On the morning of the second day of the lunar new year, at six thirty, the sky outside was gray and hazy, like an old rag soaked in water. The wind was still blowing, but it was a little weaker than the beast-like howling last night, occasionally hitting the glass of the enclosed balcony with a muffled "pa" sound. I sat up from the bed, my whole body's joints stiff as if rusted, and the back of my neck felt waves of chill. The air conditioner panel showed the current temperature at 18 degrees — it was clearly 26 degrees before sleep last night, dropping 8 degrees overnight. The rules said it drops 10 degrees every day, so last night it had already started counting as one "day". I pulled the two quilts tighter, but still felt cold air seeping out from my bones. The breath from my nose was clearly visible in the dim bedroom, like wisps of white smoke that refused to disperse for a long time.
I didn't dare open the door right away. First I sat on the bed, closed my eyes, and concentrated on feeling the warm current inside my body. The light blue panel silently floated on my retina, like a semi-transparent AR interface, so clear that it made my heart beat faster:
[Current spirit-breaking power: 11 points (remaining from last night) + 8 points recovered from night rest = 19 points]
The recovery was fairly normal. I breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately tensed up again — no matter how much it recovered, it was still just a drop in the bucket. Although the three impacts last night were blocked by the level 2 inscription, who knew if even fiercer ones would come tonight. My physical foundation was no longer as good as when I was young and couldn't withstand continuous strain. I was thirty-five this year, usually sitting in an office, staying up late reading novels was normal, but now every heartbeat felt like a reminder: this is not a novel, this is real life and death.
I moved the chair wedged against the door with extremely light movements, opened the bedroom door a crack, and first listened carefully to the hall with my ears. It was quiet. Only the low hum of the refrigerator compressor and the occasional "sha sha" sound of the shirts on the balcony drying rod swaying lightly in the wind. After confirming there was nothing unusual, I stepped little by little to the suite main door and looked out through the peephole. The corridor light was still on, pale and deathly white. The opposite 1401 door was shut tight, and the stairwell doors and elevator door on both sides of the corridor were completely motionless. No footprints, no shadows, nothing at all.
"Today… I finally made it through." I murmured in my heart, but immediately corrected myself — no, it wasn't over yet. Daytime was only a buffer; the real dream hunters liked to strike at night the most. I had to treat every second as the final preparation time. Thinking of this, I recalled last night's terrifying ordeal again: those footsteps, that impact, the tension of the first upgrade, that 0.7 times and 0.9 times cashback… If the system hadn't awakened in time, I might already be soul-scattered. In the past when reading novels I thought upgrading as the protagonist was so cool, but now I know every step is like dancing on a knife's edge — one careless move and it's eternal doom. That gap from novel to reality made my stomach churn.
Back in the bedroom, I relocked the bedroom door, wedged the chair firmly, then sat at the computer desk. The notebook boot-up sound was especially piercing in the quiet room. I first opened WeChat, only reading and not sending. The corridor group had 99+, and the 33-building community group already had 300+. I scrolled down line by line, only lurking.
[14th floor, wasn't last night's wind too eerie? My balcony glass was shaking!]
[I heard the elevator ringing several times in the middle of the night, who went out at midnight?]
[It wouldn't be a prank again, would it? Haunted on the first day of the new year?]
[1401, are you home? I seemed to hear movement from the opposite door just now.]
The property management suddenly @ all:
[Neighbors on the 14th floor of Building 11, has anyone seen 1402 or 1401 go out? The property needs to count the people staying for the new year.]
My heart tightened and I immediately swiped the message away. I would absolutely never respond to any knock, any message, or any request for help. No matter how normal or familiar the voice from outside sounded, I would only clamp my mouth shut tightly and not make a sound. In this parallel world, except for myself, anyone could be a dream hunter in disguise fishing for information. No one could be trusted. If I replied with even one sentence, exposing my location or letting the other side confirm I was still alive, the consequences would be unimaginable. That loneliness felt like a needle pricking my heart again and again, but I could only grit my teeth and endure it.
