"Help me with something," Officer Huang said, plucking spinach from his bowl with chopsticks. "In return, I'll give you all the sequence numbers past 50. Plus one free question---anything I know."
"What's the task?" Lynn asked.
"Agree first." Huang smiled. "No life-threatening risks. Promise."
Lynn stayed quiet.
William stayed quieter. I'm not the one negotiating here.
"One in ten thousand," Huang sighed. "We're orphans abandoned by god."
Silence hung.
"To survive this fog," he leaned in, "you need power and knowledge. My intel's worth its weight. Fair trade."
"Deal." William blurted. Get the info first. Back out later if needed.
Lynn shot him a glare but didn't object.
"Smart." Huang pulled a notepad, scribbling three slips. "Can't fully trust you yet---we're all fighting to survive hell."
He folded the papers, held them out to Lynn, then yanked them back. "Rules: Open slip one after school tomorrow. Finish task one, open slip two. Finish both, open three. No deviations."
Lynn tucked them into her sweatshirt pocket. "After completion: two questions."
"Done." Huang stood, texting. "Lou! Check please!"
3:00 AM, William's Home
William stared at his sleeping family, the "1 in 10,000" statistic clawing at his chest.
Grandpa's a Beast. Grandma too, shared his room.
Dad? Mom? Lily?
He clung to lottery-tier hope: What if they're human?
Twelve years of breakfasts, bedtime stories, scraped knees...
Ignorance was bliss, he thought. That "patient" ruined everything.
Now? Every smile felt like a knife. Every "Goodnight, son" a lie.
He sank into the bathtub, avoiding his reflection.
System. Open.
[BEEP---]
[Welcome]
[+27 Luck Points! Total: 30. Allocate?]
---Use all on Luck.
[Confirmed!]
[STATS]
STR 17 | AGI 17 | END 18
INT 17 | CHA 16 | LCK 30
...All stats +6? Not bad.
[HIDDEN PANEL UNLOCKED]
---Open it!
[Insufficient Luck]
---Useless!
[Luck can't be bought]
[Logout]
7:00 AM, Kitchen
"Out all night? No calls?" Mom slammed bacon onto his plate. "SAT prep's in two months!"
"Kevin's birthday. Bowling ran late."
"Kevin?" Mom's fork clattered. "That dropout? Stay away!"
Dad chuckled over his coffee. "His dad owns half downtown. Good connection, Will."
"Don't encourage him!" Mom snapped.
"Networking matters! But..." Dad winked at William. "...don't copy his habits, okay?"
William pushed his plate away. "Gotta go."
9:00 PM, School Alley
Lynn emerged from the shadows, dumping two black hoodies and ski masks from her backpack. "Change. Now."
"Here?!"
"Need a dressing room?" She shrugged off her sweatshirt. Pale shoulders gleamed in the moonlight.
William spun around, fumbling with buttons.
Three minutes later, masked and hooded, they stood like ghosts.
Lynn unfolded Slip One.