Chapter 2: Flawless Wooden Door

However, that door was strangely built. There was no lock, no latch — it could only be opened or closed through his thoughts.

“Maybe the System won’t lie to me.” Rover consoled himself.

He looked around the room. Even the window had vanished. Instead of feeling uneasy, he actually felt a bit relieved.

But when his gaze landed on the bed he was sitting on, another information panel appeared. He opened it with a thought.

[Shabby Bed]

[Type: Structure]

[Grade: 0]

[Durability: Permanent – Linked to the room door]

[Comfort: 20% – After sleeping, grants 20 Repair Points.]

[Effect: Each hour spent sleeping on the bed grants 7 Omni Points. This effect lasts only for 8 hours.]

[Upgrade Cost: 150 Omni Points.]

[Description: Working hard also requires rest. Even a shabby bed can grant you a good night’s sleep.]

Seeing that he could earn Omni Points even by sleeping, Rover’s heart filled with joy.

He was about to check whether anything else could be upgraded when a knocking sound echoed.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

“Is anyone inside?! The Building Manager is calling everyone to gather at the main lobby.”

The moment the voice rang out, Rover’s expression soured.

“Kaito?!” Rover muttered. “He’s here too?”

He knew Kaito — the project department staff member. Although his position wasn’t high, he was crude and thuggish, so everyone was afraid of him.

The only reason no one dared to report or confront him was because someone high-ranking in the project team backed him.

Rover, despite being in the sales department, had clashed with Kaito more than once.

They hadn’t fought yet, but it had come very close.

“Oy! Anyone in there?”

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Another set of knocks sounded, followed by a different male voice.

“Damn it! Is there really no one in this room?” Kaito snapped.

The young man beside him added, “Impossible. There can’t be an empty room. Someone has to be inside.”

“Bastard!” Kaito cursed. “Open the door!”

BAM!

Kaito angrily kicked the door, causing it to tremble. Even though it had no lock or latch, it still wouldn’t open. However, a notification appeared before Rover.

[Durability of Shabby Wooden Door: -1.]

“Damn it…” Rover muttered through clenched teeth.

The young man outside grumbled, “Let’s go. No point wasting time here.”

Kaito clicked his tongue, then kicked the door again.

BAM!

[Durability of Shabby Wooden Door: -1.]

Rover: “…”

Hearing their footsteps fade away, Rover gritted his teeth. Seeing the door’s durability drop to only 8 points left made him even more irritated.

“I didn’t expect that bastard to be here too.” Rover growled.

He was certain that Kaito hadn’t lived in this building at all, meaning the people here were either assigned randomly or added in from somewhere else.

“Gather at the main lobby?” Rover muttered, then shook his head, unwilling to leave his room.

He had read enough novels to know that in situations like this, human nature collapsed and rotted at terrifying speed.

Right now, he only had a weak body, no weapons, no means to resist. If he was unlucky enough to encounter zombies outside, he would certainly die.

Although Rover refused to go to the lobby, he still opened the chat window and began reading the messages appearing above.

[Room 69 – XXX]: Damn it! It’s all fog outside, extremely thick. Someone tried rushing into the fog and died instantly. (Image)

[Room 91 – OOO]: Huew! Can you not send disgusting images like that?!

[Room 88 – XNX]: Huew! That’s horrifying. But are there really that many zombies outside? It seems like they’re waiting for us.

[Room 45 – ONO]: Everyone, don’t go outside. The fog is too thick; you can’t see anything. And there are tons of zombies.

Rover frowned as he looked at the image someone had just uploaded. It was the corpse of a man, his face mangled beyond recognition, torn apart by bites. Blood and flesh were splattered everywhere.

Seeing the picture, Rover felt a wave of nausea rise within him. He muttered inwardly, ’It seems… we’re all imprisoned inside this building.’

He continued scrolling through the messages. After about thirty minutes, he had gathered several important pieces of information.

