Free Web NovelChapter 74: Chapter 74: Are There Really Living People in the Dungeon?
Faye Yardley saw a mix of complex emotions in Yvonne Lynch’s eyes—fear, dread, worry, and pleading.
Just as she was debating whether or not to trust her, the system made the choice.
[Congratulations, Player, for making contact with one of the Dungeon’s key characters, Yvonne Lynch. Dungeon Investigation Progress +5%.]
[Congratulations, Player, for defeating the Second High campus BOSS ahead of schedule. Reward: agility attribute points +1.]
[Dungeon 1 Clear Condition 1: Eliminate over 60% of the zombies within the Dungeon.]
[Dungeon 1 Clear Condition 2: Survive for two days.]
’Damn. Just by finding her, I’m already one big step closer to the truth.’
Yvonne Lynch could be human, or she could just be an NPC. Faye would need to find time later to sort that out.
Under Faye’s cold, unresponsive gaze, Yvonne Lynch finally mustered her courage and asked with tear-filled eyes, "What’s your name?"
"Faye Yardley. I need you to heal my shoulder." frёewebηovel.cѳm
A look of delighted surprise crossed Yvonne Lynch’s face as she nodded repeatedly. She quickly righted a toppled chair and wiped it clean. "Okay. Please, sit here."
The Healing Ability was truly a magical power. Yvonne placed a hand on Faye’s injured right shoulder, and though she made no other movements, Faye felt the wound grow warm and then start to itch. Before long, she couldn’t feel any pain at all.
"It’s... done," Yvonne Lynch said, her face deathly pale. She looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
Faye Yardley instinctively rose and reached out to steady her, only then realizing her right shoulder was completely healed.
"Are you okay?"
Yvonne Lynch gave a faint, weak smile. "I’m... I’m okay. I just overexerted my superpower. I’ll be fine after some rest."
Then Faye Yardley heard Yvonne’s stomach let out a loud RUMBLE.
She took a can of cola and a Delicious Little Bread from her backpack and handed them to her. "Here, eat."
"So you have a Space Ability! You’re so amazing."
"I don’t. Just eat."
With her right shoulder healed, Faye Yardley’s combat strength was back to full. Listening to the incessant growling outside, she decided it was time to go reap a wave of them.
After handing the items to Yvonne Lynch, she walked straight to the door.
Yvonne Lynch looked down at the bread and cola in her hands, then up at Faye Yardley’s fearless back. She pursed her lips, stuffed the bread into her mouth, and popped open the can of cola.
"Yvonne, dear, if the world changes, you have to be brave and learn to take care of yourself."
"Mom, why are you talking like that? I still have you and Dad."
"Have you forgotten? Mom and Dad are leaving on a business trip soon. It’ll just be you and your grandparents at home. You might even have to take care of them. So promise me you’ll be brave and strong when you face trouble. No matter what happens, you have to do everything you can to survive. Here, promise Mom, and I’ll give you a piece of candy as a reward."
"I’m not a little kid anymore."
As Yvonne Lynch recalled this memory, she could almost taste the sweetness of the candy from that day.
She watched Faye Yardley’s back, her own gaze hardening with resolve. ’I... I have to get stronger, too. I have to be brave.’
Faye Yardley reached the door and glanced at a row of windows fitted with security bars. Beyond the school gate, just three meters out, everything was shrouded in fog once more.
Zombies were now clawing at the bars on the outside. They grew inexplicably excited upon seeing her, their claws reaching through the bars and SLAPPING against the glass as if that alone would let them pounce on her and devour her.
Swapping her pistol for a long blade, Faye Yardley shoved the door open and lunged forward. A single horizontal slash lopped off a zombie’s head, and she quickly cleared out the twos and threes that had gathered in front of the security office.
The door closed behind her, and Faye Yardley heard a soft, delicate voice. "I... I can help you fight."
Faye Yardley glanced back over her shoulder and had to fight the urge to scoff. ’You’re trembling while holding a security guard’s rubber baton. Who exactly do you think you can fight?’
Tossing a Basic Long Blade behind her, Faye Yardley said in a cool voice, "Use this."
With that, she raised her own blade and charged at the surrounding zombies.
Yvonne Lynch couldn’t understand how a girl could be so ferocious. She was like a wolf among sheep, dispatching zombies as easily as if they were baby chicks.
But when a zombie lunged at her, she just stood there, stunned and clueless, raising the blade with both hands but not knowing what to do.
SQUELCH!
THUD!
R-R-ROLL...
The head of the zombie that had been lunging toward her rolled to a stop at her feet.
Faye Yardley, blade in hand, said simply, "If you’re not ready to kill zombies, go back to the security office and stay quiet."
Without a backward glance, she sprinted toward the school’s athletic field.
As she charged, the zombies became more agile and restless, swarming toward her from all directions. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Yvonne Lynch’s grip on the blade tightened. ’I... I can do this!’
Surrounded by zombies, Faye Yardley had only a single word in her mind: Kill.
Her bladework grew sharper and more ruthless, yet her movements became lighter and more agile.
Real combat is the best teacher.
Faye Yardley subconsciously began using a breathing technique during the fight. It was awkward at first, but soon the combat no longer interfered with her ability to use it in place of normal respiration.
This greatly improved her combat endurance.
The number of fallen, dismembered zombies piled up. Eventually, Yvonne Lynch, who was trailing on the outskirts and stealthily taking down a zombie or two, could only use the sounds of battle to pinpoint Faye Yardley’s location.
She wanted to move faster, but she couldn’t. A single zombie was enough to send her fleeing in disarray, and it took a huge effort to finally manage a kill.
Faye Yardley had no idea if there were any survivors at Second High besides Yvonne Lynch. She hadn’t heard a single cry for help during her rampage.
She carved a path from the school gate to the athletic field, then to the base of the academic building, and finally charged into the gymnasium. It was a truly satisfying slaughter.
She just kept killing, cutting a path straight through.
[Dungeon 1 Clear Condition 1: Eliminate 60% of Zombies, has been met. You may now choose to leave the Dungeon. Do you wish to leave?]
"No!"
’This damned system hasn’t changed a bit. It’s still just as treacherous.’
’If some clueless newbie got tricked by this prompt and chose to leave, all their work would have been for nothing.’
She found an open spot and sat on the ground, pulling a bottle of fruit juice from her backpack and chugging the entire thing in one go. GULP, GULP, GULP.
Faye Yardley saw a head cautiously poke out from around the corner of Academic Building 3. The moment they saw her, their eyes lit up, and they started running toward her.
Once the person got closer, Faye Yardley spoke first. "Are there any other survivors here besides you?"
Yvonne Lynch stopped in her tracks. She paused for a moment, instinctively turning to look at the academic building before saying uncertainly, "There... there should be, I think."
Faye Yardley "oh"-ed. "So that’s a no."
Yvonne Lynch didn’t understand how she’d reached that conclusion, but she was too afraid to ask.
Faye Yardley had no intention of explaining. Her gaze drifted past Yvonne and up toward the higher floors of the academic building.
The academic building was only four stories high; the tallest building on campus was five.
’If there really were other survivors, it’s very strange that not a single one cried for help despite all the noise I made.’
’So... is Yvonne Lynch really human?’
