"Darling, what's wrong? Your hand is hurt!" Her husband's voice was gentle with a hint of anxiety as he grabbed Mrs. Lawrence's hand. "I'll get the first-aid kit!"

"No, no..." Mrs. Lawrence hugged her husband tightly, unwilling to let go for even a moment, as if letting go would shatter all this beauty into nothing.

Her husband quieted down. He didn't know what had happened, but he gently patted his wife's shoulder to comfort her.

"Darling, have the sea beasts and ancient civilizations been defeated? Has humanity won... and has your injury been healed?" Mrs. Lawrence was having trouble distinguishing between reality and illusion. The sensations were so real that she was gradually succumbing to this beautiful illusion.

"Sea beasts? Ancient civilizations? What are you talking about? And when was I ever injured?" Her husband scratched his head, puzzled. He asked with great concern, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Should we go to the hospital for a check-up?"

Mrs. Lawrence looked up. She felt something in her brain was gradually disappearing—memories of the world after the cataclysm, memories of intense pain, memories that were indelible and haunting. But now, they were slowly fading, disappearing from her mind.

"Uncle Miles invited us to his party. Let's get ready and go!" Her husband gently stroked Mrs. Lawrence's earlobe.

Uncle Miles was their neighbor, but Mrs. Lawrence clearly remembered that he had died long ago in the first sea beast invasion.

His body lay in the ruins, his head crushed. That scene had left a deep psychological scar on her.

"Is he still alive too?" Mrs. Lawrence muttered to herself.

Soon, her husband and she changed into sportswear, and they went to their neighbor's backyard.

There, Mrs. Lawrence saw many faces that had long died in her memory. They cheered, opened iced beers, handed her grilled meat, and invited her to dance with them.

Mrs. Lawrence took a bite of the meat and a sip of iced beer. Instantly, her mouth was filled with the extravagant aroma of meat and the coolness.

Slowly, the alcohol began to take effect, and Mrs. Lawrence felt a little dazed. She became excited, twisting her body in the crowd, reveling with her neighbors and friends.

"Even if this is just a dream, may I never wake up..." Mrs. Lawrence had an excited smile on her face.

...

The Follower stood in the dark room. It saw Mrs. Lawrence slumped in front of it, a look on her face like that of a drug addict who had satisfied their cravings. Her eyes were hollow, her face pale, and her skin was visibly drying out and wrinkling. It seemed that it would not be long before she died.

But even so, the expression on her face was still full of excitement and happiness.

"Heh..." The Follower chuckled. It turned its head to look at the husband paralyzed in bed. In his dark eyes, scenes were now emerging.

It was a strong man, his muscles bulging in the most perfect and full state, like a lion in its prime.

At this moment, he was standing on the podium, a medal around his neck, raising his hands, his eyes sweeping forward, like a lion king surveying his territory.

Below, many spectators were cheering wildly, shouting and cheering for their idol.

"I am the champion..."

The husband murmured these words. Suddenly, his emotions became feverish, waving his arms and shouting, "I am the champion! I am the champion!"

The Follower looked at this scene and smiled mockingly.

He was clearly lying on a dirty, low bed, lying in his own excrement, but his expression was as if he were standing on the podium.

He was clearly so weak that he was powerless, and his muscles had long atrophied due to prolonged bed rest and lack of exercise, but his posture was like the world's top bodybuilder, clenching his arms and shouting loudly, showing off his might to the "audience"!

"How pathetic..." The Follower finished speaking and turned to walk out the door.

It did not go directly into the next room, but after skipping more than a dozen rooms, it walked in again.

The second room it entered was that of an old man who had lost his family.

It pushed open the door and saw the old man curled up in bed, holding several photos in his hands, silently weeping.

"Do you feel pain?"

"I can eliminate your pain..." The Follower's gentle voice echoed in the room, and the old man's eyes gradually became dazed.

Dozens of seconds later, the Follower walked out of the old man's room. Just before closing the door, the old man's joyful and happy voice came from the crack in the door.

"Miles, don't snatch your brother's chocolate bar!"

"Melchie, my little baby, don't cry! Come to Grandpa, look, what good things does Grandpa have here? That's right, cookies..."

"Hmm, you're asking what we're having for lunch today? Hehe, go tell your dad, I just bought some beef, and let him grill it for us!"

"Yes, that's right! Grandpa will always be with you, and will never leave..."

The Follower walked forward slowly, muttering softly, "Emotions, joys and sorrows, these are the easiest things to exploit. Just sink into them forever!"

It continued to walk forward. In the following time, it kept entering various rooms in the housing block.

Each time it came out, the residents in the room would sink into that distorted illusion of happiness.

"Hahaha, you're so clumsy, let me teach you..."

"This grilled fish is so delicious, and the wine is also very good..."

"Darling, I have good news for you, our stocks have gone up, we're going to be rich!"

"From today onwards, I am the new chairman of the Fruit Group, my name is..."

The entire housing block was plunged into a bizarre revelry.

And this situation was not noticed by the soldiers on patrol.

In fact, to be more precise, even these patrolmen had fallen victim. They slumped in the corridors, their faces filled with happy smiles. Their lives were constantly passing, but their smiles were still bright and beautiful.

An old man trapped in an illusion suddenly fell to the ground, lifeless. His life had come to an end, and his body had long since dried up.

And with his death, streams of colored light, like worms, crawled out of his body and spread through the cracks in the door and the air.

These rays of light burrowed into the rooms of other residents next to the old man, quietly entering the bodies of other residents.

As a result, laughter also came from the rooms that had not been entered by the Follower...