Their former residence was unusually quiet. The moment the door was opened, the stench of blood hit them. Yi Yu yanked Xu Yi back, quickly shut the door, and used his body to block the zombie inside.

“Three, two, one—run!”

The door broke open. Yi Yu and Xu Yi bolted, dashing out of the basement. They rounded a corner and ducked into an old building. The zombies outside lost their direction and continued wandering aimlessly.

Xu Yi bent over, panting. “We have to go back.”

On their way back, they were even more cautious. To prevent the zombies from following, Xu Yi locked the door behind them.

No one knew what had happened, but everything seemed preordained.

In a corner of the wall, Yi Yu pried loose a brick that was about to fall. Behind it was a single glass bottle. Inside the bottle was a piece of paper.

He unfolded it. Two characters were written on it: “Xiao Guai” (Little One).

Xu Yi also found another exit. Everything was nearing its end. The world was on the verge of recovering. The sky was no longer dark—blue skies and white clouds returned. On top of the tall buildings, there were no more crows, only birds singing. Even the vines growing up the skyscrapers would soon be consumed by fire.

All traces would vanish, but the surviving humans would remember.

Some had lost their lives here. A portion of people would remember the zombie outbreak that once ravaged the world and the horrors of human nature, but still, they would move forward.

The instance ended. They returned to the room with the original screens, but half the people were gone. Li Xiaoming was crying. The usually boisterous Wang Qiang said nothing. Blood stained Fei Ye’s clothes.

“Liu Ma didn’t make it.”

Later, they learned that Liu Ma’s group had entered a historical warfare instance. He was struck by a sword while protecting Fei Ye.

Many others didn’t make it back either. The laughter and cheer of the last world felt like it had just been yesterday. The tension Xu Yi had been holding in suddenly snapped, the sound vibrating in his chest, and when he turned back, his face was streaked with tears.

The screen lit up again. This time, it resembled more of a documentary—a toddler’s stumbling figure running toward his parents, who were waiting not far ahead with encouragement.

Xiao Bai’s life train this time ran smoothly. Many people got on and off the train, until the final stop, when a boy around Xiao Bai’s age boarded. Walking through the blazing sun, he slowly made his way to Xiao Bai.

“Can I sit next to you?”

Xiao Bai nodded. The train changed, but the person beside him never did again.

[System]: This instance has ended. Congratulations to the players who made it out. You have now entered the final two rounds of the competition.

With that announcement, they returned to the alternate world. Yi Yu said nothing. He simply let Xu Yi vent. That entire night, Yi Yu didn’t sleep. Some place in his heart ached in a way that made him restless.

Days passed, yet the system issued no further instructions. Li Xiaoming and Wang Qiang had adjusted their emotions and came to Xu Yi’s room early in the morning.

Unexpectedly, they were turned away at the door.

Inside, Yi Yu was eating, and Xu Yi was fully cooperating. For two straight days, the two of them burned like a wildfire, neither willing to be the first to stop. Afterward, Yi Yu tried to wipe down Xu Yi, only for Xu Yi to flip the situation on him.

“Not eating anymore?”

Pulling the blanket over himself, Yi Yu chuckled, “Nope.”

When Li Xiaoming saw Yi Yu, Xu Yi was lying in bed. After just a few days, one looked radiant, the other like he’d been sick for a week. Only Xu Yi knew—he had nearly died in that bed.

“Yi-ge, doesn’t it taste bland without chili?” Li Xiaoming asked casually.

Yi Yu replied without thinking, “Xu Yi can’t eat spicy food.”

At the bar, the beer in Xu Yi’s hand had been replaced with orange juice. Fei Ye and Li Hai were playing Bee Game. Li Xiaoming and Wang Qiang were playing rock-paper-scissors. Yi Yu sat silently beside them.

“Is the chair too hard?”

Xu Yi gave him a light punch, soft as cotton. “Get lost.”