Chapter 007: Deadly Intent at Dawn

For Su Cheng, who was accustomed to using Payment Bird and WeChat Wallet back in his home country, seeing one million yen in cash laid out before him was a rather staggering sight.

With money in hand, the next step was to prepare weapons and equipment for the dungeon. In Su Cheng’s mind, the best weapon was obviously a powerful firearm; even a small pistol would have made facing those zombies in the ramen shop’s cafeteria much easier last time. If he had something as destructive as a shotgun or submachine gun, he could sweep through hordes of zombies with ease.

Unfortunately, Japan’s gun control laws were exceedingly strict. Not only was it impossible for an ordinary overseas student like him, but even wealthy heirs with influence could never hope to acquire such large-scale lethal weapons. In short, firearms were absolutely forbidden in Japan.

Ruling out guns, Su Cheng searched online for information about Japanese swords. His character skills included only an E-level specialization in swordsmanship, making Japanese swords the most suitable choice.

In fact, “Japanese sword” is a general term outsiders use for traditional Japanese blades, which vary by shape and size—such as tachi, katana, tanto, and wakizashi. Each blade type had its own purpose: the wakizashi, for instance, was a short sword used by ancient samurai for stabbing through armor gaps and close-quarters combat, often carried on their person and favored for indoor or confined spaces.

To assemble a set of finely crafted Japanese swords would cost at least several million yen; some blades forged by famed Kyoto artisans went for prices that would frighten anyone. With the funds he had, Su Cheng could only selectively pick a few practical tachi and tanto.

So, on his way home, Su Cheng visited several renowned traditional sword shops in Tokyo, choosing one expertly forged long tachi and three short tanto.

His purchase list was as follows:

One Ryu Gensai Shadow Chrysanthemum Crest Tachi, length 108cm, price 280,000 yen.

Three Ryu Gensai Shadow Chrysanthemum Crest Tanto, length 28cm, price 180,000 yen.

In addition to melee weapons, Su Cheng also ordered an MP9 military anti-terror sniper crossbow online. He chose the crossbow because compared to bows, it was simpler to operate, easier to shoot, and had a higher hit rate; at close range, its lethality was terrifying.

The MP9 sniper crossbow is usually used by special forces for unique missions and hunting large beasts, its power even greater than a pistol. If he were only dealing with wild rabbits or pheasants, a regular crossbow would suffice. But Su Cheng was facing terrifying zombies and various monsters that were hard to kill—he needed a weapon with immense destructive power.

It took considerable effort for Su Cheng to acquire the MP9 anti-terror sniper crossbow; if the Japanese police caught him with it, he’d surely be invited to the police headquarters for a “coffee chat.” But at this point, he had no choice but to take things one step at a time.

After purchasing the swords and crossbow, most of the million yen was spent. With the remainder, Su Cheng went to a wilderness survival gear shop and bought a helmet, elbow guards, and knee pads, finally obtaining a police-grade bulletproof vest through Chu He’s connections.

Although a bulletproof vest might not do much against zombies and monsters capable of tearing prey apart, it was still better than nothing. Having absorbed the energy from the soul crystal, Su Cheng’s physical strength and stamina had noticeably improved, but he was still within the bounds of normal human capability. To face those terrifying monsters with mere human flesh was clearly a recipe for disaster.

In just two days, Su Cheng had frantically assembled an arsenal, spending every last yen. But for him, as long as he survived in the game, it was all worth it.

At exactly 8:00 PM, his phone screen suddenly dimmed, and a grim black skull appeared.

“The game instance will open in four hours at Sakura Private High School. Players, please proceed to the location in time. Note: If the player cannot arrive at the designated location by the specified time, the character will be deleted.”

Sakura Private High School?

Unexpectedly, the hellish game this time wasn’t a sudden ambush; it gave him four hours to prepare. However, judging by the game’s notorious style, having a character deleted would certainly affect the player’s real-world existence. Su Cheng wasn’t about to take that risk. He calmed himself, then began packing.

Su Cheng stuffed two cans of Yunnan Baiyao spray, a box of hemostatic dressings, and several bottles of painkillers into his tactical waist pack, donned his police bulletproof vest, helmet, and knee pads, then pulled on a windbreaker over his gear. He placed the tachi and sniper crossbow into his backpack, and after making sure everything was ready, opened the apartment door and stepped outside.

As he exited, he happened upon the middle-aged programmer uncle returning from overtime at the company.

