The stairwell to the basement was pitch black.
From high above, muffled screams echoed down the concrete shaft. The students had reached the roof. And as Su Chen had predicted, the flying monsters were waiting.
He didn't stop to listen. He didn't feel pity. In a survival game, pity was a debuff.
He turned on the flashlight function of his phone. The battery was at 12%, but it would be enough.
[Entering Zone: University Maintenance Tunnels]
[Danger Level: E (Variable)]
[Hidden Attribute: This area contains a Silver Treasure Chest.]
Su Chen's eyes lit up.
"Silver Chest," he whispered.
In the Global Game, chests were ranked: Wood, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond. A Silver Chest appearing in a novice zone was like finding a diamond in a dumpster.
He moved deeper into the tunnel. The air grew cold and damp. Pipes lined the walls, dripping rusty water.
Skrit. Skrit.
The sound of claws scratching against concrete stopped him.
Su Chen froze. He held his breath and focused his vision down the corridor. To the naked eye, it was empty. Just shadows and pipes.
But the System UI painted a different picture.
[Target: Mutated Corpse Rat (Level 2)]
[Status: Stealth Mode]
[Location: 3 meters ahead, clinging to the ceiling pipes.]
[Aggro Range: 2 meters.]
Su Chen slowly raised his head.
There it was. A rat the size of a golden retriever, its skin hairless and covered in sores. It was flattened against the ceiling pipes, its tail twitching. It was waiting for him to walk underneath so it could drop on his neck.
"Nasty thing," Su Chen muttered.
He looked at his own status.
[Skill: Fade (Active). Available.]
He tapped the silver ring on his finger.
Whoosh.
His body became translucent, blending perfectly with the shadows. He was now invisible to anything under Level 10.
Su Chen walked forward. He passed directly underneath the giant rat. The monster sniffed the air, confused, but it couldn't see him.
Su Chen stepped behind it. He raised the rusty pipe—the Sealed Dragon-Tooth Blade.
[Backstab Position Achieved.]
[Critical Hit Chance: 100%.]
[Damage Multiplier: x3.]
"Die."
He swung the pipe upward.
SPLAT.
The heavy iron pipe smashed the rat against the concrete ceiling. The creature didn't even have time to squeal. It turned into a paste of flesh and data particles.
[You have slain a Level 2 Mutated Rat.]
[Exp +50.]
The invisibility wore off. Su Chen didn't pause. He wiped the pipe on his jeans and kept moving.
The tunnel split into a Y-shape. Two paths.
Su Chen looked left.
[Path A: Boiler Room. Contains 5 Mutated Rats. Loot: None. Death Rate: 60%.]
He looked right.
[Path B: Storage Area. Contains Hidden Wall. Loot: Silver Chest. Survival Rate: 100%.]
"Too easy," Su Chen smirked.
He took the right path.
He arrived at a dead end. A brick wall blocked his way. To anyone else, this would be the end of the line. They would turn back and walk into the nest of rats.
But Su Chen saw a glowing golden outline on the wall.
[Illusory Wall.]
[Health: 1/1]
[Weak Point: Center brick.]
He tapped the center brick with the end of his pipe.
Crumble.
The entire wall dissolved into dust, revealing a small, hidden chamber.
It was a janitor's break room, untouched by the apocalypse. And sitting in the middle of the floor, glowing with a soft silver light, was a heavy metal chest.
Su Chen's heart raced. He approached it.
[Silver Treasure Chest]
[Trap: Poison Needle in the lock.]
[Disarm Method: Turn the keyhole left twice, then insert a thin metal object.]
Su Chen pulled a paperclip from his pocket (he always carried random junk) and followed the instructions.
Click.
The trap mechanism disengaged. The lid popped open.
A brilliant light filled the small room.
[You have opened a Silver Chest!]
[You have received: 1,000 Coins.]
[You have received: Skill Book - "Shadow Step" (Rank C).]
[You have received: Vitality Potion (Medium).]
Su Chen grabbed the Skill Book instantly. It was a leather-bound book with strange runes on the cover.
[Skill Book: Shadow Step]
[Effect: Teleport instantly to any shadow within 10 meters.]
[Cost: 20 Mana.]
[Cooldown: 15 seconds.]
"Movement skill," Su Chen gasped. "This is perfect."
In the early game, mobility was king. If you couldn't be hit, you couldn't die. He immediately crushed the book in his hand. The book turned into light and surged into his chest.
[Skill Learned: Shadow Step (Level 1).]
He checked his stats.
Name: Su Chen
Level: 2 (450/600 Exp)
Class: None
HP: 120/120
Mana: 60/60
Strength: 12
Agility: 14 (+5 from Ring)
Endurance: 10
Intelligence: 12
Skills: [Eye of Truth (SSS)], [Fade (Item)], [Shadow Step (C)].
He was already stronger than 99% of humanity, and the apocalypse had only started twenty minutes ago.
Su Chen pocketed the coins and the potion. He was about to leave the hidden room when a new notification popped up.
[Global Announcement: The Tutorial Phase 1 is ending in 10 minutes.]
[Safe Zone Generation: The University Cafeteria.]
[Warning: All monsters outside the Safe Zone will enter a "Frenzy" state.]
Su Chen checked the time. The Cafeteria was on the other side of the campus.
"Frenzy state means their stats double," Su Chen analyzed. "If I'm caught in the open, I'm dead."
He stepped out of the hidden room.
Suddenly, he stopped.
At the other end of the hallway, standing near the entrance he had just come from, was a figure.
It wasn't a monster.
It was a woman. She wore a tight leather biker suit and held a pair of daggers. She was covered in green goblin blood.
Su Chen narrowed his eyes. A survivor? Down here? So fast?
He focused his [Eye of Truth].
[Target: Human]
[Name: Lin Xi]
[Talent: S-Rank (Assassin)]
[Threat Level: High.]
Su Chen stiffened. An S-Ranker. Just like him (technically he was SSS, but S was still a monster).
She looked at him, her eyes cold and sharp. She saw the open chest behind him.
"You found the hidden loot," she said. Her voice was smooth but dangerous. She raised her daggers. "Hand it over, and I won't cut your tendons."
Su Chen gripped his rusty pipe. He didn't smile.
[Target Intent: Hostile.]
[Win Probability (Direct Combat): 45%.]
[Win Probability (Using Shadow Step + Environment): 98%.]
"I hate sharing," Su Chen said.
He activated [Shadow Step].
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.