Absolute Death Game

Luck had just stepped out of the building where his company was located when he made his first move to a specialized mobile phone store to buy a new phone. Although the company had provided him with an excellent smartphone, he now dared not use it carelessly. Who knows if it had been bugged?

Though he had never seen ’pork,’ as the saying goes, he had seen ’pigs on the walk.’ An avid movie watcher, Luck chose to err on the side of caution.

However, he didn’t dare dispose of the company-issued phone either.

Standing outside the building, he intended to hail a cab. This street was typically bustling with taxis, but, unusually, he had waited over ten minutes without spotting many, and the ones he did see were already occupied. Finally, he saw an empty taxi and hurriedly flagged it down.

The cab headed straight toward him, but when it was just seven or eight meters away, he realized the driver seemed to be on a phone call, unaware of his presence, and wasn’t slowing down. FUCK! Luck leaped back in terror, and whether it was luck or sheer reflex, his feet slipped as if on ice, gliding two meters back—narrowly dodging the taxi’s hood.

Staring at the taxi as it drove off into the distance, Luck was still shaking from the close call. He could have been hit if his reaction had been even a split second slower. How had he managed to move out of the way so quickly anyway? Looking down at the ground, he saw nothing but ordinary paving stones. He tried to step back again and nearly sprained his back.

It seemed to be just a burst of physical ability in a moment of crisis, he thought. Maybe it’s better not to rush, he quietly admonished himself. He patiently waited another ten minutes and finally managed to get a cab.

While riding in the taxi, he dialed the largest hospital in the city. Luck didn’t have much information to go on; Lu Jiang’s diary had only mentioned his sister’s name, the hospital where she stayed, and that she suffered from a kidney disease. He knew nothing more, so he had to do some investigating to plan his next steps.

After several calls and inquiries, he finally got some information. Indeed, three months ago, a girl with the surname Lu was admitted to this hospital with renal failure. However, the severity of her condition and her identity were details the hospital staff found inappropriate to disclose.

It seemed he had no choice but to visit personally. Having made up his mind, Luck asked the taxi driver to take him directly to the city hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, he quickly found out that the doctor who had treated Lu Wan’er was someone named Zhou. When he arrived at Dr. Zhou’s office door, since it was noon and patients were sparse, only a man in a black trench coat sat on the bench outside. He appeared engrossed in an English-language novel, not seeming like he was there for medical care. Luck didn’t pay him much mind.

With an appointment already scheduled, he knocked and entered the office.

"Hello, I’m the one who called earlier. I’d like to consult you about something," Luck said as he handed over his business card. Taking the card, Dr. Zhou read the impressive title—’General Manager of Qingyang Network Technology Development Consulting Co., Ltd.’ Paired with Luck’s designer suit and mature, stable demeanor, he seemed a man of status. Dr. Zhou’s tone immediately grew more polite.

Using such tactics was familiar ground for Luck. Unlike the stereotypical unkempt technophile or professional gamer, Luck’s frequent interactions with a variety of people while managing his studio had taught him the importance of maintaining a presentable appearance and making a good first impression.

A few words were exchanged, and the conversation turned to Lu Wan’er. "You said earlier she’s been discharged. Does this mean her illness has been cured?"

"How could that be?" The doctor seemed quite touched by the subject. "Her condition is not so easily remedied. One kidney is completely necrotic, and the other is nearly failing. Without a kidney transplant, there’s no hope for recovery. Probably ran out of money and went home to wait for death—it’s a story I’ve seen too often."

Luck sighed inwardly at the grim words, then calmly asked, "How much would a kidney transplant cost?"

He was mentally braced for the answer. Over the years, he had saved more than two hundred thousand yuan. If need be, he was willing to spend it. After all, averting misfortune through financial loss was surely better than being haunted by an angry spirit.

The doctor sighed, "All in all, it would likely cost about five to six hundred thousand yuan—the costly part is finding a compatible kidney. But looking at the situation, that family doesn’t seem wealthy. I doubt they could afford it."

What! So much money! Luck’s heart sank. If it were a matter of ten or twenty thousand, he could’ve gritted his teeth and paid it. Even up to two hundred thousand might have made him pause, but five to six hundred thousand was far beyond his means. And to make such a large sacrifice for someone he didn’t even know?

