Chapter 21 (2/2)

…

When Zhang Heng’s vision had been restored, he found himself sitting by the bar holding the cup of water and lime he’d taken a sip from.

The first thing he did was to reach out and touch his face. That thick stubbled and coa.r.s.e skin weathered by the wind, and the sun was gone.

The bartender lady, obviously considerate, took out a compact mirror from her purse and pa.s.sed it to him.

With the help of the little mirror, Zhang Heng was able to confirm that he looked no different from when he first walked into the bar. He was still dressed in his sports attire and running shoes. His swiss army knife was still safely tucked away in his pocket.

“So, what was that? A strange dream?”

“No, you did disappear for two hours… not just from this building or this bar – you could not be found in every corner of this world.” The bartender took back her compact. “Now, you must have a lot of questions, but unfortunately, I cannot answer most of them. You will have to find that out for yourself in the game.”

Zhang Heng listened, speechless.

“What I can tell you is that this game takes place once every month. You can pick whatever time you like to come to the checkpoint and join the game. It won’t always be the s.e.x and the City bar, though. There is more than one checkpoint in every city. If you can’t find them, you can always give customer service a call and use the special login service after paying a sum. Failure to log in on time will result in your disqualification. Also, game partic.i.p.ants, by default, must accept a strict non-disclosure agreement. You’re forbidden to disclose anything related to anyone other than the players and staff. Mm, I think that about sums up the basic restrictions. Don’t hold on to your fluke mind.”

The bartender rubbed her chin. “What else is there. Let me think… oh, other than log-ins, the game venues also provide other services. You can consult customer service for more details.”

Peeled off a sticky note and scribbling down some numbers, she continued, “This is the number. Don’t call for nothing because I am your customer service.”

“You have an awful lot of jobs.” Zhang Heng noted in surprise.

“It’s not like I have a choice. Houses in big cities are so expensive.” The bartender sighed. “Alright. Is there anything else?”

Zhang Heng searched his pocket and took out a furry item. “Tell me. The services you mentioned. Do they also include item identification?”

Everything from the game, not excluding even the beard and the scar on his shoulder, the collection of stoneware he made, and the knife that Bell gifted him, did not make it back with him to reality.

Everything had just been sitting quietly in his pocket

“Game item?” The bartender gasped. “It looks like you’ve got yourself quite the bounty this time. These kinds of things are very uncommon. Most people can’t even find one after several rounds of the game. I do provide an identification service here, but it’s going to cost you five game-points. Do you have it?”

“How do I pay?”

The bartender took out a tablet and after a few taps, brought up a payment interface. “Just enter your player ID number. No need to worry about other people using your number, though – you have to be present for the payment to be effective.”

Probably because he had seen too much since he set foot in the bar, Zhang Heng had already turned a little numb.

He had already memorized the set of numbers and quickly regurgitated them. After keying them in, the bartender slid on a pair of gloves before placing the rabbit’s foot into a small wooden box.

“This will take some time, about two to three days. I’ll text you when it’s done.”

Drawn to her movements, Zhang Heng had a sudden ominous feeling. “Wait. Now, why are you bring so careful?”