After careful consideration, Mu Chenyi made his decision—
He would take the risk and seek out "Xiao Chen"!
In this apocalyptic game, players needed to stick together to survive.
This wasn't some battle royale survival game where eliminating other human players granted any kind of reward.
It made no sense for players to kill each other—at least, not yet.
Preparing for the Outside World
Mu Chenyi changed into his clothes and got ready to leave what was supposed to be his "home."
But before stepping out—
He walked over to the window, carefully observing the world outside.
Everything looked exactly the same as in reality.
His apartment building, the streets, the surrounding environment—
Everything was identical.
Except…
For the monsters.
Their existence alone made this world an unimaginable nightmare.
Danger lurked everywhere.
Blending In
He then turned to his bathroom mirror, staring at his own reflection.
Slowly—
He forced his face into the same eerie grin he had seen on the monsters.
That unnatural, lifeless, frozen smile.
He had noticed it—
All monsters wore this expression when pretending to be human.
If he wanted to blend in, he had to learn how to mimic it perfectly.
For the next ten minutes, he practiced the forced, unsettling smile, adjusting his facial muscles until he felt he could maintain the expression naturally.
Finally, he rubbed his stiff cheeks, took a deep breath, and—
Opened the door.
A Walk Among Monsters
Mu Chenyi stepped outside, his forced grin still plastered onto his face.
He walked out of his apartment building—
And immediately spotted several figures moving around the neighborhood.
People.
At least, they looked like people.
His neighbors—familiar faces, people whose names he could still recall.
But when he looked closer…
Every single one of them wore that same unsettling, artificial grin.
His breath hitched.
They were all monsters.
Could some of them still be human, just like him—forcing a fake smile to blend in?
Possibly.
But the risk was too high.
There were too many monsters, and the chance of mistakenly trusting one was terrifyingly high.
It would be like playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded revolver.
Avoiding the Police Station
He knew one thing for sure—
He couldn't just walk into the police station and expect to find Xiao Chen immediately.
For one, he didn't even know what she looked like.
And second—
Regular civilians weren't allowed into the internal work areas of the station.
If he just walked into the main lobby, he had no way of contacting Xiao Chen directly.
He needed a plan.
Time Limit: 10:24 AM
Mu Chenyi glanced at his watch.
10:24 AM.
If he couldn't find Xiao Chen soon—
He would have to give up and go buy the fish before it was too late.
That was his backup plan.
A City of Horror
As he stepped onto the main street, an eerie realization struck him—
Everyone around him was smiling.
All the pedestrians, walking casually, chatting as if life were completely normal—
Every single one of them wore that stiff, hollow, forced smile.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like a perfectly ordinary city.
But to Mu Chenyi—
It was pure nightmare fuel.
It felt like he had entered a dystopian world controlled by artificial intelligence—
Where humans had been replaced by unsettling, puppet-like creatures.
Arming Himself
Since time was still on his side, he made a quick stop at a large supermarket.
Inside, he moved quickly, grabbing a few supplies—
A lighter A pack of sparklers (small fireworks)
Why?
Because fire could be a universal deterrent—and a distraction.
If these monsters acted like humans, they might also fear fire like humans did.
And if not—
He could still use the sparklers to create chaos and divert attention.
He had no idea if these tools would actually help,
But at least it gave him some form of self-defense.
A Strange Observation
As he wandered through the store, he noticed something peculiar.
The monsters were all perfectly imitating human behavior.
Shopping for groceries.
Speaking in normal tones.
Going about their daily lives as if nothing was wrong.
If it weren't for their creepy fake smiles, he might have mistakenly thought this was just another ordinary day.
Why?
What benefit did these creatures gain from pretending to be human?
Was it instinct?
Or was there something—or someone—controlling them from behind the scenes?
Mu Chenyi didn't have enough information yet to answer these questions.
But one thing was clear—
This apocalypse wasn't just about survival.
There was a deeper mystery waiting to be uncovered.
Final Preparations
After paying for his items, he placed them into a black plastic bag, concealing their presence.
With one last glance at the smiling shoppers, he stepped out of the store—
His next move would determine his fate.
At the supermarket entrance, Mu Chenyi hailed a cab.
