Reality Hacker: Apocalypse Loop

THUD. THUD. THUD. 

Ethan's boots pounded against the broken asphalt, his figure fading into the gray haze of the southern horizon. Moments ago, he had sprinted north, a deliberate lie. 

The real destination was south. 

In John's fifth death-replay, they had seen it: the weapon resting beneath Southern Forest Park's lake, the only thing that could kill the Final Boss. 

The journey was unnaturally quiet. With his cap pulled low, Ethan moved through abandoned city streets. There were no green-furred mutants. No skittering shadows. An eerie stillness pressed against his ears. 

He wasn't surprised. 

They had gone north, chasing my decoy or attacking John's stronghold. 

"Wan'er..." Ethan's whisper cracked like dry earth. "...I never saw you coming." 

No matter how often he replayed her wide-eyed innocence in his mind, the truth remained harsh: the delicate girl who seemed too pure for the apocalypse was its creator. 

Every death-replay had made the truth clearer. The moment their humanity was revealed didn't happen during their encounter with Wang Zi Chen. It was his call to Wan'er. That ringing phone had started the nightmare. 

That's why he had left Wang Zi Chen without a word. The reason screamed in his head: 

[WARNING!] 

WAN'ER = FINAL BOSS 

Proof? 

Fourth Replay: Mutants breached their underground base. This was impossible without inside information.

Fifth Replay: Monsters ambushed John's blind spots, which were exactly where the surveillance cameras failed. Wan'er had been in the control room. She knew every dead zone.

A cold wire tightened around Ethan's spine. All this time, I walked beside the queen of monsters.

Leaving Wang Zi Chen was necessary. Only he could buy Ethan time to reach the lake, the only loophole the Doomseer's Eyes revealed. In the fifth replay, Wan'er already knew. She had turned the lake into a fortress.

Now, a sliver of hope remained. 

[COUNTDOWN: INFORMATION GAP] 

Wan'er and Wang Zi Chen haven't reached John. They don't know I've turned south. But the clock is ticking.

Ethan spotted Salvation leaning against a rusted bus stop: a bicycle. He mounted it, pedals squealing. Scattered survivors flickered in his periphery—he swerved, mask secure. No witnesses.

Twenty minutes later, Southern Forest Park swallowed him.

And there was the lake from Death-Replay #5. 

[LOCATION UNLOCKED]

POLLUTED LAKE

A carpet of dead goldfish glistened like rotten coins. The water was thick, brown sludge that reeked of decay.

Ethan stripped off his jacket, eyes locked on the poison. His stomach churned. His teeth clenched.

He plunged.

The lake swallowed him, thick and suffocating. Training from high school swimming kicked in. He forced himself deeper, blinking through the murky darkness until—

[!]

Two small boxes shone on the silt.

Two?

He kicked closer. The boxes were identical and made of obsidian. Only their symbols were different: 

BOX 1: A grotesque, stretched grin—the "Death Smile" that mirrored the mutants' rictus. 

BOX 2: A downturned mouth carved in sorrow.

[SYSTEM PROMPT]

SELECT WEAPON: 

[DEATH SMILE] ⋮ [SORROW FROWN]

Ethan's hand hovered. One kills the Boss. The other might kill me.