Game of Higher Hands - Don’t Follow Me

7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHe98Ie0IVd

The dead city is not quiet anymore.

It is breathing.

Not like a living thing.

More like a machine that is turning on after a long sleep.

Buildings make small sounds. The ground sometimes shakes for no reason. The air feels heavier than before.

I don’t like it.

That means something is changing.

The girl is still behind me.

She does not introduce herself again.

I didn’t ask.

I don’t care.

She walks carefully, like every step needs thinking.

Slow. Controlled.

I notice she is trying not to fall behind.

But she is also trying not to come too close.

Good balance.

After a while, she speaks.

“You move like you know this place.”

I don’t turn back.

“I don’t.”

“You lie well.”

I smile a little.

“That’s a skill too.”

We pass a broken street.

A car is turned upside down.

Inside, there is someone.

Or something.

It is not moving.

I stop for a second.

The girl stops too.

“Don’t go near it,” she says.

I look at her.

“I wasn’t going to.”

That is half true.

She takes a breath.

“I am Mei.”

I nod.

“Jax.”

She waits.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

She frowns slightly.

Most people want more information.

I don’t.

We continue walking deeper.

The city becomes more unstable.

Sometimes the road is normal.

Sometimes it is not there at all.

Sometimes we walk and then suddenly we are on a different street without noticing.

Mei starts writing small marks on walls.

I notice.

“Why are you doing that?” I ask.

“If we get lost, we need a path back.”

I look at the mark.

Simple line. Arrow.

“Waste of time,” I say.

She looks at me.

“Everything here is a waste of time if you die.”

I shrug.

“Fair.”

We find another “paused” person.

A man standing in front of a store.

Same state as before.

Frozen.

Mei avoids looking at him too long.

But I don’t.

I study him.

The same system feeling appears.

Object state: paused

Still consistent.

Good.

This world has rules.

That means it can be read.

And if it can be read, it can be broken.

Mei speaks again, quieter this time.

“People say this place copies humans.”

I nod.

“I saw one disappear earlier.”

She looks at me fast.

“You saw it too?”

“I didn’t say I didn’t.”

She pauses.

Then she says:

“Then we should leave before it happens again.”

I look forward.

“No.”

She frowns.

“Why not?”

I point ahead.

“Because we are close to something interesting.”

She does not like that answer.

But she still follows.

Not because she trusts me.

Because she has no better option.

At some point, she almost falls.

The ground shifts.

A crack opens under her foot.

I grab her wrist without thinking.

Pull her back.

Simple movement.

No effort.

She freezes for half a second.

Then steps away from me.

“...thanks,” she says.

I nod.

“Don’t mention it.”

And I keep walking.

I don’t look at her face after that.

I don’t think about it either.

It was just a reflex.

Nothing important.

But Mei is different after that moment.

Not in a big way.

Just small changes.

She walks closer now.

Not fully close.

But closer than before.

She also stops asking me to leave.

We enter a wider area.

A square.

No buildings falling here.

Too still.

Too clean.

That is worse than broken.

In the middle of the square, there is a structure.

Not a building.

Not a machine.

Something in between.

Like a piece of the world that does not belong.

Mei stops.

“I don’t like that,” she says.

I smile.

“I do.”

She looks at me.

“You always like dangerous things?”

I think about it.

“Yes.”

“That is not normal.”

“I know.”

We stand there for a moment.

The air feels tight.

Like pressure before rain.

I feel my ability reacting again.

States are changing faster here.

Too fast.

Then I notice something.

Mei is not looking at the structure.

She is looking at me.

Not fear.

Not suspicion.

Something else.

I don’t register it clearly.

So I ignore it.

“Stay here,” I say.

She immediately replies:

“No.”

I sigh.

“That was not a suggestion.”

“I know.”

She steps forward.

“I am coming.”

I look at her.

“You will slow me down.”

“I already survived this far.”

I nod slowly.

“That is not impressive here.”

She doesn’t respond.

But she still follows.

We move closer to the structure.

The ground hums.

My ability starts showing more information.

But the data is messy.

Not clear like before.

Something is blocking it.

I don’t like that.

Mei speaks quietly.

“If we die here… what happens?”

I answer without thinking.

“Nothing special.”

She looks at me.

“That is a strange answer.”

I shrug.

“It’s honest.”

We stop in front of the structure.

It feels like it is looking back.

Mei steps slightly closer to me again.

This time, she does not realize it.

I focus.

And for the first time, my ability gives a warning.

Not data.

A warning.

UNKNOWN LAYER — OBSERVER SEAL DETECTED

I frown.

“This is new,” I say.

Mei asks, “What is it?”

I don’t answer immediately.

Because I am not sure yet.

Behind us, something moves.

Not loud.

Not fast.

But real.

I turn slightly.

Mei does too.

For a moment, we stand side by side.

Not friends.

Not enemies.

Just two people stuck in the same bad place.

I say:

“If something goes wrong, don’t follow me.”

Mei looks at me.

“And if I still follow?”

I smile a little.

“Then you are going to regret it.”

She doesn’t answer.

But she doesn’t move away either.

And I don’t think about it anymore.

Because something in front of us is starting to open.

And I step forward.7Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91WxuxkOD1

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