Wan Jie Hospice Care Company

【Dear Citizens:】

We have received reports of attacks on humans by unidentified creatures occurring across the country. For your safety and the safety of your family, please take the following measures immediately.

1. At night, please immediately stop all outdoor activities and stay home. Do not go out.

2. Do not open doors or windows; ensure all possible entrances are sealed off and draw the curtains.

3. Avoid contact with any unknown organisms or individuals.

4. The police have dispatched officers to investigate. Please remain calm and do not panic.

5. Please pay close attention to official media and communication channels for the latest news and instructions.

"Gulp." Ai Bowu's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva with a "gulp".

He jumped up to check the surrounding doors and windows, running his fingers along the door and window frames to identify every gap.

Fortunately, it's winter now, and to prevent drafts, the hotel owner has sealed all the gaps in the windows tightly with tape.

After the inspection was completed, Ai Bowu breathed a sigh of relief, but when he turned around, he found that Xiang Yu was still staring at the TV screen, his gaze so calm it was almost frightening.

"Big brother...aren't you scared?" Ai Bowu was taken aback.

"It's alright." Xiang Yu asked casually, "By the way, why did you become a player?"

"Me...me..." Aibowu looked at the TV screen nervously, then said, "I don't know...someone just kidnapped me and said I'm a player who needs to complete a mission to become stronger..."

"So you were forced into this too?"

"Really? Big brother, you were captured too?" Ai Baiwu seemed to have found a kindred spirit. "Hey, you know what, big brother, I don't have any ambitions. I don't want to be the strongest in the world. I just want to stay home and play video games!"

"And then, out of nowhere, I'm tasked with saving the world? Someone like me is simply incapable of that!" He clutched his head, pacing around the room. "I just want to survive! I actually saw people die in the last dungeon!"

"But none of them trust me! They all say I'm faking it, and some teammates even said I'm suspicious and wanted to kill me and keep all the rewards... Are they even human?!"

Abowu's fear was overwhelmed by anger: "It's disgusting! I hate deception more than anything in my life!"

But after his impassioned speech, Ai Baiwu turned to Xiang Yu and said, "Brother, do you trust me? As long as you don't kill me, I will absolutely trust you."

"Me too. I didn't have any dreams to begin with, and then I was inexplicably sent here." Xiang Yu sighed. "I believe you, because I'm a nobody too."

"real?"

"real!"

"Then, brother, let's vouch for each other now. I believe you're not the mole!" Ai Bowu said confidently.

"Hmm... well, I guess I won't believe you then." Xiang Yu nodded.

Because you definitely aren't.

"Sizzle!"

The television's blood-red screen suddenly flickered violently, the few lines of text on it appearing crumpled and distorted as if by an invisible hand. An extra line of text appeared at the bottom.

A nationwide alert is imminent.

Three alerts are expected.

Aibowu instinctively walked to the window, wanting to see what was happening outside—

Xiang Yu suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

Xiang Yu raised his other hand and pointed to the television screen. At the bottom of the screen was a line of small print. Against the blood-red background, the white characters looked particularly shocking.

[We did not sound the alarm. Please do not look out the window! Please do not look out the window!]

Holy crap!

Ai Baiwu's hair stood on end, and goosebumps washed over his entire body like a tide. He scrambled to the corner furthest from the window and curled up into a ball.

The alarm sounded about twice, and then the five news items on the TV began to disappear one by one.

3. Avoid contact with any unknown organisms or individuals.

[Sizzle...]

"Sizzle..."

The text suddenly twisted, as if something had torn it apart from behind the screen and then pieced it back together into another line of text.

3. If there is a knock on the door, you can open it; the government has dispatched rescue teams to carry out evacuation work.

"..." Aibowu scratched his head. "Will there be any police?"

Xiang Yu looked at the walkie-talkie in his hand and hesitated for a moment.

Should we say a few words to Ji Zhuo and the others?

And what about Anling... Can the hospital really provide adequate protection?

Xiang Yu ultimately decided not to turn on the walkie-talkie. In case Ji Zhuo and Li Yiheng were also in trouble, he was afraid that making a call would endanger his teammates.

Who knows what the rules are for those killers that are all over the world?

"Thump, thump, thump."

Would you like some bottled water?

The proprietress's voice rang out from outside the door, carrying the unique, down-to-earth enthusiasm of this era.

Aibowu was so frightened that he didn't move, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Xiang Yu remained still, pretending to be asleep.

Soon after, the landlady outside, seeing that no one was opening the door, went to knock on the door next door.

"Big brother...did we just die when we opened the door?" Ai Bowu asked, his face pale.

"...To be honest, I guess she really is the landlady." Xiang Yu took Ai Bowu's radio and started tuning it. "But even if she is, don't open the door now. She'll have a spare key if there's an emergency."

"Oh……"

He turned the knob on the radio, but all the stations were now in a deathly silence, except for the emergency radio which was mechanically repeating the same few sentences: "Close the doors and windows," "Do not go outside," and "Wait for rescue."

These things are not very nutritious. The only conclusion we can draw is that there must have been quite a few deaths outside.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have come up with the rule of not going out and not looking out the window.

At that moment, all the rules on the television disappeared, leaving only three words.

Don't look back.

Ai Baiwu was startled and quickly shrank his neck, terrified.

"Don't look back... Is it the literal meaning, or some kind of metaphor?"

Xiang Yu lay motionless on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

If it's taken literally, then the safest thing to do right now is to lie in bed and not move, as this is the only way to avoid turning back.

Seeing this, Ai Baiwu, who was standing nearby, also lay down on the bed and forced himself to close his eyes and rest.

It's only a little past seven o'clock, so it's definitely impossible to fall asleep, but when it comes to doing anything, no one dares to make a move.

Only the sound of their breathing and the faint sound of the wind outside the window remained in the room.

"Big brother, are we going to sleep now?"

Xiang Yu said, "Then what else do you want to do? Fall asleep on an airplane?"

"...No, I just remembered the last time I went to bed this early was when I was a kid." Ai Bowu pulled the blanket over his head. "My mom always made me go to bed early, but there was a Dream Factory cartoon at seven o'clock...I especially liked the cartoons that aired at that time."

"Yes, I like it too."

Xiang Yu closed his eyes: "Oh, and when you wake up tomorrow morning, don't look back."