Chapter 1

"Ah, these days, life is really tough. I finally found a job with a monthly salary of over ten thousand, and it's just gone... What a mess!"

In an old, standalone residential house, a young man in his twenties with fairly clear features stood in front of an empty, broken wine cabinet, drinking beer while complaining.

Su Peng sat beside him, eating the dried beef on the table, listening to the man talk.

The young man was Xiao Lin, a colleague of Su Peng from a short-term job.

"Wasn't the job you found pretty good? It was also a game studio, and the salary was particularly high. How did you get fired?" Su Peng asked Xiao Lin while eating and drinking beer.

"Don't even mention it. Although the job had a high salary, the content was quite bizarre... I had to play a game that hadn't been released yet, and sign a very strange contract... The game character couldn't die, not even once. If it died, I would be kicked out of the studio. But today, my game character died!"

Xiao Lin had already drunk two bottles of beer and was a bit tipsy.

"What kind of game has such strict requirements?" Su Peng slowly ate the beef jerky and asked Xiao Lin, but no one noticed that he seemed to be deliberately leading the conversation.

"It's a martial arts game... with extremely high simulation, absolutely a next-generation game. Honestly, except for the no-death requirement, the game is flawless in terms of graphics and gameplay. And the sci-fi-like game equipment... I still want to play it, even without a salary... But I checked, and that game isn't available outside the studio."

Xiao Lin said, then quietly leaned in and whispered to Su Peng, "Brother Su, let me tell you, that game might be the latest generation of online games. The settings are all new, super awesome... The details are impeccable. If it ever gets released, Brother Su, you and I can start a game studio and focus on this game. What do you think, Brother Su?"

"Another game studio?" Su Peng seemed to think for a moment and said, "Let me think about it."

"You can't do it without Brother Su." Xiao Lin said, not out of politeness, but because he knew some of Su Peng's abilities.

Su Peng joined the game studio through a 'short-term job,' which was quite famous, called "Nirvana Rebirth." Xiao Lin was a high-end player, and Su Peng, after joining "Nirvana Rebirth" for less than three months, became the top DPS and the best player!

Moreover, if Su Peng hadn't strongly declined, he would have almost become the vice president of "Nirvana Rebirth."

"Nirvana Rebirth" was a studio that frequently appeared in all valuable games, with a high reputation in the gaming industry. It had over sixty members, all of whom were experts and elites in the gaming world. Su Peng's ability to become the top player in just three months was a testament to his exceptional skills!

One thing that other players almost couldn't compete with Su Peng was that he almost never slept!

When Su Peng was in his teens, he had a car accident that injured his brain. His brain tissue was damaged and mutated due to the accident.

Su Peng could only sleep for one hour a day, and just one hour of sleep was enough to fully restore his energy!

Doctors said this was due to the mutation of Su Peng's pituitary gland caused by the accident, which led to abnormal hormone secretion.

This was a rare condition, but it gave Su Peng an unparalleled advantage in gaming!

With nearly twice the playtime of others, Su Peng became more proficient in games.

Thus, he was the top player in "Nirvana Rebirth"!

"Nirvana Rebirth" gradually declined among the numerous free games that emerged recently. Despite excellent skills and techniques, they couldn't resist RMB players, and the studio president made a series of poor decisions. Two months ago, "Nirvana Rebirth" disbanded, and Su Peng and Xiao Lin went to different companies. This was their first meeting since the studio's dissolution.

Actually, there was one thing Su Peng had never mentioned: "Nirvana Rebirth" collapsed because of a series of poor decisions. An opposing RMB player organization seemed to have foreknowledge, always outmaneuvering "Nirvana Rebirth" in the game, leading to numerous mistakes and a loss of over 300,000 RMB.

And that RMB player was Su Peng's client, a private detective!

In this case, Su Peng received 500,000 RMB as a fee from the RMB player.

Xiao Lin knew nothing about this.

Su Peng had no intention of telling him. His purpose in joining "Nirvana Rebirth" was to make the studio collapse, which was just a case to him, causing him no psychological stress.

