2

The creature's grip around you was tight, and despite your best efforts, you couldn't pry yourself away.

Another pair of rotten hands grabbed you by your leg, pulling you further away from the doors. You scream. No! You had to escape! You couldn't die here.

The creatures pounced on you, trying to bite your face. You try to push them with your hands, but they also attempted to bite your hands too. You didn't know what to do, but you did know that if those creatures bit you, it would be a bad thing.

You mustered up enough strength to punch one in the throat, and as if made of butter, the creature's head flew out from his neck, splattering the same black liquid all over you. You were too scared to care. All you wanted to do was to escape.

While you fought, you took a quick glance at the gate and noticed how it was slowly closing shut. Your chances of survival seemed to be waning by the second  You see people pushing and harming others just to get to the doors before it closed shut. Several of the people had jumped out of the room. And the few of you that were left were quickly outnumbered by the creatures.

You were beginning to lose hope. Fate really played you. You were going to die here.

A countdown of twenty started, and doors slowly but surely closed. No! You weren't going to give up. No matter what happened, you would fight till your end. With newfound will and adrenaline, you shoved the creatures away from you with unimaginable strength. And as if speed like flash was dumped in entirety on you, you sped towards the doors in a blink of an eye, just in time for you to cross to the other side.

Creatures from the different sides rushed at you, trying to grab you by the hands and legs, but you quickly crossed over, and the giant doors closed shut on them.

As soon as you were outside, you collapse on the floor, breathless. You took greedy gulps of air, trying to catch your breath. But your mouth ached from the lack of water. You were thirsty.

After a few minutes of rest, you get up and took a good look of the place around you. It looked like you were in a city of some sought, but this city didn't look like any city you've ever seen before.

A bleak wasteland, with quiet rubble, smoking ruins, and rotting corpses. Buildings were in ruins, shattered windows, cracked walls, burnt surfaces. Debris littering the streets like nothing, and the stench of rotting flesh and decay hung harsh in the air. The silence was deafening, no humans, no animals and no creatures as well... It was odd.

A sense of hopelessness washed over you, and you couldn't help but cry. What is all of this? Why is it happening to you? You fall on your knees and huddle at the corner, crying.

You hear footsteps and you realise that several other survivors were around you, they were leaving. You sighed. Giving up right now didn't seem on your bucket list. For your survival, you had to keep going. You take in a deep breath before standing up again.

Your stomach rumbled immediately, reminding you of your hunger. You clutch your stomach thinking: You had to find food first.

You walk, following the other survivors closely behind.

It took several minutes before you spotted a small snack store up ahead. You rush towards it, the rest of the survivors simply spared you a glance before going their own way.

The moment you opened the door, a gush of wind pushed against your face, bringing along with it the smell of rotten flesh. You gag, ready to throw up, but you swallow back your disgust and stepped in cautiously.

The store was small and dark, but it was illuminated by the light from outside. You look around, the entire store was covered in blood and rotten bits, It was as if a manslaughter had happened there. You feel disgusted but when you looked closely, you realised something. There were so much snacks on the shelves, ranging from different biscuits and drinks to cookies and cakes. You couldn't help but grab the closest thing to you before gulping it down. It was a bottle of milk.

But the moment you drank a gulp of it, you spat it out. It had turned mouldy. You almost cried.

You rushed to check the other snack but one by one, you realised all of them had expired. You almost fall from the exhaustion. How? And why? Not even a single chip was left.

Just as you sat down in a corner, the sound of pvc wrapping entered your ears. You look around, trying to search for the source of the sound. Behind you, you see a small cookie package laying on the floor neatly, your heart leaped.

You quickly checked for the expiry date and you almost faint from joy when you saw it still had two two days before expiry. You quickly tear the bag open and pop the first cookie into your mouth. It felt like heaven.

It felt like you'd just gotten a taste of the world's best meal. But a small cookie snack was barely enough to satisfy your hunger. Just as you sat there, almost dying from your hunger. You here a tinge in your head, you look around to figure out who it was, but you see no one. Then suddenly, a robotic voice rang through your ears.

[Congratulations host, you've reached Level 1 of the Scavenging skills.

