The afternoon sun cast a faint golden hue over the quiet suburb as Matthew trudged home, backpack slung lazily over one shoulder. The final bell of school still echoed in his ears, a fading memory drowned by the hum of city traffic and his own anxious thoughts. Another boring day. Another stack of homework. Another evening in his room with nothing but his games and thoughts for company.
He kicked off his shoes, tossed his bag in the corner of his room, and flopped onto his bed with a heavy sigh. The ceiling stared back blankly. He wanted something more—anything to break the routine.
His phone buzzed.
Then again.
And again.
He sat up. The screen was lighting up with message after message, all from an unknown contact, the name flashing in strange, jagged characters:
生定死
Matthew frowned. "What the hell?"
He opened the first message.
Enter the Game: Life or Death
It vanished almost instantly. Another message took its place.
Enter the Game: Life or Death
Over and over, the same message, like a mantra. His heart picked up pace. He tried to block the number, but the messages kept coming—his screen glitching, the words crawling across the display even when he powered off the phone.
Then the screen changed.
Everything went silent.
A black background. One word in crimson:
Enter?
Below it, two buttons blinked.
[YES] [NO]
He stared.
Matthew had always been a logical kid. The kind who didn't believe in haunted houses, who rolled his eyes at ghost stories. But something about this felt real. Too real.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He pressed YES.
The phone vibrated violently in his hand. His room twisted. The walls folded in on themselves, colors bending, stretching like plastic in a fire. His scream was cut short as the floor opened beneath him, and he was pulled into blackness—soundless, endless.
When he opened his eyes, the sky was red.
He was lying on cracked asphalt, surrounded by broken-down skyscrapers, flickering neon signs with no power behind them. A twisted city where time had no meaning. Shadows moved without people. Air smelled like rust and ash.
A massive billboard above him blinked once, lighting up with those same jagged symbols:
生定死 – WELCOME TO DEATH LAND
Below it:
RULE ONE: PLAY OR PERISH.
Matthew scrambled to his feet.
The game had begun.
And there was no way back…