Next was the real business — preserving life.
Because it was daytime now, I first opened instant delivery platforms like Dingdong Buy Vegetables and Meituan Supermarket, prioritizing searches for items that could be delivered within 30 to 90 minutes, even if they were just blank-level low-tier small treasures and basic weapons. Taobao's one-day-plus delivery was put in the second round. My fingers slid across the screen, my eyes staring fixedly at every product description, review, shipping fee, and estimated delivery time, afraid of missing any life-saving item.
In Dingdong I searched "basic defense trap" and "blank alarm", and a few low-tier items popped up: one "simple infrared buzzer alarm" priced at 129 yuan, estimated 45 minutes delivery; one "basic electric shock door handle sticker" 99 yuan, within 60 minutes. Reviews were few, but better than nothing. I immediately paid with Huabei, added both to the cart and placed the order, total 228 yuan + 18 yuan shipping, showing "estimated delivery in 40-70 minutes". While paying my heart rate sped up — the Huabei limit was enough, but what if the system suddenly deducted spirit-breaking power?
After confirming there were no stronger inscription reinforcement types in instant delivery, I switched to Taobao. I searched "low-tier apartment door reinforced inscription sticker". A bunch of blank items popped up; I carefully checked reviews, sellers, and shipping fees. The weather was bad and shipping fees had risen 30%. I picked the one that looked most reliable — "basic defense inscription enhancement talisman · blank level", priced 188 yuan, described as allowing the main door inscription to withstand two extra impacts from the lowest-level dream hunter, estimated delivery in 48 hours. Paid with Huabei as well.
I searched again for "hall simple guard device". I found one "blank-level electric alarm trap kit", containing two infrared sensors and buzzers, priced 299 yuan, to be placed in the hall and sound whenever anything approached the suite main door. Another "basic electric shock door handle sticker", 198 yuan, said to give a light electric shock to anything trying to turn the handle. Although the effect on dream hunters might be limited, it was better than nothing. Paid with Huabei too.
The three items were added to the cart; I calculated the total 685 yuan, plus the increased shipping 92 yuan, altogether 777 yuan. The Huabei limit was enough, so no spirit-breaking power was deducted for now.
(Note: As per your request, the "pre-stored water/electricity/network/phone fee pre-deduction" setting has been completely removed. All related panels and deductions here and afterward have been eliminated, and the spirit-breaking power calculations have been adjusted accordingly with no such deduction occurring. Points remain at 19.)
I didn't stop and continued searching Taobao for "low-tier lucky bonus small objects", hoping to try my luck for something that could raise the cashback multiplier, but they were all high-probability "no-attribute blank", the cheapest over 300 yuan. I didn't buy — preserving life came first, luck was just the icing on the cake.
Around seven twenty, after I had checked the delivery status on the app and confirmed the first batch was still en route, the sky was fully light. I went to the kitchen again, used the electric stove to boil a bowl of frozen dumplings, paired with yesterday's leftover pickled mustard, and stood in the open kitchen eating slowly. The taste was okay, but my heart felt bitter. In the past during New Year I could still go to my parents' house for a reunion meal, but now I was alone gnawing dumplings in a haunted house, not even knowing if I could still go out to the neighborhood outside the window. While eating, I suddenly recalled how when I was little during New Year my parents would always wrap dumplings for me with coins inside — whoever got the coin would have good luck the next year. Now? I didn't even dare put in a coin, in case dream hunters sensed "living person aura". That longing for family surged like a tide, and I forced back the tears so they wouldn't fall into the bowl.
After eating I washed the bowl clean and put it in the dishwasher. I also stuffed the dirty clothes into the washing machine, started the wash program, and hung the clothes to dry on the balcony. The temperature was low so they would probably dry slowly. I put the heater matter on the back burner — before the life-saving items arrived, I would just endure the cold; freezing to death was still better than being broken into by dream hunters and truly dying. Taobao orders could be placed day or night, but instant delivery for supermarkets, pharmacies, or takeout was only available during daytime; everything had to be ordered by priority, shipping fees would rise due to bad weather, but no matter how expensive I still had to buy life-saving things.
