chapter 36

The noodle shop owner handed Bai Liu two one-yuan coins as change. Bai Liu slipped them into his battered old wallet. After much hesitation, the kindly-faced proprietor finally gave Bai Liu the couple's phone number and address, sighing, "If you can help them, please do. Life is hard for everyone."

As Bai Liu left the shop, a fine drizzle began to fall. He opened a plain black umbrella and, after a bus ride, arrived at the cemetery the owner had mentioned. Amidst the silent gravestones, he quickly found the parents he had seen on television.

They stood in the rain, eyes red, without an umbrella. Their only umbrella had been placed atop their daughter's grave, shielding the black-and-white photograph of Guoguo's radiant smile.

"You're… Bai Liu?" The mother's voice was hoarse and raw from a morning of weeping, her gaze sharp with grief and suspicion. "You called and said you could bring Li Gou to justice? What can you do? Or is it money you want?"

Bai Liu smiled in the rain, the mist lending his features an almost unearthly sanctity. "I've come to make a deal with you, but I want no money."

———

Perhaps, for the first time in his life, Bai Liu uttered the words, "I don't want money."

He said, "I will grant your wish—I will see Li Gou torn to pieces. In return, you will sell me your souls."

The mother gave a bitter, knowing laugh. "Souls? Another charlatan."

She turned away, her eyes reddening once more as she gazed at Guoguo's photograph.

The father eyed Bai Liu warily. In their desperation, they had sought help from many, encountering all manner of swindlers. They had come prepared for disappointment, but never had they met a fraud so brazen as to claim he would buy their souls. It was as if he were mocking their pain.

The father's voice was cold and threatening. "Get lost, liar."

Unmoved, Bai Liu knelt on one knee, meeting the gaze of Guoguo's image. He recited, "Li Gou, forty-seven, murdered the student Liu Guoguo at the entrance of Majia Alley months ago. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death for the severity of his crime. A week ago, all evidence and related documents vanished mysteriously, and those involved now claim no memory of ever seeing them. The case is to be retried."

At these words, Guoguo's parents clenched their fists, their eyes burning with hatred as they glared at Bai Liu.

Bai Liu seemed oblivious to their anger, continuing calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, Li Gou once boasted that he would walk free, that the evidence would disappear."

"How do you know that?" the mother demanded, her suspicion tinged with fear.

They had watched Li Gou closely. At first, he had raged and threatened revenge, but in recent weeks, his demeanor had changed—he hummed cheerfully, declaring he would soon be released, that the evidence would vanish, that heaven would not wrong a good man.

It was as if he had always known he would escape justice, which made them suspect someone was protecting him.

"You might say Li Gou made a pact with a devil, selling his soul to erase the evidence," Bai Liu said, rising to face the anxious, uncertain parents. "I suppose I'm here to compete with that devil for your business."

Guoguo's parents looked at Bai Liu with a mixture of disbelief and desperate hope. Perhaps he was just another fraud who had picked up on the rumors, but they had exhausted every avenue—even resorting to superstitions they once mocked.

"What are your terms?" Guoguo's mother asked warily. "Is it money? We have very little left."

Bai Liu smiled. "As I said, I want no money. I want the debt of your souls—complete and entire."

He was curious: if he acquired the souls of [players] before they entered the [Game], what would happen? Would he possess a higher authority over them than the system itself? If so, could he, by controlling these parents, manipulate the system—and ultimately, master it?

Bai Liu loved money, but he despised being exploited. The thought of being a mere cog in someone else's machine was intolerable. He wanted to see if he could turn the tables and seize the highest authority for himself.

As if sensing his dangerous ambition, the coin at Bai Liu's chest grew hot, and a harsh, static-laced alarm sounded in his ear:

[System Warning: —zzzt— Player Bai Liu is forbidden from preemptively acquiring the soul debt of reserve players! Forbidden to transact with non-players outside the game!]

[System Warning: —zzzt— Preparing to seal Player Bai Liu's Old Wallet skill!]

Bai Liu sighed in regret. So, under the [Game]'s surveillance, it was indeed impossible to snatch the souls of its chosen [players] in the real world. It made sense—the [Game] would never allow a player to surpass its own authority. If he were the designer, he would do the same. Still, it was worth a try.

Just as he was about to give up, the fish scale hanging with his coin began to grow, slowly enveloping the coin in a cool, translucent sheath. The burning coin was instantly chilled, and the system's static turned to a shrill, agonized screech:

[Warning—zzzt—Abnormal data from the fish scale is invading—bug data detected—attempting to purge—purge failed—abnormal data has taken over—zzzzzt—]

After a cacophony of static, a new voice sounded—cool, magnetic, and unmistakably electronic:

[System: Player Bai Liu, would you like to use your personal skill?]

