Chapter Three: The Mysterious Camp and the Battle of the Guardians

"I feel the same..." "Me too!" "That's right, exactly," "..."
In the end, everyone realized they had arrived in the same way: all of them came here only after dying...
"Let's not worry about that for now. The most important thing is to figure out our current situation!" Chen Ling raised his voice, addressing the people in the room.
"I bet it's some sort of survival game in a locked room..." A middle-aged man with deep-set eyes pressed his ear against the wall, speculating aloud, then shook his head, dismissing his own theory. It wasn’t strange for someone to lean against the wall lost in thought—he claimed to be a mystery novelist, so it was natural he'd have such ideas.
"I think..." "Could be..."
Watching the argument unfold, Chen Ling, the novelist, and the university student all shook their heads.
A mechanical hum interrupted their dispute. Machines at the front of the room roared open, revealing not the monsters or humans others had feared, but simply a passageway.
"Should we go or not?" Liu Wei scratched the back of his head, uncertain. The group was split into two factions: one led by the university student, advocating for advancing, and the other led by the corpulent boss, Chang Fugui, preferring to wait. The debate grew heated until Chen Ling intervened, saying, "Is there any need to argue here? Those who wish to go, go; those who don’t, do as you please! Zhang Long, let's move!" Without another word, Chen Ling led Zhang Long, the university student, and three others who wanted to press forward into the passage.
"Boss, they've gone ahead, should we..." Chang Fugui's male assistant asked nervously.
"Shut up! If they want to die, let them! You idiot! Useless fool! Do you understand?" As Chen Ling's group entered the passage, only half the people remained in the room. Anger surged in Chang Fugui's heart, and he vented it on his assistant.
"Yes, yes, I understand, boss!" The assistant replied, head lowered, cautious. They say a cornered dog will leap over a wall, but unfortunately, this assistant was more rabbit than dog—timid and fearful.
On Chen Ling's side, nothing happened as they'd feared: no monsters suddenly appeared, no one vanished mysteriously. Their journey was uneventful.
"There's light ahead! We're almost at the exit," Chen Ling, leading the group, was the first to spot a glow. A team member rushed forward, eager, but fortunately was stopped by Xing Ye, the novelist whose real name and pen name were both Xing Ye. Chen Ling had once been his reader.
"Why are you stopping me? We see the exit—what's there to be afraid of?" The team member struggled, questioning Xing Ye. Thankfully, Liu Wei stepped up to hold him back, otherwise he would have broken free. The urge to survive surpasses courage!
"Do you realize you could've gotten us all killed? What if there's a trap? Even if you burst through, do you know what awaits outside?" Chen Ling grabbed the man's collar, his cold gaze making the team member tremble, staring back with quivering lips, unable to speak.
Seeing the team member nearly terrified out of his wits, Chen Ling snorted and let him go. The reckless man suddenly knelt, trembling, and pleaded, "...It was my mistake, please forgive me, spare me..." His dramatic kneeling was so exaggerated that even Chen Ling was speechless—what was the point of kneeling?
Before Chen Ling could help him up, a male voice called out from ahead, "Hey! Is anyone inside?" The voice was loud—a man of considerable presence, no doubt!
And now, there was no need for Chen Ling to help—the kneeling team member sprang up and sprinted toward the exit, shouting, "Someone! I'm here!" between sniffles... Chen Ling watched, impressed by his acting and reaction speed.
"Let's go! Since someone is out there, it shouldn't be a problem. Though sometimes, people can be more frightening..." Chen Ling muttered the last words to himself.

