"This..."
"This middle-aged man's lifespan... only has 3 minutes and 23 seconds left?"
"No!"
"3 minutes 22 seconds, 3 minutes 21 seconds, 3 minutes 20 seconds..."
Tristan Mariana's heart pounded violently, his breathing growing more and more rapid. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.
He stared with wide eyes, fixed intently on the middle-aged man named Colin Smith.
Watching the number representing his 'remaining lifespan' counting down second by second above his head.
Cold!
Cruel!
Merciless!
Tristan Mariana's body went numb as he began to doubt the ability he'd just gained.
Because that middle-aged man in the distance had a ruddy complexion. Apart from seeming somewhat agitated emotionally and constantly checking his watch, he looked quite healthy—certainly not like someone who would drop dead in just over two minutes.
Time ticked away second by second as Tristan Mariana kept his eyes locked on Colin Smith.
The rain continued to pour, drops falling endlessly from the black night sky. The water hitting the pavement sounded like a series of firecrackers going off.
Just as the time above Colin Smith's head was about to hit zero, something changed.
He glanced at his watch, then at the rain, and with a determined clench of his jaw, grabbed his briefcase and charged into the downpour. His target was clearly the bus stop across the street, near the curb.
The asphalt road, constantly washed by rain, looked exceptionally clean.
Colin Smith was already soaked through. He jogged to the curb and without hesitation, stepped onto the road.
Tristan Mariana's eyes widened.
In his vision, the time representing Colin Smith's lifespan had only four seconds remaining.
Three seconds!
Time itself seemed to slow down in that moment.
HONK!
A red sports car suddenly appeared from around the corner like lightning, its two massive headlight beams piercing through the curtain of rain!
An ear-splitting horn blast suddenly rang out!
All around, everyone taking shelter from the rain turned to look toward the street.
Colin Smith also looked in the direction of the approaching car.
But the red sports car was moving too fast—there was no time to react!
A deafening CRASH!
Then the sharp screech of brakes!
The middle-aged man's body flew high into the air, his briefcase flying from his hand. His body came crashing down heavily...
Bright red blood flowed from Colin Smith's body, staining the ground...
The red sports car left a trail of skid marks on the pavement before finally coming to a stop.
Two seconds!
One second!
Zero! Blood red.
In Tristan Mariana's eyes, the words representing Colin Smith's 'remaining lifespan' finally reached zero and turned blood red!
Someone got out of the red sports car.
People rushed over from all around.
Others pulled out their phones, dialing 911.
But only Tristan Mariana knew it was all pointless. The moment that middle-aged man's body hit the ground, he had died instantly.
Tristan Mariana had witnessed Colin Smith's complete death process. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over each of the concerned bystanders gathered at the accident scene.
Looking at the countdown timers floating above each of their heads...
His mouth went dry, his body felt ice-cold.
...
Tristan Mariana stood rooted to the spot, his expression uncertain.
He watched as police cars and ambulances arrived at the scene in the distance.
Watched as the paramedics from the ambulance spread their hands helplessly.
Tristan Mariana glanced at the still-falling rain, then plunged headfirst into it.
He flagged down a cab and spent over a hundred bucks getting back to his shared apartment.
He went straight to his room and sat at his desk. Replaying that scene in his mind, Tristan Mariana couldn't help but tremble.
But gradually, he calmed down...
Those eyes that had been so lifeless and dead just moments before—deep within those black and white pupils, more and more excitement and ambition began to surface!
The corners of his mouth turned up!
His lips split into a grin!
Tristan Mariana clenched his fists once more, veins and blood vessels bulging!
His breathing grew heavier and heavier...
"This is a chance to change my fate, to break free from this cage."
Tristan Mariana muttered to himself.
Tristan Mariana began to systematically explore his newly acquired ability.
Purchasing Time
Selling Time
Time Acceleration
Time Deceleration
These four were the abilities Tristan Mariana had extracted and summarized from the mysterious information in his mind.
The first ability, Purchasing Time:
This meant that Tristan Mariana could act like a merchant and purchase time from others.
The second ability, Selling Time:
This meant that Tristan Mariana could act like a merchant and sell the time he possessed to others.
The third ability, Time Acceleration:
This meant that by stacking the time he possessed, he could produce an acceleration effect.
For example, by stacking two portions of time, Tristan Mariana's environment would be separated from the outside world's temporal environment. When two minutes passed for Tristan Mariana, only one minute would pass outside.
The fourth ability, Time Deceleration:
This meant he could slow down his own time by a factor of two, three, or more.
For instance, when one minute passed for Tristan Mariana, two minutes would pass in the outside world.
And this time... referred to the time a person could exist in this world, or what could also be called their lifespan!