The dungeon system was quite harsh.
Among the shambling, slow, and clumsy horde, two figures stood apart—they moved deliberately, less sluggish than the rest, their eyes tracking her with an eerie focus.
Something about them didn't sit right, but Ming Sūlín pushed the thought aside.
Dodging and weaving, she attacked head-on, using the other zombies' momentum to keep the smarter ones at bay, constantly shifting and pressing forward, never letting herself be pinned.
After having this thought, Ming Sūlín changed her strategy—switching from defense to offense—but not enough to be reckless and take herself out of the game early. As the days went on, the zombies would only get stronger, and she could already imagine how many bloodhounds were lurking around now.
She switched to her tactical knife, swinging it a few more times until she activated the Triple Dagger Attack, clearing her path to the two zombies that had her most concerned. She decided to finish them off first.
[You have killed x10 zombie | 10 kill point | 50XP]
[Loot: 179 coins]
[You sustained -4hp of damage]
Dammit,
[You have killed x3 zombies | 3 kill points | 15 XP]
[Loot: 2 silver, 102 copper coins]
Ming Sūlín felt a flicker of annoyance. The more ordinary zombies she killed, the less she seemed to gain.
She was spending a lot of effort for very little return—which wasn't her style.
[You have killed x1 zombie | 1 kill point | 5 XP]
Then, to her surprise, two zombies actually commanded the others to attack her.
[You have killed x1 zombie | 1 kill point | 5 XP]
[Loot: 34 copper coins]
[Congratulations player on leveling up to level 3! An additional 15 slots added to inventory! You unlocked new skill slots and received +5 attribute points! You received 20 gold coins, 100 silver coins, and 500 copper coins! x1 Summonable NPC Ally ticket, x1 Blueprint acquired: Sentinel Defense Array (Blue-Grade)]
—
[Summonable NPC Ally ticket — "Scout Engineer" (provides resource gathering & basic repairs)!]
—
[Blueprint acquired: Sentinel Defense Array (Blue-Grade) — an advanced automated defense system designed to protect planetary habitats from hostile forces!]
Ming Sūlín blinked at the notification, a small smile breaking through her tense expression. She hadn't realized she'd reach level 3 so quickly as she did need 800 experience points to level up. Finally, something useful. More inventory space, better defenses, and a scout to keep an eye on things — this could actually make surviving the dungeon a little less brutal. Still, she knew better than to get too comfortable.
This was just the beginning.
They were still relentless. At that moment, Ming Sūlín tossed aside any concerns about injury. This was still during the Safe Period—even if she died, she wouldn't be gone permanently.
Still… "not permanent" didn't mean painless. She knew the module's wording was deliberate: you may not die permanently. That meant she could still be brought back to life while keeping every memory—and every ounce of pain—from the process of her death.
But hey… no pain, no gain, right?
She was a ruler now. She had to become stronger in this survival game world. She only had five more days in real time to level herself and her territory to at least level one—or herself to level five—before the Safe Period ended. And she wasn't about to just "hope for the best" once that happened.
Her small water planet was a prime target thanks to the high demand for certain rare residents—and its popularity in black market trading. If she wanted to infiltrate enemy networks, collect her siblings, and investigate deeper, she needed power.
And here in the dungeon, she had an advantage: she knew time ran differently here. She was thankful for the seven extra days this place gave her to train, level up, and push her skills to the limit. That meant she could afford to be a little reckless while she had the chance.
A zombie pile began to form in front of her, and the irritation she'd been feeling for the last fifteen minutes of this fight drew something out of her she didn't even know she had.
Using the pile to her advantage, she stepped over and on a few zombies blocking her path and launched herself at one of the special zombies commanding the others.
The female zombie made locked eye contact with Ming Sūlín, spooking her. It launched an attack using the chain on its wrist to strike her. She pulled out her fillet knife in her free hand, crossed her arms over her chest, and pulled her knees upward, touching the edge of her elbows, blocking and parrying the attack—sustaining quite a bit of damage from one hit.
[You have sustained -28 HP of damage!]
Tsk.
If she had not blocked the attack, the damage would have been much worse.
