"In exchange, I'll kill Jar Man," Yin Chao said.
His voice was calm, as though he were stating a fact.
The little boy gently shook the Bell, and its clear chimes reached their ears.
It felt like standing on a lawn beneath the warm spring sun.
The breeze carried the faint, fresh scent of grass mingled with soil. The sunlight was bright, but not harsh.
A wash of white flashed before Yin Chao's eyes, like the static on an old television with poor reception.
The crackle of electricity sounded so clear it seemed to be right beside his ears.
Slowly, his field of vision expanded.
He saw a television in the corner.
In the dim light of dusk, a little boy sat crouched alone in front of it.
Nothing was playing on the screen. There was only static.
Intermittent arguments came from outside the room, along with the crash of things being smashed.
The sounds mingled in the cramped space, making it so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.
This must be some player's dream, Yin Chao thought.
He approached the boy and quietly crouched beside him without saying a word.
The dusk here seemed as though it would never end, and neither would the arguing outside the door.
After they had crouched there for an unknown length of time, the boy turned to look at the strange man beside him.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Yin Chao kept his gaze on the flickering screen without moving, only parting his lips slightly. "A player. Yin Chao."
"What's a player?" The boy didn't understand.
"It's a game. Clear it and you live. Fail and you die."
Frightened, the boy protested, "How could there be such a scary game? I've only played Super Mario. If you die, the game starts over."