“Fatty!” Lu Qingjia poured a cup of warm water and placed it on the table, cautiously patting the other’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Under normal circumstances, such polite concern wouldn’t appear between close friends. This pig would have immediately run to the fridge to scavenge for food, fearing there wouldn’t be enough, so there would be no need for Lu Qingjia to entertain him.
But right now, Fatty looked clearly abnormal, with sunken eyes and a haggard spirit, as if he were a startled bird, mumbling incoherently.
Most importantly, this guy who weighed over two hundred pounds when they last met just a month ago was now so thin he resembled a zombie, all skin and bones.
If it weren’t for the familiar stench that could be recognized even if he turned to ash, Lu Qingjia wouldn’t have dared to believe that this ghostly figure was his childhood friend.
He sighed, feeling frustrated with Fatty. “I told you before, having a terabyte of resources on your hard drive is a bit excessive. I told you to delete some back then, and look at you now—”
“Get lost!” Fatty said, his eyes red. “Even if I die, I’m taking my hard drive with me to the grave.”
Lu Qingjia chuckled. “No need for that. We’re brothers; burning a dozen paper figures is no problem. No matter the height, weight, or race, I guarantee you won’t have to fend for yourself.”
Fatty paused, “Oh right, thinking about it that way doesn’t seem all bad.”
Lu Qingjia changed his tone, “But I only burn male figures.”
The image of a grave full of burly men immediately made Fatty’s skin crawl. “Can you stop sending me things I don’t like every time? I’m just doing you a favor by keeping them safe, and now I owe you a favor.”
Seeing that Fatty had regained a bit of spirit, Lu Qingjia finally asked seriously, “What’s really going on with you?”
At this, Fatty’s previously relaxed mood tightened again, and he shakily pulled out a few hundred-yuan bills from his pocket.
Lu Qingjia was about to ask if he knew he didn’t have much time left and was specifically handing over his remaining inheritance, but before he could speak, he noticed that although the bills looked and felt real, the top few words printed on them read “XX Underworld Bank.”
Lu Qingjia took one and examined it closely; if it weren’t for those words, the money could easily be mistaken for real.
Fatty had a mournful expression as he began to explain what had happened.
After graduating from university, Lu Qingjia inherited his uncle’s estate and opened a farm stay in a picturesque location. Fatty stayed in the city and became a primary school teacher.
This summer, just at the beginning of last month, Fatty brought a few colleagues to visit him.
One day, while fishing by the lake, he nearly drowned while swimming. Fortunately, he was saved just in time. It was a false alarm, and everyone scolded Fatty, warning him, but they soon forgot about it, including Fatty himself.
However, starting last week, Fatty began having nightmares. In his dreams, money would appear out of nowhere, but every night, an old woman would find ways to demand money from him. Each time he lost some money, his body would weaken a bit.
This weakness was completely unexplainable; it wasn’t just mental fatigue, but his physical size visibly shrank.
In other words, he had gone from being a two-hundred-plus-pound man to his current emaciated state, not over the month Lu Qingjia thought, but in just a few short days.
Fatty cried as he spoke, “I woke up the other morning and saw I had lost over thirty pounds. I was happy at first, then I pulled out a handful of money from my pocket, and it was the same amount as what was left in my dream.”
At this point, even the most carefree person would be terrified. After days of torment, Fatty had figured it out.
“This money is my life. If I spend it all, I’ll probably be done for.” Fatty clutched his scalp in despair. “I thought I could hold onto this last bit of money, but it’s too late, brother.”
“That old woman gets stronger and more aggressive every day. At first, it was just in my dreams, but now I might see her at any moment. On the street, in the mirror, under the bed—last night when I lifted the toilet lid to take a dump, I saw her there, and every time she opened her mouth to ask for money.”
“If this continues, I’ll either die or go insane.” Fatty looked at Lu Qingjia. “These past few days, a voice in my head has been telling me that the reason I’m suffering is because of that drowning incident.”
“According to that thing, my life was already saved once, and now it’s just a test.”
“A test for what?” Lu Qingjia asked.
Fatty looked at him in despair. “To see if I qualify to participate in the game.”
In other words, the horror and torment he was experiencing were merely the beginning.
Fatty clutched Lu Qingjia like a lifeline. “Brother, you’re the smartest person I know. You have to help me.”
“I’ve consulted Taoists and monks, tried all sorts of rituals, but they were all scams. I could only come back here to try.”
Lu Qingjia was well-liked, but he didn’t have many true friends; Fatty was one of them.
Moreover, when Fatty had previously asked for help, he hadn’t hesitated at all, so Lu Qingjia naturally couldn’t turn his back on him.
After comforting him, they agreed to go to the lake tomorrow to investigate, and Lu Qingjia let the exhausted guy rest.
