Memories

10,11,12,13,26,28+11

04,05,10,21,26,30+16

Two strings of numbers.

The winning numbers for the Double Color Ball first prize.

Since the time of his transmigration was unknown, Chen Hao had deliberately memorized two sets.

The first set was the winning numbers for the very first Double Color Ball lottery draw.

The second set was a backup for 2012. Just in case, it was also one of the draws with a relatively large accumulated jackpot—enough to make a killing in one go.

Good thing he had not been reborn after 2012, or they would have gone to waste.

Chen Hao secretly counted himself lucky, though he also felt a faint twinge of regret.

The first Double Color Ball draw would take place on February 23, 2003. There was exactly one year left until then.

A year was too long. One step behind meant falling behind every step after.

He had to seize every moment.

He still needed to think of other ways to make some money.

Lost in thought, Chen Hao happened to look up and spot a valiant warrior on the cover of a gaming magazine beside him. Dressed in green armor, carrying a massive sword over his shoulder, with dyed blond hair—Chen Hao made up his mind. You'll do.

After pondering for a while, the outline in his mind became increasingly clear. This plan was feasible!

With a swift stroke of his pen, several words appeared on the third page of his notebook.

Legend >> Miracle >> World of Warcraft

Then he would begin his new journey with games.

Ring, ring, ring.

His phone alarm went off. Chen Hao pulled a brand-new Nokia 8250 from his pocket. Its familiar blue background and buttons resembling butterfly wings had earned it the affectionate nickname Butterfly Blue from its fans.

Everyone knew Nokia phones were famous for being thick and tough. They were the ultimate self-defense weapon and came with the added benefit of cracking walnuts.

He remembered once accidentally dropping a Nokia from the second floor. The back cover and battery had flown off, scattering across the ground as if the phone had been torn into pieces.

He had gone downstairs expecting to collect the remains, but after picking up the pieces and putting them back together, he turned it on. Heh—it still worked. Aside from a few scratches on the surface, its quality was rock-solid. Damn near indestructible.

His father had secretly bought it for him as a New Year's gift during this year's Spring Festival. When his mother found out, she grabbed his father by the ear and scolded him for ages, muttering that it was such a waste of money and that a P-Phone would have been cheaper.

Too afraid to argue back, his father could only mutter in defense, "Wasn't it for our son? How could he go to college without a decent phone? Could anyone even hear the call quality on a P-Phone? It's not like our family can't afford it." The six-foot-tall Northeastern man was filled with grievance.

A P-Phone was the kind Old Gao's second son used. It was cheap, sure, but the call quality was utter garbage. Later, it earned the glorious nickname: "Hello? Hello? Fuck!!!"

There was even a catchy rhyme: "Standing in wind and rain, holding a P-Phone in hand; switch it from left to right, but the right side still can't get through!"

Remembering all that warmed Chen Hao's heart, and a knowing smile appeared on his face. The regrets of his previous life finally had a chance to be made up for in this one. Thank heavens.

He put the notebook into the drawer, tidied up, and headed out for "work."

Calling it "work" was a stretch. He was really just helping keep an eye on his family's internet cafe.

Chen Hao's hometown was a small county town in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, a very remote place.

The county town was not large, with a population of around two hundred thousand.

The north wind howled. Outside, the world lay wrapped in silver beneath the snow. If not for the knife-sharp chill of the wind after snowfall, the experience would have been even better.

Chen Hao tightened the collar of his down jacket and walked down streets that were both familiar and unfamiliar in his memories.

After only a few steps, a dilapidated three-story building came into view on his left. It was the county's only major club, its doors tightly shut.

Around the 1990s, this club had held the joyful memories of countless people in the little county town.

It used to screen films and host all kinds of performances.

Movies cost two yuan per screening, while children got in free. Whether it was Shaolin Temple, Tiger on a Business Trip, or Flirting Scholar, as long as there was a movie to watch while he was still young, he never missed one. That was how he came to know Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, and Stephen Chow.

The performances, meanwhile, included all kinds of school-organized variety shows, government New Year celebrations, and so on.

As a child, Chen Hao had even been fortunate enough to perform onstage as part of his elementary school's little band.

