Tik. Tik. Tik.
The sound of a clock ticking echoed with unnerving clarity inside Ren Ye's skull.
[First Order Star Gate – Qingliang Town – Activation in: 6:00:00.]
An ethereal voice whispered, then faded, leaving his mind eerily quiet.
Back in the smoke-hazed office, Huang Wei sat slumped in his chair, looking genuinely contrite. "Believe me, we've activated that brush before. Anyone holding it, tracing those characters, speaking those words… it worked. I had no idea it would bind to you… It must be connected to that… calling."
Ren Ye stared blankly at his empty palm.
After the Star Gate vanished, the ancient brush had simply dissolved into his hand. Immediately after, the phantom clock began its countdown, followed by that chilling, empty voice.
And who… or what… had called his name, his exact birth details, from within that abyss? The memory alone made his scalp prickle.
It was fucking terrifying. His usually sharp mind scrambled for any rational explanation, finding none.
A heavy silence hung in the air. Ren Ye took a deep, shaky breath. "Give me a cigarette."
Huang Wei watched him with concern, pulling out a pack. "You… you feel anything different?" he asked softly.
Ren Ye took one. His hand trembled as he flicked the lighter twice before getting a flame. He inhaled deeply, the smoke harsh. "A voice… in my head. A six-hour countdown."
Their eyes met. Huang Wei's lips tightened. "Then it's bound. Completely."
"So… I have to go in?" Ren Ye coughed, the smoke scratching his throat. "No choice?"
"No."
"Only six hours to prepare?"
"Yes. Six hours, and you're pulled in, willing or not. The Star Gate has chosen you." Huang Wei confirmed.
Ren Ye's gaze gradually hardened, a veneer of calm settling over the turmoil beneath. "That thing you promised me yesterday. Did you do it?"
"It's done."
"Hah. Got six hours before I leave this world. Maybe… take a walk with me?" Ren Ye asked, a bitter twist to his smile.
"Alright."
Huang Wei stood.
Ren Ye pinched the cigarette, forcing nonchalance. "This is fake shit. Burns the throat."
Huang Wei gave him an odd look, pointing. "You didn't notice… you're smoking the filter end?"
"Huh?"
Ren Ye looked down. The cigarette's filter tip was charred and smoldering.
"…" He kept his composure. "Filter's good. More kick."
Huang Wei saw through it. The kid was terrified, still reeling from the impossible, yet desperately clinging to a facade of control.
Hmph. Interesting.
They left the office. As they neared the main stairs, Huang Wei glanced subtly back, giving a quick wink towards a security camera.
In the Monitoring Room:
Over twenty people, diverse and intense, stared fixedly at the screen showing Ren Ye's retreating back.
At the front, a young man in deep blue traditional robes stood with his back to them, his voice cold and clear. "Notify Huang Wei. Ren Ye is designated Shanghai Asset 001. Effective immediately, unauthorized disclosure of any information regarding 001 will be treated as treason."
"Understood," a middle-aged man beside him acknowledged.
Swish!
A chill wind swept the room. The robed man dissolved into swirling smoke. Where he stood, a Daoist talisman flared briefly, burning to ash before hitting the floor.
The tension eased the moment he vanished. The room erupted.
"The Gate calling a civilian? Unprecedented!" "Huang hit the jackpot! Damn Blood-Eyed Berserker, lucky bastard!"
"Why wasn't Ren Ye in my district prison?!"
"If I was handling him, I'd find him those kidney-exhausting ladies myself," a striking woman murmured.
"Four elites went in and vanished. What chance does a rookie have?" someone countered grimly. "The rarer the prize, the deadlier the path."
The room fell silent. The initial excitement faded, replaced by shared apprehension.
Afternoon, Outside a Kindergarten:
Ren Ye sat under a café umbrella, a baseball cap pulled low, sipping hot coffee with Huang Wei. His eyes were distant, mind racing.
Four Players. Two linked Gates. All dead.
A corpse, dead for three days, walking out with a brush.
That brush opening a final Gate… only for a spectral voice to call his name.
It felt like Death itself had singled him out.
