After the incident with the guy earlier, I decided not to mention the old lady to any more strangers.

Soon, I managed to flag down a van on the highway. When I offered to pay for the fare, hoping the female driver would give me a ride, she agreed with a smile.

I immediately felt a sense of relief.

There were still normal people in this world, after all.

Just then, a light breeze brushed across my face, making me itch. I instinctively ran my hand through my messy hair, pushing it back.

The female driver, who was about to press the car door button, froze when she saw my face. "It's you! Scumbag! You actually want to ride in my car?"

Her face twisted with pure hatred and disgust, and she recklessly drove the car straight at me.

In that instant, I thought I was going to die.

Fortunately, I reacted quickly and hurried across the barrier to the other side of the road. But my arm scraped against it, tearing off a big patch of skin. It hurt so much that I couldn't help but hiss.

"Are you crazy?" I shouted in anger. "You're trying to kill me!"

But the driver didn't even flinch. Instead, she spat at me through the window. "Consider yourself lucky that you're still alive!"

With that, she sped off.

A chill ran down my spine, and I couldn't help but shiver. Because I could tell that the driver was dead set on running me over.

But we didn't even know each other.

What kind of deep grudge could make her want to kill me just because she saw my face?

This entire situation felt so surreal that I started to wonder if I was living in some parallel universe.

But when I opened my phone, every photo in my gallery was a memory of my own life.

The confusion in my mind only deepened.

I gritted my teeth against the pain in my arm and covered my face with my mask. Just as I was preparing to walk the long road out of the highway exit, I spotted a shared bike nearby. I quickly scanned the code and hopped on, finally making my way into the city.

I didn't go to my parents' house like last time. Instead, I headed straight for the police station.

Surely, the cops could help me in a situation like this.

But as soon as I removed my mask and showed my face, the officer, who had been kind just a moment ago, suddenly changed.

The look in his eyes mirrored everyone else's—pure disgust and hatred.

My heart sank, but I still said loudly, "Officer, I need to report a crime! I suspect someone used AI to maliciously swap faces with mine, then did something bad and spread it all over the internet!"

I anxiously explained the situation.

Even though the officer clearly hated me, he furrowed his brows and went to check.

Soon, he returned with the results, but I was left dumbfounded.

"After a thorough check by our cybersecurity team, we found no videos of you being AI face-swapped online."

My mind went blank. "That's impossible! I don't believe it!"

This was the only explanation I could think of!

I desperately begged the police officer to look into it again. But he, along with every other officer there, was certain that there were no AI face-swapped videos of me anywhere on the internet.

Stubbornly, I pulled out my phone and searched through all my social media platforms.

Sure enough, they were right.

I pleaded with them to explain what was going on, but no one responded. They just bypassed me with cold, palpable disgust.

With the mystery deepening, I stumbled out of the police station, feeling utterly lost.

Along the way, people recognized me and started throwing trash at me.

"You bastard! How dare you even show your face out here!"

"Scum!"

"Go to hell!"

I quickly shielded my head with my clothes and ran off, completely humiliated.

I found a corner to hide in and began to replay everything that had happened that day.

I was sure that I hadn't done anything unforgivable, but suddenly, it felt like everyone had turned against me for no reason.

If it wasn't because of an AI face-swap, then there was only one answer left—that old lady was the problem!

Just as I reached this conclusion, the detective called. "We've dug into the old lady. She's just a regular old lady. You can rest easy. There's nothing suspicious about her."

I hung up the phone in disbelief.

Since things were at a standstill once again, I decided to go home. My only escape from this mess was my parents.

I hadn't helped the old lady this time, and I was clearly injured. My parents, who loved me so much, should be able to listen to my side of the story. Maybe they could help me figure this out.

I hurriedly went to my parents' house.

When I rang the doorbell and saw Dad open the door, I felt a glimmer of hope. "Dad—"

Before I could finish speaking, his expression darkened. He pointed a finger right at my nose and yelled, "You bastard! How dare you come back here! Why are you even still alive!"

Mom came over after hearing the noise. Without saying a single word, she slapped me across the face, as though I were her enemy. "If I had known this would happen, I would've smothered you when you were born!"

Even though I had prepared myself mentally, facing their undisguised hatred and disgust again made my heart ache.

I covered my burning face and immediately fell to my knees, pleading, "Mom, Dad, I'm just asking for the truth. Please, for the sake of all the love you once gave me, just tell me what I did wrong."

But all I got in response was more anger.

"You still don't know what you've done wrong?"

"You don't deserve to live in this world!"

After they finished yelling, Mom grabbed a broom, and Dad picked up a shoehorn. They started hitting me mercilessly.

These were the same parents who would have been devastated if I lost a single hair. Now, even seeing the blood seeping from my arm, they turned a blind eye and deliberately struck the injured spots.

I was numb with pain.

But no matter how much I begged, even when I hit my head until it bled or cried myself dry, my parents remained silent, unwilling to say a single word of truth.

What could be the reason that made everyone, even my own flesh and blood, hate me so much and refuse to speak up?

I didn't understand it. I truly didn't.

Just then, something flashed through my mind. It was like a sudden revelation.

I got it!

It was such a ridiculous and absurd reason!