He climbed in, shut the door, and said to the driver—
"Sir, take me to Langang Factory."
The moment he spoke, he noticed something—
The driver's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, scanning him carefully.
Then, a familiar expression stretched across the driver's face—
That eerie, unnatural, fake smile.
Another monster.
Mu Chenyi had already expected this.
He had encountered too many of them already.
So, without hesitation—
He smiled back.
A Subtle Interrogation
"Kid, Langang Factory burned down ten years ago," the driver said, his hollow, emotionless eyes still locked onto Mu Chenyi through the rearview mirror.
"People died there. It's eerie as hell, completely abandoned. What business do you have there?"
As he spoke, his gaze never wavered, watching Mu Chenyi too closely.
That was not normal.
A typical taxi driver might glance at a passenger once or twice, but their focus was always on the road.
Even if they were curious, they wouldn't keep staring at their passengers like this.
This driver—
Was clearly testing him.
A Dangerous Situation
A tense silence filled the car.
For two full seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then—
Mu Chenyi broke the silence, his voice cool and casual:
"Sir, is there something on my face? You keep looking at me."
His tone was sharp, yet his smile never wavered.
This was a test.
And he wasn't going to fail it.
The Driver's Reaction
The moment Mu Chenyi questioned him, the driver hesitated.
Then—
"Sorry about that," the driver finally said, his gaze shifting back to the road.
"I was just curious why you're heading to an abandoned place."
Mu Chenyi narrowed his eyes.
He had been right.
Every monster in this world followed strict behavioral patterns, imitating human routines.
But—
Whenever something didn't make sense, they would probe for answers.
If Mu Chenyi had let the driver continue staring at him without reacting—
That would have been suspicious.
A normal human would have called it out if a driver kept staring at them rudely.
So his confrontation had been the correct move.
By questioning the driver, he had successfully passed the test.
Pattern Recognition
This wasn't the first time he had been tested.
That morning—
His "mother's" unusual kindness had been a trap as well.
She had never spoken to him in such a soft, affectionate tone before.
So when she suddenly did, it had been a test—a baited trap.
And he had nearly exposed himself.
Arriving at the Destination
After a few minutes, the taxi rolled to a stop.
The driver turned around, his smile never fading.
"That'll be 12 yuan. WeChat or Alipay?"
Mu Chenyi remained silent for a moment.
Then, after a few seconds, he spoke calmly—
"The police station is less than three kilometers from here… and you're charging me 12 yuan?"
In Jiangcheng, where his parents lived, taxi fares weren't that high.
The base fare was 7 yuan, and for a trip under three kilometers, it was impossible for the fare to reach 12 yuan.
So—
If this taxi wasn't an illegal cab…
Then the driver's overcharging was another test.
The second test.
The Driver's Reaction
For a brief moment, the driver paused—
Then—
"Hahaha! Just kidding! Give me 7 yuan, the base fare is fine!"
His expression never changed, his disturbing, stiff smile still frozen in place—
But his voice suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
A forced, almost robotic laugh.
Something about it felt deeply unnatural, as if he were faking human emotions.
It made Mu Chenyi's skin crawl.
Escaping the Monster's Car
Mu Chenyi quickly paid and stepped out of the taxi.
He didn't want to spend another second in that cursed vehicle.
If it weren't for the urgency of time, he would never have willingly taken a ride from one of these things.
A Strange Detail
As he walked away, he noticed something interesting.
His WeChat balance was exactly the same as it was in reality.
The game hadn't deducted or altered his financial status.
That meant—
In economic aspects, this apocalypse simulation was completely accurate to real life.
The Abandoned Factory
Mu Chenyi lifted his gaze—
A massive, abandoned industrial complex stood before him.
This was Langang Factory.
A place long deserted—once a thriving textile mill, now just an empty shell.
Checking the Time
He glanced at his phone screen.
10:52 AM.
In exactly ten minutes, he would be able to activate [Eye of Death] again.
Planning the Conversation
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, running through the scenario in his mind.
How should he phrase his words?
How could he invite "Xiao Chen" out without alerting the monsters?
And worse—
He still didn't know her name or her face.
The Call Begins
After a few moments of careful thought, he dialed the number.
The phone rang—
Beep… Beep… Beep…
And then—
Someone picked up.