A prank! A premeditated prank! A truly vicious one!
A chill ran down Su Jin's back as the thought suddenly sprang into his mind.
The baffling contents, the shipping label-there was no way some assassin organization had sent the package to the wrong address.
Even the paper spontaneously bursting into flames wasn't inexplicable.
Maybe it was some kind of advanced magician's paper... something that caught fire after touching skin for a while.
But why would they send a real gun? That was ridiculous! What were they trying to do?
Could it be that client, Wang?
Impossible! That bastard had just demanded that I call and apologize.
Su Jin's scalp prickled, and countless movie scenes flashed through his mind.
They were all plots about bored rich people secretly pulling strings and toying with ordinary citizens.
Maybe a few people would show up soon, lock me away somewhere, and I'd wake up in a wilderness survival game or an escape room.
"Fuck!"
Su Jin lowered his head and cursed, then decisively called the police.
"Ring... ring... ring..."
The phone kept ringing. Su Jin's lips were dry as he anxiously tried to work out what to say.
At last, the call connected, and Su Jin immediately spoke.
"Hello! I'm..."
"Hello, this is..."
The woman on the other end had barely begun speaking when her voice abruptly cut off. In its place, a cold, mechanical voice rang out inside Su Jin's head.
"Do not disclose company information in any form. A second violation will result in severe punishment! Put on the mask immediately and prepare without delay."
Beeep-
Listening to the piercing busy tone, Su Jin keenly registered something wrong... his gaze had already begun to lose focus.
Bizarre! This was getting more and more bizarre!
A disconnected call could still be explained by technology, but why had that mechanical voice sounded completely different from the busy tone at the end?
At first, it had been a normal voice coming through the phone. The mechanical voice afterward had seemed to sound directly inside his head.
He had used that crappy phone for years. There was no way its single earpiece could produce surround sound!
Was I dreaming? Or had I run into something supernatural...
Looking dazed, Su Jin took two steps backward and dropped into the chair in front of his computer.
He glanced out of the corner of his eye, and his pupils abruptly contracted!
In one corner of the recruitment page on his screen, the words "Heavenly Dao Liability Unlimited Company" stood out plainly!
Wait... that pop-up on the computer earlier?!
Su Jin grabbed the mouse and hurried to click the page, but the moment the pointer moved over it, the entire page automatically closed.
Panicking, he began typing a search.
No such company could be found... as though none of it had ever existed.
Dazed, Su Jin exhaled, squeezed his eyes shut, and buried all ten fingers in his hair.
What the hell was going on... could I still run?
No. Some organization was already watching me. If I ignored everything and left now, the consequences might be even harder to predict.
After a while, he raised his head, slowly reached to his left, and picked up the transparent mask he had casually set aside, examining it closely.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an ordinary plastic mask. The voice on the phone had told him to put it on...
Frowning, he carefully inspected it again and again for several minutes before gingerly pressing it against his face.
The instant it touched his skin, an icy sensation spread across his entire face, and the mask vanished!
The mask was gone. His fingers touched only skin.
Before Su Jin could react, something in front of his eyes instantly drew his attention.
A constantly changing string of numbers had inexplicably appeared in his vision.
1:32:11 1:32:10...
Su Jin stared wide-eyed for a full ten seconds before finally sitting back in his chair, his chest heaving.
The room was silent except for his pounding heartbeat and the faint hum of the computer fan.
Once he recovered his senses, he immediately ran to the bathroom mirror.
He frantically clawed along his jawline, trying to remove the mask that had already vanished.
He fumbled for a long time, until the sides of his face were red. Only then did he give up completely and turn to examining himself.
Apart from the extra string of numbers and his violently twitching eyelids, everything in the mirror looked normal.
This wasn't some game for rich people anymore. This was definitely something fucking supernatural!
Gritting his teeth, Su Jin turned on the tap and scrubbed his face hard with cold water.
Calm down... I had to think calmly now!
Something strange had entered his body. He couldn't tell whether it was good or bad, but since he couldn't get it out, he could only leave it alone for now.
Since the mask wasn't an ordinary object, there had to be something strange about the handgun and briefcase too.
I'd check those two things first.
00:59:23 00:59:22...
More than half an hour had passed.
Su Jin sat quietly on his bed, the briefcase and handgun laid out before him.
It was hard to say that he had regained his composure. After all, the string of bizarre events had completely shattered his understanding of the world.
