Chapter 1: The Dormitory Survival Game, Nightmare Sequence
Xu Lang, male, a first-year student at Clear Sky University, had suffered from nightmares since childhood and was frail and frequently ill, earning him the nickname "Weakling Young Master."
On the first day after winter break ended, he collapsed onto his single dorm bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Though small, his dorm was fully equipped: a charming potted plant, a neat and simple desk, exuding a warm and cozy atmosphere.
Despised by all, even by himself, he thought, if he didn’t treat himself better, what was the point of living?
In a daze, Xu Lang suddenly shivered and woke up.
Outside the window, the world was dark and profound, splattered with blood-red hues, as if a blazing ember had spilled across the sky.
Xu Lang was stunned for a moment, then clicked his tongue in resignation, "Still dreaming. I hate these recurring nightmares the most."
Just then—
A cruel, silent, chilling sound, like a death knell, echoed inside his mind.
[Welcome to the Dormitory Survival Game.]
[In this world shrouded in blood and despair, your dorm is the only sanctuary.]
[Remember, protect your dorm; do not let it be destroyed.]
[Here are the three iron rules of the Dormitory Survival Game—]
[1. The dorm will not collapse before its main door is breached.]
[2. The room owner has absolute control over the dorm; tenants may not attack the owner inside.]
[3. The dormitory building will persist indefinitely.]
[Please begin your performance: survive, survive, survive!!!]
"Am I going mad, or is the world going mad?" Xu Lang rubbed his eyes, noticing a stream of blood mist seeping into the dorm.
In an instant, the entire dorm rapidly transformed.
The paint on the walls cracked and weathered, the desk dissolved, the incandescent light bulb turned into a solitary hanging lamp... Except for the lack of dust, it looked just like a haunted house abandoned for decades.
At the same time, the Dormitory Survival Game’s voice rang out again.
[Chatroom activated.]
[Marketplace activated.]
[Information panel activated.]
[Game countdown: 1 day. Current scenario: “Zombie Outbreak,” lasting 5 days, with monster strength gradually increasing.]
...
Xu Lang quickly calmed down and clicked on the flashing chatroom icon in his field of vision.
[88 Cao Bin: Damn, what’s going on? Is this novel turning into reality?]
[32 Ye Fan: I’m the real protagonist—my name says it all!]
[177 Wang Haoran: Xiao Ye, your urgent task now is to uninstall some novel.]
[144 Wan Lei: Buddha bless, I hope to get home safely and see my parents.]
[32 Ye Fan: Last-minute cramming—sometimes I’m really scared of you foot fetishists.]
[200 Xu Lang: ,,,]
The chatroom buzzed with various messages. Xu Lang tentatively sent one and found he could type with his mind, with almost no errors.
Besides that, he could click on usernames to add friends.
The number before each name was their dorm room number.
"This is real. The apocalypse has truly arrived!!!"
Suddenly, a hysterical shout erupted outside.
Like a starting gun, it sent all the students in the dorms rushing out en masse.
In moments, the hallway was packed with people!
Xu Lang’s heart tightened; he quickly backed against his door, fearing someone might break in.
But it turned out he was overthinking.
Dorm 200 was completely ignored.
Leaning against the door, Xu Lang opened his personal info panel.
[Player: Xu Lang]
[Status: A vulnerable crawler who could die anytime]
[Room Number: 200 (Owner)]
[Attributes: Constitution 4, Mental 6]
[Skills: None]
[Backpack 1/3: Beginner’s Gift Pack]
[Currency: Copper 0, Silver 0, Gold 0]
...
[Congratulations on meeting the prerequisite; you have awakened the ‘Nightmare Sovereign’ sequence!]
[Sleeping earns Nightmare Coins, which can enhance all things. The comfort level of your sleep increases the conversion rate of Nightmare Coins!]
[Current Nightmare Coins: 0]
“Nightmare Sovereign?”
Xu Lang was inwardly amazed.
Just then, a sudden creak behind him startled him. Turning around, a panel popped up in his field of vision.
[Worn Wooden Door]
[Type: Facility]
[Level: 0]
[Defense: 4]
[Durability: 12/13 (Repair requires Wood x1)]
[Disassembly yields: Wood x8]
[Upgrade Requirement: 10 Nightmare Coins]
[Description: Ouch, due to someone’s heavy leaning, my durability dropped a bit. Call me the unfortunate door.]
This panel resembled his personal info panel, like a youthful fringe—if you paid attention, it made its presence felt, discomforting; if not, it faded away. Its triggering was smart.
“Can this wooden door really hold off zombies...” Xu Lang twitched at the corner of his mouth, peeking through the peephole at the noisy crowd outside, then pushed the bed against the door and prepared to lie low.
The zombies would arrive in a day; he needed to sleep as much as possible.
The dorm door was strange—it had no lock, and there were no windows. It was completely sealed.
This oddly comforted Xu Lang.
[Nightmare’s Lonely Little Bed (Permanently Bound)]
[Type: Facility]
[Level: 0]
[Durability: ???]
[Comfort: 10 (increases Nightmare Coin conversion rate by 10%)]
[Effect (Sleep): The Nightmare Sovereign gains 5 Nightmare Coins for every full hour of sleep, limited to 8 hours per day.]
[Effect (Permanent): Cannot be dismantled or detected. If damaged, the Nightmare Sovereign can summon it again.]
[Upgrade Requirement: 200 Nightmare Coins]
[Description: Starting off with a bed is already pretty good; better lie low and develop.]
...
Bang bang!
After an unknown length of sleep, someone suddenly kicked the door several times.
Two male voices came through.
“Xu Lang, dead or alive? The teacher told you to assemble, why didn’t you go? Didn’t you see the messages in the chatroom? Are you blind?!”
“Forget it, forget it... Xu Lang, are you home? If not, we’re leaving. Okay, we can leave. Just tell the teacher he’s not here.”
“Unbelievable, I even had to run all the way up to the tenth floor to call him!” The first boy shouted loudly, then kicked the wooden door hard again.
Then, the sound of their footsteps faded away.
Disturbed from his peaceful sleep, Xu Lang frowned deeply.
He knew those two.
The one kicking the door was Zhou Tao; the other was Huang Hao. Both were usually lively and liked to intimidate others.
Xu Lang had never gotten along with them. Hearing their voices made him not want to respond, and now, with them kicking his door, he felt even worse.
[Worn Wooden Door]
[Durability: 11/13 (Repair requires Wood x2)]
Damn, the durability really dropped!
Xu Lang pursed his lips and pulled up the chat history.
Not much had happened; the main thing was that someone had died.
A student had tried to approach the blood mist outside but was bitten in the head by a monster right at the edge.
One bite, swallowed whole!
The corpse was dragged into the blood mist.
Some people had taken photos of the headless body and posted them in the chatroom. Just a glance made one’s sanity plummet.
For a time, panic spread. Under the homeroom teacher’s call, everyone gathered together and built defenses outside the dormitory.
“So a death really happened. No wonder Zhou Tao was so angry... but that still doesn’t justify kicking my door!”