Bai Liu's brows arched in surprise. The system's voice was subtly familiar—still mechanical, but colder, more melodious, reminiscent of the NPC [Siren King]…

Bai Liu smiled: [Of course.]

Guoguo's parents could not understand all of Bai Liu's words, but they had no other options left. Even if he was a fraud, even if it was all a lie, they begged for a sliver of hope—for Guoguo's sake, even a false hope would do.

The mother broke down first, falling to her knees, weeping. "If you can kill Li Gou, take whatever you want! Take it all! I'll give you every penny we have!"

She had mistaken Bai Liu for a gangster.

Bai Liu's lips curled in a smile. "No, I won't take a cent from you. In fact, I will give you money."

He took the two coins the noodle shop owner had given him and held them out, palm open.

Bai Liu lowered his gaze. "I will buy your souls for one yuan each. Will you make this deal with me?"

The mother, after a moment's hesitation, took the coin. The father, too, after a brief pause, accepted the other.

"We agree."

No matter who this man was, as long as he could avenge Guoguo, even if he was mad, they would try anything.

[System Notification: Player Bai Liu has purchased the souls of Liu Fu and Xiang Chunhua for two yuan (RMB).]

[System Notification: Player Bai Liu is the primary purchaser of Liu Fu and Xiang Chunhua's souls, holding the highest authority and able to transfer portions of their soul debt.]

As Xiang Chunhua spoke, she felt a strange lightness, as if some heavy burden had been lifted from her weary body and stored elsewhere.

She looked at the smiling young man before her and felt an inexplicable trust and reverence.

She asked, dazed, "Your name is Bai Liu, isn't it? What do you do? Where can we find you?"

"I'm unemployed—a poor wanderer," Bai Liu replied, gazing at the new coin in his wallet. "You'll find me in a game. I hope, when I see you there, you'll have survived the first round."

On the coin, Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu stood on either side of the gravestone, faces streaked with tears, each gently touching the stone as if caressing their child's head. Guoguo's smiling face was sheltered from the rain by the umbrella. In the lower right corner, [2 Yuan] was inscribed; on the reverse, [Soul Coin], with a line of small print: [Not issued by the system bank. Highest authority belongs not to the system, but to Bai Liu.]

Bai Liu's lips curved in satisfaction.

[Well done, new system.]

The system was silent for two seconds: [Thank you for the compliment.]

The fish scale at Bai Liu's chest warmed briefly, then cooled once more.

———

With less than two days until the system-mandated game session, Bai Liu prepared to enter the game.

He packed his things, messaged Mu Ke to say he was going in, and called Xiang Chunhua and Liu Fu several times, but no one answered—not even the landline. He understood: they had likely already entered the game, fallen into the requisite sleep.

Bai Liu took a shower, donned his favorite clown hat with pom-poms and bunny pajamas, tucked himself in, and clasped the coin at his chest, silently repeating:

[Log in to the game.]

[System: Player Bai Liu, do you confirm login?]

Bai Liu closed his eyes: [Confirm.]

[System: Logging in…]

[Wait!] Bai Liu's eyes snapped open. He leapt up, used the bathroom, and shut off the circuit breaker, gas, and water valves before settling back into bed. [Now you can log me in. If I leave those on while I sleep, I'll waste money.]

[System: …]

[System: Logging in…]

Bai Liu was swept into a vortex of black dreams. When he awoke, he was standing in a bustling hall.

[System: Player Bai Liu, you have a small degree of notoriety. Would you like to adjust your appearance data to conceal your identity?]

[You can alter appearance data?] Bai Liu was intrigued. [Can I design my own avatar?]

He was quite skilled at drawing faces.

[System: Yes. Entering custom avatar program. Fee: 300 points. Proceed?]

[It costs money?] Bai Liu immediately abandoned the idea. [Just do whatever you want for free.]

[System: Entering random appearance adjustment—eye color: black to blue; hair: black to rainbow; lips: flesh to black…]

Soon, a figure with rainbow dreadlocks, a nest of wild hair, and black lipstick—someone who looked like the embodiment of "a kind of tragic melancholy"—was wandering the game lobby with a placid air, drawing countless stunned and bewildered stares.

You get what you pay for. Bai Liu had expected that a free avatar wouldn't be attractive, and accepted his non-mainstream, "shamate" look with equanimity.

After all, he couldn't see himself. If it was an eyesore, it was someone else's problem, not his.

Author's note:

Brother Six has begun to outpace the system, developing business outside the game—his friend says this sounds like a pyramid scheme.

This may be the only time in the novel that Brother Six says, "I don't want money."