Not What I Thought

"The power's out?"

Chen Xu was a bit surprised. In his memory, since moving here two years ago, there'd never been a blackout.

It seemed to have started around the year they cracked down on environmental violations, shutting down a lot of heavily polluting, high-energy-consumption factories. After that, there hadn't been any more power rationing.

Thinking this over, he headed downstairs, planning to grab some bread and milk from the cake shop on the corner to tide him over.

If he had a choice, he'd prefer something hot for breakfast. Unfortunately, the Steamed Bun Shop that used to be on the street had moved away a few months ago, because the rent had shot up too steeply.

As soon as he stepped onto the street, he felt something was seriously off.

Where were the people?

The entire street was completely empty—not a single person in sight.

It was the Morning Rush Hour right now. This street had over a dozen buildings, housing at least a few hundred people if not a thousand. At this time of day, there were usually tons of people rushing to work—

No!

Chen Xu's mind exploded with a sudden realization, a possibility dawning on him.

Could this be inside the dream?

At that thought, the Briefcase in his hand slipped and hit the ground with a thud.

He stared at the deserted street before him, too stunned to speak.

After a long moment, he muttered to himself, "I should've figured it out sooner."

It really was one hundred percent virtual reality.

No dazzling light effects, no earth-shattering spectacles. But every single detail was indistinguishable from reality. After Waking Up, he hadn't realized at all that he was already inside the dream.

He lightly pinched the back of his hand, clearly feeling the faint sting of pain.

"Even pain is fully simulated... Is this really inside a dream?"

His resolve began to waver.

In a state of utter turmoil, he grabbed the Briefcase from the ground and started running.

On the empty street, phones, wallets, and keys were scattered here and there. He ignored them, sprinting all the way to the end of the street. Turning the corner would lead to the main road.

He stopped at the intersection, standing at the corner, looking at the road ahead.

The road was packed with all kinds of vehicles. Most of the shops on both sides were open, everything seeming almost normal.

The only difference was that there were no people—not a single one.

He walked step by step to the bus stop. At this hour on a normal day, it would already be crammed with people waiting for the bus. Now, only a pile of phones, wallets, keys, and various bags remained on the ground.

"People vanished, but their stuff stayed behind?"

Looking at the items on the ground, his scalp tightened as he guessed at the dream's setup. At some moment—maybe the instant he woke up—everyone here had disappeared simultaneously, leaving their belongings behind.

Like pressing pause, then deleting the people.

No, that wasn't right.

He looked at the vehicles stopped on the road—it should be called a freeze-frame instead.

Otherwise, the cars that had been moving would have crashed into each other under inertia once their drivers vanished.

"Whatever the case, I'll head to the company first."

He stood there for a moment, deciding that getting to the office would put his mind at ease.

But how to get there? He looked at the bus parked a dozen meters away, feeling stumped. Was he supposed to walk on his own two legs? Seven or eight stops—he wouldn't make it in an hour on foot.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. If people disappeared but their things stayed behind, then the car keys should still be there.

He walked over to the nearest car and peered through the window. Sure enough, the keys were still in the ignition.

Chen Xu drove a black Volkswagen, cruising slowly toward the company.

There were too many cars on the road, especially at traffic light intersections, where piles of vehicles completely blocked the way. When that happened, he had no choice but to drive onto the sidewalk.

He'd gotten his driver's license in his senior year of college but rarely drove, so his skills were rusty. Scraping the car several times on the sidewalk, the rear door was even dented out of shape.

But at this point, he couldn't care about that. All his attention was on observing his surroundings.

When the car stopped in front of the company building, he was already certain—this really was inside the dream.

Though this wasn't the CBD, there were several Office Buildings nearby, plus a commercial street next door with a few big malls. The daily foot traffic was enormous, especially during the Morning Rush Hour.

Now, the entire road was dead silent, not a soul in sight. Aside from the engine noise of his car, there wasn't a single sound.

The stillness made his heart pound with unease.

Chen Xu let go of the steering wheel, rubbed his face hard, and sighed. "This isn't what I expected."

When entering the dream, there should at least be some kind of ceremonial process, right?

Or at least give him some mental preparation.

Who knew this system would completely ignore the usual routine—the moment he opened his eyes, he was already inside the dream.

This was too real—so real that he could barely tell whether this was a dream or reality.

To be honest, as he drove all the way here, seeing the empty cars parked on the road, the deserted streets, and the vacant shops on both sides, a chill crept up his spine. This was nothing like he had imagined.

"Forget it, since I'm already here, I'll figure out how to get through these hundred and eighty days." Chen Xu patted his face, shaking off those messy thoughts. He opened his briefcase, took out paper and a pen, and started writing while leaning over the steering wheel.

If he didn't find something to do right now, he wouldn't be able to hold it together.

He focused, organizing his thoughts.

First, water and food. The most urgent issue was eating and drinking.

He wrote these two words down on the first line.

Water wasn't a problem—every supermarket had plenty of bottled spring water. Just the water in this city alone would last him a lifetime.

Besides, bottled spring water usually had a shelf life of a year, so there was no worry about it going bad.

The trouble was food. Rice and flour, which kept for a long time, were manageable. But meat and vegetables wouldn't last long—especially meat. In this weather, it would go rancid in a day or two.

"Right, I need to gather enough meat and preserve it first, or else I'll be stuck eating canned food every day."

As a carnivore, Chen Xu couldn't tolerate a life without meat. He wrote "meat and vegetables" on the second line and started taking action.

If someone wanted to find a large amount of fresh meat, they'd usually think of a wet market or a big supermarket. But Chen Xu headed straight for the best restaurant near his company.

In his view, if he was looking for a Main Camp, the best place wasn't some luxury mansion or villa, nor a big supermarket. It was a restaurant. Preferably a high-end one—there, he'd find ready-made ingredients, a full variety, and no need to waste time scouring the market.

More importantly, larger restaurants had freezers, which were perfect for preserving meat.

And on top of that, the surrounding area was well-equipped—several large supermarkets nearby, where he could find all the daily necessities he needed.

A place like this as a Main Camp was simply perfect.