Drawing Lots

As the mission progressed, everything felt increasingly familiar. They had walked this same route yesterday, and they could already see the office building up ahead.

Their company was on the ninth floor, and they were certain that "Wang Jie" was waiting for them in the hallway outside.

"Brother Qiang." Yuan Xiaotian edged closer and lowered his voice. "This is the same route we took yesterday, and those cars parked nearby are the same, too." He gestured with his eyes. Xia Qiang followed his gaze and saw a red sports car parked by the road, impossible to miss.

"I remember that car from yesterday," Yuan Xiaotian murmured. "And I just saw a few familiar faces among the people nearby."

"This is exactly what happened yesterday, all over again." Zhou Tong looked grave.

Xia Qiang's cold gaze swept slowly across their surroundings as he studied the pedestrians passing by.

There were white-collar workers hurrying along with coffee in hand, middle-aged men standing by the roadside smoking as they talked on the phone, and students with backpacks who had just come out of breakfast shops.

All sorts of people, all sorts of faces. Every one of them seemed vividly real.

But the longer he watched, the more a strange feeling stirred in Xia Qiang's heart.

It was as if... these people were more like robots, each following a set routine.

Their thoughts, emotions, even their bodies, were all programmed by code, unchanging.

They kept repeating the same mechanical, rigid lives.

It was a very strange feeling, but at that moment, Xia Qiang truly thought so.

Seeing the odd look on Xia Qiang's face, Zhou Tong asked, "Brother Qiang, did you think of something?"

Coming back to himself, Xia Qiang raised the question they couldn't avoid—the biggest threat they faced right now. "I think