Plate Apocalypse? Isn't that a quite familiar name?

Hesychia stared at the huge toaster bigger than her own body. Even if she doubled her height, she wouldn't be able to see the top of it. The metal toaster clanked, leaning forward to show the two vertical holes. This place was supposed to resemble the “hole” where a person should put the bread.

The young woman thought that instead of a normal toaster, the vertical lines resembled a stiff looking mouth full of loosened nails. The huge toaster created loud sounds and a foul smell that assaulted Hesychia's nose, it filled the air almost instantly. At first, Hesychia tried to find the wire where the toaster could be connected, however there was no plug or wire that made the gigantic toaster move. Instead, it's an automated machine controlled by no one.

Hesychia's eyes intently observed the mob in front before her hands grabbed the wet plates in the sink. As if thinking of a way to shoot the wet plates inside its mouth, the young woman took one plate as a test. Throwing it with the strongest force she can muster, a large field of electricity burned the plate before it was able to reach the target.

Analyzing the situation, the toaster hadn't moved anywhere even though she initiated an attack. Looks like the space it can walk is limited, giving the players another thread of advantage.

Hesychia stood further away upon knowing this, creating a safe space from the strange toaster to devise her plan. There are many thoughts floating around her head, for now moreover, she would rather get out of this space. The young woman tried to open the doors or windows to look outside for help, however an invisible space forbade her. She also can't change rooms and is stuck in the kitchen.

Fetching her transparent glass device, she looked at the time.

9:30, it's been a few minutes already. Toggling some stuff, she realized that the apartment's internet was turned off. Meanwhile, her ring communicator can't get any signal either.

“Isolation...” Hesychia mumbled before glancing at the monster.

The strange monster clanked, forcing it to close its mouth to show dominance. This made the toaster bend unevenly on its own, destroying the hole where the breads were supposed to go.

Hesychia tilted her head, “It's quite stupid.”

Looking back at the announcement, the strange mechanical voice said that this is their “First Screening” and obviously, as someone who plays games—Hesychia was able to determine that this stage is the easiest. As long as she uses her brain, she would definitely get out. No matter how long or tedious, there must be a way to clear it.

The strange mechanical voice also stated  clearly that any means are allowed as long as she would be able to eliminate this huge load of metal. Elimination either means killing it and making it disappear or making the opponent side admit defeat. A load of metal can't talk, of course, so she crossed out the last part. The toaster can destroy everything on its front, the electric current is strong and would definitely kill her at one wrong move.

Hesychia placed a hand at her own chin, “Each monster has its own weakness however...” she sighed in disbelief, “What is the weakness of a toaster that is not even powered by electricity?”

Maybe some water? She's near the sink, right beside her, a few steps and it's reachable. Though this thing bursts electric by itself, walking towards it while drenched in water is like wishing for an early grave.

The toaster waited for her to move, “...clank, clank.”

Hesychia snapped from her fantasy, almost falling asleep while thinking. She's been staring at the peculiar looking toaster and started nodding off to dreamland.  Hesychia walked to the right side to check on the toaster's full appearance however...

“Oh.”

The toaster itself moved to hide its body and didn't let her see anything. A toaster has a horizontal lever and another two holes on top. However this toaster's lever and bread holder is on the opposite side, making the toaster look weird and upside down. Instead of lying upwards like how a toaster would, the bread holder is its offense and probably... the lever is its weak point.

Hesychia, “All right, I got it.”

It is indeed stupid.

The toaster looked at her somehow with a surprised expression, even though it didn't have any eyes or voice it seemed like it created a face. Hesychia calmly went back to the sink and grabbed more plates to serve as a bullet. Her pace was relaxed making it seem like she didn't have any more doubts in her plan.

That's wrong, Hesychia's only using a facade to hide something.

Her feet ran forward with two plates at each of her hands before throwing it. Before she could reach the warning zone her full body stopped as the plates went flying. Her soles turned into another direction, sliding to the left before the toaster finished destroying the porcelain plates.