The mask wouldn't come off at all.
Just as he had expected, the two things on the bed were anything but ordinary.
He couldn't find any information about the handgun online, and its magazine couldn't be removed. The shot he had accidentally fired had left neither a spent casing nor a bullet, and he had no way to conduct a firing test at present.
The briefcase was even stranger. When his palm touched the bottom, he experienced a peculiar sensory connection. There was another cubic meter of space beneath it... but he couldn't see it with his eyes.
He tried putting a few things inside. He could retrieve them at will, which was remarkably convenient.
It was practically a magical treasure from a novel, except that anything too large wouldn't fit through the opening.
If he had obtained a treasure like this before, he would have been ecstatic. Right now, though, he simply wasn't in the mood.
The more miraculous the objects were, the greater the pressure he felt.
A dying world, an apocalypse... every term was enough to make his heart clench.
The situation had gone completely beyond his comprehension, and he didn't have much time to think.
What should I do? Prepare according to that notice?
After agonizing over it for a while, Su Jin picked up his phone with difficulty.
Another half hour passed.
A large pile of supplies had accumulated in the tiny rented room, all ordered through delivery services.
Looking at the cluttered room, Su Jin felt an indescribable ache in his heart.
It wasn't that he hadn't considered running, but the numbers remained before his eyes, following him like a shadow.
He had clearly encountered something supernatural. His best option now was to obediently prepare; otherwise, flailing around would only get him killed faster.
00:31:09 00:31.08...
He sorted everything by category and packed it separately.
Sitting in front of the computer, wide-eyed and breathing heavily, Su Jin selected a life insurance policy and named his parents as beneficiaries. A claim could be made after he had been missing for two years.
Then he took out another loan through a legitimate platform. Altogether, the money came to just under 170,000 yuan.
He drew up an online gift agreement transferring 150,000 yuan to his parents, minimizing the risk of the funds being reclaimed.
He set aside 10,000 yuan for his landlord, transferred six months' rent, and left a few instructions asking not to be disturbed. He converted the rest into cash to carry with him.
Finally, he cleared his browsing history.
With everything done, Su Jin called home with a heavy heart.
Before long, his mother's sleepy, indistinct voice came through. "Son, why are you calling at this hour? Haven't you gone to bed?"
"Oh, I transferred some money to you and Dad. Could you check whether it arrived?"
"Money... huh?! A hundred and fifty thousand? Where did that come from?" His mother instantly sounded awake, and he could faintly hear his father's voice too.
Su Jin forced a smile, making his voice sound a little excited. "Good news, of course! Another company tried to poach me, so Mr. Li gave me a lump sum to keep me here. I don't need it right now, so you and Dad can have it. Spend it however you like."
"Really? Our son's made something of himself! Companies are fighting over you now! You gave me such a fright. I thought the money might have come from somewhere shady." His mother sounded much more excited.
"Of course not. When have I ever done anything crooked? Mr. Li only just transferred it to me. I was so happy I forgot you two were asleep. Uh... um... anyway, the company has a really big project coming up. I might have to work overtime for several months straight, so don't call me yourselves, okay? Wait for me to call."
"Son!" His father's voice came through again. "There should be limits to overtime. Don't wear yourself out! Don't let a little extra money go to your head. It's not like you sold them your life... the harder you work, the more they'll work you. Just make a good showing in front of your bosses."
"I know. You two get some sleep. I have to be at the office early tomorrow."
After hanging up, Su Jin lowered his head and let out a deep, mournful sigh.
He had done everything he could.
I'd leave it at that. If something really did happen to me... at least I'd have done my duty as a son.
00:00:12 00:00:11 00:00:10
In the final ten seconds, Su Jin stared fixedly at the timer, one hand inside his trench coat's inner pocket, gripping the gun tightly.
3, 2, 1, 0!
As the timer hit zero, Su Jin's pupils contracted. A dazzling point of light suddenly appeared before his eyes!
Under his astonished gaze, the point of light expanded in an instant, finally becoming a golden portal standing before him.
He blinked hard twice, quickly pulling himself out of his utter shock.
A miracle! It really was a miracle!
Was this the work of aliens, or gods and ghosts?
The portal wasn't moving. As long as I didn't go in, nothing should happen, right? Maybe I should stick my phone through first and test it?
"I-!"
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Su Jin's eyes flew wide open. The portal hurtled straight at his face and swallowed him in an instant...
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