The golden flash nearly blinded me with hope.
Then I looked closer and almost spat blood.
Gold, yes. But not gold bars or jewelry; just a palm-sized golden card and a single sheet of paper.
"Are you kidding me?!" I shook that gorgeous 40 cm × 30 cm carved wooden box like a lunatic. Empty. Completely empty except for those two measly items.
I picked up the card. Three black magnetic strips ran across it.
"Three strips?! What kind of card needs three layers of security? Even credit cards only have one…"
I flipped it over. Under direct sunlight, faint characters shimmered into view:
Life · Lost · Dream
"Wait… <
I unfolded the letter.
Dear "Killer AK",
Thank you for your continued support of <
As the undisputed #1 player of <
We hope you will once again carve your legend in the new world.
P.S. On September 30, 2012, bring this gold card to the first floor of Donghai Road Department Store to receive one free top-tier gaming helmet (95% realism). Offer expires after that date. This card cannot be replaced if lost. All interpretation rights belong to the company.
My eyes locked onto two phrases like a starving man seeing meat:
"FREE" and "CANNOT BE REPLACED."
Translation: Whoever holds this card owns it forever. And that "free" part? Everyone knew what it meant.
According to the endless ads, a basic <
On the black market they were already going for 100,000 each!
Why? Because nationwide only 10 million accounts were being released. B City, one of China's top ten cities, got a measly 100,000 slots. People had been lining up for over a month.
In other words—this card = one top-tier helmet = 100,000 yuan in my pocket!
A hundred thousand!
I could already see myself returning home in glory, buying land, building a house, giving Dad the best treatment, sending Sis to the best university…
My hands shook so hard I almost dropped the card. The humiliation from earlier evaporated like morning dew.
"Looks like today really is my lucky day!"
Mood instantly maxed out. The rest of the trash run felt like a victory lap.
When I rolled back to the gate, Grandma Liu gave me a bitter smile.
"Kid… I'm sorry. Starting tomorrow, you can't come help me anymore."
My heart sank. "Why?"
"Sigh… The property company found out I've been letting you cover for me. They said if I can't do the job myself, they'll replace me…"
I instantly knew who snitched—that spoiled young master from the pink villa.
"It's fine, Grandma. If I hadn't caused trouble today, you wouldn't be in this mess. These years you've taken care of me more than enough."
I was sad to lose my treasure mine, but the gold card in my pocket turned the sadness into smoke.
"Don't say that! If it weren't for you, this old back of mine would've given out long ago. Even if you can't come inside anymore, visit this old lady sometimes, okay? Grandma still has plenty of 'business' for you~" She winked playfully.
We both knew it was just to comfort me, but we laughed anyway.
I waved goodbye and pedaled toward my second gold mine—City No.13 Hospital.
An hour after I left, in the pink villa where I'd found the card:
"Mooom! Have you seen my wooden box? The one with the game card!"
A beautiful middle-aged woman didn't even look up from her fashion magazine. "I threw it away."
"Threw it… THREW IT AWAY?!" The fifteen-year-old boy, Zhou Ri, screamed like someone had murdered his dog.
Zhou Ri had spent the last year dominating <
"Yeah, threw it away. Xiao Ri, you're in ninth grade. Next year is the high school entrance exam. Your father and I decided—it's time to quit games and aim for Saint Yuzhong Academy."
Saint Yuzhong—the top aristocratic school in the country, always in the national top ten.
"If you don't get in, we're cutting your allowance and banning you from the internet forever," she added calmly.
"That's basically execution! Why don't you just blindfold me, stand me against a wall, and shoot me in the back of the head?!"
"We considered it. But then you'd ask for one last cigarette, and we don't want you picking up smoking so young."
Zhou Ri was speechless.
At that moment a shrill voice came from outside: "Mrs. Zhou~~ Hurry up, we're one short for mahjong!"
"Coming~!" She leapt up like her butt was on fire. "Be good and study, sweetie~ Mommy's busy!"
The door slammed. Zhou Ri let out a primal scream of despair.
Meanwhile, I was having a "great harvest" at the hospital waste area.
Mountains of glass vials, dozens of jin of plastic IV tubing—even if the price per kilo was low, it still added up to thirty or forty yuan. Not as good as Xinhua District, but still a solid chunk of my yearly income.
Soon I wouldn't need to come here anymore. Soon I wouldn't have to breathe the nauseating mix of medicine and rot…
"Ah shit!"
Lost in 100,000-yuan fantasies, I got careless. Something sharp stabbed my finger. A bead of blood welled up.
"Tch, unlucky." I cursed, sucked the blood, and kept working. Didn't think much of it.
At the same time, in the hospital corridor…
Dr. Tao Yusheng, the infamous skirt-chasing doctor of No.13 Hospital, was prowling for prey—preferably young intern nurses.
His usual trick: find a tiny mistake, threaten to report them, then offer to "cover it up" in exchange for a night.
Unemployment was brutal; most girls gave in.
A petite nurse named Chen walked past, trembling.
"Nurse Chen, where you off to~?"
She jumped like she'd been shocked. "H-hi Dr. Tao… just… disposing of medical waste…"
"Ohhh." He smiled like a fox.
She relaxed a little.
"By the way, are you in charge of Room 605, Building C?"
"Yes…"
"Then the waste you just dumped…"
"Yes, that patient's…"
"Did you even read his chart?! He has AIDS! All materials must be specially disinfected! What did your instructor teach you?!"
Her face went white as paper.
One mistake like this could end a nursing career forever.
"W-what do I do…" she whispered, voice breaking.
Tao's tone instantly softened. "Relax, everyone makes mistakes. Only you and I know. Keep quiet, I keep quiet, no one ever finds out."
"Really… you'd cover for me?"
"Of course~ Actually… are you free tonight? I've had my eye on you for a while. Let me treat you to dinner…"
She understood everything now. But she had just broken up with her boyfriend, and the mistake was real… She forced a stiff smile. "Okay… tonight at eight."
Tao grinned like a victor.
The next day.
I pedaled aimlessly through the old streets. Autumn in the south was still stupidly hot. My head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
"Maybe heatstroke…?"
The world suddenly went black. I toppled off the tricycle.
The last thing I heard before passing out was passers-by shouting:
"Someone fainted! Call an ambulance!"
Late afternoon, I wobbled home on my tricycle, body burning, mind still trapped in a nightmare.
A doctor in a white coat looked at me with professional pity.
"Mr. Liu Yun… I'm sorry to inform you that your HIV test came back positive."
"HIV? Some new flu strain?" I asked blankly.
"It's the virus that causes AIDS."
"…You're saying I have AIDS?! Impossible! You must've mixed up the samples! I demand a retest!"
"Mr. Liu, please calm down. We ran the test three times. All results were identical. There is no need for a fourth. Per national policy, today's emergency treatment is free, and we will provide half a month's medication. Please return regularly for follow-ups…"
He didn't bother saying "we'll cure you." He could tell from my patched clothes that I'd never afford the 100,000+ yuan annual treatment.
To a poor man like me, "AIDS" was just a polite words for a death sentence.
(Author's note: Don't worry, the protagonist getting AIDS isn't just for cheap drama. I want to let humanity beat this bastard disease at least once—even if I have to do it in the most unscientific way possible! Heh heh, don't I sound noble? 😏)