That felt almost unacceptable.

I’d save your sister if I could, but without the means, I’m helpless.

However, he figured it wasn’t time for despair just yet. That family must have some money of their own. It was better to assess the situation before giving up hope.

"Could you give me her family’s address, Dr. Zhou?" he asked after a moment’s thought.

"Well, our hospital always maintains patient confidentiality. I’m afraid I can’t give you that information."

Luck sneered inwardly at Dr. Zhou’s bureaucratic demeanor. "Here’s the thing," he explained, "I’m close friends with her brother. Before he had his accident, he entrusted me to save his sister. That’s why I brought money this time. If you could give me their address, I could get in touch with them and get the treatment started. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

So please, make an exception just this once, for the sake of helping someone."

Dr. Zhou seemed pleased by the prospect. "Alright, I’ll make an exception just this one time," he said, drawing open a drawer and rummaging through a pile of files. "Ah, here we are. This is the patient’s information. But you can only look at it here; you can’t take it with you."

After memorizing the address, Luck nodded to the doctor and excused himself. The man in the black trench coat was gone when he stepped out; he didn’t appear to be a patient after all. Luck didn’t think much of it; his priority was to find Lu Jiang’s sister.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped outside a somewhat dilapidated housing estate. The buildings appeared old, seemingly from the ’60s or ’70s. Xiao Buli, following the address from the information he had, was checking the building numbers as he walked. Suddenly, there was a loud ’bang’ from behind that startled him, "FUCK!"

He turned around to see that a flowerpot had somehow fallen from a balcony and shattered to pieces two meters away from him.

"Lucky I was walking fast," Xiao Buli silently congratulated himself, thinking, "What’s with today, first nearly hit by a car, and now almost hit by a flowerpot? My luck really sucks."

After searching for quite a while, he finally found Lu Jiang’s home in a very narrow stairwell and knocked on the rusty, stained security door. It took a while before someone responded, "Who is it?" A gruff, muffled voice came from behind the door.

"I’m a friend of Lu Jiang. I’m looking for his family," he said.

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, looking very down-and-out.

"Who are you?"

"I was Lu Jiang’s high school classmate. I heard he got into trouble, so I came to visit."

"Come in," the man said after sizing up Xiao Buli from top to bottom, not finding him to look like a bad person.

Stepping into the house, Xiao Buli was shocked to find the room empty, devoid of any furniture. It made the living room of over ten square meters seem even more spacious and bleak.

There were only a few old stools and a tattered sofa. A wooden crate was being used as a makeshift dining table, topped with a glass bottle and two cups.

"Have a seat," the man said as he somewhat embarrassedly moved the bottle and cups to the windowsill.

"I’m Lu Jiang’s father. So, tell me, what is it you want with him?"

"Nothing much, just that it’s been many years and I wanted to see him."

"He’s dead," Lu Jiang’s father said painfully, grasping the bottle.

"Dead!" Xiao Buli pretended to be shocked,

"Yes, dead."

How did Lu Jiang die? Xiao Buli suddenly asked.

The man’s face revealed a mix of grief and unwillingness, and he said with a bitter smile, "I don’t know."

"You don’t know?" Xiao Buli repeated, genuinely surprised this time.

The man then recounted the events.

"That day he came home looking very upset, saying he had been fired from his job, but he received 8,000 yuan in severance pay. After giving me the money, he said he was tired and went to sleep. The next morning when I went to wake him for breakfast, I found him already dead, in a very strange state."

Lu Jiang’s father wore a reminiscent expression and his voice turned to a murmur, "The look on his face was one of fear, as if he saw something terrifying before he died. Although it had only been one night, his complexion was so ashen it seemed like he had been dead for a long time. I was immediately stunned and hastily called the police.

Later, the forensic doctor said he died of poisoning, a strange fungal toxin usually found in the bodies of long-dead animals."

A sense of alarm struck Xiao Buli, and almost subconsciously he probed, "Corpse poison?"

Lu Jiang’s father paused, "Perhaps so."