OFFLINE- Chapter 11
The Viewers Outside the Apartment
The footsteps multiplied rapidly outside the door.
Not one person.
Not two.
Dozens.
Slow movements crossing the apartment hallway while faint whispers drifted through the thin walls outside.
Kai Mercer stared toward the unlocked front door while the duplicate version of himself remained standing between him and the exit.
Smiling.
Listening.
The viewers in chat lost control completely.
THEY CAME EARLY
DONT OPEN THE DOOR
THE AUDIENCE ARRIVED
Kai’s pulse hammered painfully.
Audience.
The word made his stomach twist.
Another donation alert flashed violently across the cracked monitor.
$1,000,000.
User-0
Do not let the viewers inside physically.
Kai looked toward the duplicate immediately.
“What ARE they?”
The duplicate slowly turned its head toward him.
And for the first time—
the smile faded slightly.
“Hungry.”
The hallway outside fell silent.
Complete silence.
Then came a single knock against the apartment door.
Knock.
A second knock followed from farther down the hallway.
Then another.
Then another.
Different apartment doors throughout the building.
One by one.
Knocking spreading floor by floor like a pattern moving closer.
Kai backed away from the entrance instinctively.
The duplicate watched him carefully.
“They watch every Final Broadcast.”
The apartment lights flickered harder now.
And beneath the front door—
shadows began appearing.
Multiple shadows.
Standing outside.
Motionless.
Kai grabbed his phone immediately and checked the apartment security app again.
This time the hallway camera loaded successfully.
And his blood ran cold.
The apartment corridor outside was full of people.
At least thirty.
Standing silently beneath flickering hallway lights.
All facing his door.
None of them moved.
Most wore hoodies or dark jackets with faces hidden downward.
But the worst part—
every single person held a phone.
Streaming.
Watching his livestream live from outside the apartment.
The viewer count climbed higher again.
173,000 LIVE.
Kai physically stepped backward.
“No…”
The duplicate moved closer slowly.
“They come to see which version survives.”
Another knock hit the apartment door.
Harder this time.
Then softly—
someone outside whispered through the wood:
“Kai… open the stream for us.”
Not Mrs. Delaney anymore.
Male voice.
Young.
Excited.
Another voice joined.
“We stayed awake for this.”
Then another.
“Let us watch up close.”
The whispers multiplied outside the apartment until dozens of overlapping voices murmured through the hallway walls simultaneously.
The duplicate looked almost pleased now.
“You’re trending.”
The cracked monitor suddenly glitched violently again.
The livestream interface changed.
No normal streaming platform logo remained anymore.
Instead—
the screen displayed a black webpage with red text:
FINAL BROADCAST IN PROGRESS
Below it:
ORIGINAL STATUS: ACTIVE
REPLACEMENT STATUS: STABLE
Kai’s stomach dropped.
Then another line slowly appeared beneath them.
AUDIENCE VOTING BEGINS NOW
The chat exploded instantly.
Poll percentages appeared live on-screen.
KEEP ORIGINAL — 14%
REPLACE ORIGINAL — 86%
Kai stared at the numbers in horror.
The duplicate slowly smiled again.
And outside the apartment—
the viewers began knocking together in perfect rhythm.