On the night of the first day of the lunar new year in 2026, in the "Oasis Town" residential complex in Pudong New Area of the Magic City, the sound of firecrackers had long since faded to sporadic pops, with only sparse echoes drifting in the cold wind. Outside, the sky was as dark as an inverted iron pot, and the streetlights cast sickly yellow halos in the thick fog, as if they could go out at any moment. The entire complex was wrapped in a thick gray quilt, occasionally a few belated firecrackers exploded in the distance, but were quickly swallowed by the wind, leaving a deathly silence.
I was curled up in the bedroom of Room 1402 on the 14th floor of Building 11, the notebook screen glaring brightly as The Wandering Earth 2 4K UHD version played to its most explosive climax—Wu Jing roared "Ignite!" with all his might in the space station, the background music thundering like lightning, vibrating my eardrums and making my heart pound to the rhythm. At that moment, I almost forgot that I was just an ordinary office worker, with fifteen years of mortgage left to pay, the credit card bill due next month, my parents and sister still waiting back home for my New Year safety report. Life was ordinary, but at least it was real.
When the movie reached the part where the Earth engines started, the screen suddenly flickered with a "zzt" sound. It wasn't lagging; the lights in the entire room dimmed for a beat along with it. The computer fan noise also changed tone, shifting from the familiar whir to a deep, heartbeat-like "thump… thump…". I was stunned, thinking it was unstable voltage, and got up to check the circuit breaker in the living room.
The living room hall was open, and the electric stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator in the open kitchen were all running normally. The two enclosed balconies had the shirts I washed the day before yesterday still hanging on the drying rod, swaying slightly in the wind. The suite door was tightly closed, and the security chain was hooked properly. I walked to the door and looked out through the peephole; the corridor light was on, the opposite 1401 door was shut tight, and the stairwell doors and elevator door on both sides of the corridor were all normal. The corridor was empty, with only the pale white light casting long shadows. Everything looked so normal, yet there was an indistinct sense that something was off.
"Maybe the power grid is aging," I muttered under my breath as I walked back to the bedroom, sat down and continued watching the movie. But as soon as I sat, the screen flashed again, this time more obviously, the entire image rippling like water waves. Immediately after, an extremely faint, almost imperceptible chill crawled up from the soles of my feet. The air conditioner was clearly set to 26 degrees, yet the hairs on the back of my neck stood up one by one, and my back instantly broke out in goosebumps. That chill wasn't physical cold, but some kind of fear seeping out from the depths of the soul, snapping me awake instantly.
At that moment, a mechanical yet crystal-clear voice suddenly sounded in my mind, cold as if directly engraved into my brain:
[Detected host entering parallel world · Fierce Ghost Apartment Building. Basic rules loading… Suite defense system activated, spirit-breaking power acquisition mechanism started, dream hunter invasion consequence warning, weather deterioration pattern, shopping time and restriction rules, anyone including family and friends may be disguised as dream hunters…]
I sprang up from the chair, my heart slamming against my chest with a "bang" as if punched. The voice continued explaining all the rules in an ice-cold tone: no video calls at night, anyone knocking on the door may be a trap, spirit-breaking power can be used to upgrade defenses and pay daily expenses, the random cashback system is about to awaken… My whole body froze in place, my mouth dry, fingers trembling. I had read web novels for over twenty years—infinite flow, horror apartments, system flow, I had devoured them all. But when it actually happened to me, I only felt my legs go weak, my stomach churning, cold sweat streaming down my spine. At that moment, the first thought that flashed through my mind was: My parents, my sister—could they also be dragged into this? If they knocked on the door right now, what should I do? How could I face it?
"Is this… real?" I kept my voice extremely low, talking to the air, "Did I fucking transmigrate? Or am I dreaming?"
I pinched my thigh hard, the pain making me gasp. It wasn't a dream. The computer screen was still playing the movie, not a single line of Wu Jing's dialogue missing, but that voice continued, each word hammering into my brain like a nail. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. Panicking was useless; survive first. I quickly walked to the suite door, checked through the peephole again that the corridor was empty, then swiftly and silently retreated to the bedroom, gently closed the bedroom door, locked it, and wedged the chair against it—although I knew it might be completely useless against dream hunters, instinct made me do something. Throughout the entire process I didn't even breathe loudly, my footsteps as light as a cat's, each step feeling like walking on a knife's edge. My heartbeat roared in my ears, sweat had already soaked my underwear, and my back was as cold as if pressed against a block of ice.
Just then, a "ding" sounded in the corridor—the elevator had reached the 14th floor.
My entire body's hairs instantly stood on end. Footsteps, very light, very slow, coming from the elevator direction toward 1402. Click, click, click… like high heels, yet not quite. The sound echoed in the corridor, each step treading on my heart, making breathing difficult. I bit my lips hard to stop any sound from escaping, my mind frantically replaying the rules: anyone knocking could be a trap, even parents were no exception.
The footsteps stopped, right outside my door. After two seconds of silence, the doorknob turned gently—once, twice. The security door made an extremely faint "click" sound, as if someone was testing my bottom line.
I pressed my back against the bedroom wall, not daring to breathe, cold sweat streaming down my spine and soaking my underwear. The voice in my mind sounded again:
[Detected dream hunter approaching. Suggestion: immediately acquire spirit-breaking power to activate the main door inscription. Bedroom is the acquisition point.]
