The silence didn't last.
A soft beep echoed in his ear.
[Notice: Nearby Participant Detected – 137 meters southeast][Thí Sinh (Candidate) ID: No. 43 – Status: Active]
He froze.
Another one?
He glanced at the mini-map—yes, a faint green dot this time. Moving slowly. Cautiously.Was it an ally? An enemy? Or worse… just another desperate survivor?
He approached carefully, weaving through the wreckage. The terrain shifted—a broken highway, split clean down the middle, exposing shattered foundations below.
Then he saw her.
A figure crouched by a wrecked car, clutching a bloodied baseball bat. Short dark hair, hoodie torn at the sleeve, eyes sharp and exhausted.
She saw him, and instantly raised the bat.
"Don't move!"
He raised both hands. "Easy. I'm one of you."
[Candidate No. 88 – Identity Confirmed]
She narrowed her eyes. "...You took out the Hunters back there?"
He nodded.
"…Impressive. I barely made it past one."
She lowered her bat, breathing a little easier.
Name: Candidate No. 43.No system window gave him her real name. Just a number.
"Do you know what this place is?" he asked.
"No clue. Woke up five hours ago. Killed two freaks. Nearly died three times. So far? Not fun."
He almost smiled. Almost.
She pointed up toward the horizon, where a tower barely visible behind a curtain of ash stood glowing faintly.
"I think it wants us to go there."
"What is it?"
"No idea. But the system pinged it as a waypoint."
[Main Objective Updated: Reach the Tower of Glass]
Distance: 14.2 kmHazard Zones: Unstable]Recommended Level: 10+]
He checked his stats.
Level: 2. EXP: 84/100. Skill Cooldown: Ready.
She whistled. "I'm still level 1. Guess I've been a little... careful."
For a moment, there was calm.
Then—crack.
A low hiss.
From the shadows of the highway crevice, something massive began to crawl out. Multiple limbs. Bone armor. A pulsing red eye in its chest.
[New Threat Detected: Class C – Ravager-Type]
The girl backed up.
"Guess being careful didn't help after all."
He gripped the frost spear tighter.Beside him, Candidate No. 43 cracked her neck.
"Three seconds, right?" she asked.
He nodded."Let's make them count."