After dinner, the camp settled into a heavy silence. The fire had burned low, embers glowing faintly beneath a triangle of stacked tin cans. Crickets—or whatever insectoid mutants survived this hellhole—buzzed faintly in the distance.
Lin clapped his hands together, still trying to appear like the "captain" everyone pretended he was.
"A-alright, so... sleeping arrangements."
Yuzuki squealed first, her eyes sparkling. "Yay~! I want the sleeping bag with the little stars on it!"
"There are no stars on any of these," Yue said flatly, already unpacking hers. "They are military-issue. Standard thermal lining. Identical."
Yuzuki pouted. "But one of them feels cuter!"
Lin cleared his throat, trying to get back on track. "R-right, uh, anyway—someone's gotta keep watch. We don't know what kind of creatures come out at night in this place. I'll take the first shift."
Before he could even sit upright, all four girls started talking at once.
"I'll do it," Yue snapped, standing at attention like she was about to be drafted.
"No way," Sierra cut in. "You're a close-range fighter and you've been leading the pace all day. You need rest."
"I do not require rest. My cryogenic augmentations—"
"Shut it, Robo-bitch," Sierra said with a grin. "You want to collapse halfway through a mutant wolf fight tomorrow?"
"I'll take first shift~!" Yuzuki raised her hand like she was in class. "That way, Producer-sama can have sweet dreams~! I'll protect you~!"
"No offense, Idol Legs, but you couldn't spot a stalker if he was wearing a glowing sign that said 'I'm behind you.'"
Celestine's voice cut through the noise like a candle in a crypt. "I will remain awake. The stars speak clearest when all else is silent."
"No offense, Witchy," Sierra muttered, "but last time you talked to the stars, we almost followed a smoke plume into a crater."
Lin held up both hands. "G-girls! I appreciate the enthusiasm, but seriously, I can do it. I haven't contributed much today, and I feel like I should at least—"
"Negative," Yue snapped. "You are system priority. You must remain functional. Combat rotation dictates that expendables take first shift."
Lin flinched. "Wait, expendable?!"
"You'll get second shift," Sierra said, plopping into her sleeping bag. "That's fair. Wake you when the moon's above the pipe over there."
"But I—"
"Captain," Yue said, voice cold but not unkind. "Sleep. I will watch."
Lin sat there for a second, mouth slightly open, feeling like he had just been politely shoved aside by a military tribunal in hot pants.
"...Y-yeah. Okay. I—I guess that works. I'll, um, take second shift. Just... gimme a kick or something when it's time."
Yue gave a short nod and sat near the edge of the camp, eyes locked on the shadows. Her breath was even, calm, and her posture looked like she could snap into violence at any moment.
Yuzuki hummed to herself as she curled into her bag, still clutching the "cuter" one. "Producer-samaaa~ sleep tight~ Don't let the mutant bugs bite~!"
Sierra flipped onto her stomach, using her arms as a pillow. "If anything gets through her, I'm shooting it. Even if it's you sleepwalking."
Celestine lay on her back, arms crossed peacefully over her chest like a corpse at rest. "The void watches. The void waits."
Lin slowly crawled into his own sleeping bag, heart still racing a little. He wasn't sure if he was comforted by their protectiveness or emasculated into the next plane of existence.
Still... it was kinda nice.
A warm bag. Four beautiful girls. A fire.
And no mutant wolves. Yet.
He stared up at the crumbling concrete above, whispered softly, "Fuck me, what even is my life right now..."
Then slowly, reluctantly, drifted into sleep.
***
The world in his dream was strangely vivid.
The smoggy skyline of his hometown shimmered in gold under the late summer sun. Motorbikes buzzed past hawker stalls. The aroma of scallion pancakes and chili oil wafted through the air. He was back in the narrow alley outside his parents' apartment, standing barefoot on the cool tile.
His mother called from the window.
"Ah Feng! Dinner's ready! Come help me with the rice!"
He turned his head and saw his father lounging on the worn-out couch, watching the news and grumbling about property prices. On the table, his old laptop buzzed—his dorm group chat blinking with stupid memes and unfinished plans.
Then the sky twisted.
The streets cracked. The buildings melted.
One by one, the faces disappeared.
He called out—"MOM! DAD! Wèizhēn! Guōzi!"—but the wind swallowed his voice. The city was empty.
He realized something with a sick drop in his gut:
They might be looking for him.
Or maybe they weren't.
Maybe they had already moved on.
Maybe they thought he just... disappeared. Maybe nobody was coming. Maybe no one could come.
A chill ran down his spine even in the dream.
And then—
He shot awake.
Gasping.
The fire was dying. The stars above the ruined highway glared coldly down at him. The others were asleep, buried in their sleeping bags like cocoons. The night air was dry, but his hoodie clung to his back, damp with sweat.
A hand gently nudged his shoulder.
"Captain."
Lin jerked back, startled.
Yue Qingling's porcelain face stared down at him, eyes glowing faintly under the moonlight. Her voice was quiet, but crisp as ever.
"You were speaking in your sleep."
"I—I was?" he croaked.
She nodded. "Distress markers detected. You said the word 'Mǎ.' Parental identifier, based on dialect inference."
Lin wiped his face with both hands, trying to get his breathing under control. "It's nothing. Just a dumb dream."
Yue tilted her head, studying him with mechanical precision. "Stress and confusion are natural during transition. Do you require a tranquilizer?"
"What? No! Jesus, I'm not a horse."
"Understood."
There was a pause.
He sat up slowly, still blinking the dream out of his eyes. His throat was dry. His stomach churned with unease.
Yue didn't move.
She simply stood there, watching him like a ghost in a frostbitten military sim.