Rewards:

- Pack Of Biscuits ×2

- Bottle of water ×2

Tap on the green icon to view your Character stats"

You sat there with a confused look on your face. You look around once more to try to identify whoever was speaking but you couldn't find anyone. Suddenly, a big green button popped up in your face and a message blinked beneath it.

'Tap on the green icon to view you Character stats] It read.

Curiosity took over you and you reached out to press the button. A bright light suddenly flashed through your eyes, momentarily blinding you. You look away quickly, your eyes still burning.

When the intensity of the light had subsided, you look back and notice a green tab with the words '𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙏𝙎' written on it.

You click on it, and a long row of information immediately entered your view.

*Character Stats*

- *Name:* Hazel Forecaster

- *Gender:* Female

- *Age:* 19 Years Old

- *Height:* 178 cm

- *Body Type:* Medium Pear-shaped

- *Avatar Color:* White

- *Player ID:* 7575-4230V

- *Lives:* 3

- *Level:* 1

- *XP Points:* 100/1000 (experience points needed to reach the next level)

- *Skills:*

    - Cooking (Level 0)

    - Survival (Level 0)

    - First Aid (Level 0)

    - Combat (Level 0)

    - Scavenging (Level 1)

    - Foraging (Level 0)

    - Hunting (Level 0)

    - Farming (Level 0)

- *Attributes:*

    - Strength: 30

    - Agility: 20

    - Endurance: 50

    - Intelligence: 30

- *Inventory:*

    - Water Bottle ×2(Full)

    - Pack Of Biscuits ×2

- *Status:*

    - Health: 30/100

    - Hunger: 10/100

    - Thirst: 10/100

    - Fatigue: 10/100

𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳/𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴

You're surprised by all that is happening. You're confused and frustrated, but you don't hesitate to click on the inventory as you're starving. When you click on the inventory, your reward pop into place. You click on them too, and a packet of biscuits along with a bottle of water suddenly materialises out of nowhere and into your hands.

You're stunned, but it didn't take long for you to snap out of it and tear the packets open. Biscuits flew everywhere around you, but you didn't care. You began picking them one by one, popping them into your mouth. Once you've chewed, you twist the cap of your water bottle to open it, before gulping down the entire liquid down your throat.

You feel tempted to go back to your inventory and grab the other rewards, but when you think back at your situation, you stop yourself.

You here the same familiar tinge in your head again and you close your eyes to brace yourself for the bright light that flashed soon later. When you reopened them again, you see a new set of information.

[Congratulations, host's stats has been updated. Tap on the green icon to view changes]

This time, you don't falter. You click on the green icon, and your Stat changes came into view.

- *Attributes:*

    - Strength: 40

    - Agility: 25

    - Endurance: 55

    - Intelligence: 35

- *Status:*

    - Health: 40/100

    - Hunger: 20/100

    - Thirst: 30/100

    - Fatigue: 10/100

Just as your eyes went through your Stat changes, you here that same robotic voice in your ears. 

[Death Wave 2 Shall Commence in 10 seconds. All players should be prepared]

A countdown from ten suddenly began, and before you could say a thing, you feel everywhere start to darken. You stand up and go over to the exit, where you see that, the sun was beginning to set at a rapid speed, and the entire area was slowly going very dark.

You were stunned, you could've sworn that it was only afternoon when you entered this shop, How long had you stayed in here?

You were asking yourself so many questions, but the voice quickly interrupts you with another cold message.

[Death Wave 2 Shall Now Commence]

A shrill cry was suddenly heard in the night, and before you could react, you see a swarm of large black bats slowly filling up the sky.

Several of the bats flew low and started attacking the other survivors outside. Biting and scratching them. Screams from all corners could be heard. You stand there stunned, as you cannot comprehend what is happening. But before you could have any time to think, a group of those bats flew straight at you.

The more they neared, the clearer their features became. They were huge, incredibly huge for any bat you had ever seen. Their large red eyes were fixated on you, their prey, never losing their sight on you. You noticed their inch long fangs that seemed to be specially prepared for tearing you apart. You shiver in fear, not knowing what to do.

Just as the bats burst through the glass windows, you jump out of the store through the doors. But you seem to have miscalculated because the moment you step out of the store. Another swarm of bats instantly enveloped you.

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