Chapter 15: Challenge Mode Begins, Instance: Polaris City

Thus, Ryan prepared enough food for two days, along with a crowbar, hunting knife, and other weapons. 

He packed these into his system backpack. 

Ryan noticed a prompt. 

[After entering the instance, the player's system warehouse function will be disabled, only the system backpack can be used.] 

[Current capacity of the system backpack: 30kg] 

Ryan quietly analyzed, "It seems that the amount of supplies a single person can carry is limited. I wonder if it's possible to drive in or to enter and exit multiple times…" 

Finally, only 5 minutes remained until the challenge mode began. 

All players' system panels opened simultaneously. 

[Challenge mode is about to begin. Players wishing to participate should drive into the portal in 5 minutes.] 

[Instance Name: Polaris City] 

[Instance Content]: A small city in a snowy region, with approximately 10,000 survivors remaining in the disaster aftermath. There are weak ordinary zombies that move slowly, but in large numbers. 

[Exploration Content]: Free exploration, NPC quests available, scavenging supplies. 

Suddenly, the players in the chat room erupted with excitement. 

[I'm sure there will be a lot of supplies in the city! Finally, we can scavenge properly.] 

[Are there any players who want to team up? It would be good to have each other's backs.] 

[Hmph, only the weak huddle together for warmth, the strong always go solo.] 

[There are NPCs and zombies in the instance too, I'm not sure if I want to participate. It feels pretty dangerous…] 

[There's nothing to be afraid of. At worst, we can just stay in the car and not get out. The system said the zombies are relatively weak.] 

Many players were eager to seize the opportunity presented by the opening instance. 

They were completely unaware of the hidden dangers lurking within. 

Only Ryan knew that there was a boss in this instance named "Nightmare." 

It had a strong desire to attack and would even actively hunt players. 

If players didn't understand how to counter it, encountering it would almost certainly lead to death. 

At that moment, Ryan received a message. 

He opened it to find it was from his little fan, a player named Lucy. 

[Lucy: Hey, Ryan! Do you want to team up?] 

[Lucy: I'll follow your lead, let's explore the instance together!] 

Ryan smiled and shook his head. He had a decent impression of Lucy, but he still declined. 

[Ryan: Sorry, I'm not looking to team up at the moment.] 

[Ryan: Let's stay in touch, and we can exchange information, maybe we can collaborate on something later.] 

Ryan had too many secrets, so he was destined to go solo. 

Whether it was killing the infected "Mad Rabid Dog" named Candy or ultimately taking down the boss Nightmare, 

both tasks offered rich rewards, and some details couldn't be revealed. 

Lucy didn't get discouraged after being turned down. 

[Lucy: Alright, boss! Stay safe, and let's keep in touch!] 

Just then, about 10 meters in front of Ryan's truck, a blue portal opened up. 

[The instance portal is now open, players should enter as soon as possible.] 

Ryan didn't hesitate, he started the truck and drove into the portal. 

Soon, the surroundings began to change.

When Ryan opened his eyes again, he found himself on a raised bridge. 

A bright moon hung in the sky, and through the car window, he could see the vast city below the bridge. 

Under the bridge, the streets were filled with broken vehicles. 

The buildings lining the street towered into the clouds, but due to lack of maintenance, they had been eroded by time, with broken windows and peeling walls. 

He could see some figures moving on the street. 

They seemed to be wandering aimlessly, their bodies twisted as if they were on drugs. 

This scene perfectly matched Ryan's impression of a zombie apocalypse. 

Ryan estimated the number of zombies: "It doesn't seem like there are many..." 

Looking down at the street, he counted about twenty zombies occupying the area, it wasn't a large number. 

They indeed moved slowly, just as the system had described, and didn't appear to be much of a threat. 

Ryan felt that the behavior of these zombies was a smokescreen intended to lower players' guard, in reality, one careless moment could lead to a life-or-death crisis. 

At that moment, Ryan's headlights lit up behind him. 

He glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a truck approaching from behind. 

It seemed that other players had also arrived. 

He realized he was likely at a spawn point, every player entering the instance would be assigned to a safe location on the outskirts of Polaris City. 

