Doomsday Blind Box

Ding~ Initiate random assignment: Thoroughly scour the entire floor. You shall be rewarded with a single Apocalyptic Mystery Box upon successful completion. In the event of failure, no penalties shall be incurred.

Accept the task?

As expected, it's a random mission. The emphasis of the apocalyptic game lies in the two words "the game." However, this time the game is real.

The mission objective is to search the entire floor. With a reward at stake, it's certainly worth pursuing. Moreover, there's no penalty for failing, so it's essentially a freebie. Besides, the building he resides in consists of small apartments, with only four households occupying the entire floor. His own home doesn't require searching. Having already explored one residence, only two more remain.

Accepting without hesitation, Ming chooses to undertake the task: Random Mission - Search the Entire Floor. Task progress: 1/3

"Indeed, my own home isn't included."

Ming observes the task's progress. Having searched one room already, a third of the mission is complete by default. After accepting the task, rather than immediately proceeding with the search, Ming grabs the chain he had acquired earlier and heads towards the fire escape stairwell at the corner.

The elevator is out of order, but that's not a significant concern; the fire escape, on the other hand, is always accessible. As far as he's concerned, Ming has no intention of leaving his home before the first chapter of the apocalyptic game, "The Long Night," ends. However, it's not guaranteed that zombies from other floors won't run amok when the time comes.

Therefore, he uses the chain to lock the fire escape door. Fortunately, the door opens towards the corridor and is made of metal. Ordinary zombies would have to shatter the metal door to enter, making a tremendous noise. Ming ensured he could hear it immediately, serving as an early warning system.

Having completed these preparations, Ming allocates one accessible attribute point to agility after leveling up. Increasing agility enhances speed and reaction time, vital in an apocalypse where zombies could emerge unexpectedly. Prioritizing this attribute is a wise choice.

As the saying goes, the faster you run, the longer you live.

To advance from level 1 to level 2, ten experience points are needed, equivalent to slaying ten level 1 zombie. Before "The Long Night" arrives, any opportunity for improvement should be seized.

Approaching unit 2022 with a key, Ming knocks on the door and announces, "Hello, I am the apartment manager. We've established a safe passage outside. I'm here to escort you."

Clang, clang~

Ming knocked on the door a few more times. His purpose was simple: zombies would undoubtedly rush to scratch at the door if they were inside. If there was no sound, it could be determined that there were ordinary living people inside or no one.

After knocking, there was no movement from within the room. Only then did he remove the key, insert it into the keyhole, and gently turn the door handle. Peering through the narrow gap, he saw no zombies.

With a crossbow in hand, he entered the room. The kitchen was spotless, giving the impression that its occupant was not interested in cooking. The small living room was cluttered with various items.

Growl, growl~

"..."

Suddenly, a low growl echoed through the room. Ming immediately raised his crossbow towards the sound's source, thinking, "Damn, why wasn't it lured out when I knocked earlier?"

The growling continued, but no zombie emerged, leaving Ming perplexed. Advancing cautiously, he saw two zombies lying on the bed in the bedroom, tightly bound together with rope.

One of the zombies, a naked female, had a bloody hole in her head, clearly already "dead." The male zombie tied to her twisted his neck to stare at Ming, emitting low growls.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Ming was baffled by the scene before him. Were young people nowadays really into such activities?

Twang!

The crossbow bolt was fired, striking the male zombie right between the eyes. Ming retrieved the arrow and searched the room, finding nothing useful.

He then went to the kitchen and found a few sandwiches, some leftover apple pies, and a large mineral water bucket. He placed these items in his brain storage and left the room.

He checked the progress of the random search task, which is now 2/3 complete. Only one household remained: unit 2024.

Ming vaguely recalled that the occupants of 2024 were a pair of girls who live-streamed. On more than one occasion, their late-night singing and dancing had been met with complaints from neighbors below. The reason he knew this was due to the severity argument. However, the girl continued their activities without any changes.

Eventually, the tenants living below them moved away. Among the zombies he had just killed was one of them. That meant there was still one remaining.

