[Survival across multiple world instances]
Zhao Zhouzhou has only two goals in life: keep her medical file hidden and make sure no one discovers that the coldhearted doctor is actually a lunatic.
Then one day, everything goes black, and the familiar autopsy table becomes a void of darkness. A mechanical voice announces, “Congratulations, test subjects. Figure out the rules yourselves and survive.”
Zhao Zhouzhou looks down at the scalpel and dissecting scissors in her hands, then feels for the medicine bottle in her pocket. It’s empty. Staring at the chaos of this apocalyptic world of the uncanny, inspiration suddenly strikes: Why pretend? Let’s go wild!
Cornered by monsters, she stops in her tracks and bows ninety degrees to the enormous creature chasing her. “I’m terribly sorry, but my legs have gone on strike! How about you die first? I promise I’ll write you a thousand-word eulogy full of praise!”
A zombie lunges at her with its jaws wide open, spraying drool all over her face. She accurately tosses it a mint. “Freshen your breath! You’ll need the confidence to flirt on the road to the afterlife! Seriously, your gums have receded this badly? You must’ve been the sort who never brushed their teeth when you were alive!”
The natives are performing a ritual, holding up a scarecrow and preparing to set it on fire. She darts out and snatches it away. “Stop! This lousy scarecrow will burn unevenly, charred on one side and raw on the other! Here, I’ll fix it up to standard so it burns down to ashes fine enough to sift!”
While the other contestants are killing each other over resources, she’s crouched on the ground measuring a rock’s “time of death” and writing “biographies” for passing ghosts.
Even the creatures in the void are baffled: Is this person trying to survive, or planning their posthumous affairs?
Zhao Zhouzhou says: Once I go crazy, even I’m scared of myself.