Huang Wei, looking as rumpled and unkempt as ever, studied Ren Ye's profile. "Sure you don't want to see your family? I can arrange a cover story."
"Fail, and I die." Ren Ye snapped back to the present. "Honestly… I'm scared. Seeing them… would just make it worse."
"Hmm."
Huang Wei didn't push. He pulled a thick envelope from his jacket and slid it across the table. "The hundred thousand you asked for yesterday."
"Thanks," Ren Ye acknowledged flatly.
Huang Wei took a deep drag. "Also… based on your former unit's survivor benefit formula… I secured approval for a special payment. Roughly one point three million. You can access it now."
"If I live, I'll take it. If I don't… give it to my father." Ren Ye forced down the churning emotions. He needed clarity, focus. It was negotiation time.
Huang Wei nodded slowly. "That sum… it's significant. Unprecedented, really, to pay it upfront. But I felt it was the right thing to do, regardless of…"
His tone carried a hint of self-satisfaction, the benevolent boss bestowing a boon, wanting to offer comfort.
Ren Ye sensed it. He turned, cutting him off. "Is that all?"
"Huh?" Huang Wei blinked. "…What else would there be?"
Ren Ye adopted a businesslike tone. "I have some requests."
"Alright, shoot." Huang Wei instinctively pulled out a small notebook. Makes sense, he thought. Dangerous work, deserves some perks.
"You know my situation. Parents divorced young. My old man scraped by writing online novels to raise me and my sister. I have to look out for him." Ren Ye met Huang Wei's gaze. "Can you link him to your department's medical system? Full coverage. Lifetime. High standard."
Huang Wei stared, sucking in a breath through his teeth. "I… I can look into it. But that kind of thing…"
"Also, our place is tiny. Can you get him a unit housing allocation? Full property rights, seventy-year term. Sellable. Since I'm joining up, I qualify, right? Seems fair." Ren Ye didn't let him finish, dropping the second request.
"…" Huang Wei's pen hand twitched. He looked at Ren Ye with newfound surprise.
"Then, my sister. College student. Grades… well, never mind that." Ren Ye rubbed his palms. "But she's ambitious. Think you could pull strings? Get her into grad school?"
Huang Wei's jaw went slack.
"Oh, and secure her a job after graduation. Your unit must need eager admin staff." Ren Ye added quickly. "She's presentable, definitely meets image standards. Comes from a… literary family background…"
"I checked," Huang Wei interrupted dryly. "Your dad's novels… mostly just 'driving scenes', legally questionable stuff. He's flirting with prison time, you know? 'Literary family' might be… stretching it."
"Anyway, about my sister…"
"I get it, Ren." Huang Wei closed the notebook, sitting up straight, adopting an exaggeratedly serious tone. "How about this: Your dad's medical care? Top tier. West Lake Sanatorium level. State funeral when he goes. Sound good?"
Ren Ye nodded instantly. "Perfect."
"And your sister? Forget admin. I'll have the top brass fired. She can have my job. How's that?"
"Well, she doesn't need that high a rank…"
"Right, your dad's been single forever. I'll find him a new wife. Solve his twilight romance too." Huang Wei added with mock sincerity.
"Deal. Do that." Ren Ye met his gaze levelly.
"Fuck!"
Huang Wei finally snapped. "You actually went for it?!"
"Giving you my life. Why wouldn't I ask?" Ren Ye's voice was flat, deliberate. "And don't give me that 'nation' or 'greater good' speech. Three years inside taught me one thing: It's a two-way street. Love your country, sure. But love yourself too."
Their eyes locked, Ren Ye's expression cold and unwavering, like a Wall Street predator closing a deal.
Finally, Huang Wei, the pragmatist beneath the bluster, relented slightly. "Anything beyond standard Player benefits… I can't guarantee. But I'll push. The housing, your dad's medical… I'll get it done. Within a year."
"You're alright, Huang Wei." Ren Ye gave a thumbs-up.
"…Submitting this, they'll think you're my secret love child." Huang Wei groaned, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp.