Of course, the connections and friends he made during the "job" were a different matter.

Xiao Lin gradually became more drunk, rambling about the game, saying how hard it was to level up, and how he was killed by a character similar to Mei Chaofeng, who used the Bone Separation Technique to break his limbs and then the Heart Crushing Palm to kill him in one move.

"Brother Su... I shouldn't have said so much... The company has a contract. If the game content is leaked, there's a penalty of 10 million RMB. I'm just talking to you, don't spread it around," Xiao Lin said, already quite drunk, while pouring himself more beer.

"Okay," Su Peng nodded, noticing that the beer and beef jerky were almost gone. He told Xiao Lin, "Lin, wait a moment, I'll go buy more beer."

As he spoke, Su Peng walked out.

Outside the old house, it was already dark. Su Peng shivered, suddenly remembering that he had left his wallet in his coat inside the house. He turned back and entered the house again.

Just as he entered, Su Peng suddenly heard Xiao Lin's terrified shout, "No! Don't come closer! Don't get near me!"

"Who is he talking to?" Su Peng frowned and quickly ran to the living room.

When he reached the living room, Su Peng saw Xiao Lin, terrified, crouched in the corner, seemingly looking at someone in front of him, but there was no one there!

"Brother Su! Brother Su, save me!" Seeing Su Peng run in, Xiao Lin seemed to see a savior, shouting loudly and crawling over.

But at that moment, it was as if an invisible, transparent person was in the room. Xiao Lin's body was lifted by an unseen force and raised up the wall!

"What?" Su Peng felt a chill down his back. He saw no one, but Xiao Lin was lifted by some supernatural force and floated up the wall!

"Don't... don't kill me!" Xiao Lin shouted in pain, but it was useless. His limbs were twisted into strange angles, breaking like matchsticks!

"Ah..." Xiao Lin screamed in pain. Suddenly, his chest caved in, forming a hand-shaped mark. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his body went limp!

"Xiao Lin!" Su Peng shouted, kicking a wooden chair to pieces and grabbing a leg, running over to Xiao Lin!

Su Peng swung the chair leg wildly in front of Xiao Lin, fighting the invisible monster!

The supernatural force seemed to have disappeared, and Xiao Lin's body slid down the wall.

"Xiao Lin! Xiao Lin!" Su Peng leaned over Xiao Lin, checking his breath. Xiao Lin struggled to open his lips, trying to say something.

Su Peng leaned in, hearing Xiao Lin's voice, like a mosquito, saying a few words: "..."

After speaking, Xiao Lin spat out black blood, with some heart fragments, and his body slumped, completely lifeless!

Su Peng looked at Xiao Lin's body, a chill running from his tailbone to the top of his head. He heard clearly that Xiao Lin's last words were: "Don't touch that game!"

...

Leaving the police station, it was almost eleven at night. Su Peng squinted, his previous fatigue and headache completely gone!

He didn't care about being considered a lunatic by the police.

However, Xiao Lin's death had a profound impact on Su Peng.

The police didn't know about the relationship between Su Peng and Xiao Lin.

Although Su Peng joined "Nirvana Rebirth" to bring it down, the younger Xiao Lin had a fan-like admiration for Su Peng.

At the time, for some reasons, Su Peng privately hired some young men to pretend to be members of other studios that had been destroyed by "Nirvana Rebirth." Under his control, they found the internet cafe where Su Peng and others were and surrounded them.

Su Peng stepped out first, got hit, and pretended to be injured and unconscious. Unexpectedly, Xiao Lin, in a frenzy, swung a chair, creating a path to save him from the internet cafe. In the hospital, Su Peng's forehead wound seemed severe, bleeding a lot, and the injured Xiao Lin pulled the doctor, asking him to draw his blood to transfuse to Su Peng.

Although Su Peng found it somewhat amusing to pretend to be unconscious, he was genuinely moved.

Faced with Xiao Lin's death, Su Peng couldn't remain indifferent.

Moreover, Su Peng had another reason to investigate.

