[Blurb One] Ji Xun fears three things in life: pain, death, and spending money.
In real life, his family friend and older brother, born into a powerful financial dynasty, is gentle and considerate. Every month, he sends Ji Xun a huge allowance on time, along with cashmere turtlenecks he picked out himself. Over the phone, the man says with a cultured laugh, "Xunxun, does the sweater fit? Last time I touched the back of your neck, your bones were poking into my hand. I'll come over this weekend and take your measurements." Ji Xun obediently agrees, but after hanging up, a chill runs down his back. He turns and pulls a black box from a hidden compartment, one left behind by his comatose older brother. There is just one line carved into the lid in blood:
[Stay away from Yan Che. Enter the game and come find me.]
[Blurb Two] To bring his older brother back to consciousness, Ji Xun grits his teeth and climbs into an illegal infiltration pod. The moment he opens his eyes, a bolt of lightning strikes him back into reality. He's become a low-level odd-job NPC in a cyberpunk game, missing an arm, and a death warning flashes across his retina:
[Time remaining: 71 hours, 59 minutes.]
[Cause of death: Concealed military weapons on behalf of your supervisor. Shot dead on the spot by the General Administration.]
The tiny System hidden in his hair is frantic: [Waaah, Host, run! The plot is about to kill you!]
Ji Xun turns pale. His heart pounds out of control with fear as he secretly picks up an old nut from the ground and slips it into his pocket. Then, gritting his teeth, he faces the thuggish supervisor kicking his way through the door.
Later, players discover that a monster has appeared at the Red Neon Gang's ramshackle freight depot. With tears in his eyes, he softly says, "I'm so scared," while slicing down every BOSS in his way and grinding them up, skin and flesh, into credits.
[Blurb Three] Lu Chi, chief special inspector of the Public Security General Administration, is famous for keeping strangers at a distance and wearing immaculate white gloves. On the night of a raid in Water Street, a thin, mud-covered boy stumbles into his arms, lashes trembling with fear as he softly begs for mercy.
Lu Chi coldly sizes up the seemingly harmless little waif. Only after returning to his official car does he discover two things. First, his military-grade auxiliary security card has vanished from the side of his boot. Second, in the palm of the hand he never lets anyone touch, the boy has slipped an old nut polished to a shine with machine oil, worth two dimes.
Lu Chi rips off his white glove and laughs in exasperation. "Turn the whole city upside down. Find that fake little liar and bring him back to me."
Theme: Stand on your own two feet and take charge of your life.
