Chapter 3-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
[Six Tips for Preventing Infectious Diseases!]
[A Fierce Onslaught? Academicians and Experts Analyze the Current Viral Epidemic]
[Spring Festival Gala to Be Canceled?]
In a deserted fast-food restaurant, Lin Huijun wore Bluetooth earphones and scrolled through short videos with a grave expression. Someone sat down across from her and unceremoniously grabbed the fries in front of her.
"The government is urging citizens to minimize outings. If I get infected, won't you feel guilty?"
Lin Huijun removed her earphones and said flatly, "If you're worried about infection, put down my fries first."
Bai Shan obediently set down the already-empty fry bag. She subtly noticed that Lin Huijun's mood seemed off.
Lin Huijun was an enthusiastic person—sometimes overly so, to the point of being annoying.
Unsolicited kindness was a burden, a subtle form of emotional blackmail.
Bai Shan didn't help others, nor did she expect others to help her. That was the most beautiful distance between people.
So she was destined never to become close with someone like Lin Huijun.
They weren't exactly close, but they did see each other every day at school. Bai Shan knew Lin Huijun was the type who wouldn't voluntarily burden others.
"Bai Shan, I've been thinking it over, and among everyone I know, you seem to be the only one I can discuss this with."
The two left the fast-food restaurant and walked along the empty riverside. The winter wind lashed at their faces in gusts, numbing their expressions with cold.
"Don't you feel like recent events have been really sudden?" Lin Huijun said, seemingly out of nowhere.
Bai Shan understood what she was referring to and slowly replied, "Something like this happened when we were in middle school too. Just stay home and behave—what's there to worry about?"
Lin Huijun's lower face retreated into her turtleneck sweater. After a long pause, she stretched her neck out, exhaled, and smiled. "Bai Shan, the word 'behave' has absolutely nothing to do with you."
If Bai Shan were an obedient, well-behaved student, Lin Huijun wouldn't have come to her to discuss this.
"I'm worried because... I know a bit of inside information."
The air froze for a moment.
"Hahaha, Bai Shan, it's rare to see such an obvious expression on your face."
Lin Huijun laughed and patted Bai Shan's shoulder. Bai Shan snapped back to her senses and imperceptibly took a step back.
"...What inside information?"
"I heard your mom earned some kind of third-class or second-class merit—she's a really impressive soldier."
This was something people at school had blown wildly out of proportion, embellishing it to sound like some incredible wartime military achievement.
Bai Shan steadied her voice as best she could and asked, "Did she tell you something?"
Lin Huijun thought Bai Shan's reaction was a bit odd, but she didn't overthink it and answered honestly:
"No, my mom went up north. We haven't been in contact for months. She asked someone to look after me, and it was that auntie who told me."
"What I'm trying to say is—what's sweeping the globe isn't some disease."
Lin Huijun hesitated, her eyes darting around. Her voice dropped lower and lower. "No, I can't say for certain either. At least it hasn't affected humans yet... What's really being affected are animals and plants, and some weather patterns. They're undergoing mutations."
"What kind of mutations?" Bai Shan pressed, her tone urgent.
Rumble, rumble—In the distance, workers drove bulldozers as rows of roadside trees toppled, the rising dust forcing the two to stop.
"I don't know the specifics either. Internet censorship is extremely strict right now, and related discussions aren't allowed to appear."
Lin Huijun rested her hands on the icy riverside railing. "That auntie told me to be careful, stay away from anything that looks strange, and report any situations promptly."
A blinding flash of white light suddenly glinted off the river surface, stinging Lin Huijun's eyes. She turned toward Bai Shan and noticed her expression had turned grim.
Bai Shan was silent for a long while, until at some point, her tense shoulders and neck suddenly relaxed, as if something had collapsed inside her.
"Thank you for telling me all this... I'll take care of myself."
Bai Shan forced a smile, but the warmth didn't reach her eyes.
"No, no, no—that's not my main point! I haven't even gotten to what's bothering me yet. You're not allowed to leave!"
Lin Huijun grabbed Bai Shan, who was trying to slip away. Bai Shan turned her head and looked at her irritably. "I'm not your therapist!"
Lin Huijun barreled on regardless:
"Just hear me out—I feel a bit... guilty!"
"Huh?"
"I know the truth, but I have to go along with hiding it from most people. Yet I can't contribute to the situation like that auntie and the others—I'm just enjoying their protection..."
Bai Shan said, "Feeling like you've become one of the privileged?"
Derailed by the interjection, Bai Shan recovered a bit of her usual teasing demeanor.
"You're overthinking your own importance. Your auntie gave a friend's kid a couple of warnings—that hardly counts as inside information. And even knowing the 'truth,' all you can do is the same as everyone else: stay home as much as possible."
"Relax. How the world runs isn't something for us high schoolers to worry about. The authorities definitely have follow-up plans."
Lin Huijun nodded vigorously, her eyes bright again.
As Bai Shan spoke, her perpetually droopy, listless eyes unconsciously widened. Her dark pupils fixed on the other girl with a hint of urgency, though her tone carried a light, almost airy laugh:
"If humanity's survival depended on a student worrying about it, then we'd really be doomed, wouldn't we?"
*
Schools were suspended. Companies with the means adopted remote work. Only the occasional car passed through the streets.