He forced a weak smile. "Thanks for the wake-up. My turn for watch, right?"
She nodded and stood upright again. "I will now enter low-power rest mode. Alert me if perimeter is breached."
"...Sure," he said.
Yue took two precise steps back, knelt beside her sleeping bag, and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed instantly, unnervingly controlled.
Lin sighed, dragging his sleeping bag off, and stumbled over to the edge of the camp where a shattered guardrail overlooked the scorched plain.
His fingers trembled slightly as he rubbed his temples.
He didn't want to think about the dream.
Didn't want to wonder whether his mother was sitting on the sofa sobbing.
Didn't want to imagine his father pretending not to care.
Didn't want to picture Weizhen spamming memes in the group chat to hide his guilt.
"Fuck," Lin muttered.
His voice sounded small out here.
The wind carried the smell of rust and ash. The moonlight caught on broken glass and twisted wire. In the far distance, something howled.
He gripped the crowbar across his lap like a lifeline.
This is your life now.
Deal with it.
He sat in silence for the next hour, watching shadows creep across the ground. Listening for anything that didn't belong. Every so often, one of the girls would shift in their sleep—Yuzuki murmuring about sparkles, Sierra snoring softly, Celestine whispering to things that weren't there.
Lin didn't say anything.
The fire had long since faded into embers. Lin sat alone by the broken guardrail, bathed in moonlight, crowbar resting across his knees. His breath came out in thin, misty clouds as the wind picked up over the wasteland.
He looked around to make sure everyone was still asleep. Yue was like a statue in her bag, barely twitching. Yuzuki snored softly, hugging her backpack like a plushie. Sierra was on her back, mouth slightly open, a pistol still gripped loosely in one hand. Celestine murmured something in her sleep, as if holding a séance with the stars.
Lin hesitated, then whispered, "Esi."
There was a soft chime—like a boot-up tone from some long-forgotten computer—and a flicker of blue static formed beside him.
Then she appeared.
E.S.I., the Eros Survival Interface, materialized in a snap of digital light. Blue twin ponytails, translucent skin, and a bratty look in her glowing eyes.
"Ughhh," she groaned dramatically, floating above the ground with crossed arms. "You again. Do you ever call me just to say something nice? Or are you always gonna be a whiny little simp?"
"I'm not whining," Lin muttered, then quickly added, "Okay, maybe a little."
Esi hovered closer, her hologram flickering slightly in the wind. "What is it this time, huh? Don't tell me your feelings are hurt because Sierra snored louder than you."
Lin looked down at his hands, clenched tight on the crowbar. "Is there... is there a way to go back?"
She blinked. "Back where?"
"To my world. Shanghai. Home." His voice caught. "Back to my parents. My friends. My fucking life."
Esi's bratty expression softened just a bit, her posture relaxing.
"...You want the honest answer?" she asked.
Lin nodded.
"There is a way," she said. "Theoretically."
His eyes lit up. "Really?"
"You'd have to build an interdimensional gate," she continued matter-of-factly. "It's called a Phase Aperture Conduit. Connects fragmented dimensions through collapsed coordinates using quantum anchor points."
Lin stared blankly.
"...So like a portal?"
"Yes, genius. A portal."
"Then... let's do it. How do I build one? Where do I find the parts?"
Esi's smile returned—but it was bitter now. Sadistic.
"Oh, I forgot to mention," she said sweetly. "The tech's already lost."
Lin's jaw dropped. "What?!"
She spun in the air, her arms wide. "It's a post-apocalypse, dumbass! The blueprint was probably turned to ash along with the guy who designed it. Most of the knowledge was wiped in the EMP wars and biochemical collapse. Even the dumbass warlords out here can't build a working toaster anymore."
Lin's fists clenched around the crowbar. "So you're telling me there's no way to go back?"
"I said it's possible. Not easy. If you survive long enough, level up enough, get lucky with quests and gacha pulls, maybe—maybe—you'll find lost archives or remnants of the old tech."
He stared at the broken world in front of him. The ash-colored horizon. The stars like cold pinholes in black cloth.
His throat tightened. "What... what's happening to my family right now?"
Esi's tone went flat. "They'll move on. With or without you."
He didn't respond.
She floated down a bit, her voice quieter now. "Look, Lin... most summoned hosts don't get this question out of the way so early. They're too busy getting hard-ons over new powers or the tits on their battle waifus."
Lin let out a shaky breath. "I didn't ask to be here..."
"Of course you didn't. That's the tragedy of it. The system finds someone just pathetic enough to latch onto. You were low-risk. High desperation. Easy to isolate."
"You're saying I was targeted?"
"Duh." She made finger guns. "Congrats, loser. You got picked for a magical kidnapping because you spend more time jacking off than filling out job apps."
Lin gritted his teeth, his voice low and cold now. "Shut the fuck up."
Esi raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, first signs of a spine. Daddy's growing up."
He stood up slowly, the crowbar hanging from one hand.
"I don't care if the tech's lost. I don't care how long it takes. If there's even a chance I can go back—" He looked her dead in the eyes. "—I'm going to take it."
Esi tilted her head, blinking slowly. Then she gave a small, grudging smile.
"Well damn. There's the suicidal determination I was looking for."
Lin's breath steadied.
"I'm not staying in this world," he said. "I'm not dying here. I'm getting back home, no matter what it fucking takes."
Esi nodded. "Good."
She flickered, the hologram dimming slightly.
"Oh—and next time you wanna get all dramatic, at least bring snacks. Watching your inner monologue gave me low blood sugar."
"Dismiss."
Esi vanished in a blip of light.
And Lin stood alone again.
But now, there was fire behind his eyes.
Q: Would you try to return to the real world if you were Lin?