She didn't get a chance to knock before the door swung open and she was yanked inside. A chair was shoved under the knob, locking the door in place.
"How did it go? You didn't get hurt, did you?" They crowded her, checking for injuries.
Ming Sūlín played along, letting them examine her before explaining the situation.
"It's not looking good," she said gravely. "Sadly, Uncle Tim and Aunt Sandra didn't make it. I found their bodies… I'm sorry, Dad."
Her mother gasped, hands flying to her mouth, sobbing as Gregory held her tightly.
"Oh no! Sandy, Tim!" she cried.
"Gregory, the children—what are we going to tell them?" she leaned against him, weeping softly like a true damsel in distress without a strong man to hold her together.
Okay, okay—Ming Sūlín had to admit she was kind of enjoying this. It felt like playing a live VR dungeon—free to do whatever but forced to follow the set storyline and plot.
"Everything's going to be alright, sweetheart," Gregory said, calming Margaret and leading her to the living room.
Ming Sūlín followed silently, taking a seat on the floor near Derek and her two little cousins, Jake and Steven.
"Did you find my mom and dad?" Steven asked, eyes hopeful. Ming Sūlín stared a moment before pulling her gaze away.
"No, I didn't find them," she lied, unable to face their pleading hope—little Uncle Tim was disoriented and missing his head, and she didn't know where Aunt Sandy had been dragged off.
Jake, curled up next to Steven, began crying louder.
"Wa wa wahh! I want my mommy! Wah!"
"Growl! Rwwwll!" The noise drew attention as growls and pounding feet closed in, surrounding the cabin.
Margaret tried soothing him, coaxing him to quiet down, but it only made him wail louder.
Ming Sūlín didn't care anymore. She snatched Jake from Margaret and gave him a cold stare, shaking him hard enough to spook him.
"If you don't stop screaming like a little girl, I'll bend your little ass over and take my hand to your backside, got it? Now shut up—I don't want to hear another word."
Jake fell silent, tears still falling but no longer crying out loud.
"Everyone needs to stay quiet," she said softly, wrapping an arm around Jake and Derek as they leaned on her, seeking comfort.
The world seemed to freeze for a moment.
[End of Survival Day 1]
[Congratulations on surviving the first day! Proceeding to Day 2.]
The world began spinning again, not giving her a chance to process the dungeon or notification words as it pulled her into the next scene.
[Day 2 – Cabin Fever]
[Free fallen unfortunate souls 0/30 and characters 1/6: special reward]
When she came to, she was more disoriented than before.
Sunlight shone cruelly in her face.
"Bang bang bang."
She flinched with everyone else, caught off guard.
This time, she was in her family's RV, inside the small room in the back with Henry, Tally, Derek, and Steven—but no Jake or her character Amy's parents.
Shaking off her disorientation, Ming Sūlín jumped into action. Looking out the windows, she saw no zombies around.
She motioned for everyone to back up completely. Grabbing the latch at the door, she clicked it slowly, then peeked through the crack.
It was the missing Aunt Sandra.
Closing the door gently, Ming Sūlín turned back to the others inside the room, speaking quietly enough for them to hear, but not loud enough to alert the zombie outside.
"I'm going to lure the zombie away. When I do that, you guys hurry back to the cabin, lock the doors, and wait for me to return. I need to check something."
The harsh daylight poured over the cabin as Ming Sūlín slipped quietly out of the RV's side window, the early sun casting long shadows across the gravel. The air was thick with tension, but daylight meant fewer surprises from the undead—yet danger still lurked.
She crept around the RV to the open door, careful to keep low and move silently. Zombie Aunt Sandra stood just inside, her eyes dull but locked on Ming Sūlín's movement. Taking a steady breath, Ming Sūlín stepped forward, deliberately drawing Sandra's attention.
The door behind her was wide open, and inside, zombie Aunt Sandra lurked—her eyes glazed, dragging slow, uneven steps but fixated on Ming Sūlín's movement.
With a steady breath, Ming Sūlín stepped fully into the daylight and began to run, drawing the undead figure's attention away from the others still inside the RV. The shambling horror gave chase, groaning and snapping with decayed jaws.
With a sudden sprint, she dashed past the zombie, baiting it to follow. The guttural growls echoed behind her as she led Sandra away from the RV. Behind her, she saw the others quietly slipping out the back, closing the gap between safety and the RV's grim interior.
Once Ming Sūlín had drawn Sandra far enough, she darted into the cover of nearby trees, blending into the dappled sunlight. The relentless undead snarled behind her, heart pounding but mind sharp. Then, with a swift, practiced strike, she plunged her blade into Sandra's head, silencing the monster instantly.
[You have killed x1 yellow-grade character zombie (Sandra) | Kill Points +3 | 95 EXP]
[Loot: x1 locked yellow grade chest, x1 used first aid kit, x1 blue grade deck of play cards]
[blue grade deck of play cards: play a game or two, show a trick or a few, play a trick on the fools who plays but disregard the rules x4 use -24hr cool off]
[Congrats on freeing trapped soul of character Sandra! 25 EXP earned 2/6]
As the creature collapsed, Ming Sūlín felt a faint shift in the air—a sign that the trapped soul had been released from its tortured prison. With Aunt Sandra's soul freed, Ming Sūlín turned her attention to the cluster of cabins farther from the lakeside.
She pulled out the cabin key she'd found in the zombie loot and moved cautiously through the forested path to a weathered cabin hidden among the trees.
The key slid easily into the lock.
The lock clicked open smoothly.
Inside, sunlight spilled through cracked windows onto stacks of supplies: canned food, weapon crates, and worn tactical gear. A resource point—just what they desperately needed.
[Would you like to use 2 hidden key to unlock both resource point and plotline?]
She was about to pick yes, but danger doesn't wait.
Suddenly, groans filled the air as several zombies stirred, emerging from shadowy corners.
Ming Sūlín sprang into action, slicing through the mindless attackers and cleverly using falling zombies as moving shields, pushing them forward while keeping herself protected.
[You have killed x1 yellow-grade zombie | 2 kill points | 60 EXP]
[Loot: x2 yellow-grade cloth roll, x1 hunting knife, camouflage shirt, x2 water canteens, x1 ripped tarp, 3 silver, 432 copper coins]
[You have killed x2 yellow-grade zombie | 12 kill points | 120 EXP]
[Loot: x9 undead tokens {currency of the undead world}, x1 yellow-grade warding charm {begone evil spirits {x5 use}}, x1 half-empty liquor, x1 paddle, x12 crossbow arrows, x1 damaged crossbow, x10 silver, 1220 copper coins]
[yellow-grade warding charm: begone evil spirits (x5 use)]
The zombies today seemed to be more yellow grade than yesterday, as she had only killed two last night—the hound and Tim.
The yellow-grade zombies did have good stuff now she had undead money and a warding charm these will definitely be useful when I visit such a place one day.
[You have killed x5 zombie | 3 kill points | 20 EXP]
[Loot: x2 torn roll of cloth, 345 copper coins]
The zombies that weren't yellow grade barely gave her any drops anymore, and she'd be lucky if she got a roll of cloth or even copper coins. They went from 45 XP to 5 XP now.
Tsk.
The dungeon system was quite harsh.