Dying to Survive

Blue Star, China, Liaoning Province, Long City, New Year's Eve, 2021.

After finishing the calls to wish relatives a happy new year, Wang Yan stood by the window, watching the distant horizon and listening to the crackling of firecrackers outside.

"Year after year, it just gets worse every time," Wang Yan sighed.

He didn't know when it started, but the feeling of the New Year had been fading, and each year felt less significant than the last.

In a daze, he saw a blue light streak across the distant horizon, illuminating Wang Yan's face.

In his confusion, Wang Yan felt as if he had dreamt a dream; he couldn't remember the details, only that he had met many people, done many things, and experienced cycle after cycle of reincarnation.

He opened his eyes, sensing something unusual about his body.

Before Wang Yan could think too much, a blue light flashed before his eyes, and a sci-fi-style panel floated in front of him, while a stream of information flooded his mind.

Wang Yan

Attributes: Strength 6

Agility 7

Physique 7

Spirit 10

Unallocated Points: 3

Storage Space: 1m³

The information explained that this was a Wish System, designed to help characters in film and television worlds realize their wishes. Once the wisher's desire was fulfilled, the system would provide rewards.

It also provided an explanation for the storage space. Within the space, only items rewarded by the system could be transported between the two worlds.

Wang Yan accepted the facts before him very calmly; after all, he had read plenty of novels, so this wasn't fresh—it was just the same old trope.

Twenty-eight-year-old Wang Yan was an only child, an average-looking person. His parents were both alive, and his life was content. He had been graduated for over four years and worked in real estate sales in Lüda, with mediocre performance and a monthly income of seven or eight thousand. He didn't dare dream of great wealth, but he could scrape by. One could say he hadn't achieved anything of note.

Now that fate had descended upon him, he only felt that heaven was about to bestow a great responsibility upon him.

As for any dark thoughts or the like, Wang Yan didn't even bother to entertain them; even if there were some conspiracy, what could he do about it anyway?

He lit a cigarette.

"Hiss... puff..."

He took a deep drag to calm himself down.

At this moment, a prompt to allocate points appeared on the panel.

Wang Yan chose Spirit without hesitation.

The main reason was that while high Spirit couldn't increase his IQ, it would sharpen his mind, clarify his logic, and greatly enhance his memory and analytical abilities.

Strength, Agility, and the like could all be improved through Physique, and Physique could be trained.

Controlling the panel to allocate points, his Spirit increased from 10 to 13.

Instantly, he felt a surge of energy acting deep within his soul.

Feeling the cooling sensation in his brain and the surfacing of some forgotten memories, Wang Yan felt a sense of euphoria.

"This feeling is truly damn good," Wang Yan wore a lecherous expression.

How should one describe this feeling?

Was it like the sublimation of that split second of release?

Or the state of a sage after a cigarette following the act?

It was indescribable; one had to experience it to understand.

After the thrill subsided, Wang Yan tested the system space, taking things in and out; it was just like in the novels, truly magical.

At this moment, a message popped up on the panel.

"Wang Jia from Dying to Survive wishes: I hope Lü Shouyi does not commit suicide due to lack of money, and I hope the children are safe and healthy."

Cheng Yong, the owner of an Indian God Oil shop, lived a pathetic life. His shop had no business, his elderly father was critically ill, and he couldn't scrape together the surgery fees. His ex-wife was pregnant with another man's child and wanted to take custody of his son. One day, the arrival of an unexpected guest, Lü Shouyi, led him to open up a new career path of going to India to buy medicine as a "purchasing agent." Although it was fraught with difficulties, he discovered business opportunities on this "road of buying medicine" and uncontrollably became the exclusive agent for Indian generic drugs that treated chronic myeloid leukemia.

While making money, he also got to know several patients and their families. The group partnered up to do business, and while profits multiplied, crises lurked beneath the surface. Cheng Yong's former brother-in-law was ordered to investigate the source of the generic drugs, and the fake medicine peddler Zhang Changlin and the Swiss pharmaceutical representative were eyeing him like tigers. The business gradually turned into a tug-of-war over salvation.

Opening his computer and looking at the plot summary, Wang Yan paid for a membership to watch the film.

Afterward, he looked up some information and planned his course of action.

