The sun began to rise, painting the horizon in a bloody orange hue.
The massacre at the gate was over.
Aria stood atop a mountain of corpses. There were at least fifty of them.
Her arm muscles ached slightly, but her mind was sharp.
She knelt beside the headless body of the Licker.
"Where are you?" she whispered.
She used her knife to dig into the exposed neck of the beast. She ignored the slime and the smell. She was looking for something specific.
Clink.
The knife hit something hard.
Aria reached in and pulled out a small, red crystal. It was the size of a walnut, glowing faintly.
[Item Obtained: Evolution Crystal (Tier 1)]
[Usage: Can be consumed to increase attributes or upgrade abilities.]
[Market Value: High.]
Aria smiled. "Bingo."
She didn't eat it yet. She tossed it into her [Dimensional Storage].
She looked at the gate. It was blocked by bodies. No zombie could climb over that mess easily.
"Safe for now."
Aria turned and walked back into the main warehouse building.
Her black evening gown was ruined. It was torn, soaked in black blood, and smelled of death. Her skin felt sticky.
She needed a shower.
She walked to the utility room at the back of the warehouse.
The main power grid of the city was already flickering. But this facility had industrial-grade backup generators.
[Skill: Hotwiring] came in handy again.
She bypassed the security lock on the generator panel and connected the fuel line.
Vroom... Hummmmmm.
The massive diesel generator roared to life.
The lights in the warehouse flickered on. The refrigerator started humming. The water pump kicked in.
Electricity.
In the Apocalypse, this sound was more beautiful than any symphony.
Aria went to the manager's office on the second floor. It had a private bathroom.
She stripped off the ruined dress and threw it in the trash. She kicked off her boots.
She turned the handle.
Hot water steamed up the mirror.
Aria stepped under the spray. As the water turned pink, washing the blood off her pale skin, she let out a long sigh.
"Hah..."
She washed her hair, her neck, and her long legs. She scrubbed away the filth of the old world.
She wrapped herself in a clean white towel and walked out to the office desk. She opened a bottle of chilled champagne she found in the fridge and poured a glass.
She sat in the leather chair, legs crossed, sipping the wine.
Suddenly, a golden notification flashed across her retina. It wasn't just for her.
It was for everyone alive.
[Ding!]
[Global Announcement: The First Night has ended.]
[Calculating Survival Data...]
[Humanity Survival Rate: 28%]
[System Feature Unlocked: Regional Ranking Board.]
[System Feature Unlocked: World Chat Channel.]
Aria raised an eyebrow. "Already?"
A semi-transparent blue list appeared in front of her.
[Regional Ranking (City Z)]
1. Aria (Level 2) - [Title: The First Blood]
2. DragonBlade (Level 1)
3. ShadowKiller (Level 1)
4. Sergeant Miller (Level 1)
5. ...
She was Number One.
Because she killed the Licker.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations! You are ranked #1 in Region Z.]
[Reward: Gold Treasure Box x1]
[Reward: +10 Reputation.]
Aria tapped the [World Chat] tab.
Instantly, text flooded her vision like a waterfall.
[Help! I'm stuck in the subway! There are monsters everywhere!]
[Mom? Dad? Is anyone in New York?]
[I saw a guy eating his dog! What is happening?!]
[Does anyone have food? I haven't eaten in 10 hours.]
[DragonBlade: I just killed a zombie with a baseball bat! I leveled up! Anyone want to team up? I'm at the University.]
[Anonymous: Screw you guys, I have a gun. Don't come near my house.]
Despair. Confusion. Chaos.
Aria took another sip of champagne.
She watched the chat scroll by. She didn't type anything.
While they were crying for help, she was drinking champagne in a secure fortress.
While they were looking for a stick to fight with, she had a stash of guns and a Tier 1 Crystal.
"Cry louder," Aria whispered, swishing the wine in her glass. "The noise attracts them."
She closed the chat window. It was useless noise.
She looked at the [Gold Treasure Box] floating in her inventory.
"Open."
[Opening Gold Treasure Box...]
[Flash of Gold Light!]
[You have obtained: Skill Book - "Eye of Truth" (Passive).]
[You have obtained: Potion of minor Healing x3.]
[You have obtained: 100 System Coins.]
Aria's eyes lit up.
[Skill: Eye of Truth]
[Effect: Allows you to see hidden information about targets, including loyalty, weaknesses, and hidden loot.]
This was huge.
With this, no one could lie to her. No one could hide an ambush.
Suddenly, the ground shook slightly.
Boom...
It wasn't thunder.
Aria walked to the window, wrapped in her towel. She looked toward the city center.
Fighter jets roared across the sky.
Missiles trailed white smoke, slamming into the downtown area.
The military had begun the containment protocol. Bombing the high-density infection zones.
Fireballs rose into the sky.
"Good luck, survivors," Aria toasted to the burning city.
But then, her new [Eye of Truth] caught something.
Down on the road, outside her gate.
A black van was approaching. It didn't look like a military vehicle. It was covered in spikes and graffiti.
[Target: Scavenger Gang "The Vultures"]
[Leader: Scarface (Level 2)]
[Intent: Hostile / Plunder]
[Number of Enemies: 6]
Aria sighed. She finished her champagne.
"Can't a girl enjoy a bath in peace?"
She stood up, letting the towel drop. She walked toward the pile of clothes she had looted from the sports store section of the warehouse.
She put on black cargo pants, a tactical tank top, and strapped her knife to her thigh.
"Open the gate," she commanded the system control.
She wasn't going to wait for them to attack.
She was going to welcome them.