Earth, River City.
Fang Mo was holding his little sister's hand as they slowly walked down the street.
It was midday in the height of summer. The blazing sun cast a Strong Light dazzling enough to blind people, and even the air seemed to steam and warp beneath the heat. Fang Mo silently endured the scorching waves, already drenched in sweat before he knew it.
Even the stray dogs by the roadside looked as though their fur had been singed by the sun, listless and exhausted.
Unlike the impatient adults, however, the still-young Fang Xin wasn't bothered by the stifling heat at all. On the contrary, she happily hummed a tune.
"Youth really is wonderful."
Watching his little sister skip about happily, Fang Mo yawned lazily. "In the end, I really am getting old. I only stayed up gaming until ten in the morning, and I already couldn't take it anymore."
For an old otaku like Fang Mo, staying up all night watching anime and playing games was practically routine.
Unfortunately, after years of working hard, his body was ultimately no match for a young person's. Watching Fang Xin cheerfully enjoy the vigor of summer vacation, Fang Mo couldn't help feeling nostalgic. Back then, he had been the kind of madman who could mine nonstop for four days and three nights without sleeping.
But now, under the exploitation of those capitalist overlords, the stamina he had developed through gaming in his youth was all spent on overtime work.
That was precisely why he went crazy playing games whenever he had time off. As a result, the heavy dark circles beneath his eyes had remained for three whole years. At work, many of his coworkers even jokingly called him the panda enclosure manager.
"You love me, I love you, Mixue Ice Cream & Tea is sweet as can be~"
Just as he was thinking about that, the brainwashing jingle of a cold drink shop suddenly drifted over from across the street.
"Big Brother, I want ice cream."
Fang Xin was still just a child. The moment she heard the song, she looked up at Fang Mo with her big, dark eyes sparkling. Putting on an obedient, pitiful expression, she said, "Big Brother, can you give me two yuan?"
"You little glutton."
Fang Mo smiled indulgently, then took Fang Xin's little hand and headed across the street. "Come on. Big Brother will buy you a sundae."
"Yay!"
Fang Xin raised her little fist and cheered.
Then, chatting and laughing, the two crossed the pedestrian crossing and headed toward the cold drink shop.
But at that moment, a piercing horn suddenly blared from nearby. Fang Mo turned toward the sound and saw a dump truck run the red light at the intersection, speeding straight toward them without slowing down in the slightest.
As for Fang Xin, she had been frightened stiff on the spot.
Fang Mo's heart lurched. He immediately tried to pull Fang Xin out of the way, but the consequences of more than ten years of staying up late and grinding finally caught up with him. A violent, crushing pain suddenly seized his chest, and he froze in place, unable to move.
"I... fuck..."
As the dump truck drew closer and closer, Fang Mo gritted his teeth and barely squeezed out the last of his strength to kick Fang Xin away.
Amid the long screech of brakes, blood nearly soaked the entire street.
Fang Mo lay on the ground, his mind buzzing. He had completely lost feeling in his lower body and could only vaguely sense something warm and sticky slowly leaking out of his stomach.
"Big Brother!!!"
Fang Xin's heartbroken cries rang out beside his ear.
Hearing her call, Fang Mo barely opened his eyes. What he saw was Fang Xin's tear-streaked face, along with a pile of mangled flesh mixed with scraps of cloth and bone fragments not far away. Just minutes ago, those scraps had been a complete pair of jeans.
"Am I... going to die?"
For some reason, after seeing that, Fang Mo realized he wasn't as afraid as he had imagined he would be.
How should he put it? Dying so young meant he could avoid struggling for several more decades. His coworkers would probably be jealous of him if anything... It was just that dying without a whole body was a bit too miserable. He didn't dare imagine how his parents would collect his corpse afterward. They couldn't seriously end up like those traffic accident compilations, could they? Five dogs at the start, shovel at the end?
Confirmation complete: Body successfully converted into data.
Huh?
Fang Mo paused slightly. He seemed to have vaguely heard something just now, but Fang Xin was crying so miserably in front of him that he couldn't make out what it had said. Still, it was probably just some passerby.
Honestly, in his current state, he was practically an oni-"chan." It really was worth making some bizarre little video over. Maybe he would even end up in one of those traffic accident compilation videos.
"Xin Xin, stop crying for now..."
