When the Doppelgangers invaded, I awakened the "Human Mimic System." The rules were simple: Do something irrational, and I'd earn Mimic Points. These points could upgrade my body parts, allowing me to perform horrific feats—like popping my eyeballs out of their sockets. One day, a group of Doppelgangers gathered, whispering, "I feel like there's a human hiding among us." 1 I’m a horror game junkie. Escape rooms, puzzle solvers, battle royales, spotting the imposter—you name it, I’ve played it. Everyone knows the lore: Doppelgangers mimic, kill, and replace humans. Of course, I never thought I’d see one in real life. It was Saturday, and I was trying to activate my new system. This "cheat code" had been in my head for a week, but I hadn't figured out how to use it. Today, I decided to stalk a random dog. Would stalking a stray dog count as "irrational behavior"? I had no idea. As I walked out of the campus gate, something felt off. A cold gaze followed me, but I couldn't pinpoint the source. As long as it wasn't PETA, I was fine. Shaking off my paranoia, I stuck to the plan. I picked a stray mutt on the street and started following it. If you've ever been chased by a dog, you know the drill: you walk past, it watches. You run, it barks and chases. Today, the roles were reversed. The dog stopped; I stopped. The dog walked; I walked. The poor thing kept looking back, clearly terrified. Ding. The system chime rang in my head. [Mimic Points +10. A Doppelganger witnessed this event and experienced a cognitive error.] [Note: The entity chasing the dog is your imitator.] [Doppelganger Exposure +50.] [When Exposure reaches 100, you will assimilate the Doppelganger.] A chill ran down my spine. Doppelgangers were real. This was definitely not good news. Imagine the anxiety of realizing everything around you is unpredictable. In games, I’ve accidentally let Doppelgangers into safe zones, leading to gruesome massacres. They could be your friends, your neighbors, your RA, your roommate... Terrifying. In games, you can reload a save. In reality, you can't. Especially now, when the news of the invasion hasn't broken yet. How many of them are there? No one knows. Putting aside my fear, I had to deal with the imitator first. To do that, I needed to keep racking up Mimic Points. As the dog whimpered and ran away with its tail between its legs, I dumped all 10 points into the "Brain" stat. [Brain +10. You will generate more "human-like" ideas.] A spark of inspiration hit me—I was going to get a manicure for a chicken foot. Wait, that idea made me blush instantly. I should have put 5 points into "Thick Skin." This was going to be social suicide. With a heavy heart, I bought three braised chicken feet. I accidentally ate two on the way. Resisting the urge to eat the last one, I clutched it in my hand. I scanned the people around me. Do I need new glasses? Why haven't I spotted the Doppelganger yet? I walked into a nail salon, holding the chicken foot. I took a deep breath. "Hi, can you give my chicken foot a manicure?" The nail tech looked at me blankly, question marks practically floating above her head. Oh god, I wanted to dig a hole and die. After adding, "I'll pay extra," she reluctantly agreed. The mechanical voice rang again: [Mimic Points +10. A Doppelganger witnessed this event. Cognitive error deepening.] [Note: The entity manicuring the chicken foot is your imitator.] [Doppelganger Exposure +50. Total Exposure: 100.] [When you identify the Doppelganger, you will wear its skin.] So it’s basically a skin system? I walked out of the salon holding a glamorized chicken foot. The sun felt exceptionally hot today, burning my face. It felt like my face had been upgraded and reinforced. The nail tech did her best, but my wallet was empty. If my boyfriend didn't bring me breakfast, I was at risk of eating grass for the next two weeks. Worst case scenario, I could try dumpster diving. Ignoring my wandering thoughts, I dumped the new 10 points into "Eyes." [Eyes +10. Eye adjustability increased. You can slightly control pupil color, bloodshot level, pupil size, and detachment.] My eyelid twitched. I thought it would boost observation skills. These upgrades were getting weird. At this rate, I wouldn't know who was more like a Doppelganger—me or them. I opened my front-facing camera. Under my control, red veins crept across my whites, making me look sleep-deprived. Not enough. I tried turning the whole eye white. Just a pale glaze, not quite horror movie level. Shrinking the pupils? Still not pinpoint enough. I needed more points to make it useful. More importantly, I realized something: I only got points when a Doppelganger was watching. Identifying it immediately might be a mistake. I should farm it for points. A new idea popped into my head: "Take a cat to the vet for neutering, then lie on the operating table myself." I really should have put those 5 points into Thick Skin. After capturing a stray tabby, I dragged it to the vet clinic. "Hi, do you do neutering here?" The cat in my arms started squirming, sensing danger. The nurse nodded and smiled. "Yes, we do." I put the cat down, kept a straight face, and climbed onto the examination table. "Please neuter me!" The nurse's eyes widened. Even the cat looked confused. She blurted out, "Huh?" System prompt: [Mimic Points +20. Your behavior has completely distorted the imitator.] [Doppelganger Exposure +100. Note: It is now purple with confusion.] 