The transition to morning was agonizingly slow, like a server finally catching its breath at 5 a.m. after a massive DDoS attack.
During the final two hours, the monster waves thinned out into a pathetic trickle. Only a few stray scouts lingered, testing the perimeter. We didn't risk letting them inside anymore; instead, we had Tyler snipe from the counter while Marcus and I rotated at the door to clean up the stragglers. Mia took over as the party's makeshift medic, handing out water and using strips of old tablecloth to bind wounds. The System might patch your HP, but the psychological sting of a bruise or a jagged cut didn't just vanish.
Around 6 a.m., the bruised purple sky finally bled into a pale, ashen grey.
The howls cut out instantly, like a jaggedly edited audio track. Every red dot on my minimap winked out.
[Quest Complete: Night Watch]
[Rewards Issued:]
200 XP (Group Share)
Safe Zone Group Buff Unlocked: [Morning Light's Grace] (Daytime monster spawn rate -30%, HP Recovery +1/min)
Mystery Item: [Safe Zone Core Shard x1]
Bonus Reward (First Clear): [Safe Zone Upgrade Permissions] Unlocked
I leaned against the doorframe, exhaling a breath I felt like I'd been holding since the truck hit me. My HP climbed steadily back toward the max cap. The scrapes on my arms had already scabbed over, accompanied by a System ping: Minor injuries resolved.
The rest of the group collapsed where they stood. Marcus slammed his axe into the floor with a heavy thud. Tyler slid off the counter, nearly eating pavement as his legs gave out. Mia pulled off her glasses and rubbed her eyes; her dark circles were so deep she looked like a senior dev forty-eight hours into a production hotfix.
"We made it," she whispered, sounding like she didn't quite believe it.
I opened the new inventory tab.
[Safe Zone Core Shard]
Description: A legacy system component from The Veil's early alpha. Used to activate or upgrade static Safe Zones.
Current Use: Can be injected to register this building as [Player Territory Lvl 1].
Upgrade Requirements:
Minimum 3 bound players.
Cost: 100 Basic Materials, 5 Energy Crystals (or equivalent substitutes).
Territory Level-ups unlock: Structural Reinforcements, Defense Turrets, Production Nodes, etc.
I read the description aloud. The group crowded around me instantly.
"Territory?" Tyler's eyes lit up. "Like, we can build a base? Survival mode style?"
Marcus grunted, skeptical. "Sounds great in theory, but where do the resources come from? We don't even have a sandwich between us."
I scanned our surroundings. The diner was a literal wreck. The kitchen was a grease trap, the bar was a graveyard of shattered glass, and the walk-in freezer contained nothing but a few frost-bitten fries. Outside, the parking lot was full of rusted scrap, with a collapsed convenience store and a gas station visible in the distance.
"We'll have to scavenge," I said. "But we've got the upgrade permissions now. Let's register this place as an official territory first. At least it'll stop monsters from spawning in the kitchen while we're sleeping."
Mia nodded. "Agreed. Secure the backend first, then worry about the frontend features."
We held a quick vote. Out of the seven of us, everyone except the guy who'd been clutching the chair leg—a silent delivery driver named Li Wei—agreed to bind. The process was simple: palm on the shard, followed by a System prompt: Soul Print Confirmed.
[Safe Zone Registered!]
[Current Territory: Dawn Station (Lvl 1)]
Area: Current Building + 50m Radius
Defense Grade: Basic (Wooden Reinforcements)
Population: 7/10
Maintenance: 7 Food Units/Day (Recovery buffs penalized if not met)
Active Buffs: Morning Light's Grace
As the binding finished, the diner seemed to... wake up. The cracks in the walls emitted a faint, rhythmic pulse of light. Shattered glass shifted back into frames—still broken, but no longer shedding deadly shards. A translucent shimmer draped over the entrance like a low-tier energy shield.
[Territory Functions Unlocked:]
Simple Workbench (Craft basic tools, repair gear)
Resource Cache (Shared storage, 100-unit capacity)
Bulletin Board (Post quests, leave messages)
I tested the board, scrawling: Anyone got snacks? I'm buying the next round of Night Watch. Nobody laughed, but the tension in the room finally dipped below 'critical.'
By the time we finished, the sun was fully up. Dust motes danced in the morning light as a fresh System window popped.
[Daily Territory Quests Refreshed]
[Clear the Junk]: Collect 50 Basic Materials from the perimeter. Reward: 30 Territory XP, Random Materials.
[The Grocery Run]: Bring back 30 units of Food/Water. Reward: 50 Territory XP, Permanent +5 Max HP (One-time).
[First Recon]: Explore the convenience store ruins 500m away. Reward: 80 Territory XP, Potential Energy Crystals.
I read the list out.
"Looks like the System wants us to start the base-building loop," I said. "Who's coming with me to the store? Everyone else stays behind to man the workbench and see if we can get these weapons repaired."
Marcus raised his hand. "I'm in. My axe needs a grindstone."
Tyler followed suit. "I'm almost out of bolts. Maybe I can find some scrap to fletch more."
Mia hesitated, then stood up. "I'll go. If there's hardware or electronics in there, I might be able to... research the System's local architecture."
The remaining three volunteered for base duty: Li Wei and the two women would clear the interior and test the workbench.
Our four-man away team stepped outside. The air was eerily fresh, smelling like the world right after a massive thunderstorm. The rusted car husks in the lot were our first 'resource nodes.' I jammed my tire iron into the trunk of a derelict SUV, popping the lock to find a toolkit, a lug wrench, and a sealed case of bottled water.
[Obtained: Basic Materials x8, Clean Water x12 units]
The convenience store sat five hundred meters down the road, its sign dangling by a wire and the glass doors pulverized. As we approached, a warning flashed red in my vision.
[Warning: Neutral Zone Detected – Possible Player or NPC Presence]
[Alert Level: Medium]
I signaled the group to stay low. We crept toward the side wall, the sound of muffled voices drifting through the gaps.
"...Crystals respawned. Whose turn is it to grab the loot?"
"You took the last drop, man. It's my turn."
The voices were young, punctuated by a certain thuggish arrogance. I pressed my back against the brick, listening. There were at least five of them inside, divvying up a haul.
"They're players," Mia whispered, her face pale. "And they're higher level than us."
I glanced at the leaderboard. I was still sitting at #47, but several new names had jumped into the ranks above me, sitting at levels 5 and 6. It looked like we weren't the only ones who had figured out the meta. And this convenience store? It was about to become a contested resource.
I gripped my tire iron, my mind already running the numbers.
"Change of plans," I whispered. "We don't kick the front door. We circle to the back, see if we can overhear their stats... or maybe just 'liberate' their inventory."
Marcus let out a slow, predatory grin. "Tech Support is going rogue?"
I nodded.
"Of course. Who says base building doesn't include a little corporate espionage?"
[To be continued…]