“Yes.” Cheng Zhu nodded.

"Then you should know that this world will keep collapsing, right?" He asked a question that everyone on the future planet knew, as if it were a trivial matter.

"Hmm." Cheng Zhu sensed that the other person was hinting at something.

"The little butterflies are so pretty." His gaze bypassed Cheng Zhu and suddenly fell on the ocean backdrop behind him. Then, as if remembering something, he smiled gently and said, "Time flies. Ten minutes have passed again."

After saying that, as if something had left Aya, she returned to her usual standard smile, unaware that something was amiss. A special AI-generated message popped up in front of Cheng Zhu: "Christine, I've ordered breakfast for you. It should be delivered soon~ヽ(^▽^)ノ Please wait patiently!"

Chengzhu nodded to it, his gaze also falling on the butterfly.

The butterfly has changed.

Previously, there was only one eye-shaped pattern on the tail fin, but now there are two.

Could it be... that the butterflies are keeping track of the days?

Cheng Zhu instantly connected the dots to the reason for the change, and became even more puzzled. He couldn't understand why He would suddenly bring up these things, and what all of this had to do with the Rules of the Strange Tales dungeon.

After breakfast, Chengzhu decided to go out for a walk today.

It's not about projecting images onto certain corners of the smart city via the internet, but about taking solid steps and going out into the real world.

She hadn't left her apartment since arriving in the instance. If the first day was just about getting used to the environment, then the second day was the time to step outside and see the whole instance world. Remembering that other native inhabitants actually lived next door, but because of their different interests, she couldn't see them, Chengzhu found it both absurd and magical.

"Christine, would you like to go out today? Of course, no problem!"

After Cheng Zhu simply expressed his wish to go out to Ya, Ya did not show any obstruction, only emphasizing two sentences: "But you must keep the smart chip on at all times, it can filter out a lot of bad things. Ya will always help Christine!"

Bad things?

Cheng Zhu didn't notice anything amiss.

It's more accurate to say that nothing about it is right.

She had heard this phrase in other chosen ones' live streams.

It was already the third day that the other chosen ones had been living in the apartment. After the artificial intelligence inexplicably said those words to the chosen one, that chosen one instantly understood the meaning behind them.

Ignoring the obstruction of artificial intelligence, he decisively shut down the smart chip on his body. Instantly, all the filters in the room disappeared, and his five senses, which had been clouded, saw the true nature of the world for the second time: the ocean-glass walls turned into mottled broken walls, the soft little bed turned into a musty wooden bed, and the only thing that looked new in the whole room was the steel door.

Pushing open the door to room 404, he saw a completely different scene from the previous few days.

The corridor was no longer clean and white, but old and dirty, with reddish-brown stains of unknown origin on the floor.

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. What's even stranger is the ceiling, where one cocoon after another hangs down. It's unclear what's inside, but the Chosen One can clearly see the heads of people peeking out from the bottom.

Something dripped onto his head, causing the Chosen One to instinctively look up. He saw a human face with open eyes, encased in a cocoon. Something that looked like saliva or tears slid down his face, dripping onto the Chosen One's nose. When their eyes met, the face opened its mouth, but what reached the Chosen One's ears was a series of mechanical voices, seemingly emanating from him: "Christian has been found to be suffering from mental contamination. Verdict: Elimination."

The next second, law enforcement officers appeared out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground.

The live stream screen went black.

Since the audience already knew that the Chosen One wouldn't die in the first five attempts, not many people were worried. Soon, the Chosen One reappeared in his room and restarted the dungeon storyline.

This sentence should have appeared on the third day.

Cheng Zhu wouldn't be so foolish as to shut down the chip to see the "real world." Accompanied by Ya, he safely arrived on the first floor, passing by the communal kitchen along the way.

Several people were busy in the kitchen, one of whom was An, whom Chengzhu had just met yesterday. She even waved and greeted Chengzhu at the door. Just as Chengzhu was about to reply, he noticed the menu and communal kitchen rules posted on the wall next to An.

This time, all the subsequent rules have been completed.

5. There is no chef in the communal kitchen.

6. If you see someone claiming to be a chef in a communal kitchen, ignore everything they say and do not eat any meat provided by the kitchen equipment that day.

7. Citizens of any gender, skin color, and body shape may appear in the communal kitchen. In the Smart City, money can buy anything, so if you see any citizen you find odd, please remain calm and do not let them notice your unusual behavior. Otherwise, your actions may constitute discrimination.

8. Any uneaten or unclaimed food found on the tables in the communal kitchen should be disposed of immediately in the trash can. Food prepared by other citizens may contain unknown substances; please do not consume it.

[9. When Rule 9 applies in the kitchen, please do not make any panna cotta.]

If you see anyone making or eating panna cotta in the communal kitchen, do not make any noise, do not interact with them, and do not accept any panna cotta from them. After they leave the kitchen, immediately tell your AI, "Communal kitchen red alert."

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