71 Doomsday Diary 1
Trapped in the basement
"Doomsday Diary?"
Everyone looked at each other, and then walked towards the door at the same time.
Because Shi Yuanyuan was impatient, he unconsciously quickened his pace and almost trotted up the upward steps, arriving at the door first.
He took a firm hold, grasped the handle of the weathered-looking wooden door with both hands, and pulled hard.
However, what was unexpected was that this wooden door, which looked broken and fragile on the outside, seemed to be bound by an invisible lock. No matter how hard Shi Yuanyuan tried, it did not move at all, as if it had merged with the door frame.
"Could it be that I opened the door in the wrong direction?"
Shi Yuanyuan muttered to himself, then adjusted his strategy, pushing the door outward with both hands. But the result remained the same: it was as solid as a rock, not even the slightest tremor, let alone a glimpse of the world outside.
At this time, the rest of the people also gathered at the door one after another, looking at each other, implicitly conveying a definite message - they were trapped in this room.
What they were most curious about now was what the outside world looked like. Yan Lan moved closer to the crack in the door, trying to take a look through the gap. However, the room seemed to be separated from the outside world by a thin film. Even though a little light could penetrate from the outside, the outside world could not be seen clearly from inside.
"Everyone, come and look, here is a notebook!"
Just as everyone was gathered in front of the door to study, Luo Wen walked to the door and carefully discovered something unusual.
Everyone looked over and saw an old-fashioned cabinet, half a man's height, to the right of the door. The paint was peeling, revealing several noticeable cracks. Luo Wen was standing next to the cabinet, holding a rather awkward brown-yellow notebook.
This room was probably located semi-underground, with a wooden door extending upwards through several steps. They didn't take the usual route, so they simply jumped down the steps and walked towards the low cabinet.
Luo Wen handed the notebook to Yan Lan as usual.
Yan Lan took the notebook and gently slid her fingertips across the calfskin cover. The cover was delicate and soft, with a good texture. It looked especially brand new, completely different from the dusty room.
When you open the cover, you can see the yellowed paper inside. It’s not because it has been stored for a long time, but because its original color is a light yellow, which reveals a sense of age.
On the first page, four big characters caught the eye.
Yan Lan couldn't help but read out loud: "Doomsday Diary."
This was the key word again, and the others cast inquiring glances at him.
Yan Lan eagerly turned to the second page of her notebook and read under the gaze of her teammates:
"The end of the world has come. The sun no longer warms the earth, and the city gradually falls into ruins. My four friends Ji Zhou and I..."
Seeing the familiar name, she couldn't help but frowned slightly, paused for a moment, and continued after a few seconds of confusion.
"My four friends, Ji Zhou, Shi Yuanyuan, Yuan Zhou, and Luo Wen, and I were out exploring and ended up trapped in this deserted basement. With the chaos and zombies roaming outside, we dared not go out and could only wait for the rescue team to arrive."
"Day 1 of the apocalypse: My companions are all in good condition. There seems to be supplies left by the owner in the basement. Find them and survive."
After reading the first page, Yan Lan turned to the next page, but found it was blank. She looked up at her teammates in front of her, and each of them frowned in thought.
Yuan Zhou rubbed his chin with his hand and broke the silence first: "This plot... reminds me of a text adventure game I played before, which also used the form of a diary to promote the development of the plot.
"Then won't we all be trapped in this dark, damp basement until we clear the customs?" Shi Yuanyuan continued. He looked around, his eyes sweeping over the messy, dusty furniture and discarded items. He couldn't help but raise his hand and gently fan the air in front of him, trying to dispel the dull and musty smell. "This environment is simply suffocating. Can we really survive in a place like this?"
Yuan Zhou pondered for a moment and replied, "If it's the same setting as a text adventure game, then it's likely. However, the game might give us some opportunities to go out and collect supplies. It all depends on how the clues in the diary lead us."
"The latest hint it gave is for us to look for supplies left behind by the owner of the house." Yan Lan looked up and said as she carefully studied the diary in her hand.
"In that case, let's divide the work and look for it." After Ji Zhou said that, he randomly found a corner and began to search carefully. Others followed suit and scattered in different directions.
This basement was quite large, easily imagining it must have been the basement of a luxurious villa before the apocalypse. The hall was spacious, estimated to be around 80 square meters, though unfortunately now it was cluttered with tables, chairs, benches, and a mess of garbage.
"Everyone come here quickly, there is a clock here."
Ji Zhou's voice was a little low. He stood in the middle of the room, looking up at the eye-catching huge clock.
Shi Yuanyuan had been looking down, but he just glanced at it casually and continued to work hard: "Oh, a clock? It would be nice to have a time reference."
"No," Yan Lan stopped what she was doing and walked straight to the clock. She examined it sharply and said coldly, "This clock is running faster than normal."