Before leaving the room, Lu Qingjia took the remaining money from Fatty. According to Fatty, this money was tied to his life, and he was too scared to throw it away or destroy it, so he kept it close, but he was willing to hand it over to Lu Qingjia, showing his trust.
Lu Qingjia couldn’t figure out anything from the paper money. By dinner time, perhaps due to the money being away from him or simply because he couldn’t hold on any longer, Fatty fell into a deep sleep.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjia didn’t wake him for dinner, just had someone save him a portion, and then returned to his room to rest.
After failing to find any useful information online, Lu Qingjia fell asleep and found himself at a deserted bus station in the dead of night.
This station was in a remote area, with no buildings around, just the dark wilderness and hills in the distance.
The sign was old, with the name “Shanwei Slope Station” written in traditional characters. Every station name before and after it exuded a chilling aura, with the final destination boldly marked as “Ghost Gate.”
Lu Qingjia knew he was in a dream; it was a lucid dream, but this dream felt too real.
Even the flickering yellow streetlight nearby, due to its age, was uncomfortably clear to his eyes.
Behind the station was a small shop, about the size of an ordinary residential house, still open at this late hour. Lu Qingjia could see a middle-aged man dozing behind the glass counter.
Outside the shop was a sign glowing with a faint red light that read “748 Underworld Chain Supermarket,” as if it were afraid of scaring passersby to death.
Lu Qingjia reached into his pocket and, sure enough, the few hundred ghost dollars he had taken from Fatty had come into the dream with him. The expression on Mao Zedong’s face on the bills had turned somewhat eerie.
Now, Lu Qingjia, who had previously thought Fatty provided too little information, could discover things for himself.
He tucked the paper money back and was about to head toward the shop when an old woman suddenly appeared in front of him.
The old woman had a head of gray, dry hair, so sparse it almost revealed half her scalp, with some scabs on her scalp. Her face looked like dried orange peel, with sunken eye sockets, drooping corners, and a gaze that was both greedy and fierce.
However, seeing Lu Qingjia instead of Fatty seemed to surprise her a bit; her fierce expression softened, and she even forced out an ugly smile she thought was kind.
Showing her dark, decayed teeth, she feigned pity and said, “Young man, I don’t have money to take the bus home. Can you lend me two yuan for the fare?”
Lu Qingjia thought, he’s in his twenties, and he still looks so easy to fool?
He had always appeared obedient and well-behaved as a child, and as he grew up, he became a handsome, sunny, and optimistic young man, a sheltered flower who had never experienced the world’s hardships, often targeted by scammers.
However, those who thought like this would eventually shed enough tears to wash their faces and wake up a bit. In contrast, the seemingly unkind Fatty was the truly soft-hearted and kind person who liked to help others.
In a similar situation, especially in a dream, it felt somewhat unreal, so it was no wonder he was fooled at first.
Lu Qingjia smiled and said to the old woman, “Sorry, I don’t have any change.” He pointed toward the shop. “They should have some. You can ask the owner to borrow it; he’ll definitely have it.”
Upon hearing this, the old woman’s orange-peel face immediately fell, and she spat at Lu Qingjia, cursing, “You can’t even handle two yuan? You’re so stingy! I’m old, it’s late at night, and I’m cold and hungry. I can barely stand, and you’re kicking me out? It’s just two yuan! Think about it—if your mother or grandmother were out here and faced this, would you want someone to treat them like this?”
Don’t be fooled by the old woman’s appearance, which looked like she had just crawled out of the grave; her mouth was quick, just like the tricks used by scammers at bus stations to target students.
Once someone softened and agreed to lend, the amount would be raised, claiming the person misheard. They might flatter or use moral coercion; generally, young people with thin skin would fall for it.
However, Lu Qingjia’s attention wasn’t on that. Originally, he was just trying it out, but the old woman’s attitude confirmed something for him—
She truly didn’t dare to use the same trick to extort the shop. Looking at the shop’s name, it was clearly not ordinary; since it was a chain, it must have some scale, and it was very likely “government-run.”
Lu Qingjia had a keen eye; he could see most of the products inside the shop through the open door.
In addition to daily necessities, groceries, and stationery, there were actually incense, paper money, and candles, and in the corner, he could vaguely see paper figures and paper cars.
As if sensing Lu Qingjia’s gaze, one of the paper figures seemed to move its eyes and even blinked at him, appearing oddly cute.
Lu Qingjia calmly withdrew his gaze, pretending to be on the defensive against the old woman’s accusations.
He quickly conceded, “Alright, alright, I’ll lend it to you, is that okay?”
Saying this, he pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, mumbling, “But I really can’t give you all of it; this is all I have left.”
“How about this? I’ll go buy a bottle of water at the shop and get some change. You wait for me here, okay?”
Upon hearing this, the old woman quickly said, “Oh, I’m thirsty and hungry right now. Young man, please, just buy me something to eat too!”
“Fine, I’ll get you some bread and mineral water.”