Silence fell. Ren Ye's eyes narrowed, a faint smile touching his lips as he looked towards the kindergarten gate.
Across the street, a young teacher emerged, flanked by three discreet figures. She held the hand of a small girl, about three years old.
Ren Ye stood and walked over. The others stepped back respectfully. The little girl stared up at him, wide-eyed and wary.
"Duoduo," Ren Ye crouched down to her level on the sidewalk. "You've gotten so big."
He'd only seen her once before. The day of his trial.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked, shrinking back slightly.
Ren Ye hesitated, sunlight catching the dust motes in the air. He gently touched her hair. "I'm your Daddy's friend. His best friend."
"They said… I don't have a Daddy." Her small face was serious, confused. "How… how can you be his friend?"
The words struck Ren Ye silent. He studied her features, seeing echoes of his friend's face – the team's joker, the guy who could always make everyone laugh.
"You do have a Daddy," Ren Ye said softly, firmly. "And you must never forget him." He pulled out the envelope Huang Wei had given him, tucking it into her little backpack. "Give this to Mommy. Tell her to read the letter inside."
"Mommy says no taking things."
"It's okay," the teacher interjected gently. "He's Mommy's friend too."
The little girl nodded slowly. "Thank you, Uncle."
"Hmm." Ren Ye stood up, waving. "Thanks, Teacher. You can take her back now."
"Say bye-bye to Uncle."
"Bye-bye, Uncle."
The meeting lasted barely three minutes. The little girl was led back inside, hand in hand with her teacher. Ren Ye watched until she disappeared from sight.
"You've done a lot for that family," Huang Wei said quietly, walking up beside him. "The dead are gone. Can't live in the past forever."
Ren Ye turned to him. "Know why I emptied my clip into those two suspects?"
Huang Wei shook his head.
"Without my partner, I'd be dead." Ren Ye's voice was a rasp. "I hated those bastards. And I hated myself."
Huang Wei stood quietly, offering no platitude.
"Hah." Ren Ye sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Survivor benefits. Twenty times average income. Forty months' salary. Sounds like a lot, right? A million-plus? But split between four grandparents… and one little girl? In this world… is it really enough?"
The words hung heavy. Huang Wei thought of the negotiation, the single mother, the struggle implied.
"This kindergarten?" Ren Ye gestured towards the building. "Cheapest around. But her father… was a hero." He clapped Huang Wei's shoulder once, then turned and walked towards the parked van.
Huang Wei stood alone for a long moment. Then he pulled out his phone. "Hey, Lao He? Need a favor… Can you snag an enrollment spot at Number Two Elementary? Not for family… a friend's kid. Girl, about three."
"Man, that's tough. Last month my cousin was practically groveling…" the voice on the line began listing obstacles.
"Tough?" Huang Wei cut him off, his voice firm. "Make it happen. Take someone out for a fancy dinner on me." He understood Ren Ye's unspoken message. This was his answer.
The Long Afternoon:
Huang Wei drove Ren Ye across the city. To his old precinct. To his alma mater. To the hole-in-the-wall noodle shop he used to love. He saw people who mattered – former colleagues, a favorite teacher – but pointedly avoided his father and sister.
Not because he didn't want to see them. Because he was afraid seeing them would shatter the fragile courage he'd built. It felt selfish, irresponsible even. But beneath the fear of the Star Gate's chilling call… a spark of something else flickered. A strange longing. An impossible hope. Maybe three years behind bars hadn't crushed his spirit, just buried it. Maybe the thought of fading into obscurity as a convicted killer was a fate worse than the terrifying unknown.
This afternoon was his abrupt, unplanned farewell to the world he knew. Yesterday, he'd been sewing prison uniforms. Today…
Evening, Guest Room:
Dusk painted the sky in shades of orange and purple. Ren Ye sat on a bed in a simple guest room, a notebook from Huang Wei open in his lap. Huang Wei leaned against a dresser opposite, silent.
Tik. Tik. Tik.
The phantom clock resumed its insistent beat.
[First Order Star Gate – Qingliang Town – Activation in: 00:10:00.]
The countdown reached its final minutes.