Chapter Five: Please, Entire City, Don't Believe Me

The pressure wave threw Gu Ye into a hedge. Tang Ke pulled him out with a mouthful of leaves. The stream continued. [TRUE-WARNING RESPONSE: 60.1%.] [CIVILIZATION-LEVEL FAILURE NOT TRIGGERED.] Before humans could celebrate, Hertz posted another statistic: [RUMOR, VIOLENCE, AND RESOURCE CONFLICT INCREASED 470% DURING TEST.] [CIVILIZATION THREAT RATING RAISED.] "Losing is failure and winning is dangerous?" Gu Ye spat out a leaf. "Is the referee also the casino?" The tape player had survived. Gu Lan's recording continued: "Xiaoye, remember: Zero is not a person. It is a key broken apart. The first piece is in my voice. The second—" The tape warped, then released a final phrase. "—is inside the lie believed by the whole world."