Qi Si opened his eyes to a gray, overcast sky.
Beneath it stood a row of dark yellow European-style buildings, built from alternating wood and stone bricks. The buildings stood so close together that they crowded the narrow streets, blocking out every glimmer of light. Religious murals and shrines bathed in shadow made the place feel all the more oppressive and eerie.
Shabbily dressed men and women moved back and forth through the archways. They were all pale-skinned, with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes. Their solemn expressions bordered on blankness, and from a distance, their ashen faces looked almost like ghosts.
Qi Si sat on the steps in front of a small wooden house. Looking down, he saw dead fish scattered carelessly on either side of the door.
The passersby had trampled the scales and fish blood into muddy filth, smearing the ground with a sticky, revolting mess.
Qi Si frowned, realizing that he couldn't smell the blood he'd expected.
Then he realized he was dreaming.
He didn't bother getting up. Lazily propping his chin on his hand, he analyzed the situation.
"According to the rules of the gunman game, Lu Li should be the first one targeted. And if they're picking on the weakest, I refuse to believe I'm the only newbie who just became an Official Player. Besides that, I don't think I've done anything special. If drinking that bowl of Soul-Calming Soup is going to get us into trouble, Chang Xu drank it too. We can die together..."
A door creaked open behind him, interrupting Qi Si's thoughts.
He turned at the sound and saw Chang Xu, dressed in black, standing expressionlessly in the doorway. His eyes were unfocused, and he looked utterly lost.
...Well, that was fine, then.
Qi Si was silent for two seconds, then