Final Preparations

Time to gather the new information, Xia Lun thought.

He opened the safe and took out the Black Notebook. Flipping past the "Targets" and "Foresight Club" pages, he chose a blank page and wrote "The Game and the Real World" at the top.

"1. A subtle connection—and a correspondence—exists between the game and reality. After I met Geliide in the first Scenario, I also met Geliide, the only daughter of Jade Pharmaceuticals director Bird, in the Real World. The two looked remarkably alike, but the Geliide in reality was younger.

"2. Besides sharing a name and appearance, the Geliide in the Scenario seemed to have relationships that corresponded to those in reality. For example, both had fathers named Bird, and both fathers seemed to have suffered misfortune.

"3. More troubling than these strange correspondences is the timing. Why did the Geliide in reality come looking for me the day after I met her in the Scenario? Was it pure coincidence, or was there some causal link between the two?"

Xia Lun frowned slightly and activated Heightened Focus to brainstorm. Then he picked up his pen and, following his instincts, wrote rapidly.

"4. According to the Information Panel, the Snail Statue provides Attraction. Perhaps meeting Geliide in the Scenario increased the Attraction between us, causing me to meet her in reality as well.

"Rationally speaking, that line of reasoning is deeply unscientific—almost as far-fetched and absurd as the Sympathetic Law believed by primitive peoples. For now, though, it does offer a coherent explanation."

Xia Lun paused, then underlined "Attraction."

"Whatever the case, one thing is certain: some principle beyond common sense and ordinary logic is at work behind these events. I need to discover it and try to use it.

"5. The Information Panel's description of the Foresight Club symbol mentioned 'Calling individuals from the Other Dimension to occupy vessels.' I have a feeling this is inextricably linked to the phenomena above, as well as to Attraction. If I want to deal with the Foresight Club, I need to understand the principles involved as thoroughly as possible."

He paused again, then changed tack.

"6. Additional note: Although Special Memory looks no different from reality or a Scenario at first glance, events there unfold in an extremely careless, even absurd way. People's reactions are strange, too. All in all, they don't seem quite like normal humans. Perhaps that's because a Special Memory is ultimately just a dream."

He put down his pen.

With the information he had, that was as far as his deductions could take him. To go further, he needed to gather more.

Xia Lun took a deep breath and eased his mind. He put his pen back in its case, then locked the Black Notebook in the safe again.

I'll rest a little. The Scenario refreshes tomorrow night, and I need to prepare for the second round. He stretched, took a quick shower, and went to bed.

Xia Lun rose on time the next morning and began a busy day.

Thanks to the work he had assigned to others before entering the Perk Memory for Nonhuman Toughness a few days earlier, he saved a great deal of time. Even so, it took him nearly eighteen hours to prepare everything he needed.

Midnight. The basement. One hour remained until the instance cooldown ended.

Cool light shone from above, illuminating the somewhat cramped basement. The second hand of the wall clock ticked forward, one second at a time.

Bang!

Xia Lun slid the bolt across the basement door, then carefully picked up the iron case from the floor and placed it on the table.

The table was already crowded: milky-white Underwater Breathing Potions, a roll of white plastic film, tubes of high-energy Nutrient Paste marked with laboratory numbers, lighting equipment, rope, and a large pile of bullets.

A lighter and a small locked box sat at the edge of the table.

"That's everything," Xia Lun murmured.

With a thought, he materialized the Voidwood Box on the table and began packing it.

He put the Nutrient Paste in first, followed by the plastic film. Next, he placed the Underwater Breathing Potions between them and tucked the rope and flashlight into the gaps. About half the box remained empty.

"Still plenty of room." He shook his head and opened the iron case.

The lid rose slowly, revealing its contents: detonators, explosives, and an initiation device. Nothing else.

Xia Lun had originally planned to get military-grade plastic explosives. As explosives went, they had almost no drawbacks: easy to carry and conceal, stable, safe, and powerful.

But a bombing with disastrous political repercussions had struck the Herno Strait region a few days earlier. A team of auditors sent by the Grand Alliance had been killed with plastic explosives inside the parliament building, and Xia Lun's channels for obtaining them had been temporarily cut off.

With no other choice, he had to select from several explosives, each with its own advantages and drawbacks.

After careful consideration, Xia Lun had settled on Mining Explosives with an increased charge. They were at least as powerful as military-grade plastic explosives, but much harder to use. They could easily injure the user, and setting them off required a compatible initiation device.

Fortunately, he had extensive experience using Mining Explosives. He was practically half an expert.

They also took up more room than military-grade plastic explosives. He could probably fit only one bundle in the Voidwood Box, along with its initiation device.

Xia Lun picked up a bundle of Mining Explosives and carefully placed it against the edge of the box. Then he set the matching Detonator and fuse beside it.

No large open spaces remained, so he grabbed a handful of bullets and slotted them, one by one, into every gap like pieces in a game of Tetris.

A few minutes later, the Wooden Box was packed tight with bullets. Not a sliver of space remained.

"Now I've got plenty of ammunition. Sixty spare rounds—I won't have to worry about running out again."

He nodded in satisfaction and snapped his fingers.

Snap.

At the crisp sound, the entire Wooden Box dissolved into a scattering of light particles and entered his Personal Space.

With that preparation complete, Xia Lun closed the iron case of explosives and carefully moved it beneath the table. Then he unlocked the small box at the table's edge.

Inside were four Snail Statues.

Without hesitation, he picked up the lighter and set all four alight.

Whoosh!

The instant the flames touched them, the slick, insectlike Snail Statues erupted into masses of crimson fire. Dazzling light flooded the basement.

Amid the billowing black smoke, Xia Lun seemed to hear wave after wave of hysterical screams, as though unseen spirits were wandering through it, searching.

He raised his head. Golden flames flickered in his dark eyes.

Then he began to recite his wish.

"I want to find an opportunity with few side effects that will greatly extend the time I can live in good health, or an opportunity to cure my curse completely."

The flames rose and swirled. Xia Lun had a vague sense that some invisible influence had begun to take effect.

He repeated his wish twice more, then stopped. The instant he fell silent, the golden flames that had been growing fiercer vanished as abruptly as a candle pinched out between two fingers.

Gray ash drifted to the floor, and the basement returned to its cool lighting.

"That should have worked."

Xia Lun looked around, shook his head, and climbed into the Game Pod.

Darkness washed over his consciousness once more, followed by that familiar cold, shuddering sensation.

The second Scenario began.