"My turn now."
—
The moment those words fell—
Lin Wan felt as though a rusted, freezing nail had been driven straight through her skull.
Pain exploded instantly.
Not physical pain.
But the agony of her very existence being torn apart.
—
Her memories began to twist.
Fragments of childhood.
The basement.
The asylum.
Captain Zhang.
And herself.
Everything was being violently scrambled, rewritten, overwritten by an invisible force.
She could no longer tell—
which memories truly belonged to her life,
and which had been fabricated by the System.
—
"No…"
Lin Wan clenched her teeth tightly.
But the instant the word left her lips—
she froze.
Because the voice
had not come from her mouth.
—
It came from behind her.
—
The next second,
another identical voice whispered beside her ear at the exact same time:
"No…"
—
Two Lin Wans.
Speaking the same words simultaneously.
—
Captain Zhang's face turned deathly pale.
"Oh no…"
He finally realized it.
The replacement process had already begun.
—
Lin Wan felt her body growing colder and colder.
The ground beneath her feet blurred.
And in front of her—
a mirror slowly appeared.
—
Not a normal mirror.
But a distorted black surface like rippling water.
Inside it—
stood another version of herself.
—
That "Lin Wan" wore the exact same clothes.
The same hairstyle.
Even the emotions in her eyes were identical.
Only one thing was different—
the version inside the mirror
was smiling.
—
"Do you know what the most terrifying thing is?"
Mirror-Lin Wan spoke softly.
Her voice was unnaturally gentle.
"It isn't death."
"It's the day when even you can no longer prove that you are the real you."
—
A chill spread through Lin Wan's entire body.
Because she suddenly noticed—
the reflection was moving faster than she was.
—
Before she raised her hand,
the mirror version had already lifted its right hand first.
Before she inhaled,
the chest of the reflection had already risen.
—
Control of synchronization
was being stolen.
—
"It's overriding the rhythm of your consciousness!"
Captain Zhang rushed forward.
But the moment he got close—
every faceless person on the street moved simultaneously.
—
BOOM!!!
Hundreds of faceless figures lunged toward him at once!
Their seemingly normal shadows—
suddenly split open as they approached.
—
Inside them
were not shadows at all.
But twisted pale human faces.
—
The faces were compressed within the darkness.
Their features warped in agony,
like countless trapped souls.
Their mouths stretched wide open,
yet no sound came out.
Only silent screams.
—
Captain Zhang's pupils contracted violently.
At last—
he understood.
These things were never substitutes.
—
They were failures.
People who had been completely replaced,
stripped even of their identity as human beings,
left forever trapped inside shadows.
—
"Don't touch the shadows!!"
Captain Zhang roared.
But it was already too late.
A black shadow-hand suddenly grabbed his ankle.
—
Instantly,
half of his body began turning black.
Countless dark veins spread beneath his skin,
like living creatures crawling wildly through his bloodstream.
—
Meanwhile—
Lin Wan could no longer hear the outside world.
Her entire consciousness
was locked onto the mirror version of herself.
—
Mirror-Lin Wan slowly approached the glass.
Closer.
Closer.
Until her entire face pressed tightly against the other side.
—
Then she whispered softly:
"Now…"
"Give me your face."
—
啪.
Lin Wan suddenly realized—
her nose
was gone.
—
Then—
her mouth.
Her ears.
Her eyes.
—
Her facial features
were disappearing one by one.
As though an invisible hand
were erasing them directly from her face.
—
"No—!!"
Lin Wan finally screamed in total panic.
But she could no longer produce complete words.
Because half of her mouth
had already vanished.
—
Meanwhile,
the "Lin Wan" inside the mirror
was becoming clearer and clearer.
Its features sharpening.
Growing more human.
—
It was becoming her.
—
"Welcome back."
Mirror-Lin Wan smiled.
And for the first time,
the smile no longer looked stiff.
It became more natural.
More alive.
More human.
—
While the real Lin Wan's face
slowly turned into
a blank surface.