Honk!

The sharp sound of a car horn pierced his eardrums.

Li Chengyi suddenly woke up from his stiffness. He was standing at the bus stop without any change in position.

An old white bus was constantly honking its horn, urging a pedestrian in front of the bus to get out of the way.

The pedestrian was a middle-aged woman carrying a sack. She was running across the road and hurrying to the bus stop.

The bus horn was warning her.

Li Chengyi’s eyes were in a daze, and the scene he saw just now seemed to linger in his vision.

The giant human face that was constantly approaching…

His body was still numb all over, and his scalp seemed to have lost all feeling, as though all his hair had fallen off.

“Phew… Phew…”

Another dream? He looked around and saw that he didn’t enter the underground parking garage again. Instead, he was still standing at the bus stop.

The metal road sign at the side marked the location.

Andu Street and Tongfeng Street.

The slightly warm air turned into the wind, blowing the fragrance of leaves and flowers.

The faint fragrance of flowers made Li Chengyi feel slightly better.

Buzz. Buzz.

His phone vibrated twice.

The slight vibration was like a life-saving straw that instantly pulled Li Chengyi’s consciousness back from his absent-mindedness.

He quickly took out his phone and turned on the screen.

It was a text from his parents.

[Remember, your sister reminded us not to go home early. Do you have some money? I’ll transfer some to you.] —Dad

[Stay in school for a while longer. Go back after dinner. Your sister’s matter is important. You might have to rely on her for your job.] —Mom

Li Zhao and Feng Yurong were still the same as before, focusing all their attention on his sister.

Li Chengyi could actually understand. After all, the only chance for an ordinary family like theirs to change their fortunes was to nurture a strong elite.

And now, his sister, Li Chengjiu, was fulfilling their expectations.

[Got it.] He replied simply after calming down.

After putting away his phone, he still stood on the spot, his chest rapidly rising and falling as he recalled everything that had just happened.

He also recalled the paragraph had read on the forum.

[If you encounter a Dead End, please don’t contact us and try to enjoy the final moments of your beautiful life. Dead Ends will generally approach slowly. During the third indication, you will be drawn in completely. You should do everything you want to do but don’t dare to do.]

Third time…

If last night was the first time, then the time at school earlier shouldn’t count. After all, it wasn’t the same place, and I didn’t fully go in.

But just now…

Does it count as the third time?

Or is it the second time?

Li Chengyi’s mind was in a mess.

He didn’t know what Dead Ends were, nor did he know what the human face was, but he only wanted to live.

After inexplicably coming to this world, he inexplicably became another person with the same name.

He really didn’t want to die.

He didn’t want to die so meaninglessly and immersed in fear.

The fear of survival made the panic in Li Chengyi’s heart grow more and more intense.

What should I… do?!

Just now… maybe it wasn’t an indication. Yes, it definitely wasn’t. After all, it’s possible that I was too sleepy and took a nap.

He kept finding reasons for himself.

Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a slight stabbing pain in his feet and ankles.

He bent over and quickly rolled up his pants to look.

Densely-packed blood spots were clearly distributed on his ankles.

Li Chengyi was dumbfounded.

After a pause, he quickly got up, pulled open his collar, and looked at himself.

Fortunately, there were no blood spots on his body.

It was just now! He immediately remembered.

When he encountered the giant human face in the mysterious underground parking garage just now, he had also felt the stabbing pain in his feet.

And now…

The stabbing pain actually appeared in reality…

Is this reminding me… that it wasn’t a dream? His chest heaved up and down. It was as though a large rock was pressing down on his heart, making him unable to breathe.

What should I do?

What should I do?!

Countless complicated thoughts flashed through his mind, but if what had happened just now was real…

Facing that terrifying giant human face, which was clearly not a normal creature…

He was helpless and hopeless.

Maybe I should call the police and find help from the country?! This thought flashed through Li Chengyi’s mind.

As soon as this thought arose, it didn’t disappear but instead became stronger.

Facing dangers that he couldn’t understand at all, perhaps seeking help from the state apparatus was the best choice.

But suddenly, the scene of the crying girl he had just met in the cafe, the girl in the white sweater, appeared in his mind.

Why didn’t she call the police? A doubt welled up in his mind.

Thinking of this, Li Chengyi could no longer stand still. He quickly looked around and returned to the cafe.

As he jogged, a deep sense of urgency and danger kept forcing him to move forward and accelerate.

He feared that the dangerous situation just now would reoccur.

If someone could communicate with him at this time and give him some suggestions, perhaps…

He jogged all the way back to Yersli Cafe.

A small moving cart had been placed at the entrance of the cafe. On it was an advertisement of the latest new coffees and small cups of tasting desserts.