2 Under the nurse's "calling the psych ward" gaze, I rolled off the table. Walking out of the clinic felt like escaping death. Social death is still death. That was terrifying. I almost clawed through the floor with my toes. She even patiently explained why she couldn't do it, which made me even more ashamed. Taking a deep breath, I noticed the sky was getting dark. I immediately spotted someone casually following a dog. As expected, she was the Doppelganger mimicking me. Looking closely, she did resemble me. In dim light, she would be my twin. Seeming to notice my gaze, she subtly showed off the manicure on the chicken foot she was holding. Like she was saying, Look how beautiful this is. Oblivious to how abstract and insane it was. The moment I recognized her, her death sentence was signed. But I'd spare her for now. I continued my "human" behavior—talking to thin air. "What did you think of the surgery?" Pause. "Seems you rate the doctor highly." Pause. "I'll treat you to dinner tonight, don't argue." Pause. "Just remember to bring your wallet." After a string of soliloquies, the system chimed: [Mimic Points +5. The imitator believes it has gathered sufficient information and will attack you in a secluded area. Please identify it before the attack.] Night had fallen. The Doppelganger stopped hiding, its gaze filled with naked hunger. Walking through the deserted streets, the cold feeling grew stronger, like I was about to be flayed alive. I reached a dark alley and stopped. "You are a Doppelganger, aren't you?" She looked surprised, then smirked cruelly. "When did you figure it out?" System prompt: [Do not use questions when identifying.] Strict. I turned around, pointed at her, and said, "You are a Doppelganger." [Identification Successful. Urban Legend Unlocked: The Human Mimic.] [In the city's shadows, Doppelgangers lurk. Among them hides the Human Mimic. Its behavior deviates from the norm, bringing error, chaos, and death to Doppelgangers.] [Tonight, a Doppelganger disturbed the Mimic.] [Legend Unlock Progress: 2%. The Doppelganger fears you.] The Doppelganger before me looked terrified. Inch by inch, it crumbled, turning into a set of summer clothes that the system absorbed. I pulled up the description: [Congratulations, you have acquired Identity 1: Incomplete Doppelganger (Mimic Form). She was a failure even among her kind.] [Note: Identity becomes invalid if exposed.] [But don't worry. Beneath the Doppelganger skin lies the Human Mimic.] 3 "Did you guys hear? Someone from Room 305 went missing." As soon as I got back to the dorm, my roommate Sarah brought up the news. "Is it that tall, skinny girl?" Emily asked. Sarah looked at her. "Oh, you knew too?" Jessica put down her study materials. "Is this a big deal? Maya, have you heard?" I shook my head. "Nope." Thinking to myself, Is this related to the Doppelgangers? Sarah looked at us. "Her sister came to the school demanding answers. It might blow up depending on how the admin handles it." Emily tutted. "Her RA is weird too. The girl's been gone for two weeks and he didn't even think to look for her." Sarah joked, "Maybe he's a Doppelganger?" My heart skipped a beat. "It's possible." She laughed. "I didn't mean the ones from your game." I put my suspicion aside. It wasn't easy to explain Doppelgangers right now. I could show off my adjustable eyes, but that would probably get me chains in a research lab, not understanding. Before the truth surfaced, I had to be careful. I asked, "What's the RA's name again?" Emily recalled, "Something like Lee... Fly?" Jessica added, "Lee Xinfei. He's the advisor for the music club. He's a nice guy, don't spread rumors." I looked at Jessica. I noticed she was watching a lecture video at 1x speed on her laptop. She had headphones on earlier, so I hadn't noticed. If I recall correctly, she always watches videos at 2x speed. Noticing my gaze, she asked, "What are you looking at, Maya?" I laughed it off. "Nothing, just spacing out." If she had already been replaced, the situation was worse than I thought. The invasion might have started a long time ago. After lights out, I put my pillow at the foot of the bed, lay facing the other way, and covered my head completely with the duvet. Basically reversing my sleeping position. A normal person wouldn't do this. I was just testing. Then, the sound I didn't want to hear rang out: [Mimic Points +1. A Doppelganger witnessed this. It is confused.] I shivered. This meant one of my roommates was gone forever. I dumped 20 points into my "Arms." I hoped for a strength boost. I needed to protect myself and get revenge. [Arms +20. Your arm joints can now bend freely. Please ignore the clicking sounds.] [Action Unlocked: Handstand. Movement speed increased by 50% while in a handstand.] [Action Unlocked: Crawl. You can briefly cling to walls while crawling.] [Passive Unlocked: Fear Harvest. Reaching 90% triggers a random effect.] Looking at