People are naturally drawn to the new and bored of the old.
Leonard immediately put the spear into his backpack and kept the fire axe in hand, swinging it a few times through the air.
The axe whooshed as it cut the wind, feeling powerful in motion.
"Nice! Let's try chopping some wood with this thing."
He found a wooden chair, raised the axe, and with just three chops, smashed it into pieces.
The efficiency was way higher than before, another batch of wood collected.
Feeling pleased, Leonard was about to head out when something caught his eye.
The door was made of wood!
If breaking chairs yielded wood, then breaking down wooden doors should too, right?
He gave it a try and sure enough, it worked!
The door was tougher than the chair, though.
It took about ten swings before it broke apart.
But the reward was better, five units of wood.
Now gathering wood would be a breeze.
Not every room in the corridor had a chair, but every room had a wooden door.
Turns out this survival game was really just a resource farming and scavenging game.
Leonard had played similar survival games before and actually enjoyed this kind of thing.
With 11 units of wood on hand, it was enough for now. He headed back the way he came.
Along the way, someone saw him and immediately ducked into their room, terrified.
The rumor of Leonard being a "killer" had already sunk deep into everyone's minds.
He couldn't be bothered with them and went straight back to his own room, Room 815.
Once inside, he got straight to work.
First, he crafted a wooden shield!
It cost 2 units of wood, 1 parts box, and 1 batch of nails.
Standing at the workbench, Leonard moved with lightning speed, skillfully combining the materials.
A basic-looking wooden shield was born.
[You have obtained a Level 1 Wooden Shield.]
Wooden Shield
Level: 1
Type: Equipment
Attribute: Physical
Defense: 8
Durability: 20/20
Description: Don't expect too much from this shield. It's even more fragile than your love life.
With a fire axe in his left hand and a wooden shield in his right, his clothes soaked in blood.
"Finally, I've got some proper gear! Wonder if I can take on a zombie one-on-one now?"
Killing someone earlier had shaken Leonard.
But now, he felt confident. If a zombie came at him, he'd have the guts to fight back.
No matter how terrifying it looked, he wasn't afraid.
He had worked in a mortuary before, seen all kinds of corpses. He was used to it.
"Next up: time to upgrade the door."
He put down his weapons and walked to the door.
Crafting had to be done at the workbench.
But upgrading the door required standing in front of it.
As long as you had the blueprint, the option would appear.
[Required materials for upgrade: Wood ×3, Parts Box ×2, Duct Tape ×1, Nails ×1]
[Upgrade conditions met. Proceed with upgrade?]
[Yes √]
Leonard's hands moved again like a blur.
A progress bar appeared, slowly advancing.
Everything went smoothly.
When it was complete.
[Door upgrade successful.]
Door
Level: 2
Defense: 12
Durability: 50/50
The door had been damaged before, but now it looked fully repaired.
Its appearance had changed noticeably, thicker and with decorative ridges on the surface that hadn't been there before.
It looked much sturdier, exuding a greater sense of safety.
But he wasn't done yet!
He also had the blueprint for a Level 3 door and enough materials, thanks to all the scavenging earlier.
[Upgrade conditions met. Proceed with upgrade?]
[Yes √]
He repeated the process.
This time, the progress bar crawled like a snail.
——
Meanwhile...
In Room 838 across the hall,
A female player named Rebecca lived there.
She had long flowing hair, a pretty face, and used to work in public relations.
Since the game began, Rebecca had been hiding inside, too scared to come out.
Now she was peeking through the peephole and noticed something strange—
Room 815's door had suddenly flashed and transformed into a higher-level version.
All the doors looked the same, except Leonard's.
His door had clearly been upgraded!
Rebecca widened her eyes in disbelief.
"Why did his door change?"
From the outside,
Room 815's door looked significantly stronger.
She had personally seen Leonard kill someone earlier and scare off a bunch of troublemakers.
Now his door had been upgraded too.
He was clearly way ahead in this survival game.
In gaming terms, he was a pro, a big boss.
People like that were dangerous.
But if you could become their friend? That's a whole different story.
"Should I approach him? No matter how ruthless he is, he's still a man... and men…"
Rebecca smirked with confidence.
As a former PR girl, she had once used her body to close deals.
To her, sex appeal was a weapon, a bargaining chip.
Her mind was made up.
She kept watching the door, plotting her next move.
Suddenly, Leonard's door flashed again.
It changed again!
This time it looked even sturdier, though still made of wood.
Intricate patterns now adorned the surface, and the doorknob was more refined.
Rebecca's eyes widened again, her lashes curling upward, pupils glinting.
"His door upgraded again!"
Her heart skipped a beat.
The game had made it clear.
Daytime was relatively safe. Nighttime was dangerous.
And the door? A crucial line of defense.
Hiding inside Room 815 had to be safer than anywhere else.
She had been hesitating before, but now her mind was set.
She had to stick to him. At least give it a shot!
——
The door to Room 815 opened.
Leonard stepped out.
Everyone else's doors were still Level 1, but his had reached Level 3.
This time, he planned to go farther.
To explore other floors and gather more fire axes.
Every floor had them, and hoarding a few wouldn't hurt.
If he took them all, others would have none but he didn't care.
In a survival game, being selfish was inevitable.
Time to move!
Just as Leonard was about to set off,
A door across the hall opened.
Out stepped a long-haired woman in a blue-and-white uniform,
Two buttons undone at the collar, revealing a hint of cleavage.
Her face was attractive, with a subtle air of seduction.
She had locked eyes with Leonard once before.
Now, she had taken the initiative to come out.
"Hi, I'm Rebecca. Like you, I'm trapped in this game.
I wanted to ask, do you need a partner?
Two people working together have a better chance than one, right?"
Rebecca stood at her door, carefully negotiating, heart pounding with nerves.