Day 11 of the third Apocalypse Rule. Four days remaining until its end.
In an arcade in Yunhua City, Xu Xiaotian stared at the screen, crestfallen, as the character he controlled fell dead.
"Damn it, I died again!"
He'd been playing this game for days straight but still couldn't clear the final level.
"This difficulty is insane. I've played dozens of times and still can't beat it," Xu Xiaotian muttered. "If I were playing this before the Apocalypse Rules, imagine how many tokens I would've wasted to get this far."
"Hey buddy, you're not gonna beat this level."
A voice came from beside him. Xu Xiaotian turned his head and saw a young man with long hair wearing a jacket.
The long-haired man looked at the screen and said, "This game's final level is impossible. It wasn't designed for players to win; it's purely meant to scam them out of their money."
"Huh?" Xu Xiaotian said, surprised. "It's that much of a rip-off?"
"Yep, it's exactly that much of a rip-off."
Seeing that the long-haired man looked a few years older than him, Xu Xiaotian said, "How do you know that, man? Did you get ripped off for a lot of tokens back in the day?"
The long-haired man grinned. "I used to work here. How do you think I know?"
"Oh, I see!"
"But you've got a lot of patience, buddy," the long-haired man said. "Still playing even though you can't beat it after so many tries."
Xu Xiaotian smiled. "Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. Besides, I loved arcade games as a kid, but I never had the money for tokens. Now you can play as much as you want without paying. How cool is that?"
The long-haired man nodded. "It is pretty cool."
As he spoke, he sized up Xu Xiaotian and chuckled. "Looking at you, buddy, I'd say you've probably given up on the challenge for the third rule."
"Huh?"
"Pretty much everyone who's out having fun is like that," the long-haired man explained. "The ones who want to pass the rule are all following the official advice, right? Lying low, trying to conserve energy? So I figure anyone who's out messing around has already given up."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense!"
Xu Xiaotian hadn't really thought about it before. Thanks to his Instant Noodles Items, he wasn't too concerned with the official advice for the third rule and hadn't bothered to read the official challenge guide.
Thinking about it now, it was true. Those trying to pass the rule were likely all staying home, avoiding any unnecessary activity that would consume energy. The ones out having a blast were probably the ones who had given up on the challenge.
"What? Don't tell me you haven't given up, buddy?" the long-haired man asked, noticing Xu Xiaotian's expression.
Xu Xiaotian nodded.
"Whoa, nice." The long-haired man's eyes lit up. "So you must have bought a food crate. If you can afford that with Sublimation Coins, your Psychic Power must be over 80, right?"
"I guess so, heh," Xu Xiaotian replied with a laugh. He was about to play again, but the long-haired man put a hand on his arm.
"Buddy, I know another arcade. The machines there are all loaded with new games you've definitely never played. Want to come check it out with me?"
"For real?!" Xu Xiaotian's eyes lit up. For an arcade enthusiast like him, the allure of new, unplayed games was immense.
"Of course. Would I lie to you, man? Let's go."
"Let's go, let's go!"
Xu Xiaotian followed the long-haired man downstairs. Along the way, the man excused himself to the restroom to make a phone call.
After leaving the arcade, the two of them waited by the side of the road for a bit.
Xu Xiaotian asked, "Hey man, aren't we going straight there?"
"Someone's coming to pick us up. Just a minute," the long-haired man said.
"Oh, okay."
Before long, a black sedan pulled up.
Xu Xiaotian glanced over. There were three people in the car: one in the driver's seat, one in the passenger seat, and another in the back.
Counting himself and the long-haired man, that would make five people, filling the car completely.
'Why so many people?'
"They're my buddies, we all hang out together. Get in."
The long-haired man pulled open the rear door. As Xu Xiaotian looked at the tattoo on the neck of the man sitting in the back, he suddenly had a bad feeling.
He suddenly remembered what Guan Tong had told him before—that criminal gangs in Yunhua were suspected of kidnapping High Spirit Users.
Then he recalled how the long-haired man had just probed him about his Psychic Power back in the arcade, and a wave of panic washed over him.
"Uh, hey man, I just remembered I have something to do. Maybe we can go next time!"
Xu Xiaotian turned to leave as soon as he finished speaking, but he was grabbed by the arm before he could take two steps.
"Now, hold on, buddy." The long-haired man held onto Xu Xiaotian, a menacing glint in his eyes. "You're not showing us much respect by leaving now, are you?"
"I..."
Just then, the men from the passenger seat and the back seat got out of the car. Along with the long-haired man, the three of them surrounded Xu Xiaotian.
The one with the tattoo on his neck snarled, "Get in the car right now, kid, if you don't want a beating!"
The tattooed man, not even bothering to keep up the pretense, instantly made Xu Xiaotian's face turn pale. He knew he had really run into thugs.
He looked at the three vicious-looking men and feigned submission, shrinking back. "O-okay, I get it. I'll get in with you..."
Halfway through his sentence, Xu Xiaotian suddenly made his move!
He flung out his right hand, summoning his Psychic Power item from his storage: Instant Noodles.
"SPLASH!"
Xu Xiaotian threw it with all his might, splashing the scalding hot noodles and broth all over the three men's faces. They howled in pain.
Seizing the opportunity, Xu Xiaotian bolted, pulling out his phone as he ran and pressing the number at the very top of his contact list.
When the call connected, it was surprisingly Guan Tong's voice that answered.
"Hello, Xiaotian? What's up?"
Because the two had only recently met and exchanged numbers, Guan Tong's contact was right at the top of his recent list.
"Guan Tong!" Xu Xiaotian yelled in terror. "It's bad! I ran into kidnappers! Right by the arcade! Help me call the Public Security Bureau, I—OUCH!"
Before he could finish, he felt a kick in his back that sent him stumbling to the ground.
Looking up, he saw that the one who had caught up to him was the young man from the driver's seat. Because he hadn't gotten out of the car, he had avoided the Instant Noodles attack.
The driver began to mercilessly punch and kick the fallen Xu Xiaotian.
"You little bastard, trying to pull a fast one! I'll kill you!"
"OW!"
Just then, the other three men caught up and started kicking him furiously.
"Where the hell did this little bastard get instant noodles?! It burned the hell out of me! I'm going to beat him to death!"
"Stop hitting him! Shove him in the car and let's get back!"
"His phone! Smash his phone!"
CRACK—
That was the last sound Guan Tong heard, followed by the BEEP of a disconnected call.
'Xu Xiaotian's been caught by kidnappers? I need to call the Public Security Bureau immediately!'
This was a matter of life and death; Guan Tong didn't dare to delay.
He and Xu Xiaotian had been getting along well these past few days. Moreover, he himself had nearly become a victim in this string of kidnappings, so he certainly couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
He immediately dialed the Public Security Bureau and reported what had happened to Xu Xiaotian. The Bureau was already investigating the kidnappings, so they gave the new lead high priority. The operator even asked Guan Tong to come down to the station to give a statement in person when he had time.
Guan Tong agreed. After hanging up, he headed for the Public Security Bureau, hoping to get the latest updates on the kidnapping case as soon as possible.