“I’ll go too; you don’t know what I like to eat.” The old woman insisted on following Lu Qingjia.
Lu Qingjia had no choice but to agree, but in that slightly awkward smile, a glimmer of amusement flashed in his eyes, something the old woman, who felt she had the upper hand, didn’t notice.
The shop was less than fifty meters from the bus station sign, and they arrived in just a few steps.
Lu Qingjia knocked on the glass counter and called to the middle-aged man who was dozing, “Boss, I want to buy something.”
Then he turned to the old woman, who was looking at him impatiently, and said, “Grandma, you can go in and get it yourself, but don’t take too much; I don’t have much cash on me.”
Upon hearing this, the old woman seemed to have been released from some restriction around the shop, and she dashed inside, frantically grabbing items from the shelves.
She completely ignored Lu Qingjia’s words, acting as if she intended to empty the shop.
In fact, the old woman’s thoughts were understandable; she was taking advantage of Lu Qingjia’s ignorance of the situation, trying to get as much as possible, hoping to drain his money.
Once she had the items, if Lu Qingjia refused to pay, she could just throw a tantrum. If he couldn’t hold out and gave in, that would be it.
Given the current situation, no police would come to handle disputes; the shop owner would naturally see them as a pair.
The old woman wore a smug expression, her eyes greedily scanning the products, grabbing as much as she could, even opening and consuming some on the spot, as if she hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years.
Lu Qingjia pretended to call out to her a couple of times to rein her in, but the old woman acted as if she couldn’t hear.
Lu Qingjia could only sigh helplessly and said to the owner, “I apologize; my grandma is like this, but don’t worry, we’ll take everything she opens.”
He acted as if his previous explanation had been in vain, giving up and saying, “Forget it, I’ll just stock up on some cigarettes. Give me two packs of Zhonghua.”
Upon hearing this, the owner glanced at Lu Qingjia. At this moment, Lu Qingjia’s appearance was similar to how he looked during the day.
He had inherited his uncle’s estate; although he had to hide in the countryside for various reasons, he was quite capable of making money. He wasn’t rich, but he was certainly not modest about being an ordinary wealthy person.
With his well-dressed appearance and striking looks, Lu Qingjia had never been questioned about his spending power, and this time was no different, even though he had just claimed he didn’t have much cash.
The owner immediately opened the glass cabinet and took out two packs of cigarettes. At market price, these two packs were worth over a thousand.
Lu Qingjia opened one pack on the spot, put a cigarette in his mouth, and thought that at least two points could be proven.
First, this shop indeed didn’t share the same stance as the old woman. Second, they didn’t know much about the situation of dreamers like him; so far, they treated him like any other customer, but they had a certain deterrent against beings like the old woman, who couldn’t enter the shop alone.
So, combining the sign and the shop name, a guess gradually formed in Lu Qingjia’s mind.
Lu Qingjia slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, watching the old woman still frantically tearing open packages, trying to make him pay for the pile of items soon.
Feigning boredom, he said, “That paper car looks nice; I want to burn it for my grandfather. Can you take it down for me?”
The paper car was in the far corner of the shop, piled with paper figures and paper houses, requiring a stool to reach.
Seeing Lu Qingjia being so generous, and with his grandma still in the shop, the owner didn’t suspect anything. He turned and grabbed a stool to take down the paper car.
But when he turned back, where was the young man’s figure at the shop entrance? Along with him, of course, the two packs of cigarettes had also disappeared.
The owner’s heart sank, and he quickly looked at the old woman, who was still stuffing her face with food. He hurried over and grabbed her hand. “Where’s your grandson?”
The old woman, with her mouth full, mumbled, “Don’t worry about me, don’t worry about me. Someone will pay soon.”
The owner sneered, “As long as someone pays, that’s fine. I’m worried that kid isn’t related to you.”
“He just took two packs of cigarettes; it’s not much, just over a thousand.”
The old woman had worked hard these past few days to scam Fatty, and now she was losing everything and would have to pay out of her own pocket. She turned to look at the empty shop entrance, completely dumbfounded.
The next morning, Fatty woke up looking visibly better, and he ran into Lu Qingjia, who was having breakfast.
Excitedly, he said, “Coming here was definitely the right choice. I slept so well last night; for the first time in ages, I didn’t dream about that old woman. When I got up to wash this morning, I didn’t see her in the mirror either.”
Lu Qingjia held a cup of coffee in one hand and a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes in the other. Fatty knew this guy didn’t like smoking, let alone Zhonghua, and was puzzled about when he had changed his taste.
Then he heard Lu Qingjia say, “I couldn’t pay for the things I bought, so the shop kept them.”
Fatty: “…?”
It’s only the first chapter and Xiao Qing has already unleashed his abilities!! I’m already attached, muah~!
Your name is what the woman felt when she saw the empty shop XD