"In Carneades, the first rule of survival is: trust no punctuation."
When Xi Yan (the protagonist) received a copy of the "Elementary Survival Rules" written in mirror text at midnight, his life was dragged into this paradox city. The rules here are maddeningly contradictory: no-running streets that eat up stationary pedestrians; questions that must be answered kill those who tell the truth; the only rule in the hospital is "This rule does not exist."
Xi Yan discovered that a rare disease he suffered from - "logical obsessive-compulsive deconstruction disorder" became the only way to survive here. He can instinctively dismantle the hidden logical layers of every sentence and see through the "structure of lies" behind the rules. While others struggled between honest death and reckless lies, he learned higher-level survival techniques: creating a "logical safe zone" with precisely calibrated lies, constructing temporary truths in the cracks of paradox.
However, as he travels deeper into the city's core, a greater conspiracy emerges. The "Compiler" who controls the city does not seem to be playing tricks on human beings, but is using the logic of lies to repair some kind of larger "reality collapse". Xi Yan must face the ultimate choice: to become the most perfect "liar" and live forever in lies; or to find the only "absolute truth", even if it destroys everything including himself?
