As the blazing inferno licked the windows, casting an ominous red glow over everything, the suffocating heat and smoke outside turned the world into a fiery hellscape. The once stable surroundings were now chaotic, with the impending firestorm threatening to consume everything in its path.

Realizing that staying inside any longer would be suicidal, Yujin knew she had to make a move. The inferno was closing in, and the shelter provided by the building would soon become a death trap.

[Warning: 22 seconds until wildfire arrival. Fire shutters are deploying.]

"Better get out of here."

The sight of the advancing flames licking the windows was a stark reminder that time was running out. The entire area was engulfed in a chaotic mix of fire, smoke, and suffocating heat. The sky, glowing red like the end of the world, offered no comfort. The hills burned brightly, a testament to the destructive power of the wildfires.

The oppressive heat and the unstable air currents created by the flames meant that staying here any longer would only lead to death. The vehicles scattered throughout the area would soon be nothing more than fuel for the firestorm, exploding in the intense heat.

Yujin had deliberately chosen to spawn in a less popular, more remote part of the map. While this decision prioritized survival over immediate combat, it didn't mean she was safe. The less populated areas of the map often had lower survival rates, especially with the wildfire encroaching on all sides.

22 seconds was an incredibly short amount of time.

The firestorm was closing in, and the once orderly environment of the facility had become a chaotic mess. The OMEGA virus's spread had led to the abandonment of maintenance, leaving flammable materials scattered throughout the facility.

Flames, almost alive, snaked their way deeper into the facility, as if guided by some malevolent force. The crackling of the fire was audible even through the thick glass, a clear sign that it was time to go. Yujin had already gathered everything she needed; all that was left was to find a way out.

The facility was located near the center of the map, a strategic location that could offer easy kills if she stayed. But no matter how realistic the virtual environment was, the fire still tapped into a primal fear. She had no intention of becoming another victim of the flames.

Yujin opened the door and stepped out of the control room.

The fire shutters in the ceiling started descending, their ominous sound filling the air. The facility was large, with multiple floors, so it took some time to find an exit that wasn’t blocked by the shutters.

Unfortunately, the main exit on the first floor was also sealed off.

"Maybe I should have left earlier."

Breaking a window to escape might work, but Yujin didn’t know the facility’s layout well enough. She began searching the first floor, but the facility's design was anything but user-friendly. With human maintenance long abandoned, the facility had become more of a natural obstacle course, with some doors no longer functioning.

The firestorm continued to approach, the flames casting a dim, red light over everything as the alarms blared. The scene was straight out of a thriller movie, with the flickering lights and the eerie sounds of burning wood.

But this was a game, and Yujin had been playing for so long that fear wasn’t an option. There were no ghosts in the game, and bullets still killed people.

Yet, that was before the loud, unfamiliar noise broke through the chaos.

Boom!

"What the hell was that?"

It didn’t sound like a bomb—it wasn’t loud enough. And it wasn’t just one explosion; the noise was continuous, with each one sounding slightly different from the last. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

Yujin took a deep breath, her finger tightening on the trigger as adrenaline coursed through her veins. The temperature around the building was rapidly increasing, but her hands felt ice-cold.

Should she investigate? Probably not. The area would soon be a kill zone, and it would be better to get outside and take down anyone trying to escape. But the fire shutters made finding an exit difficult. A skill like a sticky bomb could blow through the shutters, but this wasn’t an area where skills were typically activated.

She was back at square one—finding a room with a window to break out of. But that meant exploring more of the first floor.

'I hate moments like this.'

Humans fear what they can’t control, and Yujin was no exception. She had faced situations like this before as a professional gamer for Xi, but she always preferred fighting outside rather than playing hide-and-seek in confined spaces.

In these situations, time was your enemy, and the tension could wear down even the most seasoned players. It felt like her life was being drained away.

Crash! Crunch!

"Who the hell is that? Don’t they ever get tired?"

She muttered quietly, barely audible even to herself.

It felt like she was playing a game of cat and mouse with a monster, and she instinctively clutched her assault rifle tighter. She had a good idea of what was causing the noise, but she didn’t really want to find out.

Halfway through exploring the first floor, Yujin still hadn’t found a window to break. She was probably searching the wrong side of the building, the side facing the mountains.

Reluctantly, she decided to cross the central corridor.

'I have a bad feeling about this…'

She moved quickly, but carefully. Her years of CQB experience kicked in, making her check every corner before advancing. But the feeling of dread kept building, an unease that wouldn’t go away.

She moved silently, scanning her surroundings as she advanced. The central corridor was shaped like a cross, dividing the first floor into four quadrants. The most dangerous part was the cross-section of the corridor, where she’d be most exposed. She planned to sprint across it, quickly checking for enemies as she did so.

She sprinted across, glancing left and right. No enemies in sight.

But something else caught her attention.

"…!"

A fire shutter had been completely destroyed.

A hole just big enough for a person to crawl through revealed the fiery inferno outside, with smoke billowing into the building. Her mind raced to process what she was seeing, but it was too late.

They were already in each other’s range.

Buzz!

A noise from behind her—a presence.

Yujin instinctively rolled to the side as a chilling gust of air brushed past her, followed by the sound of something smashing through concrete.

Turning around, she saw it—a figure backlit by the red emergency lights and the encroaching flames. The figure wore a full set of armor, complete with a gas mask that obscured any trace of emotion. But there was something off—this person wasn’t holding a gun.

They were holding a fire axe.

"Argh!"

Ratatatatat!

Fear—raw and primal—mixed with her muscle memory from countless hours of gameplay. The combination allowed her to fire off a burst of shots, the muzzle flash illuminating the corridor as she sprinted to gain some distance.

Breathing was difficult, but she kept her focus, aiming down the corridor.

The gunfight began.

Both of them exchanged fire from opposite ends of the corridor, but Yujin was at a disadvantage, having already wasted seven bullets earlier. She had to reload first.

The stranger didn’t miss the opportunity.

The sound of heavy boots thundered down the corridor as the axe-wielding figure charged at her with alarming speed. The corridor was about 40 meters long, and Yujin quickly reloaded and aimed.

But what she saw wasn’t the charging figure—it was something flying toward her.

Reacting on instinct, she raised her gun to block.

Clang!

Metal clashed against metal.

She had blocked the object, but the impact was so strong that her arms went numb. Aiming was out of the question, and even if she could, the figure was now almost on top of her.

It felt like getting hit by a truck. The force slammed her into the wall, and she saw the object—a fire axe—spinning in the air before it started to fall.

The figure caught the axe with their left hand and pulled out a dark object with their right—it was a gun.

[Alert: Multiple fractures detected. Self-healing and status effect 'Confusion' will be resolved in 10 seconds.]

Her hands were numb, her strength failing her.

As the figure aimed the gun, Yujin, despite the pain, couldn’t help but notice how oddly out of place the voice that followed was—soft and almost musical, yet slightly muffled by the gas mask.

"Avoiding that attack was impressive."

"…This is…."

This was too much.

By now, it was clear who her opponent was. Only one person was known for these kinds of tactics. Of all people to run into, it had to be Yujin. How could she be so unlucky?

Yujin, seemingly satisfied, glanced at the axe in her left hand before securing it to her backpack and raising her gun.

Seeing this, the player resignedly added,

"If there’s a next time… let’s fight in an open field, please."

"Haha. I’ll keep that in mind."

Bang.

A flash of light was the last thing Yujin saw.