Its movement was not fast, not something Hesychia couldn't handle. However some of the electric current was able to burn her sleeves, the skin underneath the garment immediately turned red. Ignoring the sting, Hesychia took the wooden chair and slammed it to the side of the toaster. This made the metal sink but it was not strong enough to flip it horizontally.

Hesychia's eyes widened when the toaster turned to her at a fast speed—slamming her full body to another direction. The young woman coughed, her mask slowly turning into crimson. Hesychia took it off and spat out the remaining blood in her mouth. Debris from the wall fell on her head, and the back part of her body slowly felt the impact. The pain of suddenly being thrown was in fact, unbearable.

As a citizen whose blood did not originate from South, her body isn't as sturdy as those who are born here. Recovering from it took her a long time, even standing almost made her black out once again. She stared at the toaster with an annoyed expression.

She has a plan but has no strength to do it.

“Let's just die then, I don’t have time for this.” Hesychia whispered, expression light before walking towards the toaster. 

Before she could cross the line of where the electricity should be triggered, someone from the window shattered the glass using a nail. Entering the window without much challenge, a person with wavy waistline length hair heaved many breaths.

An awkward silence tensed out between them.

“Good morning…?”

Hesychia, “...”

This room can be accessed from the outside?

“...Good thing I used to escape our house using the window when I was younger!” The other woman said with relief trying to sound friendly, “I'm glad someone is still alive and the first screening hasn't ended yet.”

Hesychia didn't know whether her luck was good or this person would kill her instead.

The unknown person approached her as the invisible wall shook before letting her enter. Her steps were fast as she checked on Hesychia's injuries, “You don't look like you're in pain but you might have broken your ribs.”

Hesychia, who's actually in pain, didn't say anything.

“Hello,” The other person waved her hands in front of Hesychia’s unresponsive gaze, “let's cooperate.”

Hesychia used one of her hands that didn't seem to be broken to tuck away her hair. She tried to feel her other arm but found out that it went numb, “I was planning to die. I won't be able to help—”

Upon hearing this, the other person pulled her gently and placed her down on a nearby chair. Earlier, they were right in front of the toaster's mouth, now however, this unknown person sat Hesychia to the farthest right and looked at the house's broken wall, slowly being repaired by some strange force, trapping both of them inside with the gigantic toaster.

“You see,” The other person mumbled, “all people I’ve tried to help are already dead.”

Dead? So even those who are almost similar to a superhuman… died fighting these things?

“If someone who possesses southern blood can't even fend these things off, why bother?” Hesychia scoffed, “Are you one of those saint type of people?”

Hesychia thought, ‘Why are you even here? You were already roaming free outside, why trap yourself again?’

The unknown person, ‘This stubborn lady and her attitude...’

“It doesn't mean that when someone is born in the south, they are guaranteed to live. We are all just in the same position as this disaster struck. Time’s have changed too, not everyone who homes the south has southern blood.” The other young woman stared at Hesychia, “Just like you, Miss.”

Hesychia averted her gaze.

The other person shook her head and crossed her arms, “And no, I am here to also pass the first screening. Let's say I am kind but of course nothing is free in this world, if I help you, I would be able to pass this test and the same goes for you.” She explained, “If an owner of a place has already died, their screening ends. You're the very first person I've seen that's still alive, let's not waste any more time. This test has a time limit.”

Hesychia tried to move but the other person held her down. The grip of the unknown woman was firmer than she anticipated.

“Rest. Do you really want to die?”

Muffling the groan that almost escaped her mouth upon the other grabbing her arm, Hesychia answered blankly, “Yes.”

“See, this world has its meaning, if you don’t want to di—WHAT?!” The other person looked at her in the eyes, “Well, no you can’t!”

Hesychia tried her hardest to not roll her eyes. She wasn't even able to retort anything yet when the latter said, “Just tell me the mob's characteristics. I'll handle it.”

The unknown person seems to be confident in her skills, making Hesychia skeptical. “And how can I be so sure that you won't steal my screening and leave me as a sacrifice?”