Clang, clang~

"Hello, I'm the apartment manager. We've established a safe passage and are now evacuating everyone."

Ming tried the same trick again, intending to enter the room to see whether anyone was inside.

"You're the apartment manager?" A woman's voice exclaimed from inside the room.

"Yes. The situation is urgent, so please gather your belongings quickly. We'll come back to you soon. I have to go and notify others now."

Ming finished speaking and remained standing at the door, not leaving.

"Wait!" The woman yelled.

Click - The door opened.

A disheveled young woman with bloodstains on her chest and arms stared at Ming in panic. "Save me! Hurry! I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

"Were you bitten?"

Ming instinctively stepped back, scrutinizing the woman before him.

"I wasn't bitten!" The woman shouted in panic, covering her chest and arms, but her wounds were still clearly visible.

"Then how did you get those wounds? Did you scratch yourself?"

Ming naturally didn't believe her. she had scratches and bites, and her mental state was precarious. Her face was pale, and her eyes were primarily gray – all signs of an impending transformation into a zombie.

"Can't you understand what I say?" The woman hysterically yelled at Ming. "What right do you have to doubt me? You lowlife! Hurry up and find someone to save me!"

"Alright~ This will relieve you from suffering." Ming raised his crossbow, aiming at the woman's forehead. "And it'll free you from pain forever."

Twang!

The crossbow bolt was fired, piercing the woman's head and exiting through the back.

As she slumped against the wall, Ming pulled the arrow from her forehead. Saving her like this was the best way to ensure she would never feel pain again, forever living in her dreams as the high-class person she believed herself to be.

[Ding~ Kill 0.5-level zombie, experience +0.5, apocalypse coins +0.5]

Well, the apocalypse game was quite user-friendly in its settings. Those infected but not yet transformed counted as half a zombie, making it quite kind.

Ming entered the room, which was a complete mess. Piles of trash and discarded takeout containers were scattered, with only the live streaming area remaining relatively clean.

After searching for a while and finding nothing, he left the room disappointed. Even a couple of cucumbers would have been nice. How could there be nothing at all?

[Ding~ Random search task completed, reward: Apocalypse Wood Blind Box, experience +10, apocalypse coins +50]

[Ding~ Congratulations on leveling up to LV3, all attributes +1, 1 free attribute point]

"..."

Ming instantly felt the growth that came with leveling up. He once again allocated the accessible attribute point to agility, still adhering to the principle of fighting when possible and running when necessary.

Boom!!

A loud noise.

Ming hurried to investigate the source of the sound.

Boom!!

The sound came from the fire escape door. Ming quickly loaded his crossbow as chaotic growling and zombies banging on the metal door could be heard from outside. The noise made by the woman earlier had attracted the zombies.

Ming held his crossbow, checked the quiver, and saw that he still had ten crossbows. He realized he couldn't use it the same way as before, dealing with only one zombie at a time. Now there was a group outside, and a single mistake could lead to disaster.

What to do?

He touched the tip of his nose and calmly thought of a solution. The noise attracted the zombies, so they might calm down once the noise stopped. With this in mind, he held his crossbow and stayed quiet.

Sure enough, the zombies outside settled down after a few minutes, confirming his theory. He held his crossbow and waited for another ten minutes without movement from outside.

He glanced at his wristwatch; it was 4:00 PM, and there were still two hours until the beginning of the first chapter.

"First, let's go home and prepare."

Having made up his mind, he slowly retreated. While retreating, he pondered one issue: eliminating the group of zombies outside the fire escape door before nightfall would be the best choice; otherwise, they would become a ticking time bomb once night arrived.

He carefully retreated to his apartment, closed the door, and moved a table to block it. Only then did he lay on the sofa to rest and take the apocalypse blind box which he had received as a reward for completing the search task to see what he could get to arm himself.

[Apocalypse  Wood Blind Box]

[Can contain equipment, skills, talents, daily items, and other valuable things]

[Usage: Open]

Click~

Humming~

The moment Ming opened the blind box, four beams of light, two white and two green, shot upward.