[Welcome to the world of Rulebound Horrors. Please remain calm, stay awake, and strive to survive.]
The voice was mechanical, emotionless—like an announcement echoing through her skull.
Iris Jiang's eyes snapped open. Her head throbbed with dizziness as she pushed herself upright.
Around her was a typical dorm room at Starlake University—four bunks, desks below, curtains half drawn.
The other three girls in the room were also waking up, panic flickering in their eyes.
"Where are we?"
"What's happening?!"
"I was just taking a nap—how did I end up here?! Damn it, I shouldn't have done that workout before bed. I'm not even dressed properly…"
While confusion spread through the others, Iris's gaze stayed steady and cold, like ice untouched by panic.
A faint curve formed at the corner of her lips.
Rulebound Horrors… I finally found you.
Three years ago, the Rulebound Horrors descended upon Blue Star.
Countless tragedies followed. The world's population fell to a fraction of what it once was.
Iris Jiang was lucky—her home country, A-Nation, had responded faster than most.
The government sealed off contaminated zones, evacuated nearby residents, and enforced strict surveillance to contain the spread.
Even so, Rulebound Horrors could never be fully contained.
New contamination zones appeared out of nowhere—anywhere, anytime.
That was how Iris lost her family.
By the time she rushed home from Starlake University, her apartment complex had already been sealed as a contamination zone.
No one was said to have made it out alive.
Since that day, a single thought had taken root in her mind—
she wanted to meet the Rulebound Horrors herself.
[Congratulations, Chosen Participant. You are now registered within the Rulebound System.]
[You may draw one innate ability for free. Would you like to proceed now?]
The same mechanical voice echoed again—flat, toneless, utterly inhuman.
Iris blinked, momentarily stunned.
Chosen Participant? What did that even mean?
The authorities of A-Nation had never revealed how people were supposed to fight back against the Rulebound Horrors. All available information was heavily classified.
Her only "knowledge" came from the few Rulebound survival novels she used to read online—where first-time entrants would sometimes receive a random "talent" or "blessing."
That thought flashed through her mind.
"Draw," she said immediately.
[Draw completed.]
[Congratulations, Participant Iris Jiang. You have obtained a Rule-Tier α Talent: "Rulebound Vessel."]
[Talent Description:]
You may temporarily inhabit a Rulebound Entity you have personally witnessed.
During possession, you gain access to that entity's governing rule and retain one or part of its abilities.
This effect functions only within the corresponding scenario.
[Talent Level: 1]
Usable once per day.
———
Rule-Tier α… the highest classification.
Iris's lips parted in surprise—this was the kind of power that only existed in the stories she used to read.
Still, "Rulebound Vessel" didn't sound safe.
Temporarily becoming one of them... that's practically suicidal.
And yet, she felt a quiet thrill rise within her.
"Heh," she muttered under her breath, eyes sharp with something between awe and madness.
"That's fine by me."
With the new talent secured, Iris steadied her thoughts.
Her gaze swept across the dorm room and the three girls around her.
The layout was almost identical to her university days—four bunks, a narrow balcony, no private bathroom.
Out of habit, she mentally numbered the beds to keep track of everyone.
She was on Bed Three.
Bed One belonged to a tall girl with cropped hair, who had already climbed down and was pacing the room, eyes sharp with tension.
Bed Two was occupied by a petite girl curled beneath her blanket, trembling, whispering something between sobs.
And Bed Four—the one who'd shouted about her "pre-sleep workout" earlier—was still fumbling for clothes in a panic, her bare shoulders flashing under the weak ceiling light.
Iris's eyes lingered for a second, then moved on, expression unreadable.
Iris didn't rush to get off her bed.
In the world of Rulebound Horrors, every careless move could lead straight to death.
Caution was survival.
She searched her bunk carefully—under the pillow, inside the drawers, along the frame.
After a moment, she found only a single item: a smartphone.
It still worked. Basic functions were intact, though there was no signal, no connection to any network.
