Chapter 2

Time came to the next day, midnight.

Gu Mo stood by the window with a thoughtful expression, looking at the cityscape outside. His eyes were filled with a very complex look.

Not far from the residential area, there was a street that was a night market, and at this hour, it was at its busiest. Each food stall emitted a steaming heat, the vendors' calls, and the bustling crowd noise, all accompanied by the aroma, drifted over here.

In China, going out at night is very dangerous, because it's very easy to gain weight.

However, Gu Mo wasn't thinking about that at all. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and stared subtly at the pedestrians on the opposite street. What he saw was truly magical. After waking up this time, the world in his eyes had undergone a complete transformation.

—A transformation that completely overturned his worldview.

To put it simply, as Gu Mo's gaze swept over the night market street, and his focus passed over each pedestrian on the opposite street, strange things would quietly appear above their heads.

They were symbols, followed by a red bar, with a percentage value in the middle of the red bar.

"??? (91%)."

"??? (99%)."

"??? (86%)."

"??? (89%)."

...

It was roughly like that.

On such a bustling night market street, at a glance, the densely packed red bars and symbols almost overlapped. Even from a distance, the symbols and patterns always appeared magnified in his field of vision, allowing him to see the details clearly and identify each symbol and its corresponding value.

So—

This scene looked just like something from a game. Gu Mo looked at the people, seeing the "IDs" and "health bars" above their heads... Was it because he didn't know their names, so the "IDs" were all question marks?

Come to think of it, when he came back yesterday, did he see the same thing above the taxi driver's head? It just flashed by too quickly, and he didn't see it clearly.

Wait! This is really off the charts!

"Hmm, it must be that I'm not using it right."

Muttering to himself, Gu Mo tried to convince himself. He rubbed his eyes, feeling that the situation was getting more and more wrong. How could a week of seeing doctors not only fail to solve his problems but also make them worse?

He hadn't even resolved his auditory hallucinations, and now he was having visual hallucinations?

Was this a sign that his account in "Earth Online" was about to be deleted?

With a messy mind, he left the window and subconsciously sat down by the bed, his gaze sweeping over the nearby computer desk.

In Gu Mo's field of vision, game-like information boxes kept appearing, flickering with a faint glow. The effects weren't glaring, but they were just right to enhance their presence and attract his attention.

"Press F to open." — This appeared on the handle of the drawer of the computer desk.

"Press F to pick up." — This appeared on the pen on the desk.

"Press F to use." — This appeared on the hardcover notebook on the computer and the desk.

Just a glance at this small space, and there were already seven or eight information boxes in his field of vision, each flickering with a faint glow.

Wasn't this a bit too much? And where was the F key, anyway?

Gu Mo's expression was complicated. He withdrew his gaze and thought seriously. He felt that the result of staying up all night a week ago was taking a toll on his body. It must be a sign of being too immersed in games... Although this guess was really unreliable, it was the only connection between the two events.

It wasn't that he didn't have other speculations, but the more one fantasizes, the more one often understands what "reality" is—

This world is neither gentle nor correct; miracles and magic do not exist.

How many people, when faced with such issues, first think they are the chosen ones rather than worrying about their health or mental state? Of course, a more important reason was that Gu Mo was only seeing things.

As for any further "golden finger" abilities, he hadn't seen any, and nothing like a "system" had appeared... Naturally, he very consciously believed that the possibility of his mind being the problem had increased.

"Whatever, let's go eat something first..."

The aroma of food from outside the window kept wafting in with the night breeze. Even with a full stomach of worries, Gu Mo couldn't help but feel hungry, his empty stomach protesting.

It was inevitable, given his irregular diet and sleep schedule. He only had eight hours of wakefulness each day, followed by sixteen hours of sleep.

Because of this, he often felt very hungry after waking up. Over the past week, the street opposite had gained a regular midnight diner, someone who would eat from one end of the street to the other... It made sense, after all, one meal a day.

And to think, despite such an unhealthy diet and sleep schedule, the doctor said he was very healthy. It was really bizarre.

First, he took a shower, then, feeling more refreshed, he changed clothes, grabbed his keys and phone, and left home, quickly walking down the stairs and out of the residential area.

At the entrance gate, he looked at the street across the road, trying to ignore the hallucinations that troubled him, pretending not to see them. Instead, he started thinking about what to eat, when he heard a cheerful laugh.

