Blue Star, Yancheng, 4 p.m.
Chen Yi stood on the roadside with a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth, dressed leisurely in a suit with a floral shirt underneath, hands thrust into his pockets as he casually glanced over at the lightly dressed girls on the nearby sidewalk.
It was the height of summer.
In modern cities, there are no ugly women in summer.
Put on some makeup, a pair of sunglasses, a summer dress, and Feng could be turned into Diao Chan.
If one really wasn't pleasing to the eye, just wear a mask and some eye shadow, and one could suddenly become a dazzling urban beauty.
Some girls who noticed Chen Yi's gaze didn't show any displeasure; instead, they stuck out their tender tongues, licked their lips, and cast him alluring glances, looking exceptionally seductive.
Only the faint terror in their eyes and the red blood vessels filling their pupils,
Made the whole picture lose some of its coquettishness, adding a few touches of eeriness.
Everyone on the street was chatting.
Even two strangers walking side by side to work were continuously talking, as if they were old friends.
He flicked the cigarette butt into the bin next to him and glanced over his shoulder at the two strangers chatting together— their conversation was also quite interesting.
"Have you eaten?"
"Yeah, I have."
"What did you eat?"
"Well, actually I haven't, so have you eaten?"
Their dialogue clearly didn't resemble that of normal people, but nearly everyone on the street was engaging in such meaningless conversations.
Although there were two people talking,
It was obvious that they weren't listening to each other at all, each just talking about themselves, appearing to have even lower intelligence than the AIs in trashy browser games.
The whole world had the feel of a long un-maintained, deserted browser game.
At that moment—
A nearby sanitation worker came over, picked up the cigarette butt Chen Yi had just flicked onto the ground, and kept talking.
"Thank you, you threw that cigarette butt so well."
"Oh, smoking Lotus, eh? That's good stuff."
"Did you know? I'm already 67 this year. I used to be quite proud of that, after all, living long is a good thing, right?"
"But now, I suddenly feel that living too long might not be such a good thing. Have you lived long?"
After finishing,
The old man looked up with a hopeful and urgent stare, fixing Chen Yi with his gaze as if waiting for something.
"..."
After a moment of silence, Chen Yi pulled out another cigarette from his chest, placed it in his mouth, and lit it: "Old man, this is Fu Rong Wang, not Lotus, you're more than just a little blind."
"Go get your eyes fixed."
It wasn't a very polite thing to say.
At least, such words shouldn't be said to an elder.
But after hearing them, the old man didn't get angry. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief, contentedly walked away with his broom: "Lotus is good, Lotus is good, my son also loves smoking this brand."
"You better get your lungs checked too. Sooner or later, it's going to smoke you to death. My son's nearly there."
"If you both die, I can save some money on funeral gifts."
"..."
Chen Yi sighed lightly, somewhat speechless, and looked down at his wristwatch, impatiently flicking the cigarette ash onto the ground.
On the trash bin, there were two conspicuous and glaring slogans.
"Litter must not be thrown into the trash cans, violators bear the consequences!"
"Cigarette ashes must be flicked onto the ground, violators bear the consequences!"
Beyond these slogans, on the outer walls of the skyscrapers throughout the city, there were various other massive slogans.
"You must not refuse to talk to any stranger!"
"When spoken to, you must respond!"
The whole city, amidst its bustle, seemed all the more bizarre!
Most people seemed highly agitated, but the visible red veins in their eyes proved that they were on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Chen Yi stood still, growing impatient as he continued to wait without speaking.
Two months ago, the world had completely changed.
Everyone remembered that day clearly.
Two months earlier.
A voice had resonated in the minds of people all around the globe.
"Game Update Announcement!"
"The new version, Blue Star 4.0, will commence a non-stop update at 00:00 on April 1st. The main content and adjustments of this update are as follows."
"1. Optimize the server for increased stability."
"2. Add a new monthly rule 'Active Talent': All players must engage in conversation with others for 1000 sentences a day. Those who violate this rule will become mute, and this rule will be removed after two months."
"3. Optimize certain map areas for rising sea levels."
"4. Activate the visual personal panel for all players."
"Snow Sea Project Team wishes all players a pleasant gaming experience in version 4.0."
"PS: Preview of the next update – the Project Team has decided to introduce a 'Thriller' element into the next monthly rule. Players, please look forward to it."
-
Just a few simple sentences.
It looked like just another commonplace game update announcement, but the problem was, this wasn't a game, this was happening in reality!
April 1st was, indeed, April Fool's Day.
The abrupt voice and the panel that appeared before everyone's eyes seemed like a cruel April Fool's joke.
At first, most people were bewildered, unsure what was happening.
But when that day passed and the next one dawned.
Nearly twenty percent of the global population had become mute.
And that's when humanity realized that this damnable version update was a genuine supernatural event!!!
Though many completed the daily rule task on the first day, embracing the belief that it is better to be safe than sorry.
But—
Not everyone has the chance to converse with others for 1000 sentences every day.
This included mutes, people in vegetative states, severe cerebral palsy patients, those undergoing emergency treatment in intensive care, and infants who could not yet speak; the list was extensive.
In one day, the global population of mutes had nearly increased by twenty percent.
Fear quickly spread across the planet.
This unknown and mysterious force gave rise to all kinds of conspiracy theories spreading through various channels!
No one knew what was happening, but they were aware of one thing—they had to converse with others for 1000 sentences every day.
Even if it was nonsense.
Otherwise, the consequence would be eternal silence.
No logic applied.
Of course... from a certain perspective, those who were already mute seemed to be exempt from this punishment; after all, they were already unable to speak and couldn't complete the daily rule task, but they also didn't have to accept the punishment.
Was that considered good news?
Even amid such a disaster, humanity quickly adapted, establishing various regulations to ensure that everyone could manage the 1000 sentences of conversation every day.
Those in need could seek assistance from the government, giving rise to an emergency aid hotline.
The upper echelons were eagerly discussing the issue while trying to stabilize society as much as possible, gradually seeking solutions.
The full force of humanity mobilized is a fearsome thing.
The slogans on the exteriors of skyscrapers were the product of that first month.
But… just when humanity had grown accustomed to this way of life, thinking the situation couldn't get any worse.
The second month arrived.
On the first day of May.
That voice once again echoed in everyone's ears.