Bai Shan returned to her residential complex. Notices from the property management were posted on the walls, listing plans to clear the rooftop weeds, repair facilities, and carry out disinfection of the complex, while advising residents to minimize outings.
In the elevator, Bai Shan was still mulling over the word "why."
Why use an infectious disease as the cover story?
Perhaps because the public had prior experience dealing with one, making it easier to accept than some novel concept. It could achieve the desired effect without causing enough panic to trigger chaos.
It was also possible that the authorities had discovered some kind of infectious agent causing the mutations in animals and plants, and declared an epidemic to prevent potential further impact on humans.
Why had Lin Huijun come to her to share this?
Their relationship fell squarely in the "ordinary classmates" category. Heart-to-heart topics shouldn't have been her turn.
Bai Shan knew she was being a bit paranoid, but with something this strange happening, she couldn't help overthinking.
Besides, Lin Huijun had also revealed something even more alarming.
"Lin Huijun, do you want to play a game? Want to come to my place and play together?"
By the riverside, just before parting, Bai Shan had tentatively asked. But Lin Huijun's reaction was completely unexpected.
"What game?"
"The computer game I was playing when you came to my place last time."
Lin Huijun had stared at her for a long moment before carefully saying, "Bai Shan, but when I visited your place last time, your computer screen was black the entire time."
In an instant, even the slim hope of "a hacker's random prank" evaporated.
...Mutations affecting animal and plant ecosystems, a "pandemic" fabricated to conceal the mutations, a "game" only she could see—when coincidences pile up this much, it could only mean one thing————
The game she was playing, Tomorrow's Dominator, was truly influencing reality!
The moment she confirmed it, the Sword of Damocles that had been hanging overhead finally fell. Bai Shan no longer needed to live in fear and wild speculation, because the worst outcome had already come to pass—and it had landed squarely on her head.
Thud!
Back in her room, Bai Shan slammed both palms onto the solid wood desk. A stinging heat spread through her palms, but the computer didn't budge, its screen displaying calmly.
[Continue the game?]
[Yes | No]
The game she was playing was overlapping with reality—but why me?!
This question plagued Bai Shan endlessly, and she couldn't find a single clue.
If the game's storyline was destined to become reality, then in at most a year and a half, the world would undergo a complete transformation. Humanity would vanish overnight, leaving only one person struggling to survive.
In moments of frustration with interpersonal relationships, she'd occasionally wished she were the only person left in the world. But now, faced with the possibility of it actually coming true, she felt a primal terror.
This wasn't her playing a game in reality—the game was playing her!
Bai Shan sank into her chair, gripping the mouse, hovering between "Yes" and "No."
She had no intention of telling anyone about this. A high school student pointing at a black computer screen and claiming it contained a game that would destroy the world—especially when she was already a "problem student"—would more likely end up in a special school.
And if the "game" took offense at her acting on her own, the odds of a "Final Destination" scenario playing out in her apartment weren't small either.
Right now, whether to continue the game was what tormented Bai Shan the most.
[Tyrant] had already reached Level 50, unlocking the third Skill "Admonition," and possessed 3 S-Tier items along with numerous achievement-based buff bonuses.
She was nearing the national border, one major step closer to the Arctic secret room the game had hinted contained the ultimate truth.
The chances of clearing this run were high.
Continuing the game would give her access to more information—but what if the game itself was a trap?
Everything before her eyes seemed to warp into a dark vortex. Bai Shan could no longer tell which way was which. She was blind; moving forward or backward made no difference.
Silence. More silence.
After a long pause, the frozen cursor on screen finally moved.
Click—a crisp keystroke.
Bai Shan chose [Yes]. Continue the game.
—She was just a high school student; there was no need to agonize over such grand questions. If humanity's survival truly depended on her alone, then they'd really be doomed, wouldn't they?
Since racking her brain yielded no reliable conclusions, she might as well just go for it. Treat it as an ordinary game and follow through on her earlier vow to beat it.
The less information she had, the more passive she'd be. This time, Bai Shan wasn't just going to clear the game—she had to uncover the true purpose of Tomorrow's Dominator.
On the computer screen, the character bearing the ID [Tyrant] stood in a snow-covered forest. Deep snow buried her up to the waist, making every step a struggle.
Now calm, Bai Shan used the S-Tier item [Flower of Reversion]. Within a hundred-meter radius centered on her, the ice and snow instantly vanished, and spring returned to the land.
One year. According to the game's timeline, there should still be about a year before the game officially launched. That was enough time for her to conquer Tomorrow's Dominator and dig out every piece of information the game was hiding.
If she gathered enough information, she might even find a way to prevent the mutations from happening.
For the next entire month, Bai Shan couldn't even be bothered to idle in her school's online classes. Apart from eating and sleeping, all she did was play the game.
The grade director repeatedly urged in the group chat that "senior students must not slack off and must go all out preparing for the college entrance exam," while never forgetting to use "don't be like certain students" as a negative example to passive-aggressively call her out.
One day, Bai Shan took a moment to reply.
[Senior Year Class 2, #52 Bai Shan: Already going all out preparing for the game at home. Rest assured, sir.]
*
Author's Note:
Arriving with the new novel, The Sole Player! As always, updates daily at noon.
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