The pounding on the steel door sounded like a death knell ringing repeatedly.Thud! Thud! Thud!Each blow sent vibrations through the ceramic floor, creeping up Elian’s legs, and settling as a painful throb in the pit of his stomach. In the cramped, stale-smelling staff room, four pairs of eyes were glued to the convex tube monitor displaying the black-and-white CCTV footage."Brother... she’s still there," Lina whispered. The girl’s face was deathly pale, her hands wringing her Cosmo Mart apron into a crumpled mess. "She’s asking for help."On the screen, the woman outside looked both pathetic and terrifying. The rainstorm obscured the tears or sweat on her face, but it couldn't hide the panic in her eyes, which stared straight into the camera lens above the door. Her mouth moved, screaming the word "Open!" which was muffled by the thick steel of the Tesla-Coil door.Behind the woman, the darkness of the night seemed alive. Thousands of white dots—the eyes of the Hollows reflecting t

The rain outside seemed to compete with the chaos unfolding below. On the second floor of the Cosmo Mart shophouse, specifically in the stuffy, dusty archive room, Elian stood before a window whose security bars had been forcibly broken. The strong wind carried in splashes of rainwater mixed with the foul stench of hundreds of the living dead crammed onto the highway.The scene below was the definition of a nightmare. Thousands of heads—like a sea of rotten, bobbing marbles—moved in waves, pushing and stepping on each other, all striving toward one goal: this store."Ready, sir?" Elian asked without turning around. His eyes were locked on the densest part of the crowd right in front of the main door.Behind him, Mr. Hendra was arranging six glass bottles filled with yellowish gasoline on the archive table. The mouths of the bottles were stoppered with rags from old uniforms soaked in oil."Ready, Elian," Mr. Hendra replied, his voice sounding resolute, though his hands trembled slight

The sweet scent of pandan and cardboard dust was the first aroma to greet Vara’s senses as she opened her eyes. Her body felt sore, but it wasn't the agonizing soreness she felt running from thousands of the living dead yesterday. This was a comfortable kind of ache, a sign her muscles were repairing themselves.Vara blinked, staring up at the gloomy warehouse ceiling. She was lying on a stack of 25-kilogram sacks of "Catfish King" brand rice. Strangely, the stack felt as soft as an expensive latex mattress."I'm still alive," she whispered to herself, touching her chest to ensure her heart was still beating.She immediately sat bolt upright, alert. Her hands instinctively searched for a weapon. She didn't find her iron pipe, but there was a broomstick near her feet. She snatched it up, her eyes sweeping across the narrow warehouse room.In the corner of the room, Lina was asleep, sitting with her knees hugged to her chest, her head bobbing. Next to

Sixty seconds felt like the blink of an eye. Elian stood frozen in front of the cashier counter, his eyes darting wildly, scanning the newly opened [Shop] menu. His fingers danced in the air, scrolling through a list of items with neck-choking prices.[Basic Turret: 1000 Credits] (Expensive!)[AK-47 Assault Rifle: 800 Credits] (Expensive!)[Steel Door Upgrade Lv.2: 1500 Credits] (Insane!)"Broke," Elian cursed. His point balance from slaughtering Wave 1 and assisting the Goliath was only 350 Credits left after crafting Vara's sword."El! Thirty seconds left!" shouted Rico, who was holding the rice sack in the hole at the bottom of the door. "They're already lining up like a flag-raising squad!""Be patient!" Elian looked for something cheap but high-impact. His eyes landed on the [Consumables] and [Blueprints] categories.[Blueprint: Chemical Bomb (Grade D)][Price: 150 Credits][Description: Simple chemical bomb recipe using ho

It was hot. The wooden floor of the second-floor archive room felt like a giant Teflon pan being heated. Behind the tightly locked iron door, the roaring sound of the fire consuming the remnants of Cosmo Mart’s first floor mixed with the desperate scratching of zombies trying to climb the stairs through the blaze. Elian sat leaning against the wall furthest from the door, sweat soaking his entire body. Not just from the heat of the fire, but from the heat coursing through his veins. The System on his retina flashed aggressively, demanding attention. [Evolution Requirements Met!][Current Class: Intern Cashier (Tier 1)][Eligible for Promotion: Yes][Evolution Cost: 0 Credit (Free for Outstanding Employees)] “Free...” Elian laughed weakly, his eyes closed. “It’s rare for you not to be greedy, System.” In