I am Breeze Aoba, eighteen years old, a new employee at a game company.
Two days ago, on my way to work, I found a purple cell phone. I wanted to find the owner, but the phone received a text message addressed to me. The content was -
"Congratulations, Ms. Breeze Aoba. You have been selected for this season's survival script. The script will begin in fourteen minutes, please be ready."
In retrospect, I should not have picked it up, I should have turned a blind eye; but if I didn't pick it up, someone else would have, and they would also have been caught up in this disaster. In that case, it would be as if someone was taking the blame for me, and it feels very uncomfortable.
Fourteen minutes later, I was drawn into a parallel world that was very similar to the world I lived in.
The purple mobile phone suddenly started vibrating while I was walking. It was a call from someone named Ninghai.
He might have been the mastermind, but that was not the case.
Ninghai, like me, is also a victim caught up in this disaster.
At that time, I proposed a hypothesis to him: our encounter might be a game, so we could examine the current situation with a gaming mindset. I don't remember exactly what I said, but that was the general idea. After saying those words, I immediately regretted it. I did some self-reflection, and it's possible that my work on game character design made me prone to thinking in terms of games. From Ninghai's perspective, who heard my statement, he probably thought I was a strange girl who was not very reliable. Although he immediately affirmed my statement, I still felt that his gaze on me afterwards was somehow strange, not sure if it was just a psychological illusion.
Afterwards, we went to Beaver High School following the instructions in the mysterious message.
Even in this parallel world, there is a person named Breeze Aoba, which is the identity I have assumed for now. The Aoba in this world has made a friend named Sanae Yukio, a girl who is both beautiful and handsome. Although it may be improper for me, as an elder, to say this, I am quite enamored with Yukio. Perhaps the Aoba in this world also shares similar thoughts, which is why he has become friends with Yukio.
Under Yukio's guidance, I found my class and seat, and also found Ninghai's seat. Ninghai came to school later, and we attended classes together.
The peaceful times did not last long, as Red Eye swept through Beaver City, turning the city into a living hell.
With Ninghai's help, I successfully escaped the school building and then met up with Yukio and Mr. Sanroku. The four of us left the school together. After arriving at Yukio's villa, Mr. Sanroku quickly turned into a patient and attacked us.
Red Eye turns infected individuals into reckless killers, but the transmission route is unclear. We also don't know what caused Mr. Sanrio to become a patient, as he was a perfectly normal person before, but suddenly became completely estranged.
Ninghai immediately apprehended Mr. Sanlin.
Unlike the weak me, Ninghai is a powerful superhuman, so whether the opponent is the gun-wielding Sanlin or the multiple patients attacking together, they can all be easily dealt with.
Mr. Three Wheels was locked up by us.
The next day, we went to the research institute established by the municipal government, trying to find a specific drug to treat Mr. Sanroun.
However, it failed.
There is no such thing as a miracle drug.
Not only that, but even the plan to flee the city was rejected by reality.
I was the one who proposed the idea that "if Mr. Sanrio leaves Beaver City, he may recover his original state" to Yukio, so I feel I should bear some responsibility for Yukio's subsequent despair... Although Ninghai said it's alright, I still can't help but feel anguished inside.
By late at night, even Yukio had become a patient, and we had locked him up.
We and Ninghai will eventually become patients... However, as people who do not belong to this world, we may be an exception, and the fact that we have not fallen ill so far is one piece of evidence; of course, this is just a lucky thought, and it is also possible that we are just lucky and the time of onset is just delayed.
To break the desperate situation, Ninghai went out to execute the dark message instructions, destroying the strongholds on the map.
By the morning of the third day, the instructions given to us by the Black Curtain had been completed by Ninghai. I thought it would take a very long time, but Ninghai proved to be quite capable.
