Chapter 1 Tutorial Start
*00:00:00 AM*
The night was silent.
Too silent.
There was no wind stirring the curtains. No cars passing on the street below. No insects, no distant voices, not even the faint hum of electricity that should have filled an apartment at midnight. It was as if the entire city had been unplugged.
Líng Yī lay on his bed, half-asleep, scrolling through his phone with tired eyes. The blue light reflected off his face. His thumb moved on instinct, flicking past news, memes, videos.
Then—
_Vzzz._
His phone vibrated.
A new message slid onto the lockscreen. No sender. No number. Just white text on black.
`[You have been invited to the Infinity Loop.]`
`[Accept? Y / N]`
Líng Yī frowned.
“Another spam game ad?” he muttered.
These pop-ups had been getting worse recently. Some kind of ARG, maybe. Or a phishing scam disguised as horror. He’d seen dozens like it on forums.
He stared at the screen for two seconds. Then, without thinking much, his thumb tapped.
`Y`.
The moment his finger lifted—
The world vanished.
Not a flicker. Not a gradual fade to black.
One second he was in his bedroom. The next, there was only darkness. A darkness so complete it felt like his eyes had been gouged out.
When awareness returned, Líng Yī felt weightless. As if his body was floating in water. Then cold air brushed against his skin, raising goosebumps.
He opened his eyes.
And his breath stopped.
He was standing in a hall.
A hall so vast it had no end. The ceiling was lost in swirling white fog. The walls did not exist. The floor beneath his feet was smooth, cold, and reflected nothing. It felt like polished stone, but it gave off no sound when he shifted his weight.
Nineteen other people stood around him.
Some were screaming. Some were crying. Some were staring with wide, empty eyes, as if their minds had short-circuited. A girl in pajamas was clutching her chest and hyperventilating. A middle-aged man was shouting into the fog, demanding to be let out.
Then a voice came.
It did not come from speakers. It did not come from any direction. It came from everywhere at once.
Calm. Emotionless. Absolute.
`[Welcome, Player 021.]`
`[You have entered the Tutorial Stage of the Infinity Loop.]`
The voice continued without pause, like a machine reading a manual.
`[Rule 1: Death in this world is permanent.]`
`[Rule 2: Completing stages rewards Points. Points can be exchanged for strength, items, and survival advantages.]`
`[Rule 3: The only escape from the Loop is clearing the final stage.]`
`[Warning: The number of stages is unknown.]`
A blue holographic panel flickered into existence in front of Líng Yī.
It hung in the air, translucent, like a system window from a game.
NAME: Líng Yī
LEVEL: 0
TALENT: [D-Rank] Observation
→ Enhances perception of details by 20%
POINTS: 0
Líng Yī’s eyes narrowed.
He had read enough novels to know what this meant. A system. A tutorial. A death game.
Before anyone could react, a boy near the center of the hall suddenly stepped forward. His face was red, his fists clenched.
“This is kidnapping!” he shouted, voice shaking. “Do you think you can just drag people here? I’ll call the police! I’ll sue! Let me out right now!”
Silence.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then the voice returned.
`[Player 007 has violated Rule: Panic Induction is prohibited.]`
The boy froze.
His eyes widened. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.
And then—
His body crumbled.
Not into blood. Not into flesh. Into dust. Fine, gray dust that scattered across the cold floor and was swallowed by the fog.
In less than three seconds, a living human being had been erased from existence.
_Thud._
Where he had stood, there was nothing. Not even a shadow.
The entire hall fell into a silence deeper than before.
Even the sound of breathing disappeared.
Fear spread like a plague. People backed away from each other. Some collapsed to their knees. Some began praying.
The mechanical voice spoke again.
`[Tutorial Mission: “Red School” Initiated.]`
The white hall shattered.
It cracked like glass and fell away in pieces. The fog rushed in, swallowing everything. Líng Yī felt his vision twist, his stomach lurch.
When his feet touched ground again, he was no longer in the hall.
He was standing in a schoolyard.
The sky above was dark, but a broken moon hung in it, cracked down the middle like a shattered plate. The air smelled of rust and old rain, the kind that clings to abandoned metal for years.
In front of him stood a school building.
Old. Decaying. Windows shattered. Walls stained with something dark that might have been moss… or something else. It loomed like a corpse, and yet it felt alive. Watching.
On the second floor, a single light flickered. On. Off. On.
Then—
_DONG… DONG… DONG…_
A bell rang.
Slow. Heavy. Each toll sounded like a stone being dragged across time itself.
A girl beside him whispered, her voice barely audible.
“My name is Sū Méi…”
She hesitated, fingers twisting the hem of her shirt. Then she lifted her head and looked at him. Her eyes were dark, unreadable.
“…What’s yours?”
Líng Yī opened his mouth to answer—
_BANG!_
The massive iron gate behind them slammed shut.
Metal scraped against metal. A lock clicked into place.
`[Tutorial Start Confirmed]`
`[Time: 12:01 AM]`
`[Survivors: 19/20]`
Panic erupted. People rushed to the gate, pounding on it, screaming. Others turned and ran toward the school building, as if safety could be found inside.
Líng Yī did not move.
His mind was already working.
His D-Rank Observation Talent activated on its own.
The second-floor light… it had not been there a moment ago.
The bell… it was not echoing from the bell tower. The sound was coming from underground.
The structure of the building… there were inconsistencies in the foundation. A hidden basement system.
The fog near the soil… it was thinner in some places. Hollow spaces beneath the ground.
He exhaled slowly.
“This is not a school,” he murmured to himself.
“It’s a mechanism.”
Another system window popped up in front of him.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Point Shop will unlock after each stage.
Collect 3 identical talent fragments to upgrade rank.
Each player death increases next stage difficulty by 10%.
A simple rule.
But brutal.
Around him, people were still panicking. Screaming. Banging on the gate. Collapsing.
Only Líng Yī stood still.
Eyes calm. Mind cold.
Because one truth was already clear to him.
In this place, emotions were useless.
Only logic survived.
And beneath the school, the bell kept ringing.
_DONG… DONG…_
Calling them down.
Into the dark.
