OFFLINE- Chapter 13
User-0 Arrives at the Door
Silence swallowed the apartment.
Even the rain outside seemed quieter now.
The duplicate stared toward the front door motionlessly while the livestream viewer count continued climbing past impossible numbers.
247,000 LIVE.
Kai Mercer tightened his grip around the kitchen knife.
“What do you mean he’s here?”
The duplicate didn’t answer immediately.
For the first time since appearing physically inside the apartment, it actually looked uncertain.
Afraid.
Then—
three slow knocks echoed from the front door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Every other sound in the building disappeared afterward.
No audience whispers.
No hallway movement.
Nothing.
Just silence.
The chat exploded harder than ever before.
HE CAME PERSONALLY
NO WAY
FINAL MODERATOR
Moderator.
Kai’s stomach twisted painfully.
Another message appeared in chat from User-0.
User-0:
Open the door, Kai.
Kai immediately backed away.
“No.”
The duplicate slowly turned toward him.
And softly whispered:
“You should.”
Kai stared at it in disbelief.
“You told me not to open the door earlier.”
The duplicate smiled faintly again.
“That was before he arrived.”
Another knock echoed through the apartment.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Then a calm male voice spoke from outside the door.
Young voice.
Tired.
Almost gentle.
“Kai, your stream is performing very well tonight.”
The viewers spammed messages uncontrollably.
HE’S TALKING
NO STREAMER EVER HEARS HIM DIRECTLY
THIS IS HUGE
Kai’s pulse slammed harder.
This person controlled everything.
The donations.
The audience.
The Final Broadcasts.
Then User-0 spoke again through the door.
“Your replacement stabilized faster than expected.”
The duplicate lowered its head slightly.
Like a student being evaluated.
Kai felt sick.
“What are you?”
A soft chuckle came from the hallway outside.
“An archivist.”
The apartment lights dimmed lower.
The livestream interface changed again.
A black title slowly appeared across the screen:
FINAL EVALUATION PHASE
Below it—
the viewer poll vanished completely.
Only one line remained now:
ORIGINAL SUBJECT MAY APPEAL TERMINATION
Kai stared at the screen.
“Appeal?”
The duplicate stepped slowly away from him toward the apartment hallway.
Almost respectfully making space.
Then User-0 spoke calmly through the door again.
“Every streamer is given one final opportunity before replacement.”
Kai’s chest tightened.
“What opportunity?”
Silence followed briefly.
Then:
“Convince the audience you deserve to remain real.”
The viewers exploded instantly.
SPEECH TIME
THIS PART ALWAYS GOOD
DONT MESS IT UP
Kai physically couldn’t process what was happening anymore.
This entire thing was entertainment.
A system.
A show repeated over and over again for viewers addicted to watching people get replaced live.
Then he noticed something horrifying on the cracked monitor.
A sidebar had appeared beside the livestream.
Archived broadcasts.
Hundreds of them.
Tiny thumbnails showing terrified streamers staring into webcams while duplicates smiled nearby.
Some thumbnails dated back years.
One livestream title caught his eye instantly:
“FINAL BROADCAST #001”
Kai slowly clicked it open.
The oldest stream loaded instantly.
Low quality.
Static everywhere.
A terrified young man sat inside a dim apartment speaking shakily toward a webcam while thousands of numbered accounts watched silently.
And in the background—
stood the same tall figure Kai first saw in his hallway tonight.
The streamer looked directly into the old camera and whispered:
“If you’re watching this later, don’t ever go live after midnight—”
The video suddenly cut to black.
Then another face appeared.
Smiling.
Not the original streamer anymore.
The duplicate.
Using the same account afterward.
Still streaming.
Kai’s blood ran cold.
Every replaced streamer continued existing online afterward.
Pretending to be human.
Pretending to continue their lives.
Then another realization hit him even harder.
He slowly looked toward the duplicate standing inside his apartment.
And quietly asked:
“How long have you been pretending to be me already?”