Level 1 was a blank canvas of white tiles and silence. A brutal contrast to the oppressive yellow and incessant hum of the previous one. Alex, still dragging the tarp with the emaciated man, felt the relief with every deep breath that filled his lungs with fresh, almost sterile air. The man beside him moaned occasionally, a noticeable improvement from his catatonic state. Alex had offered him more water, and this time, the man had drunk a bit more willingly, though his gaze remained distant.
"Well, chat," Alex said, his voice sounding clear in the silence, without the distorted echo he'd grown accustomed to. His chest camera showed the immaculate uniformity of the hallways, a white that stretched as far as the eye could see. His lens camera captured every detail of the pristine tiles, so different from the dirty carpet of before. "New neighborhood, same dragging routine. But at least here it doesn't sound like my brain's in an industrial washing machine."
The chat responded with a mix of humor and observation:
[Michael Scott]: "Relocation! Always good! A change of scenery is inspiring! New beginning!"
[User_CleanFreak]: "Finally a clean place! Thank you, Echo, my OCD thanks you!"
[Rick Sanchez]: "How boring! Is this it? White tiles? I could've guessed that with a hangover!"
[Chihiro Ogino]: "Stillness can be deceiving. Observe. Feel. Spirits are near."
Excitement points received: +800 (for change of scenery and anticipation)
Alex paused for a moment, leaning against the wall. The effort of dragging the man was taking its toll. He felt more tired than "Basic Endurance" could compensate for. He needed a break, but the idea of standing still in this absolute silence gave him chills. It was a silence that promised the appearance of something unexpected.
"I have to admit, this silence is... heavy," Alex said, his voice a bit lower. "After that constant hum, this is like a void. I almost prefer it." He looked at the man on the tarp, then at the chat flickering in his lenses. He felt a little lonely, despite the millions of viewers. And suddenly, a thought, almost at random, crossed his mind.
"You know, it's funny. Just yesterday... well, or the day before yesterday, time here is a joke... I turned eighteen," Alex blurted out, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. His chest camera paused, focusing more on his pixelated face as his eyes stared into the distance. "Yeah, eighteen. It was supposed to be the big night of freedom, the start of adult life, you know? Going out, doing crazy stuff, starting college in the fall... and here I am. Ripped from my room, dragging a guy through endless hallways in what seems to be... an alternate reality. Happy birthday to me."
The chat's reaction was immediate and empathetic:
[User_Surprised]: "Eighteen?! He's just a kid!"
[Joel Miller]: "Too young for this. No one should have to go through this."
[Tony Stark]: "Eighteen. The age when you start to think you're invincible. Life always has ways of correcting that, kid. Stay sharp."
[Jessica Jones]: "Age is just a number when your life is a horror show."
[User_Empathetic]: "Happy birthday, Alex! We're with you!"
Excitement points received: +2000 (for age reveal and vulnerability)
Alex smiled weakly at the comments. It was a strange comfort. "Yeah, eighteen. My whole life has been pretty... normal. Class, friends, video games, TV shows and movies. Lots and lots of video games, TV shows and movies," he added, with a lighter tone. "It was my passion, my escape. I loved getting lost in those stories, imagining myself in epic worlds, in complex plots. I knew every script trick, every hero trope. And now... now it seems real life has decided it's my turn to be the protagonist."
He took a sip of almond water, offering the man another sip, which this time was rejected with a slight shake of the head. The man was still there, a silent reminder of the fragility of human life in this place.
"I was always the stay-at-home type, the pop culture 'brainiac'," Alex continued, his eyes seeking the chat's silent approval. "Never the athletic one, the popular one, you know? Just... me. With my head full of Batman's strategies, or Rick Sanchez's witty remarks, or Solid Snake's infiltration tactics. I always thought they'd help me win a trivia game or impress someone at a party. Never for... this. For dragging a catatonic man through endless hallways while an invisible audience watches and scores you."
The chat resonated with his self-deprecating humor:
[Peter Parker]: "With great power comes great responsibility, Echo. Even if that power is your pop culture knowledge."
[Bruce Banner]: "Your mind is your greatest weapon, Alex. Use it. Analyze. Adapt."
[User_Geek]: "He's one of us! Come on, Alex! Show them that geeks will rule the apocalypse!"
[Michael Scott]: "It's an origin story, Alex! The Office would film this! You'd be a legend!"
[Rick Sanchez]: "Of course your life was boring. It was real. Now it's a show, as it should be."
Excitement points received: +2500 (for audience identification and character development)
Alex chuckled. The idea that his life had become a reality show was so absurd it was almost comforting. It was his way of coping.
"So yeah, I'm Alex Hayes, I'm eighteen, and my life changed from being a TV show marathon to an existential survival marathon? I'm not sure of the genre yet," he said, raising his arms in an ironic gesture. "But what I do know is I'm alive. And I have a pistol. And apparently, I can drag people. So... what's next?"
His lens camera flickered with a new notification. On the wall ahead, a section of the white tiles looked slightly different, with a faint glow that wasn't from the fluorescent lights. It was an almost imperceptible fissure, but Alex's "Enhanced Hearing" picked it up. There was no hum, no machinery sound, but the fissure emitted a barely audible resonance, a low, pulsing thrum, like a heart beating in the silence.
"Wait," Alex whispered, the smile vanishing from his face. His chest camera zoomed in on the wall. "There's something here. A... a fissure."
The chat immediately recognized the significance:
[Sherlock Holmes]: "An anomaly. An opening. The structure changes again."
[Neo]: "Another threshold, Alex. Every choice takes you deeper down the rabbit hole."
[User_Cautious]: "Don't touch that fissure! It could be dangerous!"
[Ellen Ripley]: "A fissure can be a door. Or a mouth. Prepare for anything."
[Walter White]: "Assess the risks. Is it an exit? Or an entry point for the unknown?"
Excitement points received: +3000 (for new mystery and tension)
Alex approached, dragging the man with him. The fissure wasn't large, barely enough for a hand to pass through. But the pulsation was unmistakable. He looked at the wooden doll with the "P" he carried in his backpack. Could it have something to do with this?
"The fissure... has a strange energy," Alex told the chat, his voice tense. "It feels... alive. Like the wall before, but different. What does it mean?" He knelt, his lens camera focusing on the opening. The pulse grew stronger. He could feel it at his fingertips. This wasn't a simple door. It was an enigma.