After reading the document, my entire body was cold, my hands and feet trembling. I committed the contents to memory, then formatted the USB drive, snapped it in half, and flushed it down the toilet.
Now, my objectives were clear: first, survive; second, find a way to get the key to freedom from that neat-freak security guard.
For the next few days, I lived on eggshells. I strictly followed the "Zhang Wei edition" of the survival rules, subsisting on a case of instant noodles and crackers I had brought with me when I moved. I sealed all my curtains with tape. The midnight "visitors" still arrived on schedule, but I would just sprinkle the salt I'd salvaged from seasoning packets along the door and windowsills. I continued to accept the "finger cookies" and "eyeball rice balls" from Auntie Wang across the hall with a smile, only to flush them down the toilet immediately after.
My only relief was that I hadn't encountered the black cat or the little girl again.
But my food supply was finite. On the seventh day, I ate my last cracker. Hunger burned in my stomach like a flame. I knew I had to go out. Not just to find food, but to find an opportunity to get the key.
Zhang Wei had mentioned a small, "safe" convenience store in the basement of one of the buildings, but the prices were ten times higher than outside. The owner was a blind man; you placed the money on the counter, took what you needed, and were not to communicate with him.
I gathered all my cash, took a deep breath, and opened the door I hadn't touched in a week.
Walking through the community, the sun was still bright, but I felt none of its warmth. The neighbors I passed all wore the same standardized, rigid smiles, greeting each other with, "You look so happy today," and "You look even happier than yesterday."
I kept my head down and walked quickly toward the designated building. Just as I was about to reach it, my worst fear materialized. By the central flower bed, I saw the tall, thin figure in the security guard's uniform.
He was standing there, motionless, like a statue.
Steeling myself, I walked over, plastering the brightest smile I could muster on my face. "Hello, sir! Beautiful day today!"
The guard slowly turned his head. The shadow under his cap obscured his face. He spoke in his hoarse voice, "It is. Where are you going?"
"I... I was just going to the store to buy a few things."
"Oh," the guard grunted. He suddenly took a step forward, leaning close to me. A faint smell of formalin hit my nose. "Your expression... it's a bit unnatural. Are you... unhappy?"
My heart leaped into my throat. I could feel his gaze, hidden in the shadows, scraping across my face like a knife.
"No, not at all!" I waved my hands frantically, my smile stretching even wider. "I'm just... just so excited to see you after not being out for so long! I'm really happy! See?" I pointed to the corners of my mouth, feeling the muscles in my face go numb.
The guard stared at me for a full thirty seconds, which felt like a century. Just as I was about to break, he suddenly stepped back.
"Don't let it happen again," he said coldly.
Granted a reprieve, I thanked him profusely and practically fled into the basement of the building.
The basement was dark and damp. A single, dim bulb hung over the entrance to the small store. A skinny old man wearing dark glasses sat behind the counter, motionless. I quickly placed my money on the counter, dashed to the shelves, and grabbed a loaf of bread and a bottle of water. As I was about to leave, I caught sight of a row of lollipops on the bottom shelf.
[...give her a piece of candy. Any candy will do.]
I hesitated for a moment, then went back, grabbed an orange-flavored lollipop, and paid the extra money. It was always better to be prepared.
Emerging from the basement, I felt a little more at ease. I kept my head down, walking quickly back, my mind racing with ways to exploit the guard's obsession with cleanliness.
As I was lost in thought, a sound like tinkling bells echoed from behind me.
"Hee hee hee..."
My blood seemed to freeze in that instant. I turned my head stiffly and saw the one thing in the world I never wanted to see.
On the path not far away, a little girl in a red dress was crouched down, playing with pebbles, her back to me. Her dress was a piercing red, like a burning flame.
My mind went blank. The warnings from the handbook and Zhang Wei's document thundered in my ears.
[...If she approaches you, close your eyes and count to 10 in your head.]
I immediately shut my eyes, my heart pounding wildly, and began to count silently.
One... two... three...
I could hear her stand up. I could hear the tap, tap, tap of her little leather shoes on the pavement, getting closer with each step.
Seven... eight... nine...
The footsteps stopped right in front of me. I could feel her cold gaze on my face. I could even smell a strange scent, a mixture of sweet candy and blood.
Ten!
I snapped my eyes open.
The little girl was standing right in front of me, less than half a meter away. She was looking up at me.
Her face was white as paper, without a trace of color. Her eyes were huge, as black as two bottomless pits. A bizarre smile hung on her lips.
She hadn't left.
My brain shut down. Fear washed over me like a tidal wave. Zhang Wei's warning resurfaced.
[...if she's still there after 10 seconds... give her a piece of candy.]
With trembling hands, I pulled the orange lollipop from my pocket and held it out.
"Here... for you..." My voice was shaking uncontrollably.
The little girl looked at the lollipop in my hand and tilted her head. A flicker of curiosity crossed her bottomless eyes. She didn't take it. Instead, she raised her small hand and pointed at my face.
"Mister, your eyes... they're scared," she said, her voice cloyingly sweet, yet it terrified me to my core. "I like seeing you scared."
It's over. Those were the only words in my mind. My brain raced, searching for any possible escape.