Some played electronic keyboards, some played violins, and some played the Erhu.

Well, perhaps the music teacher had discovered his extraordinary talent and solemnly entrusted him with the only triangle in the entire band.

Unfortunately, the place had long since declined and been abandoned. He remembered it being torn down a few years later and replaced by a comprehensive shopping mall.

Anything that failed to suit the market economy would eventually be discarded by the times, no matter how glorious it had once been.

A few hundred meters farther on, shouts and cries from children came from the shops on his right. Outside was a frozen world of ice and snow, while inside was blazing with activity.

Arcades, pool halls, and roller rinks were the three major entertainment venues in the county town back then.

And Years Arcade truly carried most of Chen Hao's happy memories from elementary and middle school.

He paused. His body moved before his mind did. It was his family's internet cafe anyway; being a few minutes early or late did not matter. He would go in and reminisce first.

The Spring Festival had just passed. After handing over part of their lucky money, the little brats still had more or less some left. They had to seize the tail end of winter vacation and enjoy these precious gaming hours.

The moment he entered, the noise grew louder. All kinds of sounds filled his ears, yet none of it felt the least bit chaotic.

"Hey, you can't pull off that move with such crappy inputs. Here, I'll teach you!"

As he spoke, one little brat reached over and snatched his companion's joystick, shoving him aside.

"↓→↓←+A or C. This is called Yashin Magatama, got it? Watch me use Iori Yagami to take on three!"

Seeing that the other boy had finished the round without the slightest awareness, the child who had been squeezed aside became unhappy. "That was my token. Move!" Saying that, he snatched back control of the arcade machine.

Everywhere he looked were elementary school students, with the occasional middle schooler mixed in. A quick glance showed that he knew none of them.

Chen Hao clicked his tongue. These kids had yet to escape such low-level amusements. At this stage, computer games were the true way forward!

He did not buy any tokens. Instead, he stood behind each arcade machine and watched for a while.

Kids of this generation really were not up to much. They got a game over by the third stage of Dino Crisis. Back in the day, he could clear the game with a single token and play for over an hour. Three tokens could keep him busy for half a day.

Later, Old Yan, the owner of the arcade, would give him two free tokens the moment he saw him. The condition was that he was not allowed to touch that Dino Crisis machine.

If he could not play Dino Crisis, he would play something else. Journey to the West: The Great Sage, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Legend of Famous Generals had all suffered at his hands.

Eventually, every time Old Yan saw him arrive, he would sigh heavily with a miserable expression.

After watching for a while, Chen Hao found that not one of them could fight. He could not help feeling like a reclusive master returning to the world, watching one disappointing junior after another and lamenting the decline of the age.

Old Yan was still guarding the store. Chen Hao greeted him, wished him a happy New Year, exchanged a few pleasantries, then left the arcade.

Some things no longer stirred the same passion and fervor as before. His body might still be willing, but his heart was not. Perhaps his state of mind had changed.

When he was young, he had thought being able to play arcade games for the rest of his life would be happiness;

A few years later, he had thought being able to play computer games for the rest of his life would be happiness;

After graduating college, he had thought earning money through his own abilities and achieving financial freedom would be happiness;

Only as he neared middle age did he realize that having his family safe, healthy, and happy, and living out a lifetime together—that was true happiness!

Chen Hao sighed, exhaling a cloud of white frost, then slapped his cheeks hard with both hands.

No, no. He had to adjust his mindset quickly. He was a hot-blooded twenty-year-old youth now, not some sixty-year-old man full of lifeless gloom!

He wandered east and strolled west, both hands in his pockets, swaying along like a street loafer until he finally arrived at the entrance to his family's internet cafe.

Above him, several large golden characters on the signboard gleamed brilliantly beneath the sunlight.

Pentium Internet Cafe.

Just as Chen Hao was about to enter,

A series of curses and fighting noises came from behind the building.

He remembered there was an empty lot back there, a sacred battleground for fights. Judging by the commotion, someone was at it again. Damn, these young people really had energy first thing in the morning!

Chen Hao followed the narrow path beside the building and made his way over.