Those who had explored the building had come up with five conclusions:

First, this building contained three Blocks, each Block having 10 floors, each floor having 10 rooms — totaling 300 Owners. However, there were 400 Survivors. That meant 100 people would have no choice but to accept the role of “Tenant.”

Rooms numbered 01 to 10 belonged to Block A, 11 to 20 to Block B, and 21 to 30 to Block C.

Second, if someone who wasn’t the Owner entered another person’s room without accepting the role of “Tenant,” within 30 minutes to an hour they would begin suffering from shortness of breath, and eventually suffocate to death.

Third, many areas were still sealed. Just as the System stated, structures here could not be destroyed. Some people had tried pushing a thin glass door together, yet it didn’t budge at all — not even a tremor.

Fourth, it was possible to find certain special items within the building, in areas that weren’t sealed.

Fifth, the fog was a forbidden zone. Not only was visibility extremely low inside the fog, but there were numerous monsters lurking within. Some people had even suffocated to death simply by staying inside it too long.

Rover finished reading and let out a slow exhale. “Looks like the early phase of this game requires going out to gather resources, then fortifying your room afterward.”

“But that completely contradicts my abilities. As long as I sleep, I can still earn Omni Points. I don’t need to risk going outside at all.”

He opened his room’s status window.

[Room Owner: Rover]

[Room Grade: 0]

[Area: 20 square meters]

[Tenants: 0/2]

[Structures Inside Room: Shabby Wooden Door; Shabby Bed.]

Rover checked the panel, then lay down on his bed and drifted into sleep.

Perhaps because he knew he wouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow, didn’t need to wake up early, and wouldn’t need to stress over KPIs his boss assigned, he fell asleep instantly — even smiling as he drifted off.

….

[The event ’Zombie Raid’ will begin in: 30 minutes.]

Hearing the System notification, Rover slowly opened his eyes, feeling truly refreshed.

He yawned and murmured, “Ah! I slept that long? Nearly a full day.”

Maybe because he had been overworked for so long, now that he finally had the chance to rest, he could sleep endlessly. In fact, if the System hadn’t awakened him, he might have slept even longer.

Still lying on the bed, Rover opened the global chat again, but after reading a few messages, he became wide awake.

“Someone was killed?” Rover frowned. “Not by monsters… but by another human.”

The killer’s name was Danny.

Danny didn’t work at the same company as Rover, but he had lived in the same building before they were brought to this world.

He was a bodybuilder, over 190 cm tall, with muscles like a Greek statue.

He and another man in the security room had found a canned food box. During their struggle over it, Danny knocked the man unconscious.

But he didn’t stop there. Instead, he grabbed a chair and beat the man to death.

Two witnesses were present, yet seeing Danny’s physique, they didn’t dare interfere.

After committing the crime, he immediately rushed back to his room and locked himself in.

Throughout the day, many conflicts had broken out over food and supplies, but the incident involving Danny was the most severe.

“In less than a full day, human nature has already collapsed.” Rover sighed. “Makes sense. In a place without laws, even if Danny kills someone, no one will arrest him or punish him.”

“In this world, strength defines the rules. Looks like I need to get stronger as soon as possible.”

He also understood that fear had already begun warping people’s minds. Soon, chaos would only grow worse.

“That has nothing to do with me.” Rover shook his head, refusing to dwell on it.

Right now, his only priority was survival. Keeping his distance from chaotic and desperate people was the smartest thing he could do.

He opened his system rewards from sleeping.

[You have slept for 8 hours. With the 20% comfort bonus, you gained 76 Omni Points. Current total Omni Points: 176.]

Seeing his current points, Rover didn’t hesitate. He immediately upgraded his wooden door. After all, it was the only thing keeping him safe, so it deserved the highest priority.

“System, upgrade the wooden door.”

[Ding! 10 Omni Points deducted. You have successfully upgraded the Shabby Wooden Door into the Flawless Wooden Door.]

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