The apocalypse begins with a dungeon game.

The girl told Li Can not to leave the city, but how could he leave the game if he didn't leave the city?

However, there's no need to argue with her about this issue right now.

He knew perfectly well what was going on.

"And what about you? Now that you've survived, what are your plans? Stay in Lower City and become Truman like everyone else here?"

This question stumped the girl.

Her current situation is very bad; she has suddenly reversed from her original status to the worst possible position.

She hasn't decided what to do next.

"I..." The girl fell into thought.

Li Can waited quietly.

Through the door, he could see Huang Xiaoqi, Qian Shi, and his men, still under the influence of mental pollution, busy in the courtyard.

They worked together to process large quantities of ingredients, which were then packaged and transferred to the restaurant for storage.

Like a spinning top that never gets tired, it keeps spinning its own energy until it exhausts itself for its last dance.

Their self-righteous beliefs have long been worn down by the unnoticed passage of time, year after year.

Losing oneself, utterly lost in this place.

Although Li Can has not yet met many other indigenous people, it is not difficult to judge their common situation based on the environment and development of this area.

"As far as I know, I should be the first person who survived after being executed by the upper city... What is the spiritual energy you infused into me to nourish me?"

"Even if I was still alive at that time, I probably wouldn't have survived after you saved me."

"If it weren't for this experience, I might have become one of those ingredients outside by now."

"Besides, you don't seem to have a very serious case of mental pollution; you're special."

Li Can withdrew his gaze from the courtyard outside and looked back at the girl on the bed. She looked much better now and even had the energy to study others.

If the Lower City people are Truman, then what about the Upper City people in the original setting, who came from outside the instance to this world?

However, they are all just plans made by humankind itself.

"Does it matter? I'm paying people to do their bidding. I saved your life, so we're even. Is this how you plan to repay me as a favor?" Li Can said calmly.

"That's not what I meant." The girl was a little embarrassed, and seemed to realize that she had gone too far. Prying into other people's secrets was too offensive, especially in this situation.

"I'm sorry." She struggled to get off the bed, and stood up, holding onto the wall beside the bed.

It seems that the zombie crystal core is indeed very powerful in repairing her severely injured body.

It's no wonder she was curious that an unscientific healing had been achieved in such a short time.

Anyone would be flustered in this situation.

"I have no way to repay your life-saving grace... I..." The girl said, about to kneel down before Li Can.

He was initially quite calm, but this action startled him.

"In the future, if there's anything I can do to help you in the lower city, just let me know, and I'll do my best to help," she said earnestly, her brow furrowed.

Just as her legs were about to touch the ground, Li Can caught her with one hand, and her body instantly straightened up.

She was somewhat surprised and uncertain.

"According to what you said, you're from the Upper City. If everyone can control the perspective of the supernatural beings to tour the Lower City, then your organization should recognize you, right? And could you find a way to contact them?"

Li Can was calculating the progress of the dungeon in his mind. With such a ready-made external liaison in the Baijie Hotel, he would have many more new paths to take.

"Huh?" The girl didn't react at first, but after understanding what Li Can meant, she quickly nodded.

"It should be possible, but if I'm still alive, I might be discovered by other strangely controlled Upper City people, so it's not certain."

"If I'm exposed, I'll be killed again."

"Moreover, those strange creatures all look very similar, making it difficult to distinguish which Upper City person is among them."

"As long as we can make contact, that's fine." Li Can pondered, "Each of you should have your own fixed, strange suit that you control, and you can also distinguish your different habits based on your personality traits."

"That's indeed true. The people in the organization are generally friendly and won't torture the people of the lower city for fun without reason. Some might even secretly help them..."

"Okay, that makes things much easier. You'll stay by my side from now on, and we'll work together to find a way to screen them. As long as we get past the strange lair transit station, we should be able to get back to the upper city."

Li Can's goal became clearer and clearer: the next step would be to abandon the original options and attack the main site.

"Hiss..." The girl looked at Li Can in disbelief, a glimmer of light flashing in her dull eyes, as if she had finally found her pillar of support.

As a result, her courage to continue living also increased.

"My name is Shen Yuan, and I'll be following you from now on!" Her eyes sparkled, and she was full of hope.

"Shen Yuan? That's a nice name." Li Can silently made a mental note of it.

"How should I address my benefactor?"

A sly glint flashed in Li Can's eyes as he smiled. "Xing Dazhuang."

Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then said, "Okay, Brother Xing."

To be honest, he's actually not as old as Shen Yuan. It's probably because of the player character setting in the game that he seems more like the character in the eyes of the NPCs.

However, he didn't need to correct her.

Let her be.

"Do you know how you left the city?"

"Upper City is Upper City, why do we have to leave?" The girl seemed a little confused. In her view, Upper City was the outermost area.

In light of this, Li Can didn't expect to get any new clues out of her.

Perhaps Shen Yuan's character is simply lacking an additional layer of understanding of the outside world.

"Brother Xing, do you mean there's a new world outside of Shangcheng?" After talking with Li Can for a long time, Shen Yuan was gradually able to follow his train of thought.

Li Can didn't know how to explain this. Leaving the upper city meant leaving the instance. As a player quest, even if Shen Yuan and the thousands of NPCs here awakened, they still couldn't leave.

He still has to figure out a solution himself.

For now, let's focus on preparation and getting the job done.

Even though she knew the inside story, Li Can herself wasn't sure, so she decided to take it one step at a time.

With the countdown to the destruction of Earth looming in my mind, time is running out. This time, I only have a budget of ten days or so to complete the dungeon, which is still very tight in the current environment.

"I've lived in the city since I was a child, and it seems like I've never really left. The outside world is completely unknown to me."

"However, the city lord must have left. His vision is far-reaching, and he knows more than we do."

"If one day we really can get out of the city, I really want to go out and see how big the world really is."

"Until then, I will work hard, hoping that one day everyone can be liberated, without games, without hierarchical oppression and exploitation, and with everyone equal..."

Shen Yuan's vision drew some attention from Li Can.

Universal harmony—what an unattainable dream!

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Huang Xiaoqi, who had regained some of her composure, asked from the doorway, her voice tinged with resentment.