A truck pulled up next to Ryan, and the driver rolled down the window. 

Behind the wheel was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and arms covered in tattoos. 

The man sized up Ryan through the window, noticing his warm-looking clothes, which seemed especially cozy. 

And this guy looked pretty easy to bully… 

Maybe with a bit of intimidation, he could take those clothes for himself. 

"Hey, buddy!" the man gestured for Ryan to roll down his window, seemingly wanting to chat. 

Ryan smiled and nodded but didn't roll down the window. 

He had no intention of engaging with the guy. 

"Alright, kid, you've got some guts." the tattooed man's smile faded, and he felt a bit displeased. 

The man's name was Harrison. 

He had been a school bully since he was young, excelling at tormenting classmates and picking on the weak. 

However, after growing up and finding a job, he had to suppress the malice inside him to maintain his image. 

Harrison worked at the fire department, often using his seniority to bully and oppress the newly hired young employees, though his methods were somewhat restrained compared to his school days. 

After all, this was a game world, devoid of legal and moral constraints. 

He believed in the theory of survival of the fittest and yearned for that kind of life. 

Therefore, upon entering the game, Harrison felt an unprecedented sense of freedom. 

"Kid, you're the first stepping stone on my path to success." Harrison revved his engine and positioned his truck directly in front of Ryan's vehicle. 

Then he picked up a crowbar, got out of the truck, and approached Ryan. "Get out of the car, I have something I want to discuss with you." 

"Ugh, why is someone looking for trouble right after I just got here?" Ryan glanced at the aggressive Harrison and frowned slightly. 

"Did you hear me?" Harrison stepped closer, banging on Ryan's car window forcefully. 

At the sound of a stranger's commotion, Buddy, who had been sleeping in the passenger seat, immediately perked up. 

He became alert, revealing his sharp teeth in anger. 

However, Buddy remained silent, extremely still. 

The dogs that bite usually don't bark, they just launch a sudden attack. 

"I advise you to open the door quickly, I just need to borrow some of your clothes!" Harrison shouted again at Ryan, raising the crowbar in his hand. "If you don't open the door, I'll smash your window!" 

Ryan glanced down at Buddy, who was already poised to strike. 

Seeing Ryan lift his hand, seemingly ready to open the door, Harrison couldn't help but snicker internally. 

This idiot really was a coward. 

Now he could seize all of his supplies! 

Ryan unlocked the passenger side door, and upon seeing this, Harrison yanked the door open. 

Buddy immediately lunged out. 

He opened his massive jaws and bit down on Harrison's face! 

Buddy shook his head vigorously, tearing at the wound to widen it. 

"Ah, ah, ah—" Harrison's miserable screams echoed, "Damn it, what is this thing?" 

The gray wolf was significantly larger than an average dog breed and had immense explosive power. 

In one go, it nearly ripped off half of Harrison's face, causing a torrent of blood to flow into his eyes, temporarily blinding him. 

"Ugh, I doubt there are any rabies vaccines around here." Ryan said as he grabbed the crowbar and approached Harrison. 

Harrison was howling in agony, "Help me, ah, ah, ah, help me!!!" 

He desperately tried to push Buddy away, but being pinned to the ground left him with no strength to do so. 

Trying to hit the dog on the head didn't work either, its skull was as hard as iron, and it only made Buddy bite down even harder. 

Ryan stepped on the man's hand, disarming him of the crowbar. 

Ryan asked, "What did you want when you told me to get out of the car?" 

Buddy was perceptive, noticing Ryan wanted to ask something, he stopped tearing but didn't release his grip, still holding on tightly. 

"I—I just wanted to ask if we could team up or something..." Harrison's voice had grown weak. 

"Team up?" Ryan laughed in disbelief, "If I don't open the door, I'm afraid you'll end up smashing my car." 

Ryan's tone was harsh, prompting Buddy to resume his biting. 

"I'm sorry! I was wrong, I shouldn't have thought about taking your clothes." Harrison was on the verge of tears. "I'm just a damn beast, please spare my life..." 

"A beast can't speak like a human." Ryan said as he turned to leave. "My dog is also a beast, you can communicate with him."