"Tom!" screamed Irving hysterically, his voice reverberating through the gloomy, dimly lit sky. Surrounding him, the landscape was a wasteland of destruction and desolation. Gray particles hovered in the air, visible and murky, adding to the already foreboding atmosphere.

A bloodied youth, ragged and bruised, knelt upon the ground, his gaze fixed upon the middle-aged man sprawled before him, clinging precariously to life.

"Please... I beg you... You must see for me... What the outside world is like," were Tom's final, gasping words to Irving. As the words left his lips, a horde of zombies surged forward, swallowing his figure in their relentless tide. Irving's body shook violently, as if he had been plunged into an abyss of despair.

In the next instant, all the scenes were consumed by an endless void of darkness, as if a monstrous vortex had devoured everything Irving had witnessed.

"Tom!" Irving cried again, jerking upright from the ground. His gaze darted around, only to find an expanse of white mist stretching out into infinity.

"Is it another nightmare?" Irving muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and filled with despair.

Since that fateful day when Tom sacrificed himself to save Irving, dying amidst the zombie horde, the memories of that tragic event had haunted Irving like a relentless shadow.

The City of Doom.

It was a place Irving dreamed of escaping from every waking moment. As its name suggested, the inhabitants of this city lived in a perpetual state of fear and despair, as if every day were the end of the world. The streets were not only infested with hordes of terrifying zombies but also prowled by savage mutant beasts that hunted humans for sport. These mutant beasts were even more nightmarish than the zombies, finding the slaughter of humans a sickening form of entertainment.

During his five long years in the City of Doom, Irving had witnessed countless atrocities. He had seen friends and loved ones torn to shreds by the mutant beasts, their screams echoing in his mind, a constant reminder of the horrors he had witnessed.

The zombies and mutant beasts were relentless, their presence a constant threat. They seemed to operate without rest, stalking the streets day and night, their sole purpose to prey on the weak and innocent.

Fortunately, rescue packages arrived sporadically, at unpredictable times and locations, offering a fleeting glimmer of hope in the otherwise desolate City of Doom. These packages were like lifelines, containing a variety of foodstuffs and medicines that were crucial to survival. And for those lucky enough, they might stumble upon hidden treasures within - weapons that could fend off the undead and mutant beasts, or rare human enhancement liquids that promised to boost their strength and endurance.

For five hellish years, Irving had hovered on the precipice of death, dancing with fate as he narrowly escaped the jaws of zombies and mutant beasts. He had lost everything during that time - friends, family, and all those who were once a part of his life had vanished, leaving only empty voids in his heart. And it was not just him; every survivor in the City of Doom shared the same aching desire - to escape this nightmarish existence.

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Now, after enduring countless horrors and sacrificing almost everything he held dear, Irving had finally arrived at this mysterious place. Surrounded by an endless veil of mist, there were no signs of the zombies or mutant beasts that had haunted him for so long. Yet, despite the apparent calm, Irving couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gripped him. He rubbed his head with his hand, feeling a cold sweat break out on his body. The discomfort kept him from falling back into a deep sleep.

He turned his head to glance at his younger sister, Kaitlyn. She was around sixteen or seventeen years old, and her usually rosy cheeks were now pale and gaunt due to malnutrition. Seemingly roused by Irving's movements, Kaitlyn rubbed her sleepy eyes and slowly sat up.

"What's wrong... Did you have another nightmare?" she asked with concern etched on her face.

Upon hearing his sister's voice, Irving's tense features softened. He gently rubbed her head and kissed her forehead.

"It's okay, Kaitlyn. We'll escape soon. I promise."

Upon hearing this, Kaitlyn's eyes widened with hope. She smiled brightly and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! I believe you, Irving. You'll definitely take me out of here, right? And you promised Tom, Harry, and Lance that we'd show them the outside world!"

As he heard those familiar names, Irving's heart tightened with a mixture of sadness and resolve. He lifted his head and stared into the misty distance, his gaze steely and determined.

"Yes... I promised them. And I will keep that promise."

With that, Irving stood up resolutely, his gaze towards the distance becoming even more determined. He reached out his right hand and took Kaitlyn's small hand in his.

"Let's go! We're escaping from here together!"

"Yes!"

 and Kaitlyn quickly packed their things and continued on their journey. They ate compressed biscuits and dark chocolate to stave off hunger. Whenever they were tired, they would sit down to rest. They didn't know how long they had been walking, but apart from the endless white mist, nothing had changed.

However, just when Irving was feeling despair again, a sound came from his pocket.

"Ring-ring！"

Upon hearing the sound, Irving suddenly remembered something and excitedly reached out with his left hand to pull out the phone that had been sitting in his pocket. He had found this phone in a rescue pack, but in the City of Doom, there had been no signal at all, rendering the phone useless. Nevertheless, Owen had carefully preserved it, hoping that it would come in handy one day.

Now, with trembling hands, Irving unlocked the phone and looked towards the top right corner.

Signal... one bar! There was a signal! His heart raced as excitement overwhelmed his ability to think straight. Instinctively, he dialed three digits and soon, the phone was connected.

Irving quickly placed the phone to his ear and spoke in a voice that was still shaking.

"Hello! Police officer! I escaped! I escaped from the City of Doom!" He was so excited that his body couldn't stop trembling. But just then, his sister, who had been standing beside him, tugged on his hand. He looked up and suddenly realized that the dense fog had completely dissipated, but... what appeared in front of him was not the new world he had imagined. Rows of tanks, armed helicopters hovering in the sky, and countless fully armed soldiers aimed their guns at him.

Meanwhile, on the largest live streaming platform of the Eastern and Western alliances of the entire Blue Planet, in a live broadcast room named "Survival in the Doom" with hundreds of millions of views, countless chat messages quickly scrolled across the screen.

"Oh my god, how did he really escape?"

"A condemned criminal trying to break out of prison? Just shoot him and kill him!"

"Why kill him? Knock him out and throw him back into the City of Doom. Let him experience complete despair!"