Old Wang was driving his smart car, live-streaming using the in-car camera. Today, his challenge was to complete an "untouched steering wheel" self-driving challenge during rush hour on the Third Ring Road.

"Hey everyone, today we're going to try something exciting!" Old Wang grinned at the camera, revealing his two signature gold teeth. "Full self-driving, I'm just here to chat with you guys, it's completely safe!"

"The atmosphere in the live stream today feels a bit off, is it just me?" Lin Fei forced a professional smile at her phone screen. She saw a few comments like "lagging" and "seems like AI" drift across the screen, and her heart tightened.

She is a mid-tier streamer under Wuyou Media. With her sweet appearance and slightly goofy live streaming style, she has accumulated a fairly stable fanbase. Recently, the company has been promoting "AI replication" technology, claiming that it can allow streamers' "clones" to broadcast 24/7, freeing up the real person's time and energy. Lin Fei was initially quite happy, feeling that she could finally get some good sleep, as the constant rotation was really exhausting.

Old Wang is the CEO of the "All-Sugar Cola Project," a middle-aged man with a bald head and a beer belly. Every morning, he would say to his reflection in the mirror, "Today, is another day to strive for the sweet cause of humanity."

What is the "All-Sugar Cola Project"? Simply put, it is to make every human being fall in love with all-sugar cola through an implantable device called the "Sweet Chip." Old Wang firmly believes this is the ultimate solution to social anxiety and the way to improve the happiness index. He preached this logic to his subordinates with a loud voice, like a missionary, while they nodded mechanically, their eyes devoid of any emotion.

In the duty room of the police station, the newly arrived Xiao Li sits upright. On the table in front of him is a brand-new "Duty Officer Regulations."

The most prominent rule on the regulations is: "When members of the public come for consultation or help, the duty officer must say the four words 'I am a police officer,' and the tone must be firm and full of strength, so as to enhance the public's sense of security."

At eight in the morning, Li Mei hurried to the mall, as was her daily routine as a luxury goods saleswoman. She skillfully turned on the counter lights, arranging the newly arrived bags as if preparing for a grand ceremony. Today, she was wearing a dark blue professional suit, trying to look more professional and refined. After all, in this glamorous battlefield, any imperfection would be magnified infinitely.

Xiaoya's fingertips were adorned with ten silver snakes, their scales reflecting an ominous light under the lamplight. This was not some avant-garde fashion statement, but a carefully crafted "snake-year fortune-attracting manicure" she had spent a full two thousand yuan on. In this era where everyone believes in metaphysics, everyone in the office had become a Feng Shui master, and Xiaoya was no exception. She felt that these cold, gleaming silver snakes would surely bring her a wealth of fortune, or at the very least, stop her proposals from being utterly trashed by her supervisor.

Old Li had been working at the Shenzhen Metro for fifteen years. He couldn't remember how many spring couplets he had put up, but this year was definitely the most unusual. In previous years, they were all red with gold characters, festive and joyous. This year, however, a batch of white couplets with black characters had appeared out of nowhere, plastered all over every corner of the station, even the ticket machines were covered with a sheet saying "Have a smooth journey and arrive home safely."

"Who did this?" Old Li complained to the new intern, Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang pushed up his glasses and said carefully, "Uncle Li, I heard this is what was requested from above, to reflect...to reflect a new kind of cultural creativity?"

"One minute left!" a sugary female voice echoed through the office from the speakers, like a death knell. Zhang Qiang looked up at the digital clock on the wall, 12:00, precise to the second.

This was the company's newly implemented "midday relaxation" session, touted as being for the health and well-being of the employees. Every day at noon, all employees had to put aside their work and participate in a "beneficial to mind and body" activity. Today's activity was "one minute of silence."

Old Li had been working at the community supermarket for almost ten years, transforming from a naive young man into a greasy middle-aged one. He felt that the supermarket was like his life, he could see the end at a glance – plain, but something he couldn't give up.

Recently, the community started a new thing: residents would score the supermarket. It wasn’t anonymous scoring, but rather, real-name scoring via handwritten notes posted on the notice board at the entrance of the supermarket. At first, everyone found it quite novel, but later it changed its flavor.