"It's Xiao Gu, going out for a midnight snack again? I must say, you can't keep doing this every day..."

Gu Mo looked up and, as expected, saw the security guard uncle. The uncle was sitting in the guard booth, looking out the window with a smile.

"Uncle Ding, you're on duty tonight..."

Gu Mo forced a smile and greeted him, his gaze involuntarily lingering on the uncle's head—

"Ding Hongxuan (76%)"

Was it because he knew Uncle Ding's name that it appeared clearly in his imagination?

Moreover, below the ID and health bar, there was an additional row of options, clearly flickering with a faint glow.

— "View Profile."

— "Add Friend."

— "Send Message."

— "Invite to Group."

— "Trade Request."

...

Well, trying to ignore it was futile; he couldn't pretend not to see it.

Gu Mo squinted his eyes and looked again, but the scene remained clear.

The people on the opposite street also had IDs and health bars above their heads, but with fewer details, perhaps due to the distance. He thought about this, feeling even more confused.

It seemed that the world in his eyes and the worldview in his mind were both gradually breaking down, but he had no way to correct it, only to watch helplessly.

"What's wrong, Xiao Gu? Is there something on my head?"

The security guard uncle felt a bit uneasy under Gu Mo's gaze. He subconsciously touched his head and looked up, but saw only the bright light of the ceiling lamp in the guard booth.

There was nothing there, so why was this young man staring at his head?

The security guard uncle, who had been feeling a bit bored from working the night shift alone, subconsciously looked at his phone, which was paused on a horror movie. At that moment, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Nothing..."

Gu Mo slowly shook his head and tried to focus on the first interaction option below the security guard uncle's ID, "View Profile."

In his unique field of vision, the air rippled like water, and a new interface unfolded, listing simple information in rows. From basic "identity information," including "blood type," "height," "weight," to extended "personal interests," everything was listed.

However, most of the information was displayed as "???," a row of question marks, not revealing all the details of the security guard uncle.

Only a few items, which looked like game data, were clearly displayed—

"Race: Human."

"Health Level: 1."

"Occupation: Civilian."

"Occupation Level: 2."

...

Finished, finished.

He must have damaged his body from staying up all night playing games, leading to mental issues.

Gu Mo suddenly looked tense, but the security guard uncle, seeing his expression, also started to feel nervous.

The security guard uncle was really starting to feel uneasy, his hair standing on end. Was Xiao Gu joking with him? But why did his expression look so real, staring at his head with such tension, as if he really saw a ghost.

"Xiao Gu, what's wrong? If there's something, just tell Uncle..."

The security guard uncle tried to sound calm, laughing and speaking.

"Nothing..."

Gu Mo shook his head again. He couldn't tell anyone about this; they would think he was crazy.

But maybe he could indirectly probe to see if it was just him who had a problem?

Nothing? Really nothing? The security guard uncle felt this was a dismissive answer. He sensed that something was off—this young man was too obvious, unable to hide his thoughts.

"Uncle Ding, have you had any issues recently... I mean, any health problems?"

Gu Mo, unaware of the misunderstanding his behavior caused, was carefully trying to probe. He chose to ask about the security guard uncle's health because he saw the "health bar" at 76%, not 100%.

The remaining part of the bar was yellow...

So Gu Mo speculated that if this was all real, it must mean the security guard uncle's health wasn't good. After all, the "health bar" could be seen as a "health value," and losing a quarter of it didn't look good.

So he asked, hoping to see if the uncle had been sick recently, to verify whether this was all his imagination or if he had gained some "special ability."

"How could I! I'm fine, Xiao Gu, don't say such things! I'm in great health, as they say, 'healthy and eating well!'"

There it was! He was definitely probing! The security guard uncle thought, dryly laughing and waving his hands, denying it, but his tone wasn't very firm.

He had indeed been sick recently, feeling less energetic, but he didn't want to admit it... Even though he felt uneasy, his rational side took over, making him resist the topic and atmosphere, unwilling to be led.

"Alright... Uncle Ding, get some rest early. The wind is strong at night, don't sit out too long."

Hearing this, Gu Mo felt a bit disappointed, forcing a smile. It seemed this was all his imagination and hallucinations, not real.

But—

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but look at the options below the security guard uncle's ID again.

— "Send Message."

Should he try it one more time?