She Waited for Her First Love Until We All Died

Global supernatural horrors descended upon the world, and everyone had to clear horror-game instances to earn a slim chance at survival. In my previous life, my fiancée refused to use her item to open the exit because she wanted to wait for her first love to clear the instance. But this was the final escape point in the instance, and our only chance to survive. With only three minutes left, I had no choice but to knock her unconscious and use her item to force the exit open. Her first love was ultimately left behind in the horror realm, where the horrors devoured him. However, I cleared the instance successfully and used the generous score rewards to build a happy life with my girlfriend at the survivor base. During the final instance, just as I was about to lead humanity in defeating the supernatural boss, my girlfriend injected me with an anesthetic, deliberately destroyed my item, and threw me into the horror realm. The horrors swallowed me whole, tearing my soul apart while I was still alive. Meanwhile, she watched from the safe house, sneering at me. “If you hadn’t been so afraid to die and abandoned Finn back then, he could have made it out alive.” “You must pay for everything Finn suffered!” When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the day my girlfriend stubbornly refused to use her item. Since she wanted so badly to live and die alongside her first love, the two of them could become nourishment for the horrors together. Chapter 1 “This is our last chance to open the exit portal. If we don’t leave this horror-game instance now, we’ll be trapped here forever!” The team members stared at Serena Shaw and couldn’t help but shout. Serena clutched her spatial satchel tightly, refusing to take out her final survival item. “Finn hasn’t come out yet. Wait a little longer!” Serena’s eyes were filled with determination, and she refused to give in. “Serena Shaw, you’re risking all our lives for one man? Don’t push it!” The entire team frowned anxiously. If they delayed any longer, they wouldn’t just have to worry about surviving the horrors. Resources were scarce inside the instance, and waiting any longer would leave them with no way out. Several team members wanted to snatch Serena’s spatial satchel, but she fired at one of their hands the next second. “What the hell are you doing?” As everyone shouted at her, Serena calmly wiped down her pistol. “You’re all a bunch of selfish cowards who only care about saving yourselves. Let me make one thing clear. If Finn doesn’t come out, no one is leaving. “I found this survival item. I’ll open the exit portal whenever I want. “We’re a team. Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves? You’re all grown men, yet you’re willing to abandon a teammate when our lives are on the line. Do you really think you deserve to survive?” At her words, everyone looked at me, their eyes filled with hesitation. Bennett Lowe, the team’s most senior and experienced member, sighed. He counted silently on his fingers before looking at me with a complicated expression. “Captain, the exit portal will close completely in three minutes. If we keep waiting, I’m afraid we…” Once the exit portal closed, every horror in the instance would attack us. A faint smile touched my eyes. I nodded at Bennett, silently telling him not to worry. Serena watched me approach, her hand clamped protectively over her pocket. I stopped in front of her and smiled at the others. “Serena is right. We’re a team. How could we leave Finn behind just because he didn’t make it back on time?” Everyone stared at me in utter disbelief. They couldn’t believe that their normally calm, decisive captain would say something like that. “Captain, have you lost your mind?” “You can’t let everyone die just because Serena Shaw is your fiancée!” Satisfaction flickered in Serena’s eyes as she looked at me. “Stop arguing!” Chapter 2 “Since Ryan has spoken, you should all obey him without question!” With that, she fired several more shots. A dark look flashed across my eyes. I gave Serena the pistol for protection. Its bullets were incredibly valuable. They could injure both the horrors and the Awakened Ones. Yet Serena was using them to intimidate her teammates. A smug expression spread across her face. “Ryan, I knew you were reasonable. You’re always so kind. Don’t worry. I’ll make time for you once we get back.” I smiled until my eyes curved. “Finn is one of our closest friends. How could I leave him behind?” However, the moment Serena turned around, the smile vanished from my face. Serena had no idea that I didn’t actually need to leave through this exit portal. My spatial satchel contained a survival item capable of tearing space apart. Unfortunately, it only worked on the Awakened Ones. Everyone on the team except Serena and Finn was the Awakened Ones. In my previous life, I could have used the survival item directly if I hadn’t needed to take those two with me. The agony of having my soul torn apart still felt as if it had happened only moments