The black curtain has sent us new instructions, which require us to destroy the core of the ritual. According to the intelligence shared by Ninghai, as long as we destroy the core of this ritual, the ritual will be disintegrated; and as long as the ritual is disintegrated, the city of Hebei can be saved. It is said that Red Eye is also a product of this ritual, so does that mean that after the ritual is resolved, Yukio and Mr. Sanroku will also recover?
I have a feeling that this may be the last instruction from the black curtain. As long as we complete this instruction, we will be able to "clear the game." It's strange that the word "clear the game" appears here, but... If our experience is really as I imagined, a game, then Beaver City is the game stage, Red Eye is the core setting, the cult members are the villains, and the text message instructions from the black curtain are the main quests. Destroying the ritual core means saving Beaver City, which can also be seen as the end of the nightmare, the completion of the main storyline, and the clearing of the game. Explaining it this way, it will seem quite reasonable, won't it?
I also know that this may just be my own wishful thinking, and it is too reckless to compare reality to a game.
Now, Ninghai has started to head towards the location of the ceremony.
I, the weak one, can only sit at home and wait for news from Ninghai.
Sometimes, I also envy Ninghai, envying his superpowers. If I had superpowers, wouldn't I also be able to fight bravely like Ninghai? I have seriously considered this question, and the conclusion is that I cannot.
Yukio does not have superpowers, yet she dares to get close to the patients and fight; but I now have the pistol given by Ninghai, yet I still cannot muster the courage to face the patients. Although Ninghai once told me that he is a mediocre person apart from his superpowers, in my eyes, even without superpowers, Ninghai has immense courage, doesn't he? The ability to bravely face terrifying things is also a formidable strength worthy of admiration.
From the very first meeting until now, Ninghai has always been so calm and composed, as if he never knew fear, and never got overwhelmed by difficulties. In contrast, if I didn't have Ninghai's support, I would have probably been torn apart by the crazy patients long ago.
I asked Ninghai his age, but he was interrupted by a sudden change before he could answer. Although I didn't get an answer, I think Ninghai is younger than me.
I am protected by a boy younger than myself, and whenever I think about this fact, I feel my face flushing with embarrassment and I hate my own weakness.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the entrance.
Has Ninghai returned? But wasn't he heading to the core site of the ceremony? By now, he should have just arrived at that location
I sat up in the living room on the first floor, intending to go open the door.
Immediately after that, I realized something weird.
Ninghai and I had agreed on a secret code, and he would definitely knock on the door according to that code when he came; but the person knocking the door now is not following that code, and is just knocking in a very ordinary way.
I quietly walked to the entrance, trying not to make a sound.
Is that right? Who would visit this villa at a time like this?
Ninghai told me that when he went to the supermarket to collect food, he encountered a group of survivors trying to rob him. This shows that although we are all survivors, we cannot necessarily be trusted. The person knocking on the door is most likely another survivor; and in the villa, it's just me and two patients. If Ninghai were here, even if the person knocking had ill intentions, he could easily take care of them.
The person outside knocked on the door again.
What should I do...
Could the person knocking on the door really be Ninghai, he just forgot the secret code?
It would be better to ask out loud in such a situation, but if it's a survivor with ill intentions... it's better not to make a sound.
I have a solution.
I took out my purple phone and called Ninghai.
The telephone was answered quickly.
"Aoba, what's wrong?" Ninghai asked.
I listened for a moment, and there was no sound of talking outside the door.
Indeed, that is not Ninghai!
"No, it's nothing..."I said in a low voice.
Then, I hung up the phone.
Long distance water cannot extinguish a nearby fire, and moreover, Ninghai is currently busy. I should try to solve the problem myself.
We cannot always rely on Ninghai.
But, what should be done
The person outside the door started knocking for the third time, the sound louder than the previous two, hinting at impatience.
I walked up to the door, tiptoed, and looked outside through the peephole.
A towering giant stood outside the door, dressed in a black robe adorned with red totem patterns.
Oh no! It's a cult member!
Moreover, he is a high-ranking member of the cult - Ninghai told me that cult members wearing black robes with totem patterns are likely to be those who can perform magic!
