Living Toward Death [Infinite]

The first story in the "Plane Graveyard" series

Five years of natural disasters, followed by one year of contamination by an unknown agent. Humanity on Blue Star faces a fight for survival.

The appearance of instance worlds puts humanity in even greater danger of death, yet leaves a sliver of hope in the face of despair.

Excerpt 1:

"Hey, what did you find this time?" The white-haired girl caught up with the tall girl ahead. "Thanks to the little gizmo you gave me last time, I got a lot of good stuff. Once we're done registering, pick one!"

The girl smiled and made a gesture, one that ranked first in the "study materials."

"Holy *bleep*, you really outdid yourself this time! Just wait till those *bleep* see this. They'll be green with envy!"

Excerpt 2:

"Shi Ling, take a deep breath. Stay calm." A familiar voice sounded in her ear, and the raging flames seemed to pause for a moment.

A shrill voice stabbed straight into her mind: [To her, you're nothing but a tool. While you still can, hurry up and kill her! Do you really want her to manipulate you with just a few words again?!]

"No..." Her cracked lips trembled faintly.

"Shi Ling, can you hear me? Breathe deeply. Stay calm." Perhaps the flames had warmed the speaker, because this time their voice sounded anxious. "Come over to me!"

[No, she's lying to you. Kill her!!]

"No--" The flames burst apart, and human cries turned into shrill screams.

Excerpt 3:

"Captain... Please, talk Shi Ling out of this. It's a dead end! You two--" A teammate tried to stop them, but someone beside them cut in.

Gu Qinghuai finally spoke. "Xiao Lu is right. This is a dead end. Shi Ling, do you remember the words Elder Fei wrote when you first joined the team?"

Shi Ling tilted her head slightly and smiled. "I do."

"Good. Then the whole team will set out in three hours." After giving the order, Gu Qinghuai watched everyone disperse, then looked up at the person approaching. "Shi Ling, remember to come back."

A few words about this: I suddenly got the idea to write stories about many people in one world, so this series came about. I've currently worked out the world framework and the protagonist concepts for three stories. This is the first one. I'm busy with real life, so I plan to build up a few chapters before I start posting. No set launch date yet. (2024.03.01)

Theme: Walk toward hope with the resolve to "live as though already prepared to die"