Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1559: It Seems Qiao Yuansi Won't Survive the First Day

Qiao Yuansi turned her head, gazing at the cars still whizzing by on the highway, murmuring to herself, "My world... has already met doomsday?"

At least to her eyes, there was no resemblance to the apocalyptic scenes depicted in movies or novels: traffic rules still governed the highway; the speed-detection display screen up ahead was working as usual, indicating the electrical system was intact; there were no flames, no thick smoke, no ambulance sirens, and no cries for help.

"It does seem a bit off," the young man said, following her gaze, apparently thinking the same thing. "At first, I thought I was lucky, randomly teleporting into a world six months before doomsday."

His words alone were enough to raise a hundred or more questions, but Qiao Yuansi bit her lip and asked none. The young man outside the car laughed at her silence. "Never mind, I have no obligation to convince you. There are Changelings everywhere, so remember to pretend you can't recognize them when you see them again. I'm leaving, take care—"

He stood up straight as he spoke, and Qiao Yuansi reacted quickly, unlocking the car and shouting out the window, "Get in!"

The young man paused, bending over again, his clear eyes widened slightly in confusion, making him look like a small animal.

"Aren't you afraid I'm a madman?"

"You knocked down a police officer. You can't keep wandering around," Qiao Yuansi said, looking in the rearview mirror and reaching out to open the passenger door for him. "Hurry up; I think someone may have noticed us."

He seemed not to have expected her attitude and chuckled. Qiao Yuansi, growing anxious, spoke faster. "Whether it's the end of the world or not, societal rules are clearly still in effect. You saved me; I can't let you get arrested for it. Can you please get in the car?"

"Okay, okay, I know,"

The young man still wore half a smile, as if he didn't take her concern seriously at all, and leisurely made his way around the front of the car to open the passenger door. As the door opened, the sea breeze rushed in with him, along with a salty, azure, free feeling of the ocean.

Qiao Yuansi hesitated for a moment, withdrew her gaze, and started the car.

She glanced outside—the patrolman was still lying face down, unconscious, and his face's current state was unrecognizable. She dared not dwell on it, bypassed the patrolman, and quickly rejoined the highway, constantly scanning the rearview mirror, fearing that a police car would catch up.

"I'm a little worried that a passing car may have called the police," she explained, feeling the young man's glances. "We didn't delay long, right? Just a few words, probably not even two minutes."

Fortunately, it seemed there were no emergency phones along this stretch of highway, so even if someone was suspicious, they couldn't call the police immediately.

"You're worried about this instead of the apocalypse and Changelings?" The young man looked somewhat incredulous in her peripheral vision.

"It's precisely because you told me all that that I'm even more worried," Qiao Yuansi said as she sped up, leaving several cars behind. "If everything here is still the same as before, then even if you were arrested, it wouldn't be a big deal. I can testify that you were saving me, find a defense lawyer, even post bail... everything could proceed normally, without any harm to you."

But clearly, this world was no longer the same. Changeling were everywhere, and it wasn't possible that only one law enforcement officer had become a so-called "duoluozhong"; once the other Changelings realized the true reason for the attack on the patrolman, normal legal procedures wouldn't protect him anymore.