He glanced at the time; it was already five o'clock.

Lying on the bed, he opened the system panel and chose to depart.

With a flash of blue light, Wang Yan vanished from the bed.

Wang Yan stood outside the Shanghai Railway Station, looking at the surrounding environment and listening to the bustling noise, feeling quite amazed.

In reality, Wang Yan had never been to Shanghai. One second he was in his hometown in the Northeast, and the next he was standing at the Shanghai Railway Station from over a decade ago. This feeling was truly... damn good.

He began to flip through the information transmitted by the system in his mind.

The identity arranged by the system is Wang Jia's older brother, by blood. Our parents passed away a few years ago, and neither of us is married, so it's just the two of us siblings left.

I came to Shanghai this time because I heard my sister Wang Jia had given birth, and on top of that, her husband had been diagnosed with leukemia. My sister had been borrowing money and asking for help, so as her only family, I came to check on her.

The system handled all the identity documentation and even provided fifty thousand in cash, which is currently stored in my spatial storage.

Watching the sunset glow on the horizon, I hoisted the large bag filled with local specialties onto my shoulder, waved down a taxi, and followed my memories to find the residential complex where Wang Jia lives.

After waving goodbye to the driver and looking at the old, dilapidated complex in front of me, I asked for directions and walked toward Wang Jia's home.

I checked the address to make sure I hadn't gone to the wrong place.

"Bang... bang... bang."

The iron gate rang out as I knocked on it.

"Coming, coming." Before long, I heard footsteps inside.

With a "creak," the door was pushed open, revealing a man wearing glasses with a gaunt, withered face.

Lü Shouyi saw me standing at the door. "Oh, Brother, you're here. Come in quickly."

He stepped aside to let me in, sounding slightly reproachful. "Why didn't you tell me you were arriving? I could have come to pick you up."

"It's not like I couldn't find the place, why go through the trouble?" I said, squeezing into the room.

Just then, Wang Jia heard the commotion and walked out. Seeing me, she let out a cry of "Big Brother."

She threw herself onto me and burst into tears. With the baby born, her husband terminally ill, and her anxiety and helplessness regarding the future, she let it all out the moment she saw me.

Although her brother used to drink, gamble, and get into fights, he was truly good to her. He had taken care of and protected her since they were kids.

Seeing me now, she was a mess of tears and snot, feeling all the grievances of her situation.

I felt awkward and hurriedly tried to comfort her. My head was spinning; I had never dealt with a scene like this before.

As for Wang Jia, I have the memories implanted by the system, as if I had experienced them myself, but subjectively, I feel a bit of resistance, and I always feel a bit unnatural when facing her.

"Don't be so jumpy. I'm here now, aren't I? Don't worry, it's nothing major, don't scare the baby." After much persuasion, I managed to calm her down.

I walked into the room and looked at the little one still in swaddling clothes, feeling a wave of affection.

This is the age when babies are the most adorable; it's not the same once they grow up.

Even though I don't have a wife in reality, it doesn't stop me from having the heart of an old father.

"Have you named him yet?" I asked.

"Shouyi named him Lü Ping."

I mused, "Lü Ping, that's a good name."

After teasing the baby for a while and watching little Lü Ping fall into a deep sleep after all the fuss, I felt happy in body and mind.

Once we were settled in the living room, I looked at the young couple and asked, "About your illness, what's the situation?"

"It can't be cured, only managed with medicine. But the medicine is too expensive—thirty-seven thousand a bottle, and one bottle only lasts half a month. Even if we sold our old house, it would only cover six months... sigh," Lü Shouyi lamented.

Lü Shouyi's parents passed away a few years ago, leaving him an apartment. Before he got sick, they were a well-off family in Shanghai, with no worries about food or clothing.

"We can't afford it anymore. We can hold on for a little longer, but I'm thinking of just letting it go."

"I won't treat it anymore. I don't want to drag them down. I'll leave this apartment for Wang Jia and the child, and I'll just let nature take its course. It's just that I've failed them as a mother and child."

Wang Jia just sat to the side, silently wiping away tears.

I cursed angrily, "What kind of defeatist nonsense is that? 'Letting nature take its course,' my foot! What are they supposed to do as a widow and an orphan? Stop spouting useless crap."

