Free Web NovelChapter 32: Chapter 32: Dungeon 3 (2)
[Dungeon 3 Clear Condition 1: Eliminate over 80% of the city’s zombies.]
[Dungeon 3 Clear Condition 2: Discover the cause of the zombie infection in this city.]
[Dungeon 3 Clear Condition 3: Survive here for three days.]
Large hordes of zombies were converging on the dilapidated city. Without a weapon of mass destruction, the chances of eliminating over 80% of them were slim to none.
The second clear condition wasn’t easy, either. They had no leads, and in a city this devastated, ’Would there really be any intact records left for them to find?’
Even if there were, the city was massive, and they would constantly be under threat of zombie attacks. Finding any records would be incredibly difficult.
Even the third option—surviving for three days—wasn’t so simple. They would at least need to find a defensible position to use as a stronghold.
This was all easy enough to figure out.
Zachary Pierce surveyed their current position. "We need to move, and fast."
Faye Yardley, of course, had no objections. But perhaps due to her incredibly high Luck Value, she stumbled the moment she walked into the lobby. Gavin Donovan steadied her, and she immediately pointed at the ceiling. "Tha— Quick, look! There’s writing on the ceiling."
The other four looked up.
Sure enough, there was a written clue hidden in the ceiling’s decorative pattern. Most of the text, however, had been wiped away.
[The party has obtained a fragmented clue: ...a series of explosions... countless casualties, countless buildings destroyed... a great fire... a living hell... Flee! Flee! Get out!]
"Explosions and a huge fire... that’s a clear lead," Finn Ford said, beginning to circle the lobby in search of other clues. "We should search the city for a place where a series of explosions would likely occur."
But there was nothing—not even a scrap of paper. The lobby’s long bar counter had also been smashed to pieces long ago. freewebnoveℓ.com
But Faye Yardley, who had just been steadied by Gavin Donovan, easily spotted something Finn Ford and the others had completely missed.
"Hey, Mr. Pierce," she called. "Look over by the staircase. Is that a loose panel?"
Finn Ford dashed over, looking high and low. "Where? Yardley, where’s the panel you’re talking about?"
Faye Yardley walked over and, to Finn Ford’s utter disbelief, kicked the base of the first step right against the wall. A section caved in, revealing a small wooden box inside.
"Allow me," Zachary Pierce said, stepping forward.
Faye Yardley shook her head, crouching down to retrieve the box herself. She opened it to find a perfectly preserved map inside.
Unfolding the map, they saw that three locations were marked with black X’s: the City Museum, the City Science and Technology Museum, and University City.
"Those three places are pretty far apart, and we don’t have any transportation," Caleb Colby said, looking at the map. He figured that on foot, they’d never be able to search all three locations in just three days.
Zachary Pierce recalled the view from the rooftop and compared it to the map. He pointed to a spot. "We’re roughly here, closest to the Science and Technology Museum. We’ll head that way. There are a lot of tall buildings in that direction. Even if some have partially collapsed, they should be good enough for a stronghold. Let’s aim for the most basic clear condition."
Faye Yardley immediately handed him the map. ’It couldn’t be helped; she couldn’t read maps, let alone use one to find her way.’
Once they confirmed there was nothing else to find, the five of them pushed open the main doors, which already had a broken lock. A cloud of dust billowed out, and the foul, stinking air that followed was almost enough to knock them out cold.
They expected to run into zombies right away, but there were none in sight.
Zachary Pierce led the way, but their path was frequently blocked by collapsed buildings.
"Pierce, we need to pick up the pace. It feels like the zombie horde is speeding up," Finn Ford said after pressing his ear to the ground for a moment.
At that moment, Faye Yardley suggested timidly, "Why don’t you all follow me?" freewёbnoνel.com
Zachary Pierce turned to her. "Alright, Yardley. Which way should we go?"
"Let’s cut straight through that ruined building over there," Faye Yardley said, pointing to a half-collapsed structure that looked ready to crumble at any moment.
Caleb Colby looked skeptical, but Zachary Pierce chose to trust Faye Yardley’s luck. After all, following her clearly led to more discoveries, whereas he could only guarantee they would reach their destination.
As for Gavin Donovan, he would naturally follow his boss wherever she went.
They jumped in through a broken window. Surprisingly, the inside was relatively clean, with intact tables and chairs. After passing through an inner doorway, they saw the upper half of a mummified corpse pinned beneath a collapsed concrete wall.
"The corpse is holding something. A ring..." Faye Yardley started to move closer for a better look, but Gavin Donovan was a step ahead. He swung his blade, severing the corpse’s hand at the wrist. The hand actually twitched a few times before finally going still.
Gavin Donovan pried the hand open. In its palm was a clear glass sphere containing a tiny green sprout. He then yanked the ring off its finger and, without a second glance, handed both items to Faye Yardley.
Strangely, nothing had happened while the items were in Gavin Donovan’s possession. The moment Faye Yardley took them, however, everyone heard a system prompt.
[This is a seed that preserves hope. Bring it to where it belongs.]
[This is a ring of special significance.]
Caleb Colby stared at Faye Yardley, his face a mask of disbelief. ’This defies all logic, doesn’t it?’
Faye Yardley said, "It’s probably because I’m the one who activated the Dungeon. As the party leader, I must trigger prompts for certain special items."
"Got it, Yardley. Next time, we’ll be sure to hand any items to you first," Caleb Colby said immediately.
Faye Yardley tried to store the glass bead—the seed of hope—in her inventory, but she kept getting a "Storage Failed" notification. So, she just stuffed it into the upper left pocket of her jacket.
When she put the ring on her finger, she was surprised to get a notification: [Agility +1].
"Whoa, it’s actual equipment! That’s just unfair," Caleb Colby exclaimed. He glanced at the still-expressionless Gavin Donovan. ’He’s so young, but he’s completely stone-faced. Is his face paralyzed or something?’
Despite the chatter, the five of them quickly stowed the salvageable tables and chairs in their inventories before leaving.
They went down one floor of the ruined building and easily exited through a balcony.
The scene on the other side of the building was even more horrific. A massive pile-up completely blocked the road. Not a single vehicle was intact; they were all dented and mangled, and some were even smashed completely flat as if crushed by something immense.
Although they could still see scattered, dried bloodstains, the area felt like it had been abandoned for a very long time.
Zachary Pierce quickly scanned the area to get his bearings, then gave an order. "Donovan, keep an eye on Yardley. We’ll follow this blocked road straight ahead."
GGRRHH!
GGRRHH!
"Watch out!"
BANG!