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.
At eight o'clock, I used spirit-breaking power to expand the electricity meter once more. Last night's air conditioner plus computer had already been a bit strained.
[Consumed 8 spirit-breaking power points to upgrade the electricity meter to level 1 (can accommodate one additional heater's power), remaining 11 points]
[This use of 8 spirit-breaking power points, random cashback multiplier calculating…]
[This cashback multiplier 1.1 times, returned 8.8 spirit-breaking power points (rounded to 8 points)!]
[Current total: 19 points]
This time there was finally no loss, and even a small gain of 0 points. My heart warmed a little, but I immediately suppressed it — I couldn't get too happy too early; the random distribution meant high multipliers might only appear later.
At 9:40, the first batch of instant delivery arrived. I put on gloves, carefully opened the suite main door a crack, dragged the two packages inside, and immediately locked it tight. I tore open the packaging, installed the simple infrared buzzer alarm near the main door in the hall, and stuck the basic electric shock door handle sticker on the handle. After finishing, I felt half a breath of relief — at least I now had some warning and light counterattack means. While installing, my hands were shaking, not from cold, but from tension. (To avoid any weird pollution, I had been constantly monitoring the app and collected them the moment they arrived.)
At 10:05, I sent another text to my parents: "The wind is lighter today, I'll wear more clothes, you take care too." No details mentioned. After sending, I stared at the chat box for a long time; my sister's avatar was still flashing there, but in the end I still closed it.
At eleven thirty, footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside. Very light, very slow, coming from the elevator direction, stopping right outside my main door. The door handle turned gently — once, twice.
My whole body froze on the bedroom chair, my heart leaping into my throat. It came during the day too?! I clamped my mouth shut tightly, motionless, even my breathing light to almost nothing. At that moment countless possibilities flashed through my mind: property management? Neighbor? Or dream hunter? If I replied, would it expose me?
The footsteps stopped for another ten-plus seconds, then slowly walked away toward 1401. The sound of the door "clicking" shut came.
My back was covered in cold sweat, the shirt sticking ice-cold to my skin. Only after a long time did I dare move to the peephole to look — the corridor was empty again.
"Li Wei, you're really something," I whispered mockingly to the air. "Still playing hide-and-seek. When reading novels I thought the protagonist was so cool, but now that it's my turn, I know this is fucking torture."
At two in the afternoon, the temperature dropped another two degrees to 17 degrees. The wind had lessened, but the sky was overcast as if it would snow. I didn't dare go out and stayed huddled in the bedroom continuing to browse Taobao for cheaper defense props. After flipping for two hours my eyes were sore and swollen; finally I placed another order — "blank-level door seam sealing tape", 89 yuan, which could reduce sound leakage from door seams and slight intrusion, estimated delivery tomorrow daytime. Paid with Huabei.
At seven in the evening, the sky was completely dark. The wind picked up again and the temperature dropped to 15 degrees. I cooked some rice with canned luncheon meat and ate it sitting on the bed in the bedroom. The computer was on, continuing the remaining part of *The Wandering Earth 2*, but the volume turned to the minimum.
Someone in the group said again: "It seems someone on the 14th floor received express deliveries during the day, is it 1402?"
I immediately turned off the phone.
Lying in bed, I stared at the ceiling. With 19 spirit-breaking power points, would it be enough to upgrade the door to level 3 again tomorrow? Enough to buy more weapons? The mortgage was due next month and had to be reserved. Tomorrow during daytime I still had to continue hunting stronger treasures on Taobao — best if I could get some luck-boosting ones, even low-tier.
Outside the window the wind grew louder and louder, like countless hands slapping the glass. I closed my eyes, feeling the faint warm current inside my body.
"Survive, Li Wei." I said to myself. "Preserve your life first, then talk about the rest. Dragon Year… great luck my ass, just don't die and that's enough."