Klasse 0 der 10

Kapitel 21

Number 189 turned out to be an internet cafe. Ma Nan stood in front of the door for a while, stunned, before finally going inside. The internet cafe was small and rather shabby, and it was full of people, mostly underage children. When Ma Nan came in, no one paid him any attention. He awkwardly wandered around inside for a bit, and when he got to the counter, there was no one there.

Ma Nan called out "Boss" twice, and a blond kid playing Counter-Strike next to him responded with a sound of agreement, but didn't even look up, continuing to charge forward recklessly. Ma Nan wasn't in a hurry, standing behind and watching with interest, until the kid was stabbed to death from behind.

He turned on a computer, which happened to be in a corner. Ma Nan sat down, and a rather young girl next to him kept glancing at him. Ma Nan smiled awkwardly, feeling that at his age, sitting among a group of young people was really a bit embarrassing.

He opened QQ and logged in using the QQ number the Ba people had given him. It wasn't even 10 o'clock yet, and the Ba people's avatar was gray, so he didn't know if they were offline or invisible. Ma Nan hesitated for a moment, then sent a message: "I've arrived at No. 189 Tieyi Lane. If you want to talk to me about anything, let me see Chu Yan first."

The message was sent, but there was no response. Ma Nan stared blankly at the screen, his ears filled with the roar of gunfire. The young men in the internet cafe were busy charging into battle, as if fighting brought them immense joy.

Ma Nan was lost in thought when the image of the Ba people suddenly started moving. Ma Nan subconsciously checked his watch; it was exactly 10 o'clock.

“Your request is not unreasonable. If it were me, I would also want to see Chu Yan first.”

Ma Nan perked up and immediately started typing: "I know the hatred in your hearts, but Ba Rong, who killed your people, is dead, killed by Yu Lei. If you don't know the whole story, I can tell you in detail."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then a reply came: "We know."

"Since you know this, why do you still bother our lives? We brothers and sisters are all orphans. Ba Rong adopted us. We just want to live like normal people, but we have become Ba Rong's pawns for no reason and have been caught up in his feud with you. We have already paid the price. Four of my brothers were killed by Yu Lei."

"Can your dead brothers compare to my people? Do you know how many of my people died on Peach Blossom Mountain?"

Ma Nan remained silent. He understood in his heart that the Ba people, having lived a secluded life for so long, despite some exposure to modern civilization over the past decade, still retained a simple and honest nature. Law and morality couldn't influence their behavior; good and evil, passion and hatred, were their guiding principles at this moment. In the eyes of the Ba people, both he and Chu Yan were enemies. Moreover, Chu Yan had indeed participated in Ba Rong's conspiracy; she was undeniably responsible for the deaths of the Ba people.

Ma Nan didn't want to dwell on the past, so he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Didn't you want to see Chu Yan first? I'll grant your wish right now."

Ma Nan was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, the video window suddenly opened, and a woman appeared in the window.

The woman was not very old, around twenty-five or twenty-six, with fair skin and delicate features. She sat in a chair, her hands bound to the back of the chair, her head drooping, motionless. The background of the scene was unusually dark, as if only a single light was on in front of the woman, leaving the rest of the room in darkness.

Ma Nan's eyes widened. The woman was none other than Chu Yan, who had left Peach Blossom Mountain half a year ago.

Ma Nan initially believed that Chu Yan, like him, was an adopted child of Ba Rong. However, she was actually Ba Rong's biological daughter. Unable to disobey her father's wishes, she betrayed her brothers, but at the last moment, she saved Ma Nan from danger. Ba Rong, who appeared at the end, revealed the truth: Chu Yan had secretly loved Ma Nan since her youth.

Ma Nan didn't tell Hong Mian about it later, but he felt a strange sense of guilt towards Chu Yan.

In truth, Chu Yan was a child with a tragic fate. Having such an unusual father destined her to endure far more hardship than others. At this moment, in the internet cafe, Ma Nan saw Chu Yan on the video and felt a sudden urge to cry. Chu Yan was noticeably more haggard than she had been six months ago. The past six months must have been incredibly difficult for her; she had lost her father, her siblings, and was all alone, now fallen into the hands of the Ba people.

Although Ma Nan could not forgive her for aiding and abetting evil and causing the deaths of his four younger brothers, he could not bring himself to hate Chu Yan. In fact, looking at her at this moment, he felt a great deal of pity for her.

"You've seen her, so you can rest assured now."

The video window suddenly closed, and the other party sent this message.

"Then why did you call me here? What do you want me to do?" Ma Nan typed on the keyboard.

After waiting a while, two words popped up in the dialog box: "Game".

Ma Nan was momentarily stunned, his hands hovering over the keyboard. The sounds of gunfire still echoed in his ears, and behind the monitor, the heads of the young men bobbed back and forth, clearly engrossed in the game.

“If you want to see Chu Yan, then you must play this game with me,” the Ba people said.

"What kind of game?" Ma Nan asked.

"To me, it's a murder game, but to you it's different; it should be called a rescue game."

"Whom do I kill, and whom do I save?" Ma Nan hesitated as he typed.

"Save the person I'm killing!"

Ma Nan felt a chill run down his spine, and his hands trembled slightly as they rested on the keyboard. A sudden, inexplicable fear gripped him; even through the internet, he could almost smell the stench of blood—the Ba people's resurgence must have been part of a meticulously planned scheme; otherwise, why would they treat killing as a game?

Although he was timid, he still wanted to know what kind of game it was.

“There are no rules in this game; victory is the only goal. If you lose this game, then you may never see Chu Yan again in your life,” the Ba man said.

Ma Nan was speechless. He had of course considered the consequences of losing the game, but what Ba Ren said next was something he hadn't expected.

“If you lose the game, you will lose more than just Chu Yan’s life.”

"What else?" Ma Nan typed mechanically.

There was no response for a long time. Ma Nan stared nervously at the chat box, feeling uneasy and fearful. He knew that the Ba people must know his feelings, which was why they were deliberately stalling for time. And waiting was clearly agonizing for him.

Finally, a line of text appeared in the dialog box: "Besides Chu Yan, who else in this world do you care about more?"

Before Ma Nan could reply, a picture popped up. In the picture, Hongmian and Xiaotong were sitting at a fast food restaurant facing the street. Xiaotong was talking to her mother, and Hongmian was laughing happily.

Ma Nan's heart clenched suddenly. Although he had expected it, seeing the photos of his wife and daughter still shocked him.

Seeing the time in the bottom right corner of the picture, he felt a mixture of fear and anger. The time was yesterday afternoon, when Hongmian was photographed with Xiaotong while they were shopping.

“If you dare to lay a finger on a hair on their head, I swear I will make your entire clan pay the price.”

"You're angry now, good. Your anger can turn into courage and help you win this game."

Ma Nan was trembling all over, and for a moment, his mind went completely blank.

It felt like a long time had passed, or perhaps just a moment, before Ma Nan slowly calmed down. He knew that fear or anger would be useless at this point; he had to obey the Ba people's arrangements and enter the game, which was the only way for him to protect his family. Therefore, before starting the game, he had some questions to ask them.

"I want to know what the game is about?"

"You'll find out soon enough, there's no need to rush."

"Then how do we determine victory or defeat?"

“Your sister, Chu Yan, is currently in a place no one knows. If you can find her, then you have won this game.”