When You're the Only One Left in the World

Chen Xu thought about it all night but still couldn't make up his mind.

It wasn't until he woke up to the alarm the next day that he looked at the familiar ceiling, and the day ahead naturally unfolded in his mind.

First, a ten-minute walk to the bus stop, then a forty-five-minute bus ride to the company, where he'd start another dull and tedious day of work until six o'clock...

This repetitive life had already gone on for nearly two years.

And in the foreseeable future, it would continue for many more years.

Suddenly, he came to a realization. Since heaven had given him a chance to break out of this life, why hesitate?

He sat up sharply in bed, deciding to enter the dream that very night.

This mysterious dream device, whose origin he didn't know, had an Anti-Addiction System that only allowed entry after midnight. He couldn't get in during the day even if he wanted to.

On the crowded bus, Chen Xu activated the Virtual Dream Device and began preparing for entry.

He browsed the items the system offered, which displayed over a dozen options: a power source with a rated capacity of one hundred thousand kilowatts and unlimited electricity, a multifunctional dagger that could cut through anything, a perpetual-motion truck with a hundred-ton load capacity, and so on.

If he could have just one of these in reality, it would be incredible. Unfortunately, it all only existed in the dream.

Next, he looked at the second option: choosing an assistant.

The system had many character templates to pick from, each with various skills—doctors, wilderness survival experts, Eighth-Grade Repairman, chefs, and more.

In a post-apocalyptic dream setting, these items and assistants should come in handy.

So, which one to choose?

After careful consideration, he first ruled out the item category.

In a post-apocalyptic setting, he'd probably rarely run into other people. Being alone in that kind of environment was pretty terrifying to think about. Better to pick an assistant—at least someone to talk to.

Then, which one?

Chen Xu looked at the dozen or so assistant options displayed, still using the process of elimination.

Hmm, first remove the males, leaving only seven females.

These two looked a bit old—out.

These two were too androgynous—no.

In the end, Chen Xu stared at the remaining three female characters, rubbing his chin. To put it bluntly, their appearances were all somewhat underwhelming. Not pretty enough. By his standards, they barely scored a sixty.

If he had a choice, he'd naturally prefer someone more attractive.

Chen Xu's gaze shifted to the "More" option, and a fresh batch of characters instantly appeared before him, their looks a step up—all scoring above eighty.

"Selecting this character requires fifteen universal points. Please recharge first. Redirecting to recharge page."

"Sorry, you are a guest and do not have recharge permissions."

Chen Xu looked at the two prompts that popped up, his eyelid twitching. Sure enough, no matter how advanced technology got, these companies were always out for money.

It seemed he'd have to pick one from these three.

Just then, the bus reached his stop. He got off with the crowd and looked up, seeing office workers rushing everywhere. His eyes swept over the crowd and landed on a tall girl. He couldn't help thinking, Anyone off the street is better than those three female characters.

"Right."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him. He remembered something. "Can't I use a real person as a template to create a character?"

His eyes lit up with excitement.

"Damn, it actually has to be a real person as a template."

Chen Xu sat down at his desk, a bit frustrated. In the elevator earlier, he'd tried to create a version of a certain Female Celebrity at the peak of her beauty.

And failed miserably.

The system prompted that it had to be based on a real person who was currently within his line of sight, so it could scan and build the model.

What a letdown.

He stared at his computer screen, thinking about whether anyone he knew would be suitable.

He first ruled out the female colleagues in his department—their looks were all average.

He also eliminated the other women he knew. In his social circle, there wasn't anyone particularly attractive.

Who should he pick?

Just then, a woman in a trench coat and Sunglasses walked out from the end of the hallway.

His eyes lit up. How could he have forgotten her?

Fair skin, beautiful face, long legs—she was the one.

This woman was called Luo Xiyun, around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. She joined the company this year and landed a director position right away. Many speculated she was a direct relative of some big shot at headquarters—a total Bai Fumei.

A woman like her belonged to a completely different world from his. Under normal circumstances, they'd never cross paths.

She was the perfect choice.

Now, Luo Xiyun wore a black trench coat that accentuated her tall figure, and her confident stride was evident from the way she walked.

Chen Xu was seeing her features up close for the first time, and he had to admit—even with his jaded eye, bombarded by all kinds of makeup, Photoshopped pictures, and beauty-filtered videos, she was the kind of woman who could stun him at first glance.

"She's the one."

Without hesitation, he activated the scanning function of the Virtual Dream Device.

"Scan successful. Character template established."

Hearing the prompt, his heart raced with excitement, and he could barely wait to enter the dream.

A day could feel short for some, but unbearably long for others.

Chen Xu barely made it through work, rushed home, ate dinner, washed up, and lay down on the bed. With a thrill he couldn't quite explain, he slowly drifted into sleep.

After an unknown stretch of time, a voice sounded in his dream: "You are about to enter the virtual dream 'Doomsday Survival.' When the entire world is left with only you, how will you survive?"

"This dream has a difficulty level of zero, with a duration of one hundred and eighty days. We wish you a pleasant experience in this dream."

Wait, one hundred and eighty days?

Chen Xu's eyes snapped open, and he saw the familiar ceiling. He'd moved into this Rented House two years ago, and every morning when he Waking Up, he'd see that slightly yellowed patch of ceiling.

"It failed?"

He was a bit confused and a little frustrated, unsure where things had gone wrong. He tried to summon the Virtual Dream Device's interface, but calling out several times got no response.

"How could this happen?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling like something was off.

He fished his phone out from under the pillow to check the time, only to find it had somehow turned off.

Turning it on, he saw it was already 7:30. He quickly got up and changed, ready to head to work.

The company's attendance policy was strict; being late meant not only a pay cut but also losing the year-end bonus. He didn't want to work hard for most of the year only to blow it all now.

When he went to the bathroom, he found the light wouldn't turn on. He figured it was a tripped breaker and ignored it. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he checked the leakage switch before leaving—it was fine, not tripped at all.