In May 2119 AD, humans began transforming into dolls.
People walking on the street, eating in restaurants, trying on clothes in shopping malls with garments half-removed—these unfortunate souls had their movements frozen at the moment before the change, their smiles not even having time to fade before they became static humanoid dolls.
Without warning, and with no discernible cause.
People were puzzled, terrified, frenzied, and desperate.
They pulled up bright red banners for protest marches, questioning whether this was a terrorist attack by a mysterious organization, or wildly spreading rumors online about alien civilization invasions. Some even dragged their families to the countryside to take refuge… They did everything they could, but people around them still transformed into dolls one after another.
Gradually, people became numb.
Those who should attend school attended school, those who should go to work went to work. Life went on as it had before.
However, the daily television news added a new segment—
After reading the news script, the announcer would inform viewers in standard broadcast tone: “If you discover someone around you has become a doll, please dial the emergency number 123, and the relevant department will handle it promptly for you…”
The so-called handling meant packaging up the dolls and sending them to research institutions.
If scientists could figure something out, that would be good. If they couldn’t figure anything out, they would wait for family members to claim them. Whether to bury them or keep them at home as decorations was entirely up to the family’s discretion.
Bai Youwei watched the news for a while. Seeing it was about time, she picked up the remote control to turn off the TV, then pressed the button on her wheelchair and headed toward the dining room.
Her legs were disabled. Her parents had divorced when she was young and each had formed new families. Perhaps feeling guilty toward their daughter, the couple never held back on spending money on Bai Youwei, letting her live in the most luxurious villa and hiring the most expensive housekeeper, but they just couldn’t spare time to accompany their daughter.
However, Bai Youwei didn’t care about this.
She had long grown accustomed to being alone.
The dining room clock ticked away, the minute hand pointing to 12:10. Bai Youwei ate lunch at exactly 12:00 every day, never late, only early. Yet now there wasn’t a single dish on the dining table.
The surroundings were very quiet. The clock’s ticking made this magnificent villa seem even more tranquil.
Bai Youwei waited for a while and smelled a burning odor wafting from the kitchen.
She adjusted her direction and wheeled over. The housekeeper had her back to her, standing rigidly by the natural gas stove. Her hands maintained the posture of stir-frying, but there was no movement.
The housekeeper had become a doll, just moments ago.
Still the same face, but the material was completely different. Living flesh and blood had become plastic skin, glass bead eyes, and synthetic fiber hair…
The previous housekeeper had gone back to her hometown to take refuge. This housekeeper had only been here for two days. Bai Youwei hadn’t even memorized her name yet, and now this had happened.
She stared blankly for a while, then wheeled over, turned off the stove, and following what the news said, dialed the emergency number 123.
The line was constantly busy.
Bai Youwei thought for a moment and called her mother. The housekeeper was hired by her mother, so she should be able to contact the housekeeper’s family.
The call connected, and mixed sounds of talking, laughter, and music came through… highlighting her loneliness.
How grating.
She explained the matter in a few brief words, then hung up the phone.
The house was very quiet, and so was the outside. The scorching sun baked the earth. The garden pool reflected glimmering light. A hibiscus flower drooped its purple petals under the intense sun. Everything seemed ordinary and mundane, but Bai Youwei knew this world had long since become abnormal.
…
At 2:00 PM, the sound of a car engine came from outside the villa.
Through the window, Bai Youwei saw a tall man pressing the doorbell.
She pondered for a moment, went to the kitchen to get a folding fruit knife, and wheeled out.
Through the iron gate, the man had an upright posture and stern features, with thick black eyebrows over a pair of deep, calm eyes.
He seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she’d seen him.
“Are you Weiwei?” His voice paused slightly, carrying the awkwardness of a first meeting. “I’m Shen Mo. Your mother knows something happened here and asked me to pick you up.”
Bai Youwei was stunned.
Shen Mo… No wonder she found him familiar earlier. He was Uncle Shen’s son. He resembled Uncle Shen somewhat.
Forgot to mention, Uncle Shen was her mother’s good friend and also a business partner. Actually, Bai Youwei thought the title “backup option” would be more appropriate.
Bai Youwei silently put the fruit knife in her pocket and opened the courtyard gate—
Shen Mo examined the girl before him.
Pale skin, soft long hair, a light blue long shirt dress covering her from neck to feet. True to her name, just looking at her made one involuntarily think of words like white and soft, young and tender, faint and weak.
She looked very well-behaved, not at all like the difficult person Aunt Wang had described.
“Pack up your things. I’ll take you to Yangzhou.” Shen Mo was concise.
Bai Youwei shook her head: “I’m not going.”
Shen Mo was a bit surprised and raised an eyebrow: “The city isn’t safe now. Those who could leave have all evacuated. If you stay here with no one to take care of you, you’ll be on a dead-end road sooner or later.”
Bai Youwei lowered her head, looking at the delicate pattern on her dress. “I’m not going. In my condition, wherever I go is a dead-end road.”
Shen Mo hadn’t expected her to be so stubborn.
He wasn’t good at persuading people, much less at coaxing children. He simply strode directly into the house. “Which room is yours?”
Bai Youwei stared at him suspiciously, her eyes flickering. “What are you trying to do?”