Suddenly, the giant outside the door and I made eye contact.
He knows I'm watching him!
It must have been noticed through the change in brightness of the cat's eyes.
He suddenly threw a punch at the door, his thick forearm punching through the solid wooden door panel, brushing past the side of my body.
That was a close call!
I jumped in fright and quickly turned around and ran.
Why are cult followers here?
What should I do? Where can I flee?
Escape the villa? But outside the villa are all patients, if you escape outside, you might immediately be killed by the patients.
Wait, escape outside... this method...may work.
I have the mask Ninghai gave me! As long as I wear that mask, I won't be attacked by the patients!
I ran to the living room, picked up the mask on the coffee table, and put it on my face; then, I also picked up the handgun that Yukio had once held, and turned and ran to the window.
At this moment, the door had been completely destroyed by the giant man, and he ran to the living room, looking at me standing in front of the window.
He strode towards me.
I quickly jumped out of the window.
Faced with the crisis of life and death, even though I am physically weak, I still ran at a very fast speed - at least it was very fast for me; however, this level of speed is no match for the giant behind me.
I had just run out of the villa and reached the road when the huge man was about to catch up to me.
Just a little further, about 20 meters... No, it's only 10 meters, he's going to catch me!
At that moment, the patients wandering around noticed the giant man chasing me, and they rushed towards the giant man.
Unlike me, the giant did not wear a mask that made patients ignore themselves. The attack by the patients held back the giant's steps, allowing me to pull away some distance.
I looked back.
The burly man let out a loud roar and began hurling the patients who had been restraining him aside, as if tossing away garbage bags, then continued charging towards me.
I suddenly felt a chill in my heart, turned around, and rushed forward.
I soon felt my strength rapidly declining, and I couldn't help but start panting.
The patients along the way all ignored me, but instead tried to stop the giant man chasing after me. If it wasn't for their help, I would have been caught long ago.
However, if I stop because of fatigue, even with their help, I will certainly be caught up by that giant.
Is there any other way?
I remembered my handgun, and I took it with me when I left the villa.
Shall I use it to shoot at the giant?
Although the opponent is a living person, they are also the murderer who made Beaver City into such a disastrous state, which is understandable both emotionally and rationally... However, I still have reservations about shooting at people. If it were Ninghai, what would he do? He would definitely not hesitate to open fire on the opponent; if it were Yukio, he would surely make the same choice.
I ran to a street, and the speed of my escape had already slowed down considerably.
The mighty giant pursued relentlessly.
Finally, after some hesitation, I drew my pistol and pulled the trigger at the giant.
The giant was about ten meters away from me, and at this distance, it was still too difficult for me who had never fired a gun before. Fortunately, the giant's body was huge, and my luck seemed to be good, so my first shot successfully hit the target.
The bullet hit the giant's body, went "boom", and was deflected.
The giant man continued running without stopping.
It didn't work at all!
If it weren't for the giant's black robe being punched with a hole, I would have thought I had missed!
Is this the power of magic? The kind of magic that this giant possesses is the one that can enhance his own defensive capabilities?
I dare not look back, I flee with all my might.
I don't know how long it had been, but I had run to the main entrance of an office building in the city center.
My physical strength is almost exhausted.
Each step of running is like trying to wring water out of a dry towel; every breath is like stimulating non-existent scars in the chest; every near-death escape is like spending another share of future luck.
Thanks to the persistence of the patients, I was not caught up.
But... this is the limit.
To be honest, being able to run to this place is already a miracle. Miracles don't happen one after another, this is common knowledge to anyone.
I struggled to drag my extremely sore legs and entered the office building.
The giant man chased after him relentlessly, as if he would never tire.
I slowly ran while observing my surroundings, suddenly feeling chilled.
Uh oh, there are no patients here...
Without patients, the giant's speed cannot be slowed.
You should not enter this office building.
I had to search, search for a place where I could hide, a place where the giant could never find me.
