina spoke up, drawing everyone's attention at once, including Anna.
Everyone had turned to her.
Nina never raised her head as she kept staring at the floor.
"Once you get bit or scratched by them… it's over."
Then she finally raised her head.
"I knew the guy you were bringing antibiotics for was not going to make it. I just never imagined it would be my brother."
Anna held her chest, a sympathetic look appearing on her face.
"I'm so sorry, Nina. Truly."
Gracie and Mella murmured their own apologies as well and then...
Helen stepped forward last, with guilt all over her face. "I was the one who… Ended him. I didn't want to, but I had to."
Nina lifted her head slightly with a calm yet understanding face.
"It's alright. The thing you killed wasn't my brother anymore."
Helen nodded, as she walked back to her spot.
"Okay. Breakfast time," Ethan muttered.
In a moment, they all gathered for breakfast.
...
After breakfast, conveniently sponsored by Ethan's Boyfriend Credits, the system's Daily Intelligence popped up again.
And the continuations of the alerts shook him.
— Your Departmental Officer is hiding alone in the library. She will be attacked by a group of zombies by 12:35. If you do not save her, something terrible will happen.
"Shit…" Ethan muttered.
Next alerts followed rapidly.
— Seven percent of the surviving students will die in their hiding places today.
— Over five hundred zombies will evolve to Level Two.
— Ninety seven will evolve to Level Three.
— You might encounter an unfriendly group by 9:42 at the library today, but this scenario is avoidable.
And then finally, the worst hit came...
— The government has officially predicted that there are no survivors inside New Land University. No rescue teams will be sent.
Ethan rubbed his face in awe, overwhelmed.
He would have thought that the last hope they had was some rescue team to come save them, but now they are being abandoned?
Things were getting worse by the hour, and it was already getting too serious to endure.
Ethan was still basking in utter frustration before another notification popped up.
[Normal Mission 3: Save the lady in the library.]
[Reward: +20 Boyfriend Credits, +2 Strength, +2 Charm.]
Ethan had no choice.
He stood up immediately, grasping a look on the watch.
(12:11 PM).
If he didn't get there on time, he knows what would be his fate.
Swiftly, he grabbed his baseball bat and headed towards the exit without even minding to notify anyone where he was heading.
Anna was the first to notice, and she didn't hesitate to ask.
"Ethan? Where are you going?"
"Supplies," he gave a short, soft lie.
But then Nina stood at once. "I'm coming with you."
And Anna happened to step forward as well. "I'll go with you too."
Ethan flinched, shaking his head in objection.
"No, Anna. Stay. All of you. There's no need to come with me. I won't be out for long."
Ethan was serious about not letting them come with him, and this was because of one of the Daily Intelligence alerts.
He knew that the only way he could avoid the unfriendly group was to save the lady as quick as possible not to be outside their refuge by 9:42, but he knew that was almost impossible.
He predicted that it would take him no less than fifteen minutes to reach the university library from here, so the fact was clear.
He didn't want them to face the trouble with him.
However, it didn't get worse until Gracie stepped forward anyway. "I'm going."
"Same," And then Eva, standing with a bold tone.
Helen then grabbed her knife, a determined look on her face. "We might need the extra hands."
Seeing this, Ethan heaved a sigh of defeat. They weren't listening, so he nodded he just had to agree.
"Alright. But we have to stay close."
"Anna and Mella would have to stay back to watch. Eva, I'm sorry but you'd have to stay back as well."
Ethan knew that leaving only Anna and Mella, two completely soft ladies who would barely hurt anything, would be the worst of ideas.
He trusted that Eva could be tough enough to protect the top floor.
Eva understood and agreed, and then the rest were set to leave.
The girls picked up their bags, clueless that they were going to save someone and also save Ethan from losing his manhood.
Coming out of the Lecturer's Lodge, they didn't walk far before the growls started.
Eleven zombies staggered from between parked cars and blocks, their heads snapping toward them.
Nina, without wasting a second, immediately unslung her rifle.
But at that point, instead of shooting, she paused and grabbed her short knife.
"Use your weapons," she said. "All of you. If we want to survive for a little longer at least, we all have to learn how to protect ourselves."
Ethan felt something burn inside him the moment she made that statement.
"That's right."
He gripped his baseball bat, stepped forward, and charged.
The clash was messy but quick.
Swinging, stabbing, dodging, choking on adrenaline and fear. Everyone fought. Everyone tried. The sound of metal and knives hitting rotting flesh filled the air.
And then on the final scene, Ethan slammed his bat into the skull of the last zombie.
A system notification flashed.
[You have killed a Level 3 Zombie.]
Ethan froze for a second.
Then he swallowed, clenched his jaw, and whispered the only thing that felt right.
"For Dane."