NOVEL WEB Chapter 2: Shocking Start
Ethan Quinn stared at his sole sustenance—the foil-wrapped chocolate bar glinting under elevator lights. His throat burned. Across the holographic marketplace, desperation pulsed in crimson trade alerts:
[User_44]: Trading brassiere for half slice bread!
[User_667]: 200ml water → 1kg iron (serious offers only)
The System's monotone interrupted his scrolling:
Primary Objective: Elevator Level 2
Reward: Steel Crossbow + 20 Bolts
He smirked at the chair-fort's splintered remains. Survival math didn't lie—twenty butchered desks barely dented the 100kg iron requirement. A notification blinked:
[Trade Completed: Snake Carcass → 5kg Iron]
"Someone actually bought the damn snake?" Ethan snorted. The chat exploded with new horrors:
[User_115]: Guys I'm bleeding out! Got clawed by...
[User_115's Status Changed: Offline]
[System Alert: Survivor Count -3]
When midnight's descent came, the elevator vomited him into pine-scented darkness. Moonlight revealed the promised wooden chest—and the emerald viper coiled atop it. Ethan's machete flashed.
Thwack!
The decapitated snake body thrashed as he looted the chest: pristine water bottle, dented canister, gold coin gleaming with cryptic runes. Distant water trickled—a phantom stream vanishing into void-black forest edges.
Back in his metal cage, Ethan stared at the viper's twitching halves. The chat's newest frenzy made him choke on his water ration:
[User_892]: Selling fire starters! 1 match = 2kg metal!
[User_309]: STILL mourning my lotto ticket btw
[User_5]: PSA: Zombie bites cause fever in 3...2...
He arranged the gold coin beside his growing arsenal. The elevator's walls now bore claw marks that hadn't existed yesterday—deep grooves glowing faintly green. When the countdown hit [00:00], the System's warning turned his blood to ice:
Next Floor: Mirror Maze
Hazard Level: 3
Note: Reflections may become hostile
Ethan's crossbow materialized with satisfying heft. Outside, the blackboard's crimson slogan bled fresh ink: Survive Hard, Adapt Daily.