She landed on the one to the left, knocking it down, kneeing it in the chest, and using it as a cushion before driving her dagger into its skull.
[You have killed x1 Yellow-Grade Zombie (escaped refugee slave player Jin Yaoyao) | 5 kill points | 90 EXP]
[Loot: x4 damaged yellow-grade slave chains {keeps captive in dazed and obedient state}, x1 iron slave contract, x1 auction invitation card, x2 yellow-grade healing oarweed roots {heal up 80 HP}, x1 player identity card, x1 jade necklace, x1 fish skin dress, x1 yellow-grade fish skin storage pouch {10 slots—4 slots available}, 1 gold, 4 silver, 987 copper coins]
[damaged yellow-grade slave chains: keeps captive in dazed and obedient state]
[yellow-grade healing oarweed roots: heal up 80 HP]
[yellow-grade fish skin storage pouch: 10 slots—4 slots available]
[Congrats on freeing unfortunate soul, escaped refugee slave player Jin Yaoyao 1/30 | 25 EXP | x1 last wishes to any Blue Planet resident]
Huh?! This person was from her old planet and there's a last message?!
Dammit, she didn't have time to process this right now. She would have to think about it later.
But now she knew the unfortunate souls were players who had lost their lives in this dungeon.
Recovering quickly, she rolled over and took down the zombies crowding her right, moving out of the way of one that tried to lunge at her as shadows loomed over her.
[You sustained -3 HP of damage]
[You sustained -5 HP of damage]
Ming Sūlín's eyes turned bloodshot as she pushed through the pain of the claws and fingers.
[You sustained -1 HP of damage]
She sustained quite a few injuries this time—a scratch here, a nick there, a bite somewhere else—driving her almost to madness.
[You sustained -12 HP of damage]
I will ducking refuse to experience death by being eaten alive and shitted out by a crowd of zombies!
Wait, can zombies even shit? Who knows? Right?
[You sustained -8 HP of damage]
Strength she didn't even know she had exploded from within her, breaking her out of the pile that had begun to surround her.
Ming Sūlín went right for the second commanding zombie and skillfully severed its head with her fillet knife.
[You have killed x1 Yellow-Grade Zombie (escaped refugee slave player Drew) | 5 kill points | 90 EXP]
[Loot: x2 plain clothes, x1 broken blue-grade ukulele {music is the form of many languages and it calms the soul}, x1 blue-grade friendship bracelet making kit {the power of friendship is a mysterious thing}, x1 player identity card, x1 damaged fish skin storage pouch {8 slots—full}, x1 gold, x150 silver, x1870 copper coins]
[Broken blue-grade ukulele: music is the form of many languages and it calms the soul]
[blue-grade friendship bracelet making kit: the power of friendship is a mysterious thing]
[damaged fish skin storage pouch: 8 slots—full]
[Congrats on freeing unfortunate soul, refugee player Drew Pierce 2/30 | 25 EXP | x1 last wishes to any Blue Planet resident]
She quickly finished off the rest of the few zombies left. And the moment she was done, she was winded.
Ming Sulin took a moment to pull two candy parts out of her inventory and ate them with flourish.
There was a stream of energy that flowed through her relieving the stinging pain and bleeding as her wounds slowly closed.
[+50hp restored]
Holy shit!! eating restored her health! Since when was this possible?!
Is it only when she's injured? She hadn't noticed before. Well never mind she hasn't been injured much until now really.
Ming Sulin finished the first one and started working on the second one.
[+50hp restored]
"Ahh much better" she patted her stomach and stood up.
"Hiss dammit I'm so sore" Ming Sulin held her side spurring curses in a bad mood. Although the scratches and bites healed it still left her bruised and feeling abused.
"Sign"
She slowly climbed out of the pile of zombies and headed towards the resource point, using the two keys to unlock the hidden resource and plot line.
[Would you like to use x2 hidden keys to unlock hidden resource point and plotline?]
Ming Sulin tapped on her answer.
[Yes]
[You used x2 hidden keys 1 remains]
"What kind of plotline did I unlock this time" Ming Sulin asked herself out loud.