I practically rolled and crawled onto the bed, the sheets ice-cold, yet I felt as if I had grabbed the last life-saving straw. I closed my eyes, followed the voice's hint, took deep breaths, and concentrated my mind to "feel."
One second, two seconds… Suddenly, a warm current surged into my body from the head of the bed, like an extremely fine electric current flowing through my veins throughout my body, bringing a long-lost warmth. That warmth was like sunlight after a long absence, dispelling the chill and fear in my body. A light blue panel popped up in my mind:
[Acquired basic spirit-breaking power: 15 points (daily bedroom rest can slowly recover it, first acquisition comes with extra reward)]
I opened my eyes; the panel floated on my retina, as clear as AR. I tried to mentally click on "Suite Main Door Inscription," and a simple interface appeared:
[Current defense level: 0 (blank)]
[Upgrade to level 1 requires 10 spirit-breaking power points, can resist one impact from the lowest-level dream hunter]
Without hesitation, I directly chose to upgrade. The panel flashed with a beam of light:
[Consumed 10 spirit-breaking power points, suite main door inscription upgraded to level 1. Remaining spirit-breaking power: 5 points]
Almost at the same instant, another golden panel popped out, the voice carrying a trace of mechanical calm:
[Super Random Cashback System awakened!]
[Detected host using spirit-breaking power for the first time in a crisis moment, system binding successful!]
[This use of 10 spirit-breaking power points, random cashback multiplier calculating…]
[This cashback multiplier 0.7 times, returned 7 spirit-breaking power points!]
[Current total: 12 points]
My heart sank. 0.7 times… net loss of 3 points. This system really wasn't free; random was random. In the early stage, not losing big was already good. I gritted my teeth; no time to complain. I invested another 10 of the 12 points into upgrading the door, this time to level 2.
[Consumed 10 spirit-breaking power points, suite main door inscription upgraded to level 2. Remaining spirit-breaking power: 2 points]
Almost at the same instant, the golden panel popped out again:
[This use of 10 spirit-breaking power points, random cashback multiplier calculating…]
[This cashback multiplier 0.9 times, returned 9 spirit-breaking power points!]
[Current total: 11 points]
I breathed a slight sigh of relief; this time only a net loss of 1 point, finally no more big losses. The panel prompted: Level 2 can resist 3 attempts from the lowest-level dream hunter.
Almost at the same instant, the footsteps outside suddenly grew heavier and "bang" slammed against the door once. The entire suite main door emitted a dull vibration but did not break. The inscription worked! The impact sounded twice more; the third time was obviously much weaker, then gradually faded away, the elevator "dinged" and left.
I collapsed onto the bed, gasping for air. Cold sweat had completely soaked the clothes on my back; the air-conditioning wind blowing on me felt as cold as knives. The room was terrifyingly quiet, only the movie still playing on the computer, Wu Jing's voice now sounding especially ironic—we were all "wandering," but my Earth had already turned into a haunted house.
I opened WeChat; someone had already posted in the building corridor group:
[14th-floor neighbors, the elevator sound just now was so strange, did anyone hear knocking?]
My finger hovered over the keyboard, but in the end I only typed "..." and deleted it. Who knew if the person posting was human or ghost? I could only lurk and keep reading.
I also opened the chat boxes with my parents and sister, wanting to send a message to report safety, but remembering the rule "no video calls at night," I could only send text: "Mom, Dad, everything is fine here, going to sleep. Talk tomorrow." After sending, I turned off the phone to avoid seeing anything that would make me panic. At that moment, a strong guilt surged in my heart—Mom and Dad must be unable to sleep from worry back home, my sister had probably called countless times, yet I didn't even dare reply with a voice message. I bit my lip hard, forcing back the tears.
Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling. The mortgage still had fifteen years, the credit card bill was due next month. In the past these were paid with salary, now… everything had to be paid with spirit-breaking power. The temperature had already started dropping; I clearly felt the bedroom was two degrees colder than before, but what was most deadly now wasn't the cold, it was life itself. I had to stay absolutely clear-headed: preserving life always came first. As soon as daytime came tomorrow, I would immediately search online for weapons or treasures to defend the suite door—low-tier props to strengthen the inscription, basic attack traps, simple guard devices that could be placed in the hall; even if they were just blank-level, I had to arm the door and hall first. Heater? That could be postponed; freezing one night wouldn't kill me, but being broken into by dream hunters would be true death. Taobao orders could be placed day or night, but instant delivery for supermarkets, pharmacies, or takeout was only available during the day; everything had to be ordered by priority, shipping fees would rise due to bad weather, but no matter how expensive, I had to buy life-saving items.
Most importantly, I could not let anyone know I had the "Super Random Cashback System." I very firmly assumed that everyone except me—including my parents, sister, anyone in the corridor group—could be dream hunters disguised to fish for information. In a parallel world, no one could be trusted. Even if my parents knocked together right now, I would pretend I hadn't heard and absolutely not respond. That feeling of isolation and helplessness was like a knife slowly cutting my heart, but I knew this was the only way to survive.
I closed my eyes, feeling the warm current inside my body—the remaining spirit-breaking power was slowly recovering. The corridor outside was quiet, but who knew if there would be footsteps again in the next second?
"Li Wei," I smiled bitterly to myself, my voice so low only I could hear it, "I've read novels for half my life, and finally the protagonist is you. But this protagonist is fucking too real… even the rent has to be paid by yourself. Preserve your life first."
Outside the window, the wind began to howl, the first major gale arriving a full day earlier than forecast. The numbers on the thermometer were silently dropping.