Stepping out of the passage, Chen Ling was confronted with a vast open space, surrounded by seven exits identical to the one they came through. He immediately spotted the "master actor" among the crowd. For some reason, a chill ran down Chen Ling's spine; turning around, he found a group of women staring at him with hostility and venom... He hadn’t offended anyone, so why did their eyes seem to wish him a thousand deaths? Chen Ling lamented inwardly.
More groups arrived, and Chen Ling spoke in detail with the leaders of other teams. No useful information was exchanged; the only thing learned, both useful and not, was that everyone here was supposed to be dead, transported at the brink of death.
"Well? Did you find anything?" Returning to his group, Zhang Long sidled up to ask. The others, including the usually taciturn Xing Ye, were equally interested.
"The conclusion is, we were all transported here at the moment of death. In other words, we are all supposed to be dead—all of us here!"
This news was both significant and insignificant, but it failed to catch the attention of the three; everyone waited for more.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Why aren’t you saying anything?" Chen Ling, unsettled by Liu Wei's gaze, rubbed his nose and asked.
"Just keep going with the news!" Liu Wei complained.
"That's all!" Chen Ling shrugged.
"That's all?!" The group eyed him suspiciously, as if he were deceiving them.
"That's all—you think they know much more?" Chen Ling replied, pursing his lips.
"Humans! You need not make any more futile guesses! The will of the gods is beyond your comprehension... All you must do is survive. That's all I care to say; the rest you’ll learn in time, if you live long enough..."
"Stop deceiving us; I see through it all! Come out, don't keep hiding! Don't think I'm as foolish as the others!" A man with a sly face shouted arrogantly from the crowd, instantly provoking outrage among the masses.
"Human, you will pay for your arrogance! In the name of the gods, I grant you death!" With a command, the sly man vanished into thin air.
"Ahhh!" A girl in a pink military uniform screamed as she witnessed the man's sudden disappearance.
"Silence, human! What I detest most is your ignorant and arrogant nature—so hateful! I have no pity for you!"
"I’ve spoken so long, I nearly forgot to introduce myself. My name is 'World.' In your language, you may call me 'GM,' and you are the players... The game is about to begin. Each of you may choose a weapon or enhance your physical abilities. Those who haven't appeared are of no concern to you."

After the GM finished, silence ensued. Chen Ling noticed that he and the others now had a wristband on their arm, the size of an armor summoner from an animated show. When he touched the wristband, an image appeared in his mind. "Welcome, player Chen Ling, to the game!" Ten bold characters and a vivid voice echoed in his mind... Impressive! The moment the wristband activated, everything became clear; no one doubted a thing. Evidence is the best explanation!
"Player Chen Ling, please choose your beginner reward." Instantly, two options appeared in Chen Ling's mind: First, increase physical strength; second, bullet weapon.
Physical enhancement would likely be permanent, but firearms were tempting too... Wait! The GM said "bullet weapon" but didn’t specify the number of bullets. Was this a trap? Chen Ling shook his head, dismissing the suspicion—the GM had no reason to sabotage players. Better to ask first. With his mind made up, Chen Ling asked the GM mentally, "How many bullets are included with the reward weapon?"
"Handgun: six magazines, ten bullets each. Rifle: two magazines, thirty bullets each. Sniper rifle: three magazines, five bullets each (Note: sniper rifle power is three times that of handgun/rifle; range is ten times a handgun, five times a rifle). Players may purchase bullets with soul coins obtained from killing monsters. Black coin exchange rate: standard bullets 1:1, sniper bullets 3:1. Further exchanges are unavailable until the required level is reached."
The GM provided a detailed answer, but further exchanges were limited by level. As expected, the system allowed for bullet acquisition... With that clarified, Chen Ling chose the rifle after much deliberation and the GM’s countdown. After exiting the wristband interface, Chen Ling observed the choices of those around him—it was clear most people opted for weapons. Compared to the others, Chen Ling’s group was different: Liu Wei, Xing Ye, and Zhang Long all chose physical enhancement (the master actor was excluded).
Liu Wei was about to say something, but the GM interrupted before he could speak...
"Ten, nine, eight... two, one! The novice scenario 'Mystery Camp' is now open. Players must defend the open ground for three hours. If all are wiped out, the mission fails and all are erased!"
"If we're all dead, what’s the point of erasing us?" People cursed quietly after hearing the GM’s announcement. Chen Ling used the time to inspect his rifle.
"We need a plan, or we risk total annihilation! No one knows what will happen. If you want to survive, follow my lead: riflemen up front, handguns next, then those with physical enhancements, and snipers last!" Chen Ling called out, but no one was willing to listen, especially the riflemen!
"Why should we riflemen be at the front? Why not those without weapons?" a burly man with a rifle protested loudly.
"Exactly!" The other rifle-wielders agreed.
For a while, chaos reigned, arguments breaking out everywhere. Chen Ling shook his head in silence. After thinking carefully, he shouted, "Enough! If you don’t want to die, follow your team leader’s orders!"
At last, the method was adopted, and the arguments ceased.
"Look, the ground is shaking!" Suddenly, a girl at the edge of the open space screamed. Chen Ling and the others felt it too—a creature’s movement was strong enough to make the ground tremble?!
At the same time, a message came from the GM, "Players, the game timer begins! The first boss, 'Savage,' leads low-level zombies in attack. Prepare yourselves!"
Immediately after, mechanical sounds followed... The steel city wall at the front of the crowd opened...