NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: No.5 Villa
Ethan gripped the paper bag, his knuckles white he was so tight. His eyes focused on the factory entrance—nobody.
A quick check of his watch.
11:02.
Seconds ticked away.
No Chen.
Did he miss the signal? Did I not make it obvious enough?
The cooldown completed. Done.
ACTIVATED: Eyes of the Doomed!
"Play human. Be a fake-massive grinned monster. Get through this apocalypse game."
A man's voice broke through the darkness—high-pitched and overlaid with breath.
Fat guy? It was Ethan's instant thought.
With the Eyes, at some point, sound always came before sight.
Then came sight.
The vision came together.
A big dude, holding spicy sticks, chewing on something.
"…But you two blew your cover at the market...," He mumbled, grease glistening off his forehead. "…Now we're all stuck here. My basement was built for Catastrophe-Class zombies. Years of supplies. I should stay here until it blows over."
He shook his head, bits flew.
"Brave? Or cursed? Two humans buy fish? Surrounded by freaky monsters with green hair!"
Two? Ethan's brain stuttered.
His future self turned around, aware of the inquiry.
Standing beside him was a woman with:
Mid-twenties
Fresh out of university
Stunning
"You...Chen?" Recognition sparked. Do I know her? Or was it some viral campus meme from like, six years ago?
"So...what do we do now?" Chen's voice tightened with fear.
"Stay here." The round guy's tone dropped. "You're flagged. There is no safe place."
He pushed past them into the bathroom.
SLAM!
His palm hit a specific spot on the toilet tank.
Creeeak—!
The bowl cracked cleanly down the center.
A dark shaft gaped below.
"Ta-da!" He leaned against the cistern, dressed-up smugness displacing any doubt. "Secret enough for your needs?"
Future Ethan and Chen looked at each other and blinked. This? As an entrance?
"Relax! Tens of millions were spent on it. Fort Knox beneath us." He thumped his chest. "If it is anything short of an Extinction-Level event? We will ride it out. FOLLOW."
The tunnel delved deep straight down, and metal walls surrounded them as they continued.
Minutes bled into their descent.
"Eight security measures!" His voice boomed. "Any monster comes through? TOAST!"
Ethan saw the evidence:
Blades sticking out of the walls
Massive firearms springing out of a space in alloys
Seamless vibration-reducing plates
Still, the watching Ethan was not reassured; he simply felt ice running through his veins.
Because...
This.
Is.
DEATH REPLAY!
Safety bragged and they died?
The replay began. Future Ethan, Chen, and the fat guy came out into...
An arcade.
The machines through the constant harsh lighting:
Fighters
Racers
Shooters
Rhythm Games
Simulators
Hoops
A claw machine lurks in the back.
"Make yourselves comfortable." The fat guy waved the way a parent would out of annoyance in the direction of a Pantry door.
He came out with his arms full. "No internet. All offline games. Junk food central. Cooking?" He snorted. "No. Not for me."
The game sounds erupted while he collapsed in front of the computer.
Future Ethan and Chen were suspended waiting, tension was curling.
He let out a long exhale. "No. CHILL. Paranoid? The monitoring room is there. Go and see for yourselves—there are no green-hairs to get in."
"I'll keep an eye on that." Chen bolted for the door.
"I'll go too." Future Ethan darted after him.
Ethan's view pulled and pitched into a hazy room.
Plastered with flickering screens.
Fu Yang Villas.
Jiangcheng city center.
He remembered the advertisements from school.
The cameras fixated on Villa Number 5.
His.
Ethan froze.
Hordes of humans fluctuated in synchronized steps towards the villa—
Identical faces. Grotesque faces. Smiling faces.
Figures rolled in from neighboring villas, joining the silent procession.
"WANG!" Future Ethan's call boomed out over the noise of the arcade.
"Whaaat?" Digital gunfire stood still.
"I NEED YOU. NOW!"
Grumbling, the fat guy waddled in.
"Holy SHIT !" He coughed on a chip, eyes bulging. "Where did they all come from?!"
"What do we DO?" Chen's voice just barely remained coherent.
Panic flashed across Wang's face, then his features set into forced calm.
"Bunker's impenetrable. RELAX! Watch."
He got chips, then sat heavily in a chair with false confidence wholly infused into his being.
The performance calmed Chen and Future Ethan.
But the watching Ethan knew.
The phantom heart was pounding against the ribs.
"They're ENTERING the villa !" Future Ethan whispered.
On screen, assuming all the smiling human beings were actual human beings, the monsters with green hair were not—and they were all clad in skin-suits—they walked in single file through the front door of Villa 5.
One.
BY.
One.