At dusk, the street lamps along the aging street had yet to light up, and most of the shop shutters were pulled down. As the dimming twilight shadows receded from the street corner, darkness engulfed the entire street.
Bleak and silent.
As if a terrifying giant maw was ready to swallow everything whole.
Fang You pulled his collar up and hurried along, passing the occasional pedestrian while keeping a cautious distance.
He quickly reached his own dwelling.
A three-bedroom, two-living room apartment with over two decades of age.
He clicked on the light switch and the blazing white light finally dispelled the heart-thumping darkness.
Fang You took a couple of deep breaths, tossed his bag, and flopped onto the sofa, expertly swiping his thumb across his phone to unlock it.
Beep—
Fingerprint unlock.
The screen lit up, and push notifications popped up incessantly.
#A city in Peacock Country shrouded in dark clouds for three days without clearing, foretold as an apocalyptic marvel#
#Mysterious disappearance of bodies from the morgue, the number is as high as...#
#Buy amulets on Pinduoduo, group purchase starting at 10% off#
#Suggestion to keep daily necessities at home#
#White fog phenomenon in Beijiang City, visibility less than five meters#
#Unseen dangers#
These notifications, a mix of news and spammy ads, all seemed to hint at one thing without exception….
"It seems to be getting more tense. There's talk online about strange occurrences happening," he said.
"On my way home just now, I even saw an apartment complex being sealed off with police tape."
"Could it be... that something really is happening?"
Fang You frowned.
In the past, he had occasionally scrolled past some weird videos or photos.
But he didn't pay them much mind, just 'like-comment-subscribe' for a laugh.
He didn't take them seriously.
However, lately, with more and more news about disappearances, eerie sightings, and lockdowns, he started to doubt. A sense of looming crisis crept over him, sending chills through his body.
"Worrying blindly won't do any good."
"If the sky falls, there will be tall people to hold it up."
"I'll just go out less and stockpile some supplies at home. The rest is to eat and drink as usual. Don't scare myself to death when everything is actually calm."
Go out less.
Or rather, not go out at all. As long as there is internet and computers or smartphones, it's not a problem for Fang You.
He's a struggling writer—not earning much but also not spending much—with a house left by his parents, enough to get by.
The only trouble recently is that it's getting harder to order takeout.
Fang You could only cook for himself, which was a hardship given his lackluster culinary skills.
As for dining out?
Going out is simply out of the question; the outside might harbor unseen dangers, so he had to rough it out at home.
It had nothing to do with his aversion to going downstairs.
Fang You stashed the groceries in the fridge and eyed the three and a half boxes of instant noodles remaining.
There were also other supplies: rice, flour, toothpaste, toilet paper, and more.
Mm, a good stockpile.
Not really a problem.
Dark clouds covered the moon.
The desolate old district became even lonelier and dimmer, with only a few lights in the residential building across the street remaining as stubborn specks of light in the darkness.
"Knock!"
Suddenly, a faint sound came from the sealed security door.
Fang You uttered, 'Huh?'
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
It's coming! Coming!
But he didn't recall ordering takeout, did he? Deliveries were only sent to nearby pickup points.
Reluctantly, he got up from the bed, grumbling, while the knocking outside continued.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!....
As regular as a machine.
Fang You suddenly froze, his hand destined for the living room light switch stopping just an inch from its target.
Frozen.
The door in the distance grew increasingly dark, devouring all light, while the continuous knocks seemed like an omen of doom.
His house had a doorbell, positioned prominently!
And besides, would any normal person knock with a rhythm and tone as consistent as this?
Recalling the rumors on the internet recently, Fang You's heart began thudding rapidly.
His complexion turned unwell as he stared at the door.
He wanted to retreat to his bedroom, but his legs didn't seem to cooperate.
The incessant mechanical pounding continued.
Growing louder, like a mournful evening drum, his heart thrumming violently in tune, as if it was about to leap out of his chest!
Whoosh!
As if a downpour had suddenly ceased.
The knocking stopped, and inside and outside the door, silence fell dead.
Only his heart was still thudding.
Coming to his senses,
Fang You realized that his forehead and palms were drenched in sweat.
He took a moment to recover, discarded the slippers, and tiptoed forward, step by step.
Listening carefully.
He wanted to peer through the peephole of the anti-theft door in front of him, but hesitated, unable to make up his mind.
Still... a bit scared.
Hesitating, Fang You eventually didn't move forward and hid back in his bedroom, lying on the bed playing with his phone, his mind clearly not on the task at hand.
"Maybe, it's just some brat's prank?"
"Am I overthinking it?"
"There's no such thing as invisible dangers!"
Fang You admitted that he was a bit cowardly.
No, this wasn't cowardice, this was putting safety first. If it was really a delivery or someone he knew, they would definitely call him if he didn't open the door after knocking.
If...
Anyway, it was correct not to open the door!
He stopped overthinking it and prepared to find a heartwarming anime to soothe himself.
That's when he saw his phone suddenly enter an installation interface.
'Game installation in progress...'
'Identity bound, data loaded, game starting.'
Elegant CG animation appeared.
Dark clouds covered the sky, a huge shadow emerged from beneath the sea, and the buildings shrouded in grey fog seemed desiccated by the winds of a thousand years.
Dark, dilapidated, eternally silent.
A flame suddenly burst into existence.
Roaring! The Flame was roaring! A fearless figure plunged into the darkness, illuminated by the flame.
The image froze.
'Savior, are you ready?'
Fang You was stunned.
When had he downloaded this game? Was it during the moments he was distracted and accidentally pressed something?
He glanced at it a few times.
It seemed to be a card-collection idle game, with gameplay settings that looked pretty clichéd.
But,
"The art style seems pretty good?"
With these games, if the art looks good, just tap xp.
Having nothing better to do, Fang You didn't delete it right away but instead tapped to enter.
A minimalistic yet sophisticated game's main interface presented itself before Fang You.
'Fate Drawing'
'Angel Envoy List'
'Item Overview'
There were only three options, everything else was locked.
Without all those dazzling VIP, first purchase for six bucks, and endless little red dots... Fang You found it rather comfortable.
It was just, perhaps too simplistic.
There were no instructions, no tutorial for beginners, and it seemed to have very little playability.
Wait,
He couldn't even find a way to recharge in the game. Could it be this conscientious?
It must be hidden in some function.
Fang You tapped into the Item Overview, which was emptily reasonable, but he still didn't see the recharge entrance.
He then tapped into the Angel Envoy interface, and sure enough, this was empty too...
Hold on!
There was a character; was it a free starting role?
Fang You's gaze settled, and he fell into thought.
This Angel Envoy looked...
Uncannily familiar.
Black coat, grey trousers.
The zipper of the coat was undone, revealing a white base shirt beneath.
This outfit,
Fang You quietly stood up, walked to the mirror to examine himself closely.
As handsome as the esteemed readers.
That wasn't the point.
The point was,
Fang You stared blankly at his own reflection in the mirror, then looked down at the character in the game.
After a long silence,
"Isn't this freaking me!"
...
PS: New author here, begging for your votes and followers, spinning round and round into a split to thank you~~~(*❦ω❦)