I don’t know how many times I’ve felt this suffocation—exhaustion had become a constant companion.

  Since Li Chunfeng regained consciousness, facing this endless darkness, whenever his mind wandered, an overwhelming sense of fatigue would wash over him.

  And with it came the suffocating feeling, as if his very thoughts were about to cease functioning.

  Li Chunfeng was not the famed Tang Dynasty prophet who predicted Empress Wu Zetian’s becoming emperor—he was just a programmer who had started working since his third year of college.

  After experiencing this suffocation multiple times, Li Chunfeng began to notice a pattern: as long as his thoughts appeared sequentially, the exhaustion wouldn’t overwhelm him.

  I can think, I can remember, I can reason.

  I can even imagine the software I’m developing and continue writing new code.

  But I couldn’t feel my hands, feet, eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. All his senses seemed to have vanished—including even the ability to breathe normally.

  What’s happening to me? Where am I?

  In this strange place, why was there nothing but darkness, with only his clear thoughts remaining? Was he dreaming? But what sort of bizarre dream could this be?

  In an instant, countless questions flooded his mind again.

  Immediately, that overwhelming exhaustion spread through him once more.

  Li Chunfeng sighed. I still haven't mastered it.

  The suffocating sensation returned, forcing all thoughts to a halt.

  Time seemed to pass slowly, and gradually, a sense of relief returned.

  It appears that even if my thoughts come sequentially, I can’t let the pace go too fast, and I must minimize distractions. Otherwise, my brain can't handle it.

  Wait—what were those tiny points of light rushing toward him? Before he could react, they streaked past but did nothing to dispel the darkness.

  Just as he was about to complain, Li Chunfeng suddenly felt a blinding flash before his eyes.

  And then—he saw.

  Even though he hadn’t opened his eyes, his vision had returned.

  A surge of wild joy swelled in his heart.

  Then, he saw a man sitting in front of him, typing on a keyboard.

  Zheng Yongjun?! Why him?! Li Chunfeng nearly gasped aloud.

  Zheng Yongjun was the head of the company’s systems team, responsible for internal and external networks, server rooms—in short, the company’s IT administrator.

  Li Chunfeng had interacted with him many times and knew him well.

  But why could he suddenly see him now?

  If this was a dream, why would he dream about the company’s IT personnel?

  And what was Zheng Yongjun doing right in front of him?

  Then, Li Chunfeng noticed the surroundings behind Zheng Yongjun. They looked familiar—wasn’t this the server room?

  Wait, what’s going on? Why is the first thing I see after regaining vision the people and objects in the company’s server room?

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Zheng Yongjun suddenly looked up, muttered something under his breath, and stood to leave.

  I can't hear him!!!

  Calm down. Think carefully.

  His perspective was fixed on Zheng Yongjun, who was typing away. Am I watching him through a screen?

  Am I monitoring him? But not via the company's security cameras—through the camera on his screen.

  Why would I be monitoring him?

  And he couldn’t hear Zheng Yongjun speak. That must mean there was no microphone or it was turned off.

  Can I speak?

  Anxious and flustered, Li Chunfeng blurted out, “Hey, is anyone there?”

  No sound responded. No speakers, or they’re turned off?

  He tried to look around, but his field of vision was limited—he could only see straight ahead and a portion to the sides.

  Then he noticed a nearby computer case, with cables connecting it to the monitor.

  His eyes darted to a small label on the side of the case.

  It read: Li Chunfeng, Employee ID 009, Development Team 1, Fengdu Software Co., Ltd.—Asset.

  This is my work computer!

  And it was connected to a display—one with a built-in camera. The network port at the back was unplugged.

  A wave of terror washed over Li Chunfeng.

  I’m viewing the world through this screen’s camera, and this screen is connected to my work computer—which is turned on!

  That means I’m inside this computer, looking out at the world.

  But this computer wasn’t connected to any network. It was operating independently.

  In other words, he couldn’t be controlling it remotely or using its camera to observe the outside.

  The only explanation:

  I’m inside this computer.

  A flood of thoughts surged, and the feeling of suffocation returned. Li Chunfeng’s mind went blank again.

  This time, the sensation persisted for several minutes.

  When the relief finally returned, Li Chunfeng felt as though he could breathe again—though he seemingly didn’t need to.

  He saw Zheng Yongjun returning, inserting a disc into the optical drive of the computer.

  Then, Zheng Yongjun tossed the disc sleeve onto the desk.

  Li Chunfeng’s gaze involuntarily fixed on it.

  A fresh wave of panic seized him when he saw what was written.

  The sleeve read: Windows 10 System Disc.

  Suddenly, he sensed countless tiny points rushing toward him from somewhere. Instinctively, he focused on them.

  Information flooded in—from the optical drive.

  It was the Windows 10 installation interface, with clear options for formatting the drive.

  No time to think—must stop this.

  With a thought, the optical drive’s speed surged. The disc inside emitted a sharp crack—it was no longer readable.

  I used my mind to destroy the disc inside the drive.

  Zheng Yongjun cursed and pressed the eject button, forcing the damaged disc out.

  Soon afterward, he returned with an Ethernet cable and plugged the computer into the network.

  Then he sat down and began working.

  Li Chunfeng immediately understood: since the disc installation failed, Zheng Yongjun was now attempting a network-based installation.

  Right now, he had no time to contemplate how he came to be inside this computer.

  In fact, he knew that Zheng Yongjun intended to reinstall the operating system on his office computer. However, this process would involve formatting the entire system, at least the C drive.

  But he was inside this computer. If it got formatted, would he still be?

  As Zheng Yongjun continued, Li Chunfeng felt another wave of stardust-like particles welling up from somewhere.

  He quickly focused his thoughts and, in an instant, truly "saw" Zheng Yongjun's operations interface.

  It looked like Zheng Yongjun was browsing a network directory, about to open a Windows image file.

  Apparently, Zheng Yongjun was planning a network-based system image install.

  Windows appeared one after another; Zheng Yongjun moved with astonishing speed.

  Li Chunfeng felt a chill in his heart.

  Wait—if he was inside this computer, that suffocating sensation earlier must have been when the system froze!

  Perhaps if he could cause the computer to crash again, Zheng Yongjun wouldn’t be able to proceed.

  With that thought, Li Chunfeng’s mind began to race. As countless ideas surged, the suffocating sensation returned as expected.

  Through the camera, he saw Zheng Yongjun slam the desk, then reach for the power button on the tower.

  Before Li Chunfeng could react to the suffocating feeling, everything plunged into darkness. He lost consciousness entirely.

  He didn’t know how much time had passed before he was aware of his existence again. Instantly, he sought out the camera.

  Just as he spotted Zheng Yongjun, he sensed another flood of stardust-like particles rushing toward him from somewhere. He quickly focused his mind.

  Sure enough, Zheng Yongjun was booting the computer using a USB drive, intending to directly format the hard disk.

  Clearly, Zheng Yongjun believed the system was infected with some virus, causing repeated freezes. So, he planned to boot and immediately format to eliminate the threat.

  Li Chunfeng grew anxious—how could he stop this? Maybe damage the USB drive?

  But how? It wasn’t like an optical disk, where damaging the disc was easy.

  If he tried to fry the USB port with an overvoltage, he knew the port was on the motherboard. Accidentally destroying the motherboard would mean the entire computer was bricked.

  Suddenly, through the camera, Li Chunfeng noticed the network cable was still plugged into the back of the case.

  The network was still connected—I might try to escape this computer via the internet!

  Why should I stay here?

  Wait—how can I leave? I don’t even know how I entered the computer. How am I supposed to get out?