With that thought, Fang Mo raised a hand and gently patted Fang Xin, who was lying on top of him. Children didn't weigh much, but he had been cut in half. After the initial numbness faded, there was only endless pain left. Even the slightest touch was unbearable.
Confirmation complete: Data body parameters adjusted. Pain blocked successfully.
"Big Brother, I won't cry. I won't cry anymore..."
Hearing Fang Mo's voice, Fang Xin desperately wiped away her tears, but the more she wiped, the more uncontrollably they fell.
"Big Brother isn't going to make it, so listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you."
For some reason, Fang Mo felt as if the pain had suddenly vanished. He figured it was probably his final burst of life, so he hurriedly began giving Fang Xin instructions. "The police should contact Mom and Dad soon. Don't be afraid. Tell them exactly what I'm about to say. Tell them these are my last words and make sure they do it."
"Big Brother... sob... Big Brother, don't die..."
Fang Xin couldn't help wailing when she heard that.
"You silly girl... Why are you crying? I'm dying in my twenties. Everyone will only envy this leek for getting harvested several decades less. You should be happy for me."
Fang Mo barely forced a smile at Fang Xin, then suddenly turned serious. "Listen. After I die, burn or sell every piece of furniture I've used—my bed, computer desk, chair, everything. Don't leave any of it at home to make yourselves miss me even more."
Confirmation complete: More Furniture unlocked.
"Huh? What the hell was that sound?"
Fang Mo frowned and looked around, but perhaps because he had lost too much blood, his field of vision was growing narrower and narrower. He couldn't see clearly whether there was anyone nearby, so he could only continue instructing Fang Xin. "After I die, nobody is allowed to touch my computer. Cremate me, then bury my ashes directly in my computer case. Otherwise, I'll be all alone down there without even a game to play."
Confirmation complete: GraveStone Mod unlocked.
Fang Xin couldn't speak anymore. She could only cry and nod over and over.
"Oh, right, and my phone..."
At death's door, Fang Mo suddenly remembered his phone's browsing history. Somehow, another burst of strength welled up within him, and he struggled to turn over and crawl toward the phone not far away. But after crawling only twice, he lost his strength again and could only stare unwillingly at it.
Confirmation complete: Moving Mod unlocked.
"Big... Big Brother!"
With tears all over her face, Fang Xin handed Fang Mo his phone.
Fang Mo barely smiled. After taking the phone, he deleted his browsing history as quickly as possible. Then, after thinking for a moment, he opened QQ and sent her a message: "Sorry, I won't be able to grind games with you anymore." Once he had done all that, Fang Mo collapsed onto the ground as though every bit of strength had been drained from him. "Finally... it's done. Now I can die without regrets. But if I got hit by a dump truck... am I going to get transported to another world too?"
Confirmation complete: The Lost Cities Mod unlocked.
"What the hell has been making that sound this whole time? It keeps going off. It's annoying as hell..."
By then, Fang Mo's pupils had begun to lose focus, and his thoughts grew increasingly muddled. An indescribable darkness started to shroud his consciousness, and only then did Fang Mo realize how terrifying death truly was.
"So this is death?"
"I... guess I still don't want to die..."
Confirmation complete: Game mode set to Survival Mode. Upon death, all items and experience will be lost, but unlimited respawns are available.
"There are still so many things I haven't eaten..."
Confirmation complete: Pam's HarvestCraft Mod unlocked.
"There are still so many sights I haven't seen..."
Confirmation complete: Biomes O' Plenty Mod unlocked.
"Xin Xin, sorry Big Brother can't stay with you anymore. If Mom and Dad haven't come by later, use Baidu Maps to navigate home by yourself..."
Confirmation complete: MiniMap Mod unlocked.
"It's all those damn capitalists' fault for exploiting me. I could've dodged it otherwise. That angina from working overtime must have screwed me over. Those capitalists... Hanging them from streetlights would be letting them off easy. If I ever got the chance, I'd really like to hack those bloodsuckers to death with my own hands..."
Confirmation complete: Avaritia Mod unlocked.
Fang Mo lay facedown on the ground as the light in his eyes gradually faded. Fang Xin's wailing also slowly drifted farther and farther away. He had wanted to make a "Don't stop now" joke with Fang Xin, but before he could say anything, his consciousness completely blurred.
Only darkness remained, swallowing everything Fang Mo had ever known.
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