บท 2: Chapter 2: The Game of Life Copies (Happy New Year! New Book Release, Please Collect)
"Liu Nan, are you a student?" He Ao picked up the bag and handed it to her, "Have you eaten yet?"
"Not, not yet."
Liu Nan subconsciously replied.
"Me neither."
He Ao smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Liu Nan, as a student caught in such a situation, was bound to panic, so he had been chatting with her to ease her nerves. However, it seemed that Liu Nan was quite brave herself and wasn't much frightened.
Just as he finished speaking, a rush of hurried footsteps came. A small squad of police officers burst into the alley, ushering in the two 'good Samaritans' who had just run away, and upon raising their eyes, they saw He Ao talking to Liu Nan and the thug lying unconscious on the ground.
"Captain Liu," He Ao greeted the middle-aged police officer leading the team excitedly, and before the officer could speak, He Ao quickly added, "Class C wanted criminal, Zhang Shi'an, ten thousand yuan."
"Got it, got it," Captain Liu laughed and waved his hand, directing his officers to handcuff the lying Zhang Shi'an, "I knew you wouldn't be so proactive without being tight on money. Don't do something so dangerous again next time."
"Hehe, got it." He Ao showed an innocuous smile.
"He Ao, are you a student?" Just then, the somewhat dazed Liu Nan finally reacted, looking at He Ao who was talking with the police, "Do you know me?"
"Yeah, yeah, you're the class leader, right? I even helped you pick up your pen this morning. That's included as an extra service, so no extra charge." He Ao nodded and then took out a black notebook from the side pocket of his backpack, flipped to a middle page, and handed it to Liu Nan, "Liu Nan, sign here and leave your number."
Liu Nan bewilderedly took the notebook, seeing it was filled with a variety of names and phone numbers, some she recognized, some she didn't. Some names were checked off, while others weren't marked at all.
After hesitating for a moment, she still wrote down her own name and phone number.
"What use is this, He Ao?"
She handed back the notebook, asking with some puzzlement.
"No real use," He Ao said with a smile as he took back the notebook, "See, I saved you once, and neither of us has eaten yet. It's not too much to ask you to buy me a meal, right?"
"Not too much…" Although Liu Nan thought the request was a bit strange, she still nodded lightly, "Shall we go eat in a bit?"
"No rush," He Ao counted the names in the notebook, "You're not up yet. When it's your turn, I'll give you a call."
"Is this book filled with people you've saved before?" Liu Nan found He Ao seemingly not too difficult to get along with, and feeling a bit bolder, she asked.
"Some are, some aren't."
He Ao closed the notebook and casually slipped it back into the side pocket of his backpack.
"Then…" Although Liu Nan didn't mind the idea of buying him a meal, since she often treated people to meals, she inquired, "You saved me, and just a meal is enough for you?"
"Hmm?" He Ao frowned slightly, looking Liu Nan up and down carefully, "Are you thinking of offering yourself in gratitude or something, Liu? That's not called being grateful, that's seeking revenge!"
Liu Nan: ???
"He Ao," However, before Liu Nan could speak, the team-leading officer called out, "Where is this fugitive from?"
"Here it comes," He Ao was always very eager when it came to his benefactor. As he walked over, he said, "Fugitive ID C121574024, came over from Liangzhou, a human trafficker."
Liangzhou was located in the northwest of the Central Earth Republic, more than a thousand kilometers from Xidu, where He Ao currently was.
"You really have a good memory, kid," Captain Liu patted his shoulder, then looked toward an officer who was taking notes, "Did you get all that?"
"Got it."
The officer nodded slightly, as He Ao had read the number carefully, pausing after each digit to make it easier to write down.
"Liu Nan, there you are," the shout of a short-haired girl came from behind, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Liu Nan startled, turned around in confusion, touched her delicate cheek, and asked softly, "Nannan, am I ugly?"
At that moment, having finished talking with Captain Liu, He Ao, seeing Liu Nan now accompanied by someone else, quietly left.
He was not good at dealing with such social interactions, which he found time-consuming and meaningless.
He Ao's home was not far, just next to the university. After circling around a small alley, he arrived at the entrance to the residential complex.
At this moment, a delivery boy was pacing at the entrance, glancing into the complex now and then. He had been waiting for several minutes already.
"Thank you."
He Ao stood in front of the delivery boy, thanked him, and took the cake from his hands. The slightly cold sensation traveled from the paper box to his fingertips as he slowly walked into the depths of the complex.
The delivery boy got on his electric scooter, ready to leave, but just as he started to move, he was stopped by a figure wearing a sharp suit.
"Excuse me, did you just see this person?"
——
Climbing the old staircase step by step, to apartment 502 of building three, He Ao took out his keys and opened the door to his empty home.
He entered, closed the door, and put on the security chain.
Today was his birthday.
He placed the cake on the old table and glanced at the quartz watch on his wrist.
Eighteen years ago today, in one more hour he would come into this world.
Few people can remember the exact moment they were born, but He Ao was an exception, though he didn't particularly enjoy being one.
7:32:56 PM, the time of his birth.
He Ao shifted his gaze, and everything in his line of sight moved with it, but in the bottom right corner of his vision, there was a spot where the scenery remained unchanged, no matter how he moved his eyes, it was still there.
It was a string of gray translucent jumping numbers.
A countdown composed of hours, minutes, and seconds, which had ticked away from the second he was born until now.
157,799 hours, without a moment's pause.
At this moment, the countdown reached 01:00:00, the final hour.
For a long time, He Ao thought it was a countdown to his death, living each day in fear, but now he had grown accustomed to the presence of this countdown.
He cut the cake into many pieces with a knife, then calmly ate every piece, tranquilly watching the numbers jump.
00:00:01
Survival or death, there would be an outcome.
Bang bang bang——
The urgent knocking suddenly resounded, followed by the crisp turning of the lock core and the squeaking noise, the old security door was slowly pushed open.
00:00:00
In that instant, time reset to zero, and everything went dark before He Ao's eyes.
[Do you find life boring?]
[Do you want to experience a different life in another world?]
[We have tycoons, assassins, hunters, beggars, countless random identities for you to experience.]
[Would you like to start the game now?]
[Yes][No]
A page similar to a computer pop-up advertisement appeared in his field of vision.
So, the thing that had followed me for eighteen years was this game?
Ridiculous, how could I, a law-abiding good citizen, find life boring?
He Ao let out a cold laugh and chose [Yes]
[Initializing system···]
[Loading game.]
[Welcome to the Life Copy World game]
[New player mission loading, now matching you with a random life role.]
[Matching successful]
[Your role is: Evil God Priest Yezola]
——
(New book uploaded, please collect and follow)
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