"It's thirty-seven thousand domestically, but what about abroad? We should look for ways elsewhere."

"A living person shouldn't be suffocated by a bit of urine, right?"

"Abroad, the medicine from India is effective and cheap, only two thousand. I've had people verify it, but you can't buy it in the country," Lü Shouyi replied. At this point, Lü Shouyi hadn't gone to find Cheng Yong yet.

I said firmly, "See? There's a way out, isn't there? Stop moping around and talking about dying all day. Alright, I'll think of a way. Are there many people with this illness?"

Wang Jia spoke up then, "Brother, you aren't thinking of smuggling, are you? Don't do anything stupid; that's against the law."

Wang Jia knows this brother of hers quite well. He's been a troublemaker since he was a kid and has always been daring. She's terrified that her brother might get into trouble again.

"Yeah, Brother, you can't do anything illegal. You'll be sentenced if you get caught," Lü Shouyi added, trying to persuade me as well.

Wang Jia had told him about her brother's past, and he had listened with his heart in his throat. To be honest, he was quite afraid of this brother-in-law.

Of course, they didn't know that the person in front of them had already changed and was no longer the reckless brother they knew.

It's debatable whether this brother even existed in the original plot; I can only say the system is incredible.

Come to think of it, the current me, including the protagonists in the novels I've read—whenever they transmigrate, these small-time nobodies who were nothing in their original lives end up living it up in various worlds.

Things like knowledge, vision, experience, and perspective aren't things that can be compensated for just by having foresight. Regarding this, I can only say it's damn satisfying. After all, I was one of those nobodies too, not an elite or a winner in life. Who doesn't want to turn their life around?

"Forget it. My life is almost gone, what's the point of talking about that? What's wrong with wanting to survive?"

"Besides, you're my only sister. I can't just watch you become a widow with an orphan."

"Alright, don't worry about it. Just focus on your recovery and don't overthink things." I made the final decision.

"How much money do you have left? I have fifty thousand right here," I asked. Money makes things easier to handle, after all.

Wang Jia said, "There's less than sixty thousand left." She was the one who managed the household finances.

"Alright, take out fifty thousand for me tomorrow, I'm going to make a trip."

Seeing that they didn't say anything, he added, "Alright, stop overthinking it. Let's get something to eat; I haven't eaten all day."

Afterward, they ate, had some drinks, and Wang Yan carefully inquired about the situation from Lü Shouyi.

It was only then that Wang Yan learned that Lü Shouyi had already started looking for someone to smuggle the medicine and had already found Cheng Yong's neighbor, Zhang Jun, who ran a hotel.

Through some guidance, he also learned about Liu Sihui.

After eating and drinking, since the place was quite small, Wang Yan fell asleep on the sofa.

With Wang Yan asleep, the young couple had no heart to sleep themselves.

Looking at their soundly sleeping child, they whispered to each other, staying awake all night.

The next day, Wang Yan was woken up by the child's crying. His body didn't feel very comfortable, having slept on the sofa all night after all.

"That's a loud cry." Having his good sleep interrupted, Wang Yan said helplessly.

After breakfast, they handed the fifty thousand they had withdrawn early that morning to Wang Yan, both Wang Jia and Lü Shouyi looking worried.

"Brother, stay safe. India is not like our country," Wang Jia urged with concern.

"Alright, don't worry about it. I'll be back in three or five days." Wang Yan waved his hand and left.

He found an internet cafe and, looking at the dozen or so bulky monitors in the small room, Wang Yan couldn't help but marvel at the speed of technological iteration.

In just over a decade, the speed of technological advancement was unimaginable. In reality, this stuff wouldn't even be worth a kitchen knife; it would have been thrown in the trash long ago.

He went online to check some information about Gleevec in India. Although information was exploding even now, it was still far behind what it would be in over a decade. Just looking at the number of internet users in the country at this time, it was only about forty million, compared to over a billion twenty years later—that was a chasm of a difference.

Wang Yan came to the internet cafe mainly to confirm whether the information he had found in reality matched the information in this cinematic world. After all, these were two different worlds, and the information would be different.

After confirming the information, he went to buy a machete and a dagger, tucking them into his space for self-defense.

His identity information had been fully arranged by the system, so Wang Yan went to buy a plane ticket to India and set off.