The screen displayed the time—June 13th, 21:02.
A glance outside confirmed the darkness beyond the windows. Night had fallen completely.
With no clocks elsewhere in the room, she decided to treat that as the default time.
Slipping down from her bunk, Iris noticed the short-haired girl from Bed One standing motionless by the door, staring at something.
Iris walked over.
And there it was—
a sheet of paper, neatly taped to the dorm room door.
The title read:
[Dormitory Block C — Room 403: Resident Rules]
[Dormitory Regulations — Block C, Room 403]
(Issued by Starlake University Residential Management)
1. You have only two roommates. Always confirm that the people beside you are truly your roommates.
2. Lights out at exactly 22:00. Ensure all doors and windows are closed and curtains fully drawn before then.
3. The Dorm Warden will conduct inspections after lights-out. Do not open the door. Do not respond to any knocks or voices.
4. After lights-out, do not walk in the hallway.
5. There are no male residents in this building. Do not allow any to enter your dormitory.
6. If you need to visit the restroom after lights-out, go in pairs.
7. You may seek help from the Dorm Warden or your Instructor, but only during appropriate hours.
8. Do not hang mirrors in the dormitory—especially not near your bed.
9. Maintain harmony among all residents. Avoid conflict. Keep the dormitory clean.
— End of Regulations.
Iris felt a chill crawl up her spine the moment she read the first line.
"You have only two roommates."
That meant there were supposed to be three people in this room.
And yet… there were four of them.
So what was the fourth one?
Her eyes moved down the list again.
Some of the rules didn't even make sense.
The fourth said not to walk in the hallway after lights-out,
but the sixth allowed restroom visits—only in pairs.
Contradictory.
And the fifth rule, about male residents—its phrasing was almost deliberately confusing.
By now, the other two girls had climbed down from their bunks as well.
They gathered near the door, eyes darting from the paper to each other.
Fear mixed with suspicion in the dim light.
"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
the short-haired girl—Tasha Lim—snapped, her voice trembling with anger.
"Who the hell thinks this kind of prank is funny?! Dragging us here in the middle of the night—trying to scare who?!"
The girl from Bed Four—Rina Ong—was strikingly beautiful, her makeup still perfect even in the dim light.
Now, she had thrown on nothing but a half-buttoned shirt, too furious to care about modesty.
"I'm calling the police!" she snapped, grabbing her phone.
A beat of silence. Then—
"Damn it, no signal?!"
Her movements grew frantic, as if sheer rage could force a connection.
In the corner, Mina Lau from Bed Two began crying again. Her voice came out thin and shaking.
"It's useless… we—we're trapped inside a Rulebound zone. We're doomed…"
Tasha Lim glanced at her, then at Rina, her expression torn between disbelief and grim understanding.
"I've heard about them," she muttered. "Contamination zones. People vanish without a trace. Looks like we've stepped right into one."
She turned back to Mina, forcing a small, tense smile.
"Don't worry. I'm a sports major—I can fight if it comes to that. I'll protect you two."
Her voice was steady, but her hands were trembling.
No one missed it.
Iris stayed silent, watching the three of them with calm detachment.
If one of them was a Rulebound Horror, then its acting skills were terrifyingly good.
She wasn't going to play the hero. Not here. Not when she didn't even know if these people were real humans or just scripted NPCs conjured by the Rulebound world.
In a place like this, trust was just another way to die early.
Still, remaining silent too long would only draw suspicion.
So she nodded toward Tasha, her tone even and precise.
"She's right. We're probably inside a contamination zone. There's no way anyone could transport strangers like us into the same dorm by normal means. This matches the incidents reported in the news."
Mina looked up from her corner, her tear-streaked face pale under the light, but she said nothing.
Rina, however, scoffed.
"News? Please. I don't buy that crap. All those stories are just fearbait for clicks. You're telling me ghosts and 'rules' are real?"
Before anyone could respond—
All four phones lit up at once.
A line of cold white text scrolled across their screens:
[Instance: Starlake University — Activated]