Bai Liu woke to the cramped confines of a car's back seat. The interior was narrow and oppressive, the battered seat backs reeking of acrid, realistic smoke. Water slid down the windows in unbroken streams, blurring the drizzle pattering outside. The sky was so dull he couldn't tell whether it was dusk or night, and beneath it all lingered a faint, deeply unpleasant smell of salted fish.
A translucent panel hovered in front of him.
[Instructions for the Game]
Bai Liu frowned.
Where was this place? Why was he here? And what exactly was this panel?
As if sensing the doubts forming in his mind, the panel flickered and began to display answers, one by one.
[You are in a deadly game.]
[You are here because, after losing your job, we detected an intense desire for money, which triggered the opening of the game.]
As the words appeared, Bai Liu finally remembered.
Right. He was unemployed.
And he was a man with an overwhelming desire for money.
He had loved money to an abnormal degree since childhood—so much so that a psychiatrist had once diagnosed him with money hoarding disorder and warned him that, if left unchecked, his obsession would eventually drive him to do things he would deeply regret.
When he still had a job, Bai Liu's steady monthly income barely kept that desire under control. But once he was laid off, it spiraled into something reckless and uncontrollable—an almost desperate urge to accumulate wealth.
His psychiatrist had called this a "normal psychological response" for a laid-off social animal and advised him to calm down, go outside, and "see the world" to relax.
Bai Liu had nearly laughed out loud. Without money, the only thing he could go out and see was hell.
Bai Liu, deadpan: "Will I be rich if I go out and see the world?"
The psychiatrist, startled: "Of course not. You'll probably get poorer."
Bai Liu: "..."
You knew exactly what would happen, didn't you?
"But once you become poorer," the psychiatrist continued gently, "you'll realize that this is all there is to being poor. Money is just an external thing—why torture yourself over it?"
Bai Liu stared at him blankly. "Is it painful to have a patient like me?"
Psychiatrist: "..."Painful.
Bai Liu chuckled. "Then why torture yourself? Why don't you quit your job and go for a walk?"
Psychiatrist: "..."Afraid of going out without money. For the sake of money.
The final woof came out like a strangled cry.
After emotionally exhausting an unknown number of psychiatrists, Bai Liu clapped his hands and concluded that poverty truly was the most effective weapon against humanity.
It injured others eight hundred times, and wounded oneself a thousand.
Fortunately, community psychologists were free. Otherwise, Bai Liu would be even poorer.
-----------------
After losing his job, Bai Liu fell into a state of extreme anxiety that he couldn't regulate at all. He dreamed of becoming rich overnight—sitting atop a mountain of money, laughing with unrestrained joy. But every time he woke up, the vast gap between dream and reality only deepened his despair. His savings barely reached five figures.
Trapped in this endless cycle of layoff-induced anxiety and wounded pride, Bai Liu had nothing better to do than prop his cheeks up and daydream. If only there were some way to earn money in this world—no matter how risky, he thought. He could live without it… But he wanted it.
Badly.
He shared this thought with a friend, who tried to reassure him. "See that copy of the Criminal Code on your bookshelf?"
Bai Liu said that he did.
The friend continued, "Just flip through it and look for an entry on high-risk, high-reward jobs. Work hard, and you might even earn your way onto this month's expedited list."
Bai Liu: "..."
He didn't want to break the law. Was there really no way to get rich quickly without doing so?
His friend shrugged. "Then you can try dreaming faster."
"..."
Even if it were a game of chance, Bai Liu still wanted the money.
That was the last thought on his mind as he lay in bed, drifting into unconsciousness—right before being dragged into this game.
The memory faded.
Bai Liu lifted his gaze to the game panel hovering in front of him.
Another line appeared:
[Yes. It was your strong desire that initiated the game. If you successfully clear it, you will obtain everything you desire.]
Bai Liu didn't hesitate. "I want the money."
Whatever this game was, money was all he cared about.
After a brief pause, he asked again, "This game of yours… It's legal, right?"
[... Legal.]
[By clearing the game, you will earn points. These points can be exchanged for money—or anything you desire.]
Bai Liu's eyes lit up. "What kind of game is it? What do I have to do to earn these points?"
[This is a horror escape game filled with ghosts, murderers, and unimaginable phenomena.]
[You must identify their weaknesses, complete the game's storyline, and survive.]
[Game instance loading... Loading complete.]