Li Chengyi pushed the door open and walked around the dining area of the first floor. There were even more people here.

Most of them were university students, but he couldn’t find the girl in the white sweater.

Everyone’s expressions were gentle. Some were smiling and talking, some were playing quietly, and some were simply eating and studying on their tablets.

Their lives seemed to be totally isolated from Li Chengyi’s, as though they belonged to another world.

He couldn’t find her on the first floor, so he hurried to the second floor.

Unfortunately, he still didn’t see the girl in the white sweater.

Li Chengyi went downstairs in disappointment. With a gentle ‘please come again’ from the electronic voice, he pushed the door open and went out.

Outside the door.

On the street.

A white off-road vehicle was quietly parked by the side of the road.

The car window had been rolled down, revealing the driver’s face.

It was an older middle-aged man. He had thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, a neat gray beard, a thin face, and neatly combed back hair.

He had one hand on the steering wheel and was staring blankly at the people passing by outside the car, seemingly in a daze.

For some reason, the moment Li Chengyi walked out of the cafe, the middle-aged man’s gaze instantly shifted to him.

He seemed to be observing something and seemed to see something.

Li Chengyi’s body tensed up slightly. He didn’t know why he was nervous, but his body tensed up for some reason.

He couldn’t find the two girls from before, and thoughts kept running through his mind. The most likely way to get help is to search for relevant methods online and seek official help.

The complexities in his mind quickly became clear, and he figured out the most likely way to survive.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t wander around outside like this anymore.” Suddenly, a deep male voice floated over from in front.

“Why don’t you go crazy while you still have time?” the voice continued.

Li Chengyi raised his head and looked in the direction of the voice. His eyes met the middle-aged man’s.

“What… do you know?!” He opened his mouth, only to find that his voice had become hoarse and low.

Unwittingly, he walked closer to the white off-road vehicle.

“You’re about to die,” the middle-aged man said calmly. “The third omen is imminent. Then you’ll be like everyone else, and poof!”

He put his hands together and simulated a sound. “… completely disappear.”

“Is there a way?” Li Chengyi’s eyes widened as he quickly asked in a calm mood that he himself didn’t expect. “Has anyone survived? Can you help me?”

The pressure in his heart seemed to have found a breakthrough and a life-saving straw.

If someone who knows the inside story helps me, I might be able to escape! This thought quickly surfaced in his mind.

“Me?” The man laughed and turned his head to look at the front of the car window. “I’m just a loser. What can a useless person do to help you?

“That place…” He turned his head and looked at Li Chengyi. “No one can help you. You can only rely on yourself.

“Just like my old friends, my son, they’re all like this.”

While speaking, he took out a cigarette from the inside pocket of his black suit, lowered his head, lit it, and took a puff.

“Leave quickly. Don’t stay here. It’s unlucky.” He waved at Li Chengyi.

“There must be a way, right? Since you took the initiative to come here and talk to me, you must have a way, right?” Li Chengyi wasn’t stupid.

It was definitely not without reason that the other party could see the omen on him and took the initiative to talk to him.

Since he shunned him for being unlucky, why didn’t he say anything from the beginning?

“You’re a little clever.” The man smiled and stretched out his hand to flick the cigarette butt outside the car window.

“Actually, so what if you can avoid it for a while? You will die sooner or later anyway. You’ll go in again and again. There’s no end, no hope in sight.”

Li Chengyi stared at him seriously and enunciated each word clearly. “The future is the future. But now, I don’t want to die!” 

“Then, why should I help you?” the man asked.

“Since you came here and took the initiative to talk to me, it means that I must have what you need,” Li Chengyi said. “So—”

“So,” the man interrupted, “if you can survive the first time, then we might have the possibility of cooperating.”

“Okay! How do I survive?” Li Chengyi quickly asked. “Should I tell you what I’ve experienced—”

“No need!” The man interrupted him again. “It’s meaningless. Only certain people can enter Dead Ends in ways unique to them. Once they enter, the Dead Ends will automatically approach again and again until they completely devour those people.”

“Then, how can I survive?!” Li Chengyi continued to ask.

“After entering completely for the third time, find the exit and leave, and you will survive,” the man replied. “But… there’s no exit in any practical sense. Just like when you entered before, you need to find an equally special method to find the exit.”

He pointed at his head. “You need to think, not use force. In there, force, guns, numbers, they’re all useless. By the way, I advise you not to call the police. Otherwise, you might even lose your last glimmer of hope.”

“I…” Li Chengyi still had more questions, but the man’s car window had already rolled up.

The man waved at him through the car window, started the car, and drove away.

He didn’t seem optimistic about Li Chengyi’s survival at all, and there was a faint trace of disappointment in his eyes.

Perhaps Li Chengyi was not the person he wanted to find.