Just as I was sinking into despair, I suddenly remembered the guard's weakness—his obsession with cleanliness.
A crazy plan formed in my mind in an instant. This was my only chance. Live or die.
I looked at the little girl, forced myself to calm down, and then I did something I couldn't believe I was doing.
I tore open the loaf of bread, grabbed a handful of crumbs, and threw them all over her red dress.
The little girl froze. She looked down at her beautiful dress, now covered in white breadcrumbs. For the first time, her black-hole eyes showed a flicker of confusion and... rage.
"You... got... my dress... dirty..." she said, enunciating each word. The sweetness in her voice was gone, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
I ignored her. I summoned every ounce of strength I had and yelled at the top of my lungs toward the security guard in the distance. "Security! Help! Someone is littering here! It's so dirty!"
My shout echoed loudly in the quiet community.
Almost in the same instant my voice died down, the guard, who had been standing like a statue, moved. He was unbelievably fast, a black blur that shot toward us in a flash.
He saw the crumbs on the little girl's dress and the scattered bits of bread at my feet. I could almost feel the fire of rage in the eyes hidden under his cap. But his anger was directed not at me, but at the little girl.
"In the Happy Community... no one... is allowed... to make a mess!" the guard's voice was even hoarser, grating with fury.
The little girl seemed to be terrified of the guard. The moment she saw him, her anger instantly turned to grievance and fear. She pointed at me and shrieked, "It was him! He did it!"
The guard didn't listen to her explanation. He pulled a black baton from his belt, pointed it at her, and growled, "Leave! Or I will 'clean' you up myself!"
The little girl shot me a venomous glare, a look that said, I'll remember you. Then, she stomped her foot in frustration, her body dissolving into a red shadow that vanished on the spot.
The crisis was, for the moment, averted.
I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air, my back completely soaked in cold sweat.
The guard put away his baton, turned, and looked down at me.
"You. Did well," he said hoarsely. "You have upheld the 'happiness' and 'cleanliness' of the community."
I managed a weak smile. "Just doing my part."
"As a reward," the guard said, and to my utter shock, he unhooked the set of keys from his belt—the very keys I had dreamed of—and tossed them in front of me. "This is the community's 'Key of Honor.' You can use it to open any door in this community that you cannot open."
I was stunned. Happiness had come so suddenly it left me bewildered.
"Thank you... thank you, sir!" I scrambled to pick up the key, clutching it tightly in my hand.
"Go. Go find your 'happiness'," the guard said, then turned and left, resuming his stiff patrol.
I stared at the key in my hand, trembling with excitement. This was it. The hope of leaving this place.
I didn't dare delay. I immediately ran toward the central flower bed Zhang Wei had described. It was filled with vibrant flowers that had no scent. I followed his instructions, feeling around under a stone slab in the center of the bed, and soon found an inconspicuous keyhole.
With a trembling hand, I inserted the key.
Click.
With a soft sound, the slab slid to one side, revealing a dark, gaping hole leading underground.
Without a moment's hesitation, I jumped in, pulling the slab closed behind me.
Below was a narrow staircase. I felt my way down in the darkness. After what felt like an eternity, I finally saw light.
I crawled out of what looked like a manhole cover, the glaring sun blinding me for a moment. When my eyes adjusted, I found myself standing on the side of a bustling road.
Cars and people streamed past. The air was filled with noise.
I... I was out? I had really escaped from that hellish community?
I looked back. Behind me was a plain, unremarkable wall. There was no "Happy Community." It was as if everything I had just experienced had been a bizarre, twisted dream.
I was so overwhelmed with emotion I nearly cried. I was free!
I walked aimlessly along the road, greedily breathing in the air of freedom. I swore to myself I would never again be tempted by cheap rent in strange places.
As I was walking, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I pulled it out. It was a text from an unknown number.
[Congratulations, Mr. Li Lei, on successfully passing the first stage of the Happy Community's 'Adaptability' test.]
[Your resident handbook has been automatically updated.]
[Welcome to Stage Two: The Extension of 'Happiness'.]
The smile froze on my face. I jerked my head down to look at my hand. On the inside of my wrist, a bright red number had appeared, as if branded there—"404".
I looked up in horror. All around me, the faces of the hurrying pedestrians, the smiling clerks in the shops—they all began to morph, taking on a familiar, rigid smile.
Just like... the neighbors in the Happy Community.
Just then, a little girl in a red dress skipped past me. She turned her head and gave me a cloyingly sweet smile, her bottomless black eyes filled with amusement.
My world, in that moment, completely shattered.
I looked down at my empty hands. The goddamn Resident's Handbook had somehow returned to my pocket, cold and heavy.
I opened it to the first page. The words had changed.
The Happy World Survival Handbook
I. General Rules:
This world is filled with "happy" people. Please strive to blend in and learn their smile. If anyone discovers that you are "unhappy," they will be more than happy to "help" you.
...
I didn't read any further. I slowly closed the handbook. I looked up at this "brand new" world and, slowly, very slowly, forced my own face into the same standardized, rigid smile as everyone else.
I had never left.
I was merely transferred from a small cage to a much, much larger one.