Rock-Paper-Scissors in the Mirror: The Loser Takes the Bottom

[Coming soon: Immortal Lord, Times Have Changed. Same-face pseudo-narcissism; blurb below.]

This story:

“I played rock-paper-scissors with myself in the mirror.”

“And I lost.”

*

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the world has ground to a halt. Vines cover the land, and humanity has given up resisting, choosing to enjoy whatever life it has left.

With little entertainment available, Jiang Ziguan gets so bored that he plays rock-paper-scissors with himself in the mirror.

Jiang Ziguan throws rock.

The person in the mirror throws paper.

He looks up at the identical face in the mirror, his mind going blank.

Well, look at that. His dream has come true?!

...Everyone knows Jiang Ziguan is a vain narcissist who even carries a mirror when he goes out to hack zombies apart.

The key hanging from a red cord around his neck locks away countless selfies and portraits.

*

Unfortunately, there’s more than one person in the mirror.

One mirror, two apocalypses.

On this side, vines cover the land, the air hot and humid like a summer that will never end. On the other, crystal dust drifts through the air, bitter and cold as winter.

They are the most familiar strangers to each other: familiar with every inch of each other’s body, yet strangers to every rise and fall of each other’s soul.

At their first proper meeting, two pairs of identical eyes gaze at one another. Jiang Ziguan pulls off his mask, kisses the face beneath it, identical to his own, and then

forcefully twists the wrist that’s pointing a gun at his lower back.

*

Jiang Ziguan asks the person in the mirror, “Which name do you want to use, Jiang Ziguan or Jiang Zhaoying?”

The person in the mirror chuckles. “Rock-paper-scissors?”

Jiang Ziguan wins.

Later, one day, Zhaoying shows every consideration for his own wishes and politely asks, “Do you want to be on top or bottom?”

Jiang Ziguan smiles and reaches out. “Shall we play another round?”

...He loses, to himself, and willingly.

After the apocalypse ends, two nearly identical threads appear in the horror stories and romance sections of the survivors’ forum:

“I played rock-paper-scissors with myself in the mirror, and I lost.”

“I played rock-paper-scissors with myself in the mirror, and I won.”

The two posters’ usernames turn out to be mirror images of each other.

“My soul will always weigh the same as yours.”

Reading Notes:

1. Narcissism/self-cest, self-top and self-bottom, identical appearances. They use different names after meeting in person.

2. A dance-party-style apocalypse: neither tense nor thrilling, just mentally unstable.

Coming soon:

[Heartless Wolf, Shameless Dog, Brazen Fake Demon King x Overpowered, Cold-Faced, Cute True Immortal Lord]

Cong Tianyi is an immortal lord.

He is the moon in the sky to the immortal sects, a sage to mortal kingdoms, and has traveled far and wide performing countless good deeds. He has just one flaw

he has no heart aperture and can hardly feel emotions.

Cong Tianyi looks at his mechanical arm and thinks, Could this be why I became a broken-down cyborg after ascending?

This won’t do. He has to ascend all over again.

A kind-hearted demon king, another fellow sufferer, gives him a copy of A Cyberdaoist’s Guide to Ascension.

One: Undocumented people can’t cultivate immortality.

Two: Poor people can’t cultivate immortality.

Three: A lifelike synthetic body is the foundation of cultivation.

The genius immortal lord suddenly sees the light. He strides into an underground arena, enters the globally renowned “Lifelike Cup” competition, and sets off down the one-way road of magical duels, no, mechanical brawling.

He knows how to fight, after all.

*

Ji Wuren is a demon king.

Just kidding. He’s a con artist.

There’s no magic or sorcery in this world. Believe in science, and ascension doesn’t exist either.

That guide to ascension is just a scheme to scam people into taking out predatory loans... right?

...That’s what he thought, anyway, until that idiot immortal lord pulled out an electrical circuit talisman, a lightsaber from his spine, blew up a space station, and dragged him into a dance party in the atmosphere while mechs had them in their sights.

Wait, you can actually fly?!

*

Here, prosthetic limbs dance with injections, organs fly alongside parents, night is brighter than day, and the streets are full of con artists, drunkards, kidney sellers, and people with mismatched heads and no gender.

Good ending: You’re born in the Central District with a gold coin in your mouth as the fine result of genetic engineering, and you smile in your dreams until the day you die.

Normal ending: Your job has nothing to do with your degree. You use virtual reality to fill your worthless spare time, never knowing whether layoffs or your next payment deadline will come first.

Bad ending: A genetic disease ruins your life, and an invasive probe in the underground city is your last consolation.

? ending: Sorry, the government doesn’t recognize androids as people and cannot assign them an ending.

ending: Do you believe there’s really a power in this world that can level mountains and seas, bring rain to barren fields, cleanse the marrow and transform the body, and hold the moon while plucking a breeze?

That’s an even less believable daydream than a virtual world!

*Achievement unlocked: A rainbow rises with the sword’s light; the Great Dao points toward the brightest star.

*Same-face pseudo-narcissism/rotten scoundrel with a true heart x saint with selfish desires

Cyberpunk with a retro-futuristic flavor, plus battle thrills in a format resembling online-game competition.

Manuscript in progress, story opens at the end of October ^ ^

Other upcoming stories:

Mecha competition: Fight or Flee?

[Melancholy, gentle, devoted husband top x proud, beautiful snake-eagle bottom]

After being reborn, he and his matched mecha partner become sworn enemies.

Theme: Treasure life.