DreamScape: Survival of the Smartest

Chapter 2: Encounter

This feeling. There is no mistake

I'm being followed"

[Three weeks back, September 6th, 2025]

It had been 24 hours since I received that suspicious email and I have long forgotten about it. Sticking to my boring yet peaceful routine, I bought the Dlightcola and purchased some vegetables to make curry in the convenience store.

It's not good for my health to buy dinner at the convenience store every day so 4 days a week I try to cook my dinner. But thanks to that girl and the email this week I am going to cook for 3 times only.

After coming home and taking a quick shower, then changed into my hoodie and relaxed for a while.

"Ah I forgot the eggs"

I realized I had forgotten to buy eggs, which I had planned to use for making an omelette for a late-night meal.

So I went out to buy eggs I locked the door and climbed down and made my way to the store.

No one was walking on the road outside my apartment, And I found myself alone going to the store.

After a minute I began to hear someone's footsteps coming from behind me making me aware that I am no longer alone and someone is behind me. The sound of that person's footsteps was peculiar and heavy But that doesn't matter to me anyway so I quickly made my way to the store and bought the goods and went home.

[September 7th, 2025]

I closed the door of my room and made my way to school. As I walked, I began to see my school gate and the road was bustling with students and then *tap*

Among the crowd, I began to hear the same peculiar footsteps that I had heard yesterday night.

"Huh? This sound, I heard it yesterday as well. Was it a coincidence?" Without turning my head or stopping, I continued on my way to school.

[After school]

I quickly made my way home and crossed the school gate and walked alone and after I travelled a few metres *tap* it started again.

"Again?" I thought, a puzzled expression slightly showed on my face as I continued walking While making sure to maintain my composure.

The days went by,

Day by day, day by day, day by day

Whenever I go out, I can able to sense and hear those footsteps behind me. From home to school or coming back from school, going out on weekends, going grocery shopping. Even walking among the crowd

Regardless of the time, I could always hear those footsteps behind me.

That's when I started realising that an irregularity that should not exist in my day-to-day life has entered and then...

[Present day - September 26th,2023]

I came to conclude that

"*SOMEONE IS FOLLOWING ME*"

"Who is it? Why are they following me? More importantly, what is their motive?"