[Instance Name: Siren Small Town][Difficulty Level: Level 1]
(Games with a player mortality rate below 50% are classified as Level 1.)
[Mode: Single-Player]
[General Description: A popular game combining action and puzzle-solving elements. Highly praised by experienced players, but notoriously unfriendly to newcomers, with an exceptionally high newcomer mortality rate.]
[Player data loading... Loading complete.]
-----------------
[Player Name: Bai Liu]
[Life Value: 100](When Life Value falls below 60, the player's attack power decreases. When it reaches 0, the player dies.)
[Stamina Value: 80](Stamina is full.)
[Agility: 25](You have sat at a desk for years; your body is stiff and decidedly unagile.)
[Attack: 30](Comparable to a female high school student swinging her schoolbag.)
[Intelligence: 89](Surprisingly high.)
[Luck: 0](You have been astonishingly unlucky your entire life. If your company were to lay off one person, it would be you.)
[Skills: None](You have not unlocked any skills.)
[Spirit Level: 100](You are the first player this year to log in with a full Spirit Level.)
A thin line of red text appeared beneath the Spirit Level.
(Note: Please ensure that the player's Spirit Level remains above 60. A Spirit Level below 60 will result in insanity and halve all character attributes. Below 40, the player will begin seeing hallucinatory content unrelated to the game, significantly increasing difficulty. Below 20, the player will enter a berserk state, causing random spikes in attack attributes and indiscriminate killing of all creatures. At 0, the player will be completely assimilated into the instance and become a member of the monsters.)
[Comprehensive Attribute Rating: F](Lowest-tier player. However, due to unusually high mental and intelligence values, this rating is considered inconclusive. Final record: F (?))
After scanning the entire character panel, Bai Liu stared at the question mark after the F. It felt less like an evaluation and more like mockery from some unknown, invisible presence.
He closed the panel. Another one immediately popped up.
[You have been placed on a small screen in the Newcomer Section (1/100).][Current viewers: 0][Popularity: 0][Kryptonite Rate: 0]
Bai Liu frowned. "What is this?"
[Your playthrough is being broadcast on a small screen in the newcomer area of the player lobby for other players to watch.]
[Currently, no players are watching your broadcast.]
[No players have designated your playthrough as their kryptonite.]
[You are currently inactive.]
Bai Liu more or less understood. It was essentially a livestreaming system—an anchor-style game format. That part didn't concern him.
What caught his attention was the kryptonite rate.
"If someone kryptonizes me," he asked, "I get points, right?"
[Yes.]
Bai Liu nodded in satisfaction.
[Good luck in the next game, new player.]
The panel vanished in a wash of white light, like a television screen being switched off, disappearing before Bai Liu's eyes.
In one of the game lobbies, a small screen suddenly lit up, displaying Bai Liu's clean, pale face. Countless similar screens surrounded it, each showing the terrified, shattered expressions of other newcomers—some curled up like hedgehogs, clutching their heads and refusing to accept reality, others screaming and pounding on the glass, desperately trying to escape.
Bai Liu was the only one who didn't look afraid, a complete anomaly amid the sea of panicked newcomers.
Players passing through the lobby tilted their heads toward the newly lit screen, discussing it with casual amusement.
"Another newbie just dropped in. Wonder how long this one will last."
"Look at the background—isn't that Siren Town?"
"Unlucky. The newcomer mortality rate there is insane. Didn't a hundred people enter last time and only one survive?"
"The random instances they assign to newbies are getting harder and harder. Still, watching them freak out is pretty entertaining."
"Wait—!"
A passing player suddenly stopped in front of Bai Liu's screen, as if he had discovered something extraordinary. He stared at the character panel and blurted out in disbelief, "There's a newcomer with a full Spirit Level at login!"
"What?!"
"Move, move—let me see!"
"Damn it, are all newcomers this abnormal now? A hundred Spirit?!"
"The last person who logged in with full Spirit is in the top ten of the overall rankings now, right?"
"Oho, a seed of potential! Let me contribute too!"
Bai Liu's small screen flickered, and a mechanical voice announced flatly:
[Fifty players have gathered around Player Bai Liu's screen.][Player Bai Liu has achieved the 'First Appearance' achievement.][One-Touch Trifecta System unlocked.]
[28 players liked Player Bai Liu's video.][56 players liked Player Bai Liu's screen.][No players recharged Player Bai Liu.][Please try harder.]