During his days at the apartment, Su Cheng hadn’t seen much of this programmer uncle; his work seemed busy, often requiring overtime, and he usually returned around eight or nine in the evening.

Su Cheng only knew the programmer uncle’s name was Yasui Hikaji, working alone in Tokyo with no relatives or friends, and still single in his thirties.

“Good evening.”

“Heading out this late?” Yasui Hikaji glanced at the fully geared Su Cheng, who looked as if he were going camping, and expressed mild surprise.

“Yes, I have something important to take care of.”

After exchanging greetings, Su Cheng slipped out of the apartment, caught a cab downstairs, and sped toward Sakura Private High School.

Once Su Cheng had left, Yasui Hikaji’s gaze lingered on the flickering taillights, his face showing a complicated expression. “A player, huh? Heading toward Sakura Private High School... This instance won’t be easy. I hope he survives.”

The taxi cut through Tokyo’s bustling streets, stopping at the gates of Sakura Private High School an hour later.

On the way, Su Cheng had researched information about the school. It was a prestigious institution in Tokyo, famous for its noble student body and nationwide top university placement rates; only children from wealthy families attended.

But at this hour, there were no students—only tightly closed gates and a deathly silence within, the atmosphere particularly eerie.

“The game this time must be set in this school.”

With ten minutes left before the instance began, Su Cheng downloaded a map of Sakura Private High School onto his phone, then took out his tachi and sniper crossbow from his backpack.

“Hm? Someone’s coming.”

At that moment, Su Cheng noticed a group of young men and women, chatting and laughing as they approached the school, their flashlights cutting through the gloom.

“This place feels really scary. Reiko, do you think any terrifying monsters will jump out later?” A short-haired girl, looking frightened, clutched her companion’s hand and spoke timidly.

“Don’t worry, Moe. Reiko will protect you.” The college-aged girl, brimming with confidence, patted her flat chest. Yet Su Cheng noticed her expression seemed a bit strained, as if she were nervous.

A delinquent youth with dyed green hair swaggered forward, wielding a baseball bat and striking a home-run pose, swinging the bat at the air several times. “A bunch of brainless zombies? Watch me, Shiohara Shio, knock them flying with one swing.”

Su Cheng’s expression shifted slightly; clearly, these people weren’t here for sightseeing. There was only one explanation—they, like him, were players in this horror game.

In other words, this time, the game was a multiplayer team instance.

What unsettled him was that, according to typical game logic, the more participants in an instance, the higher the difficulty. This instance was likely to be even more dangerous than the zombie cafeteria.

Yet none of the other players seemed to realize this. They carried only flashlights and baseball bats, and some girls had come empty-handed—true, naïve newbies.

“Reiko, look, there’s another player over there! His tachi looks so cool,” the short-haired girl exclaimed, her eyes shining as she spotted the fully armed Su Cheng.

Her cry drew the group’s attention to Su Cheng.

“Hmph, just a zombie game—why act like you’re going to war? What an idiot,” Shiohara Shio, feeling upstaged by Su Cheng, spat disdainfully.

“Shio, he might be a pro. We shouldn’t mess with him,” said a long-haired youth beside Shiohara, cigarette dangling from his lips, grinning slyly. His words were clearly meant to provoke.

“Heh, I’d like to see just how skilled this ‘pro’ really is.”

Shiohara Shio, evidently unconvinced, glared at Su Cheng with hostility.

“Looks like I’ve become a target,” Su Cheng smiled wryly, unconcerned by Shiohara’s attitude. Idiots who are arrogant, reckless, and easily manipulated rarely survive past three chapters.

At that moment, the flat-chested female player beside the short-haired girl came over and confidently extended a small hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Reiko Sato. Let’s get along.”

Su Cheng didn’t shake hands; he merely nodded in greeting.

Reiko Sato withdrew her hand awkwardly, murmuring, “Don’t mind Shiohara Shio. He just likes to brag.”

Su Cheng nodded, though he paid more attention to the long-haired youth named Maruyama Kotaro.

Midnight struck. The gates of Sakura Private High School slowly opened, and a sinister, terrifying aura spread through the empty campus.

The screen on Su Cheng’s phone changed, displaying blood-red text.

Current scene: Dead by Dawn.

Difficulty: Two stars

Number of players: twelve

Clear condition: Before dawn, escape the “Butcher’s” pursuit and find the key hidden in the school to open the escape route and flee.

Su Cheng keenly sensed the surrounding environment twist, then a wave of black mist enveloped the school.

The game had begun.