Chapter 5

Thursday afternoons were set aside for staring into space .

This time every week, he would normally refrain from being involved in any work or activities . Instead he would burrow in a place of his liking and waste his time away to his heart’s content .

These places could be the park, the temple, the museum… and, of course, it could also be a maid café like the one he was in right now .

Just the eye-candies in that place alone made it Zhang Heng’s favorite place—which was also why this was the place he went to daydream most frequently .

“A cup of Forbidden Love, and a plate of Gege1 Can’t Do It Today, thanks . ” Zhang Heng tried to keep a straight face and not give away the fact that he had no idea what he was ordering .

“Yes, Master . Please hold on . ” The maid with cat ears answered subserviently, hugging the tray she was holding to her chest .

Professional! Zhang Heng gave her a big mental thumbs up . The maids working in the café were mostly part-time university students—a major topic of discussion among the neet community .

In comparison, the owner of that maid café down Chun Xi Road was less sincere in his efforts . He employed a whole bunch of ladies in their thirties and forties to make up for the number . It was even said that the owner himself would pitch in when they were short-staffed, torturing his customers’ mental wellbeing with his thick bush of leg hair . Dining there was more like volunteering for torture .

While he waited for his orders to arrive, Zhang Heng picked out a copy of ‘Shokugeki no Soma1‘ from the rack nearby . He was flipping through the pages when someone said, “What a pity . I prefer his former works . ”

Zhang Heng looked up and found a stranger in the form of a small old man in a Tang suit1 paired with a tie and a homburg sitting across the table . His unremarkable, half eastern-half western dressing gave him an uncanny appearance .

All eyes in the café were drawn to this strange little man .

Zhang Heng’s eyebrows rose to his forehead . “Shun Saeki1? He used to be a Bilibili mangaka . ”

“Then it looks like my memory does not fool me . ” The old man grinned, revealing a row of yellowed teeth . “So, how has this month been, Zhang Heng? Are you pleased with my little gift? Don’t worry . That thing that you’re worried about won’t happen . The extra twenty-four hours is a gift . It won’t deduct your lifespan . ”

“Did you do something to me?”

“That’s not easy for me to do . But you are the one that I choose, it is only right for me to give you a gift . Isn’t that right?”

The old man reached out and picked up the cup of Forbidden Love from the serving tray a maid walking past was carrying, startling the waitress .

Zhang Heng smiled at the girl apologetically . “Thank you . We won’t be needing anything for the time being . ”

“I won’t take advantage of you . After we’ve finished our conversation, you’ll still be able to drink your beverage . ” The old man mumbled something unintelligible and then said, “Now, let’s get down to business . I’m quite pleased with your performance this month . Now, since the trial period is over, let’s discuss the conditions of transfer . ”

“Conditions of transfer?”

“Yes, simply put, I need you to help me win the next round of game . This game will bring you a generous return . Other than that, you can still continue to use that little gift I gave you . ”

When the old man saw Zhang Heng open his mouth to speak, the old man waved him off . “I know your family’s situation . Money is not very attractive to you . Not to mention, with this ability, it’s going to be effortless for you to acquire money . But trust me, the things that this game can bring you is beyond your imagination . ”

“What game?” Zhang Heng asked .

“In the distant past, we used to employ war to solve conflicts . It’s simple and effective . My god, how I miss those good ol’ bloody days . But the times continued to develop and change, and a civilized society shouldn’t be using those barbaric, primitive means, right?” The old man paused, and proceeded to gulp down the entire cup of Forbidden Love . “Which is why nowadays, we use games to decide the winnings or losses . The person sitting on the throne right now is that despicable bloke; because of the ancient pledge, I cannot reveal the content of the game in advance . Strictly speaking, this meeting is also prohibited . But don’t worry . I can handle this little problem . ”

“If this game is so important, why don’t you participate in it yourself?”

“Like I said, I’m restricted by some ancient pledge, we cannot participate in the games ourselves . You are like my representative . I’m betting all my chips on you . When you win, I win; but if you lose, I lose too . The both of us are like locusts tied to the same rope . We’re on the same boat . But I don’t have very good luck . My rankings in the game have been pretty bad recently . ” The old man sighed . “As you can see, I am growing weaker . So, this time, I’ve decided to limit my bets earlier even though it’s a big risk, and you might be eliminated halfway . ”

“Who are you?” Zhang Heng studied the man .

“For the time being, you can think of me as your investor and partner . As for the future, I can only tell you one thing—the longer you persist in this game, the closer you will be to the truth about this world . Alright, we don’t have much time . Now, tell me your answer . ”

Zhang Heng looked at the old man in the eye . He has just been given a long speech that sounded very absurd with the maid café’s atmosphere . But the fact that the old man knew his name and had good insight into what had happened to him, this comically dressed old man was not joking .

Zhang Heng thought about it for a moment before answering, “Sounds interesting . How do I join?”

“It’s very simple . Let me find the checkpoint closest to your school…” The old man took out a Xiaomi cell phone from his pocket and opened the Baidu Maps app . “Sex and the City bar, checkpoint 137, eleven o’clock tonight . You don’t regret this decision . Oh, I almost forgot . ” The old man reached out a hand . “The last step: concluding the contract . Once we shake hands, you belong to me . ”

Zhang Heng put out his right hand . “Please refrain from using these terrible, ambiguous statements . I’m already starting to regret it . ”

When they shook hands, Zhang Heng felt as if he was holding onto a hard, icy rock .

The old man was in good spirits . “Be careful of other representatives . You probably won’t meet at the initial stage of the game . But no matter what happens, you have to prioritize survival . ” (Editor Note: Omg why does this remind me of Mirai Nikki?)

“Wait a minute . You can die in this game?”

“No, just dead in the game . To be precise, it’s more like disappear . Your physical body will disappear and all the memory related to you will disappear as if none of it ever existed . I happen to know a guy who’s an expert in this . ” The old man said in the most casual manner .

“…”

Zhang Heng was about to say something when his eyes dimmed for a moment, and the old man suddenly vanished right in front of him .

A maid walked up to his table with a deep red beverage, her smile revealing to cute pointy little fangs .

“Master, your Forbidden Love . Please enjoy . ”