Du Xiaoyu's real name was Du Xiaoyu. It was such an ordinary name that you could find countless people with it on the street, leaving no need for embellishment or concealment.
He was just like his name: an utterly ordinary person with only a compulsory education, no steady job, and no outstanding abilities.
After his father was arrested at fourteen on charges of "endangering Federation security," and his mother remarried, he began running with the wrong crowd. He clung to local thugs, worked the rounds to fill out numbers, and earned quite a bad reputation in the neighborhood.
Later, as local resistance groups and cults became increasingly active, the Federation tightened its control and began cracking down on small gangs. Du Xiaoyu got caught up in it and spent three years inside.
When he got out, he had lost his edge. Most days, he meekly worked odd jobs. Only when the neighbors pointed fingers at him would he roll up his sleeves and viciously charge over to punch the smart-mouthed ones a few times.
He was skilled with his fists and feet, and those who bore grudges against him usually came to no good end. Gradually, people stopped making jokes about him and went out of their way to avoid him.
He was alone and deeply lonely, often picking fights. But no one paid attention to him over trivial matters, while serious matters would only land him back in the station.
He was not that brave, nowhere near willing to risk it all. In the end, he could only numb himself with alcohol and the internet, living each day in a daze.
Until the Eerie Game appeared.
That day, Du Xiaoyu was drunk when, in his haze, he heard a voice say to him:
[Enter the Eerie Game, and you