ago. As I watched Serena’s back, I swore that this time, I would make this shameless pair pay. When Serena saw that everyone had agreed with her decision, satisfaction flickered in her eyes. It only fueled her vanity. With twenty seconds left, Finn finally came running over, gasping for breath. “Serena, stop wasting time. Open the portal!” Only then did Serena hurriedly take out the survival item and activate the runic seal, opening the portal. “Serena, help me!” It was only then that everyone noticed a low-level horror following Finn. Two shots rang out, and the bullets pierced the horror. However, the light on the survival item faded the next second. Time was up… The half-formed exit portal vanished instantly. The team members glared at Finn, looking as if they wanted to tear him apart. A low-level horror could inflict no more pain than a dog bite. “Serena, are you happy now? We’re all going to die with you.” “And Finn, what the fuck is wrong with you? This is the horror world! You still had time to look for a tie? You made the entire team wait here to die with you. Do you have no shame?” Finn had never encountered such a situation before. His eyes reddened, and his entire body trembled. “I’m sorry. It was a family heirloom my father left me… It’s very important to me.” “What, are you planning to wear that tie when you go down and see your old man?” Everyone glared at him furiously. “Enough… The exit portal has already closed. Let’s leave this place first.” However, resentment had also crept into the team members’ eyes as they looked at me. “Captain, you’ve always led us to find a chance of survival in the instances and escape by the skin of our teeth. We trusted you, but… how could you lose your judgment like this?” A hint of guilt flashed across my eyes. I apologized to my teammates. “I’m sorry, everyone. I let my emotions cloud my judgment this time. But don’t worry. I’ll get all of you out safely. “Don’t be afraid. The safe house won’t disappear for another twenty-four hours. We can stay here and wait for now.” Serena carefully took Finn’s hand and sneered. “What a bunch of cowards. Ryan is right here, isn’t he? Besides, every instance has a chance of survival. Ryan has already led us through three S-rank instances. We can leave once the next exit portal appears.” The team members glared at her angrily. Did she truly not know, or was she pretending? Every time the exit portal reappeared, the horrors grew stronger. The horrors we faced next would be far beyond anything they could handle. They could tear us apart without even breaking a sweat. Chapter 3 However, no one wanted to argue with Serena. Nightfall was approaching, and if they didn’t find a safe house soon, everyone would die. Fortunately, the location where the safe house reappeared wasn’t far from us. The moment the safe house lit up, the horrors were shut out. They seemed unable to see us, even though we were standing right in front of them. Everyone let out a long sigh of relief. Any horror outside the door could tear us apart with ease. However, Bennett frowned deeply and sighed. After a long silence, he finally said, “To prevent this instance from manifesting in the real world, the authorities will destroy it soon.” “Are we… going to be trapped here forever?” Despair was written all over the team members’ faces. However, Serena didn’t seem concerned. “What are you all so afraid of? As long as we survive the next wave of horrors, we’ll obtain another survival item and open the portal.” Serena had no idea that no one would be able to survive the next wave of horrors. I opened my spatial satchel and took out a specialized survival item, then contacted base headquarters. Our director, Jason Parker, had spatial powers, so tearing open a rift wouldn’t be a problem. “Don’t worry, everyone. I’ve contacted headquarters through the survival item. Mr. Parker just needs some time to tear open the rift.” Everyone broke into relieved smiles at my words. Serena pulled Finn into her arms. “Finn, we’ll be out of here soon.” “Serena, I knew you’d protect me.” “Captain, I remember that the spatial tunnel can only transport the Awakened Ones, right?” Bennett lowered his voice and pulled me into a corner. “There are two people on our team who…” I nodded. “Serena has the survival item needed to open this instance’s exit portal. She should be able to use the spatial tunnel with its help. She wants Finn to survive, doesn’t she?” Bennett and I exchanged a knowing smile. “Finn, don’t worry. I’ll definitely get you out of here!” I smiled faintly as I watched the scene. I wondered what Serena would do once the rift opened. Would she truly act like a heroine and sacrifice herself to save him, or would she finally reveal the darkness inside her? Certain that they could escape, Serena and Finn both relaxed. They squandered all their resources. Finn even used a warding sigil to create sparkling bursts of light for Serena, just to cheer her up. Ten minutes before the spatial tunnel opened, Serena suddenly came to find me. “Ryan, give me this instance’s