the list, I pondered. Seems like hitting 20 points triggers a major change. I had 6 points left. I'd save them. I had skills now, but couldn't use them yet. It was a sleepless night. Excitement, fear, sadness, and hatred mixed together. I decided to text my boyfriend, warning him about the Doppelgangers. At 1 AM, he replied: "My roommate sucks at gaming, he must be a Doppelganger." How to explain? "Not internet slang. The horror game kind. You streamed those games, you know them." He understood. "The monsters that mimic humans?" I sent a thumbs-up emoji. "Like the Mandela Catalogue, but maybe worse." I sent him a graphic: Check for biological inconsistencies. Check for stiff movements or expressions. Check for repetitive speech patterns. Check if they stare at you constantly, causing unease. Look for tiny non-human traits. A while later, he replied, "Actually, it is weird. Star is left-handed, but he smokes with his right hand. Today he used his left." "Is he a Doppelganger?" I sent several messages after that, but he didn't reply. My eye twitched. Did something happen? The next morning, he replied, "Fell asleep last night. Tell me more later." Eating breakfast downstairs, he asked, "You know a lot about this?" Alarm bells rang. Was he replaced? "Not much more than you." He nodded. "There haven't been any new Doppelganger games in three years. Why bring it up?" "I'm replaying old ones." He looked disappointed. "Thought there was a new game to stream. My follower count is dropping." His logic seemed sound, but I had my own test. "Come with me to the car wash." He was surprised. "You bought a car? Did you win the lottery? Don't forget me when you're rich. I can call you Mom if the breakup fee is high enough." In my bag were two black rooks from a Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) set. I planned to use them on Jessica, but he was first. At the car wash, he asked, "Where's the car? We walked here." I pulled out the two chess pieces (which are called 'Cars' in Chinese). "Wash these cars." He gave me the Nick Young question mark face. ??? "You're hilarious." "Find a tap and wash them yourself, don't prank the workers." I stared into his eyes, heart pounding. No system prompt. I sighed in relief. "Never mind. Let's go." He looked at me. "You're acting weird. Are you a Doppelganger?" I hesitated, but decided not to reveal my identity. "Just be careful. Some have infiltrated." He looked down at me. "Are you tired lately?" I felt the difficulty of convincing him. I could convince anyone easily, I just chose not to. Selfishness won over love. "Just keep an eye out." He smiled. "I'm a horror game streamer. Don't worry." After parting ways, I met up with Jessica to go shopping. My next move: buy the same item repeatedly at the same stall. After buying lilies for the sixth time at the corner florist, the prompt chimed: [Mimic Points +10.] [Over ten Doppelgangers witnessed this.] 4 I froze, holding the flowers. I scanned the florist, Jessica, and the bustling street outside. Jessica complained, "If you like them so much, buy more. I'm losing my mind here." The clerk kept her customer service smile, but her eyes were weird. "Enough. Let's go back." Back in the dorm, I threw all the lilies in the trash, put the empty vase on the balcony, and filled it to the brim with water. Jessica stared at me like the screaming marmot meme. "Huh?!" System: [Mimic Points +10. The Doppelganger's brain has been impacted. It cannot believe what it is seeing is real and not a hallucination.] I smiled at her. Gotcha. As I went to close the door, she quietly locked it. The other two roommates were out and wouldn't be back soon. She was thinking the same thing I was. I smiled and didn't call her out. Jessica walked up to me. "Maya, I lied yesterday. I know something about the missing girl." I feigned surprise. "Why didn't you say so?" She looked around and whispered, "Because one of the other two is a Doppelganger." The weasel paying respects to the chicken. I sneered internally but kept a straight face. "How can Doppelgangers be real?" She looked anxious. "You have to believe me. Her death is related to them." "She died?" Jessica nodded. "I saw it. Two weeks ago, I went to Mr. Lee's office about the choir. I saw that girl leaving." "She mentioned our room. She said: 'Mr. Lee, someone in 301 is following me.'" "Mr. Lee told her to calm down, said it was impossible." "She said: 'I'll find proof!'" I said, "That doesn't prove she's dead." Jessica looked at me. "I have proof. Under Emily's bed. Go look if you don't believe me." Unsure of her game, I shook my head. "I can't rummage through people's stuff." She looked exasperated. "Why are you so stubborn!" Jessica stood up, went to Emily's bed, and pulled out a human skin. "See? Believe me now?" I looked at her strangely. "But that's your bed." She smiled sinisterly. "Yes, it is." I bent down to look. My two eyeballs popped out like ping pong balls and rolled towards her, staring straight up. I stood up, empty sockets facing her. "My eyes fell out. Can you pick them up for me?"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "386078", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel