Off Limit System

The three of them froze and looked at each other with caution. Miriam motioned for them to return to the supermarket. They turned to go back, but a horde of zombies suddenly appeared behind the supermarket building.
Dane pointed shakily. "Oh, no," he groaned.
Footsteps came from ahead, where the soda cans were still swirling on the asphalt road. Another horde of zombies was coming, and their attention was immediately drawn to Ethan, Miriam, and Dane.
"Damn it!" hissed Miriam.
"We've got to get out of here," Dane squealed.
"Where?" The look on Miriam's face showed both fear and confusion.
Ethan said, "We're moving forward."
"You're crazy!" Dane looked at Ethan.
The herd of zombies approached, surrounding the three humans in the parking lot. Miriam took aim and fired a round from her rifle. So did Dane.
"You got any other ideas?" asked Ethan.
Dane shook his head in fear.
"Get ready," Ethan said.
The young man put a shield in front of his face. Then Ethan ran as fast as he could toward the crowd of zombies in front of him. Ethan lunged. He smashed the shield at the figures in front of him. Using all his strength, Ethan pushed and shoved the zombie herd.
Undeterred, Ethan punched and stomped the shield, blood splattering everywhere as he smashed the shield against the undead bodies.
At the same time, Miriam and Dane, following behind, shot every moving zombie blocking Ethan's steps. The sound of bullets echoed throughout the area, along with the snarling of the undead.
Ethan manages to remove the fallen herd of zombies before them, clearing the way. They ran as fast as they could, dodging the angry, groaning hordes of zombies and chasing after the three.
"Quick, let's get back to the subway entrance!" Miriam ordered.
The three of them didn't slow down, even though their legs felt like they couldn't go any further. Finally, they were far enough away from the pursuing undead. Now there was only a line of deserted buildings in front of them, no more zombie swarms.
Dane looked at Ethan, who was running beside him. "You look awful."
Ethan chuckled.
"And stinky," Dane added.
"At least we survived," Ethan replied.
Dane nodded in agreement. "Thanks, man," he said.
"You're being reckless," Miriam scolded. "What if your plan doesn't work, Ethan?"
"If the three of us die there, can't we just come back here?"
Dane scowled. "I can't imagine that."
Miriam sighed softly. "Even if we can repeatedly enter each level of The Casual... we should still survive."
Then Ethan relaxed his steps and began to walk more leisurely. He turned to Miriam.
"Why? We can at least collect a lot of gold or items," Dane asked.
"Indeed. But if you continue to be careless, you won't survive the main game," Miriam replied.
"The point is, no matter where we go, we have to win the game," Ethan muttered.
"Exactly," Miriam nodded.
They finally reached the subway doors. There was a look of relief on all three of their faces. Miriam touched her temple.

"Exit," she said quietly.
A dark portal opened in front of them. Ethan's stomach began to churn. He didn't like the feeling of entering the portal, which was nauseating afterward, just like the effects of the drugs that had entered his body.
"See you at The Medieval," Miriam said.
They entered the portal.

...

[Lobby: THE MEDIEVAL]
[Name: Ethan Mannon]
[Classification: Tank]
[Status: Greenhorn +5]
[Gold: 2400]
[Armor: Shield Treachery's Iron Bulwark level 25]
[Item: None]
[Power: +50]
[Buff: None]
[Skill: None]

A holographic screen appeared as Ethan exited the portal with a sense of disembowelment. He touched his temple until the holographic screen disappeared. Miriam and Dane were waiting not far from where he was. Ethan hurriedly approached them.
"How about finding an oxygen tank?" Ethan asked.
He was a little worried about Miriam. Though he didn't really need to consider that. However, Ethan couldn't stand it if Miriam had to do things beyond the limit to fulfill a mission in a weird game like OFF LIMIT.
"Don't worry," Miriam replied.
"I mean it." Ethan looked deep into her eyes.
Miriam only gave a weak smile. "And so do I, Ethan. I won't do anything wrong."
Dane looked at Ethan and Miriam in turn. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
Ethan tapped Dane on the shoulder. "You'll figure it out."
"Okay." Dane just cleared his throat quietly.
Miriam suddenly offered her hand. "Good luck in the main game. I hope you boys are safe."

Dane took her hand. "You too, Miriam."
After shaking Dane's hand, Miriam reached out to Ethan. "You're probably going to be the toughest to compete with, Ethan."
"Unfortunately, your level is above mine," Ethan said.
"We'll never know." Miriam nodded diplomatically. "See you soon."
Ethan and Dane waved at Miriam. The two just stood there, staring, until Miriam's figure disappeared.
"What we did in The City, was it worth it?" muttered Dane.
"You got gold?"
Dane grinned, looking pleased. "Looks like I killed a few zombies."
Ethan understood and nodded his head. "I guess you got a lot of gold for killing some of them," Ethan said.
"More than the earnings from the main game. But I don't want to go back to that zombie place. Unless it's up to my level," Dane scolded.
"Come on, let's get out of here," Ethan said.
The two drove through the cobblestone streets where the day looked so beautiful with bright sunlight. Ethan liked to linger in The Medieval, a game world that seemed better than reality. Every day, all he saw were windows that never opened and were covered with white curtains. In fact, Ethan thought he would rather be in the nursery. At least there were pictures on the walls that he could look at daily.
"Can we use the gold for food or drink? I'm starving and thirsty," Dane said.
Ethan shrugged. "I don't know."
"We also need to change our clothes, E. We smell more like demons."
"Maybe we should find laundry around here."
"Is there laundry?" Dane was immediately curious.
"You know more about The Medieval than I do. Obviously I don't."
"Not really. I just asked some questions about the game. Nothing like that."
Ethan just chuckled.
They wandered until they finally reached the game's entry/exit portal. Dane turned his head to the portal.
We should go home. What do you think?" Dane asked.
"No problem. You've been here too long, right?"
"Yes, I'm very hungry. Fill up and come back."
"Dane, you have a life in the real world. Don't get too involved in the game."
"I know." Dane bowed his head, then turned to look at Ethan. "But I feel like I have a friend since I met you. It excites me."
"Just finish what you have to do in reality. We can meet here anytime."
"Hey, do you have a phone? I forgot to ask. We can exchange phone numbers."
"I don't have one."
Dane looked a little disappointed. "Oh, okay. I understand. This is about your privacy."
"No, Dane. I don't have a cell phone."
"These days?" Dane was astonished.
"I don't need a cell phone. That's just the way it is."
They were both silent for a while. Then Dane cleared his throat and held out his hand to Ethan.
"I'll be back after dinner. Hope to see you here later," Dane said.
"Sure."
Just as Dane was about to step towards the entrance/exit portal, a trumpet suddenly sounded. It sounded like an alarm, like a warning. All the players who had been on the move back and forth immediately gasped for breath. Their faces turned pale.
Then the exit portal suddenly disappeared. Dane looked at Ethan in fear.
"What happened?" Ethan muttered.