reward.” Serena looked at me with an unquestionable tone. I frowned. The reward from this instance was a fruit from the horror realm. No matter how severely someone was injured by a horror, eating this fruit would immediately purge the corruptive energy from their body. “Why do you need it? Was someone attacked by a horror?” Serena looked anxious, as if the sky were falling. “No. Finn’s leg was clawed by a horror, remember? The wound looks pretty deep. It might leave a scar! “Stop wasting time and take out the fruit! Finn is too embarrassed to complain, but he’s been hurting badly for a long time.” I stared at Serena as she made her argument with complete confidence, and a cold glint flashed across my eyes. “Serena, do you know what this fruit means? It’s the only survival item we’ve found that can heal wounds inflicted by horrors. “It has immense research value. It represents humanity’s hope of escaping the horror instances.” “I know that, but there will definitely be other useful items in future instances. Finn is in pain right now. He keeps crying that his leg hurts!” Everyone looked at her as if she had lost her mind. The instances refreshed randomly every time, and no one knew what rewards they would drop. A fruit like this was a once-in-a-lifetime find, yet she wanted to use it to ease Finn’s pain? Chapter 4 “He’s a grown man. Is this little pain really too much for him?” Mason Reed could no longer hold back. He jumped to his feet and pointed at Serena, cursing her out. “Serena, what the hell is wrong with you? It was only a low-level horror. “He was bitten twice by something no more dangerous than a dog. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of it?” “What do you mean, I’m making a big deal out of it?” Serena’s eyes filled with deep displeasure. “You people are always scheming against one another. Ever since Finn joined the team, you’ve all been ganging up on him! “Finn isn’t like you. He has no superpowers to protect him, and he’s physically weak. What if something really happens to him? I can’t risk it!” When Serena saw me frown, she suddenly pulled out the pistol and aimed it at my temple. Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. The pistol was a survival item dropped by an S-rank instance, and it could injure both horrors and the Awakened Ones. It was the means I gave my fiancée to protect herself and survive in the horror instances. Yet Serena had turned it on me. “Ryan, take out the fruit. Now!” “Serena, what are you doing? How could you treat the captain like this? He’s your fiancé! Get your priorities straight!” Mason couldn’t stand by and watch. He tried to rush forward and stop her, but Serena fired at him. If Bennett hadn’t reacted quickly, Mason’s arm would have been ruined. I looked at the woman I had once loved, my eyes filled with nothing but mockery. In my previous life, I threw myself into danger again and again so she could survive the horror-game instances. Yet now, for the man she truly loved, she pointed a gun straight at my heart. To save me, my teammates had no choice but to hand over the fruit. Serena carefully wiped it clean before holding it to Finn’s lips. “Serena, this fruit is so sweet.” Finn gave her a sweet smile. Everyone felt sick watching the scene. Only moments after Finn swallowed the fruit, every mark left by the low-level horror’s bites vanished without a trace. His skin glowed with health, making him look even more delicate and endearing than before. He looked at me with reddened eyes. “I’m sorry, Ryan. This is all my fault… If I weren’t so weak, Serena wouldn’t have had to use the fruit to heal me. “If only I worked harder. I’ll do my best to grow stronger in the future instances.” “We believe in you. Keep it up!” Serena smiled at him. Their eyes met, brimming with affection. “From now on, I’ll protect you with my life, Serena.” Serena was so touched that she ruffled his hair. “I’ll handle everything from now on. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.” The sight of them made the other teammates feel sick to their stomachs. In my previous life, I risked my life countless times to protect Serena, yet she had never once thanked me. “You’re so strong. It’s what you’re supposed to do.” And now, a single offhand remark from Finn was enough to move Serena beyond words. Was this how the world worked? Did weakness make someone automatically right, while strength made someone deserving of death? A minute later, space tore open, and headquarters sent someone to retrieve us. Finn and Serena rushed forward faster than anyone else. However, the moment Finn saw the bottomless rift, he began to tremble. “Serena, I’m scared.” “Don’t be afraid. I’ll go with you.” Serena smiled as she took Finn’s hand and patiently soothed him. The teammates rolled their eyes in exasperation. Finn was delaying everyone again. After the others jumped into the rift one after another, Finn finally stood up. He and Serena held hands and leaped in together. However, an invisible force flung them back the next second. They crashed heavily onto the ground.