Bella drove along the highway. She had ventured out this time to find something for her young nephew, Jack. With only a few days left to live, Bella hoped he could still feel warmth in the world in his final moments—not just those terrifying metal dogs.
Up ahead was a warehouse. Former staff remembered a box of stuffed teddy bears on one of the shelves. Her companions, Clark and Tony, split up to handle different tasks. Clark tried to hack into the computer of the van parked in front of the warehouse—if they could drive it back, the trip would be worth it. Meanwhile, Tony and Bella entered the warehouse to search for the teddy bears, hoping to return safely before the metal dogs detected them.
Bella checked the box number scribbled on the back of her hand and finally found the cardboard box on the second-tier shelf. She and Tony quietly moved a ladder over. As Tony climbed up and retrieved the box, he discovered a crouching metal dog hidden behind it. Before he could shout a warning, the metal dog launched a projectile from its back. The shell exploded instantly, shrapnel piercing Tony’s face and embedding itself in Bella’s thigh. Tony screamed and fell, struggling to get up and escape. But the metal dog gave him no chance—it leaped down, its claws smashing Tony’s skull.
Bella had no timeto worry about the teddy bears. She yelled for Clark outside to run for his life. She dashed out of the warehouse, jumped into the car, and slammed on the accelerator. Behind her, Clark drove the van, the two vehicles speeding down the highway one after the other. Through the rearview mirror, Bella saw the metal dog in relentless pursuit—it sprinted at high speed and leaped into the back of the van. She watched as the van gradually slowed and pulled over, then suddenly accelerated toward her. She knew Clark was already dead—the metal dog had taken control of the vehicle’s computer. The van rammed into Bella’s car again and again until she lost control, veering off the road. Next to the highway was a cliff dozens of meters high. Bella stomped on the brakes, managing to stop right at the edge—half the car hung over the precipice. Carefully, she tried to climb out, but the metal dog had already jumped out of the van and was charging toward her. As it leaped into the car, Bella desperately kicked at it several times before scrambling out in panic. The car, now off-balance, plunged over the cliff with the metal dog inside. For the moment, Bella was free.
Bella knew well that the explosive projectile wasn’t meant to kill but to track. Gritting her teeth, she fled to a stream, dug the faintly glowing shrapnel out of her wound, and placed it into an empty bottle before tossing it into the water—hoping to mislead the metal dog. But it didn’t work. Before long, she saw the metal dog following the trail of blood.
With no way out, Bella climbed a tree. Fortunately, the metal dog had broken a front claw in the fall and slipped repeatedly trying to climb after her. But it didn’t give up—it crouched motionless under the tree. A grueling standoff began. Exhausted, Bella dozed off near midnight and almost fell. The metal dog below heard the noise and immediately stood alert, ready to attack. Seeing Bella cling tightly to the branch and climb back up, it returned to its crouched position. Then Bella had an idea: without sunlight, the metal dog couldn’t recharge. Switching from standby mode to active attack consumed the most power—she could use this to drain its energy. She took small items from her backpack and dropped them onto the metal dog, startling it awake. She repeated this every dozen minutes or so. By early morning, the metal dog had stopped responding. Bella quickly climbed down and ran for her life out of the forest.
Limping through the wilderness, Bella came upon a wall. Dragging her injured leg, she climbed over and was delighted to find a long-abandoned villa with an SUV covered in dust parked in the yard. Through the mail slot in the front door, she spotted a set of keys on a small table nearby—one of them might be the car key. This was no challenge for Bella, an experienced adventurer. She took out a telescopic rod from her backpack and hooked the keyring. Disappointingly, it was only the house key. Forced to enter, she searched room after room for the car key.
She didn’t find the car key, but in a drawer, she discovered some shotgun shells. Bella pocketed the shells and went upstairs to continue searching. As she reached the top of the stairs, a foul smell hit her. Peering into the bedroom, she was shocked to see two decomposed corpses lying embraced on the bed. The man held a shotgun aimed under his chin. Perhaps they couldn’t bear this apocalyptic world and chose to end their lives. Covering her nose to suppress the urge to vomit, Bella took the shotgun, loaded it with the shells, and found the car keys in the man’s pocket.
Bella went into the bathroom, washed the grime from her hands, and used the first-aid kit to bandage the wound on her thigh. Just as she was about to leave, she heard movement in the house. Unexpectedly, the metal dog had recharged so quickly and caught up—it had silently breached the door security and entered. One of the rooms in the villa was under renovation. Bella grabbed a bucket of paint and hurled it over the metal dog’s head. Blinded, the metal dog relied on audio sensors to lunge wildly while Bella escaped into the yard. To her dismay, the SUV’s tank was empty—it wouldn’t start. Desperate, she turned on the car stereo to attract the metal dog’s attention. As it attacked the speakers, Bella, hiding beside the car, took aim and fired at its head. The first shot only shattered its outer casing. Bella quickly reloaded and fired again as the metal dog charged. This time, it collapsed, motionless. Just before shutting down completely, it launched one last projectile—the exploding shrapnel piercing Bella’s body.
Clutching a small knife, Bella stared at the faint glow emanating from the wounds on her face. More metal dogs would come—her fate was sealed. She picked up the walkie-talkie and said goodbye to her family, unsure if her sister could hear. Dropping the unresponsive device, she gripped the knife tightly and cut her own throat.