Game Begins (Please Vote)

Game Begins (Please Vote)

"You're heading out? Now?"

Wei Jiangyang, the dorm leader, had just returned to the dorm at 9:45 p.m. after watching a movie with his girlfriend, reeking from head to toe of that sour stench of love. He pushed open the door and saw Zhang Heng in a tracksuit, squatting on the floor to tie his shoelaces.

"Yeah, I've got something going on tonight."

"Something? A date, maybe?" Judging others by himself, Wei Jiangyang immediately wore a mysterious smile that said, Brother, I get it.

Chen Huadong, who was drinking cola and watching a movie nearby, was shocked. "What? Young Master Zhang, isn't the one you like supposed to be me?"

Ma Wei, the oldest in the dorm, set down his English textbook and could not help saying, "Zhang Heng, with your looks and qualifications, finding a girlfriend should be easy. You're still single at this point—if we weren't dormmates, I'd think you were gay too."

Ma Wei's sentiment was not without reason. Of the four of them, his family circumstances were the worst. His parents were honest farmers. Back in high school, he had liked a girl in his class, but he had always kept those feelings buried in his heart.

It was not until the second semester of their freshman year, when the four dormmates celebrated his birthday outside campus, that he got drunk and told them the story. Only then did Zhang Heng and the others learn that the girl had enrolled in a university in the same city. They encouraged Ma Wei to confess, but he shook his head and refused.

The other three knew Ma Wei's situation. He relied on national scholarships to pay his tuition and reduce his family's burden. He studied harder than anyone else, spending every day in the library, and used his remaining time to work as a private tutor. He simply had no time for romance.

Still, there was nothing the others could do to help. Ma Wei had strong pride; whenever the dorm went out together and the others tried to cover his share, he flatly refused.

Zhang Heng patted Ma Wei's shoulder and said helplessly, "Stop teasing me. It really isn't a date tonight, and I'm not gay. I just haven't met a girl I like yet."

Chen Huadong raised his cola. "When you do, you've got to let the brothers have a look. Let's see what kind of enchanting demoness can win over our dorm's most handsome man, Young Master Zhang."

It took some effort to fend off the three gossip addicts. By the time Zhang Heng left the school gates, it was already 10:05.

If he had not discovered the string of numbers on his right arm while showering, Zhang Heng might have suspected that what happened at the Maid Cafe that afternoon had only been a hallucination.

He had asked the cute maid with cat ears, and she had been certain that from the moment he entered until the moment he left, he had been the only person sitting in that spot.

The elegant, beautiful maid in charge of mixing drinks also said that she had made only one glass of Forbidden Love during that time.

"Never question a bartender. Every creation is filled with something called love, and no one can forget their own love," she had said coolly.

"..."

To everyone else in the cafe, their conversation from a few minutes earlier seemed as though it had never happened.

Come to think of it, the guy in the Tang suit, bowler hat, and tie had mentioned that this meeting was forbidden, but that he would take care of the problem.

So Zhang Heng guessed this was probably what he had meant by taking care of it.

Had time been rewound?

Zhang Heng was increasingly curious about who that guy really was. All of his abilities seemed related to time. But now was not the time to think about that. First, he needed to deal with the game that was about to begin.

After leaving the school, he followed Baidu Maps' directions and took the subway to an industrial district outside the Fifth Ring Road, then switched to jogging to warm himself up.

At 10:45, he arrived outside a bar called City of Desire.

The place was rather remote. On the way over, Zhang Heng had seen several thug-looking guys smoking while eyeing him with unfriendly expressions. There were also a few scantily clad drunk girls squatting by the curb, vomiting.

Zhang Heng did not want trouble. He pulled up the hood of his tracksuit and passed them at an even pace.

The front of the bar, however, was more bustling than he had expected.

City of Desire had been converted from an abandoned factory and covered a large area. The rusted factory buildings were painted with bizarre graffiti of every kind, while luxury cars and supercars packed the space outside the entrance.

This was the bar's busiest hour. Young people from across the city streamed in from every direction.

Before he even entered, deafening waves of music blasted out from the factory building as if they wanted to tear his soul apart. Zhang Heng frowned. Although the uninvited guest who had drunk the same beverage kept insisting that he should reveal nothing and that he would naturally learn everything as the game progressed, he had still left behind some vague clues between the lines.

No matter what, the organization he belonged to had to be ancient and secretive enough. This was not the first time they had held a game like this, yet the world had never known they existed.

That meant their secrecy was airtight.

But there were at least seven or eight hundred people here. Everywhere he looked, there were thighs and asses, while dazzling laser lights pulsed with the DJ's beats. If that so-called dangerous game unfolded here, Zhang Heng would bet that Douyin and YouTube would be flooded with videos by the next day.

Could there be a typo in the address?

This was a mistake most people made, especially considering the other party's age. It would not be all that surprising.

Just then, Zhang Heng noticed the dark shape in the upper right.

Strictly speaking, it could not be considered a Second Layer. It was merely a huge shipping container fixed against the western wall with steel supports. An iron staircase led up to it, and two muscular men in suits and sunglasses stood beneath the stairs.

A few drunken young men and women seemed to want to run up and play around, but the two men stopped them.

One rich kid's family was probably loaded. He directly scattered a handful of cash in one man's face. When the people nearby realized that the bills he had thrown were hundred-dollar U.S. notes, they immediately stirred and began scrambling for them.

But the two muscular men did not react at all.

The rich kid grew angry and splashed the alcohol in his hand onto their faces. Perhaps he was used to being arrogant. He lifted his foot and tried to charge upstairs, but the next instant, no one saw what happened. His body suddenly flew backward, knocking over several people and a table before finally landing face-down on the ground, covered in blood and filth. It was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

The sight sobered up his companions. A few of the men wanted to throw out some threats, but when they saw one of the men slowly wiping his sunglasses, they finally lost their nerve. They hurriedly carried off the unconscious rich kid and ran toward the parking lot.

After the disturbance settled, everyone else looked at the two muscular men with barely concealed fear and no longer dared approach.

Zhang Heng waited another five minutes. Once he was sure no one was paying attention to this side anymore, he took a deep breath and walked over.

The two burly men in suits stared at him expressionlessly from behind their sunglasses. Their gaze carried a chilling edge. Zhang Heng felt as though he were facing two male lions preparing to hunt on the grasslands. But his composure came through again. He pulled up his sleeve and revealed the string of numbers on his arm.

Even then, he had been a little worried. The rich kid's fate had been unforgettable. Zhang Heng had guessed earlier that the numbers on his arm were his entry ticket to the game, but there was always the possibility they meant something else.

Fortunately, the worst did not happen. He did not follow in the rich kid's footsteps and become a human bowling ball flying through the air.

After a long while, the two iron-tower-like figures silently stepped aside, revealing the path behind them.