Nightmare Despair

Chapter 2 [Home] and [Roommate]

A few centimeters above the badge, a simple panel popped up in Zhou Kai's field of vision.

[Character: Zhou Kai]

[Status: Fatigue, weakness, infected wound, erosion]

[Skill: None]

[Items: Residence Permit, Homemade Chain Axe (Cannot be upgraded)]

[General Experience Points: 0]

[Erosion Progress: 4/9] (Please avoid death!)

"Game panel?"

Zhou Kai was stunned for only a moment before he noticed the key point.

He was very concerned about the figures on the erosion progress.

4/9!

He died exactly four times...

So, rather than saying he saw the control panel, it's more accurate to say he saw a death countdown.

The most important thing to do now is...

Zhou Kai gripped the cold badge tightly.

Find a place to settle down!
……

The kitchen was filled with the smell of rust and mold.

Zhou Kai searched for a long time and finally found a rusty Western-style kitchen knife.

The blade is long enough, but the center of gravity is ridiculously off; trying to chop with it is simply asking for trouble with your wrist.

Yes, it's better than nothing.

He tucked the kitchen knife into his belt, within easy reach.

Holding the rough chain axe, Zhou Kai stood at the door, staring at the pitch-black rain outside that could drown a person. He remained silent for a moment, then plunged inside.

This dilapidated house, smashed to pieces, is too shabby to even be used as a grave, let alone a "home".

If you want to live, you have to find a more complete shell to shrink into.

Therefore, he had to take the risk.

Although I managed to snag some equipment, thankfully I still have five lives left... Now, it's time to gamble with my life.

Taking advantage of the torrential rain and thunder, and just as the patrolling chain-hammer monster had gone far away.

Safe house found!
Go back to the real world!

Zhou Kai took a deep breath, bent over, stepped into the mud, and rushed toward the outline of the nearest house.

The sound of his footsteps was completely swallowed up by the torrential rain; he couldn't even hear it himself.

The deathly silence, swallowed by the storm, made his heart pound. The monster couldn't hear him, and he couldn't hear the monster's movements either.

Between danger and oneself, there is a thin layer of paper that can be torn at any moment.

A thick bolt of lightning tore through the night sky, its pale light lasting for nearly two seconds.

Zhou Kai had just rushed to the entrance of the nearest building when he subconsciously turned around and glanced back in the light.

In that instant, he saw a furry, four-legged monster slip through the hole in the wall that the chain-hammer-wielding warrior had smashed open and enter the dilapidated house he had just left.

That thing's legs had so many joints that it was terrifying.

Zhou Kai dared not look any longer, and suddenly pushed open the door and squeezed in, his heart almost jumping out of his throat.

Fortunately, fortunately I left early.

Otherwise, you'd be face-to-face with that monster!

"What kind of hell is this place? Monsters are respawning like they're free!"

Zhou Kai raised his hand to wipe the rain off his face.

It's so dark here you can't see your hand in front of your face, and there are no windows...

Or rather, the windows were boarded up.

He couldn't see anything clearly with the help of the lightning outside.

But darkness is both danger and refuge.

The fact that this place is opaque means that the light he lit here will not be detected by anything outside.

"Choose this place as my [home]!"

Zhou Kai stared into the void, silently chanting in his mind.

[Please find furniture that can serve as the 'core of the safe house' before setting it up.]

Soon, subtitles appeared in my field of vision and twitched twice.

Zhou Kai frowned.

Okay, I'll look for it.

He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the waterproof lighter... This place was abnormal from the start because it could bring things from the real world into it.

The lighter wasn't broken. On the third try, with a "click," a cluster of yellow-blue flame shot out.

The light wasn't bright, but it was enough to dispel the sticky darkness within three meters around me.

By the firelight, Zhou Kai immediately spotted the oil lamp with its glass dome blackened by soot on the fireplace.

He picked up the oil lamp and shook it; a sloshing sound came from inside...

It contains oil.

After a few moments of fumbling, the oil lamp was successfully lit.

The flickering flames reflected Zhou Kai's features, bringing a long-lost warmth.

Crunch.

Zhou Kai tried adjusting the focusing metal plate in the oil lamp.

Now, the area illuminated is much larger.

He walked around the living room, and finally, in front of the fireplace filled with bones and damp firewood, a new message popped up on the screen.

"With the fireplace as the core of the safe house, we've chosen this place as our 'home'."

Zhou Kai confirmed in a deep voice.

A magical scene unfolded: the badge in his hand lit up, and the green rust on it instantly faded away, turning into a bright bronze color.

Home setup has been successfully completed.

[Upon rebirth, you will appear directly in front of the fireplace...]

[Your progress and personal status will no longer refresh the next time you enter the Nightmare...]

[When you light the fireplace, it slowly dispels negative influences.]

[Tip: A notarized residence certificate obtained under the Territory Act (Helen Parish) will prevent other residents from easily trespassing on your territory.]

Now you can enjoy a wonderful day with your roommate.

The safe house was set up, and the musty atmosphere inside seemed to have dissipated somewhat.

The fireplace, though filled with bones and rotten wood, exuded an unusual warmth.

"Territorial laws? Those monsters actually obey the law?"

Despite the many doubts, Zhou Kai finally felt relieved.

This time... he's really safe.

and many more!

Suddenly, Zhou Kai's eyes widened.

"What the hell? Roommate?!? I didn't get a roommate!"

The chain axe, which had been drooping, was instantly swung up and draped over his shoulder.

By the dim light of the oil lamp, Zhou Kai warily scanned every inch of darkness around him, his muscles tense, ready to swing the axe in his hand at any moment.

He's determined to find this thing!
Otherwise, what will happen next time they come in?

Nobody likes to be startled and attacked by some random thing as soon as they open their eyes!

"If you can't beat it, escape the nightmare immediately. If you can... then kill it!"

The house was much larger than his original birthplace, with two floors.

The first floor consists of a living room, kitchen, study, and a staircase leading to the basement.

The second floor has three bedrooms and a folding staircase leading to the rooftop storage room.

Zhou Kai quickly scanned the kitchen and living room, but found no trace of any living creature.

Instead, on the kitchen cutting board, next to a pool of fresh blood, they found a fairly sharp short-handled axe.

"Oh, this thing is much better than the shirt chain axe."

Zhou Kai upgraded his equipment and then headed to his study.

The study door was the only one on the entire first floor that was tightly closed.

Zhou Kai held up an axe, pressed it against the door, and listened intently.

A rustling sound, like fabric rubbing against the floor, came from inside.

Zhou Kai's pupils suddenly contracted.

Before he could push the door open, a jagged black bone spur suddenly burst out of the door with a "poof," its tip less than a foot from his nose!
Zhou Kai instinctively leaned back, stumbling several steps before regaining his balance.

Just then, the monster in the study staggered out, its body protruding through the pierced door.

That's right, it's against the door.

The thing looked like a middle-aged man dressed in medieval European noble attire, bald, with a deformed skull, swollen to twice the size of a normal person.

On his left shoulder grew a huge, blackish-red spike, as long as his calf.

Just now, he assumed the Iron Mountain Leaning stance, used this bone spike to smash through the door panel, and launched an attack on Zhou Kai.

(End of this chapter)