"What?" Shi Yuanyuan seemed startled. He quickly dropped the items in his hands and hurried to the clock in a few steps. His tone was still a little hesitant. "Could it be that this clock is broken?"
Ji Zhou withdrew his gaze from the clock and shook his head. "It's not broken, it's just that this game level is faster than normal. I just tested it, and the time flow here is three times faster than outside, that is, 1:3. A normal day is 24 hours, but now it's only 8 hours."
"Take a look at your personal attributes. Is your health decreasing much faster than usual?"
Upon hearing this, everyone opened their system interfaces to check, and then exclaimed, "Really! Health points are dropping much faster than usual!"
They had just enjoyed a hearty breakfast and entered the game with their health fully replenished. However, less than 10 minutes had passed and their health had already dropped significantly, something they had never experienced before.
Time flowed faster, and their health decreased accordingly, which undoubtedly meant they needed to replenish their food and water more frequently. However, the three items they carried were weapons, a medical kit, and at worst, cards, with no food or water at all.
Thinking of this, everyone quickened their pace and searched around the dim basement, hoping to find useful supplies as soon as possible.
They rummaged through every drawer and cabinet, searching every inch of the basement carefully, even the rat holes hidden in the corners.
More than ten minutes later, the five teammates gathered in the center of the room with the supplies they had found and sorted them into categories.
After an inventory, the following items were found: three 500ml bottles of mineral water, a piece of dry bread, a packet of rat poison, two candles, an enamel bowl, a lighter, and even a stack of banknotes.
In this survival game, the value of banknotes is not as good as a piece of toilet paper, but the thick stack of red banknotes still attracts everyone's attention like a magnet.
Shi Yuanyuan gently weighed the neatly bundled bills, a look of nostalgia and regret on his face: "If this had been placed before the game started, we could have bought so many good things."
Yuan Zhou and Luo Wen also glanced at the stack of banknotes several times. It was so thick, there must be tens of thousands of dollars.
Ji Zhou ignored Shi Yuanyuan and quietly placed the water and bread aside. He calmly analyzed, "This is our food for the next few days. We must budget carefully and strictly control the daily amount."
Shi Yuanyuan couldn't help but pout upon hearing this, looking somewhat dissatisfied. "Just one dry loaf of bread, five people and a gluttonous elf, how are we supposed to survive? They even said we have to control our intake over the next few days, but I don't think this one meal will even be enough!"
Ji Zhou glanced at him indifferently from the side, looking at him as if he were a fool.
He didn't elaborate, but Yan Lan smiled and said, "Don't worry, didn't I tell everyone I have a magnification skill? I just tried it, and it's still there. As long as there's a little food or water, I can make sure everyone has enough to eat and won't let anyone starve. And the sign-in system isn't banned either, so maybe I can get something good out of it!"
When Shi Yuanyuan heard this, his eyes lit up instantly. He clapped his hands excitedly and said happily, "Yes! How could I forget such an important thing! I still have the job of a delivery man. I can drop a takeaway every day. Add to that Yan Lan's two great powers, and I have nothing to be afraid of!"
After saying that, he shrugged proudly with a confident smile on his face, "Our team is simply an invincible combination!"
Yuan Zhou glanced at him with disdain, and despised his forgetful and fussy character.
With the food problem solved, everyone felt much more relaxed. The focus then naturally shifted to how to get through the customs smoothly.
They looked around the world channel, trying to find other people's experiences to share, but there was nothing but complaints. Perhaps it was because most people who participated in this game were in competition with each other and no one was willing to share.
"Yuan Zhou, haven't you played a similar word game before? Do you have any ideas on how to pass it?" Shi Yuanyuan said as he gently nudged Yuan Zhou beside him with his elbow, his puppy eyes full of anticipation.
Yuan Zhou scratched his head, trying to recall it with a headache. "Oh, I did play a similar word game, but the levels are different from the one I played. I don't think it's very useful as a reference. Besides, it's been so long, I can't remember many details clearly."
Shi Yuanyuan kept shaking his head and said "tsk tsk". Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Yan Lan quickly stepped forward and said, "I do know a little trick to pass the level."
The two were indeed attracted: "Tell me quickly, what are the tips?"
Yan Lan waved her hand. "Ah, these text-based adventure games are all pretty much the same. There are only a few things to beat. First, read the diary carefully and pay attention to the details. Second, proceed cautiously through the diary plot."
Shi Yuanyuan nodded seriously: "Well, that's a good point, but I still have no idea~"
This was only the first day of the game, so they probably wouldn't be able to find any useful evidence. It was estimated that there would be a long battle ahead. They worked together to clear out a piece of open space in the center of the basement, intending to use it as a temporary resting area.
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