"What is really going on?" Su Peng looked at the pale moon in the sky, the scene of Xiao Lin's death still vivid in his mind...

Su Peng didn't go home but headed to an office building.

Using a key, he opened the glass door of the office building and entered. It was already past midnight, and the building was almost empty. The sound of Su Peng's leather shoes on the marble floor triggered the motion-sensor lights, making the hall eerily quiet, like a scene from a horror movie.

Su Peng took the elevator to the thirteenth floor. The elevator was large and empty, reflecting Su Peng's back. He smiled, saying, "If my back turned around now, it would be a cliché horror movie."

"Ding!" Unfortunately, his back didn't turn, and the elevator reached the thirteenth floor. Su Peng walked out and went left to a door with a sign that read "A Room Office."

Strangely, this office had no access card. Where there should have been a card reader, there was a large display screen showing a complex Sudoku game.

Su Peng glanced at the Sudoku game and quickly typed in several numbers on the keyboard. The office door soon opened.

Su Peng walked in.

Inside the office, he didn't turn on the lights but skillfully made himself a cup of coffee and brought it to a desk.

"You're back, Mr. Apple, half an hour later than the agreed time," a slightly hoarse voice said.

Su Peng's body stiffened, then he smiled and turned around with the coffee, saying, "You always appear so suddenly. I almost spilled my coffee."

"That's your own problem. You set the office door to a Sudoku game. Although the Sudoku changes every ten seconds, making it not easy, you're underestimating people. There are always smart people in the world."

A man in a trench coat walked out from a shadow in the room. His head was hidden in the hood, and his face was not visible.

"That door was never meant to keep anyone out. If someone can complete my favorite game within the time limit, why not let them in? There's nothing valuable here," Su Peng said with a smile.

"Let's not waste time on your personal hobbies. How is the investigation of the game I asked you to look into progressing?" the man in the trench coat asked Su Peng.

A week ago, this man in black suddenly appeared in Su Peng's office, paid him 500,000 RMB as a deposit, and asked him to investigate a mysterious game.

"The lead is temporarily lost... I searched all the games on the market, and the game you mentioned doesn't exist, so it hasn't been released. However, one of my informants seemed to know about this game. I met him today, but he died in a supernatural way in front of me."

Su Peng didn't mention that Xiao Lin wasn't his informant and that he only learned about Xiao Lin's job by chance.

This was a small tactic, a way to protect himself.

At this moment, his smile became more relaxed, and he suddenly asked, "What does this have to do with the game?"

"It's better for you to know less," the man in the trench coat said, stretching his collar. "I'll bring you the final payment in a week. This matter is now concluded."

With that, he left Su Peng's office.

Su Peng squinted, drinking his coffee, watching the man in the trench coat leave his office.

...

Seven days later, returning home from Xiao Lin's funeral.

Xiao Lin was an orphan with few friends, so his landlord handed his belongings to Su Peng.

Recalling this scene, Su Peng couldn't calm down, so he sat up and opened the black bag.

Inside the black bag were a PS2 game console, a few discs, some clothes, two magazines, a newspaper, and a ring. That was all.

Su Peng had no interest in the game console and took out the two magazines and the newspaper, flipping through them.

The magazines were about games, and Su Peng knew Xiao Lin had a habit of buying such magazines, so he didn't pay much attention and put them aside. Then he picked up the newspaper.

Opening the newspaper, he noticed that it was a job recruitment newspaper with many places marked with oil pen.

Bored, he flipped through it, and suddenly a piece of information caught his attention!

"Huh? There's a game studio hiring? With such a high salary?"

Su Peng saw a recruitment ad in the bottom right corner of the newspaper, marked with oil pen, which read: "Tianyi Studio hiring game players. Excellent conditions, starting salary of 8,000 RMB per month. Requirements: under 25 years old, proficient in games, and studio experience preferred."

"Is this the studio Xiao Lin worked for?" Su Peng thought, feeling a sudden urge.

Su Peng had a gut feeling that this company might be closely related to Xiao Lin's death.

"I'll check it out. This matter needs an answer!" Su Peng thought to himself.

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