「‘I just told her the screening ends when the owner dies! I’m the one who needs you!’」

The unknown person gave a short explanation, “The first thing I thought was a sharing for this screening meanwhile the first thing you have come up with was battling for the screening. We're the exact opposite, if you want I can leave now.”

Hesychia also smiled sarcastically, “You can't leave once you enter.”

A confident answer came from her lips, “Well I'm going to kill this piece of junk so we can both get out, it's not like we're stuck in Davy Jones' locker.”

Hesychia who didn't know what on earth is a Davy Jones' locker, “...”

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud sound of metal creaking, a horrible noise coming from the tiles being scratched. The unknown woman gave a sigh, “Miss, I can assess the mob by myself but it will take more time, we won't make it in the remaining minutes. Even I won't be able to survive. Do you want to die together?”

Hesychia has no plan on dramatically dying with a stranger, “No. I'd rather die alone.”

The other person laughed, “I mean even if you said ‘yeah’ I would still save you.”

「...Overly friendly.」

This time a thought of cooperation blew in Hesychia’s direction. She started, “The toaster only has its front and mouth as an offense. The electric bolt from it burns skin to a much higher degree. The sides are softer, I've already dealt damage on the left side. Though, it is quite tough and I can't make it fall down. Once you've taken it down, slide at the wall and pull the toaster’s lever down. That must be the weak spot.”

The other person radiated a bright smile, finally hearing what she wanted. “There we go! Wasn't that much easier than dying?”

「Younger. Cheerful yet cautious. Listens very well on details. Around 18-19 years old. A criminology student?」

Hesychia watched on the sidelines as the younger woman stretched, cracking her neck and knuckles.

“Greetings to all players, a reminder that only 60 seconds remains. Good luck!”

The mechanical voice echoed through their ears, as Hesychia instinctively looked at her device.

【10:24 AM】

The unknown person gave a quick slide to the left, her foot swinging up as her hand grabbed the nearby knife. The toaster was surprised by the sudden change of pace as the new challenger has a more accurate and swift movement. Even the mechanical voice didn't say anything and let this unusual event unfold.

Her feet covered with combat boots landed at the damaged part, kicking it. The soft metal folded further making the woman adjust her stance and soon stabbed the metal sheet. The young person gave an upward cut before jumping onto the toaster's walls, using the inserted knife as a support. With enough force, the unknown person successfully flipped the toaster. The ground shook of the heavy impact, the tiles cracking.

Smoke of dust emerged, which made Hesychia cough. She covered her mouth and looked at the other person with disbelief, her view never going anywhere else.

“You okay?” The other person looked at her.

Hesychia answered, “Don't mind me, do you need any help?”

“Nope!” The other person slid the toaster towards the wall and started pulling the black lever down. “It's quite heavy.”

Creak!

Another wave of noise entered Hesychia's ears before the other person was able to pull the lever down. Using her feet, she jumped away from the scene. “And done! Completely motionless.”

Sparks of electricity came from its mouth, shutting down completely before fading away into black digital fragments.

Hesychia flinched when the stranger patted her shoulder with a chuckle. “Thank you for your hard work.”

She looked away. “I didn’t do anything…”

Just then, the mechanical voice returned, rescuing her from the awkward silence.

“Congratulations, Players, for clearing the event: ‘First Major Screening.’ Time’s up—please wait.”

“Loading… Data loaded! Out of 10 billion, 7.9 billion survived the first screening. Some players reached a secret ending: Help from the outside.”

“The First Screening has ended. All players have two months to prepare. The Second Major Screening begins on April 1.”

“From now on, Minor Screenings will occur randomly—time and location vary. Some require multiple players; the first to arrive may be stuck in a waiting room.”

“Unlike Major Screenings, Minors are isolated events. Triggers vary: entering a place, touching an object—anything.”

“Some may trigger a screening in the same place at different times, or different places at the same time. Example: Player A in Country A uses a car, Player B in Country B uses a plate. If linked, they’ll enter the same screening.”

Hesychia glanced at the stranger, noting his furrowed brows.

If anything could trigger it, she thought, then no one would ever be truly ready. And that made it all the more dangerous.