1 Chapter 1: Opening
"You mean... you have the same dream every day? And you wake up exactly at 00:42 every time?"
The man wearing a cartoon cat mask looked at Lin Xian.
"Wow, that's awesome, buddy! You can kill whoever you want in your dreams! Do whatever you want! You can even experience all sorts of crazy games! Ah... just thinking about it gives me a rush!"
Click.
The man loaded the magazine into the pistol and chambered a round.
"But, tonight, you don't need to seek excitement in your dreams anymore. I'll show you some real fun!"
He pointed across the street to the bank.
"My guy has pried open the bank door. Come with me!"
Lin Xian nodded, adjusting his Ultraman mask and following the man's lead.
"What should I call you, big brother?"
"On the streets, they call me Big Face Cat."
The man grinned, the muscles on his face squishing the cartoon cat mask into a more two-dimensional form.
"Just call me Face Bro."
"Face Bro, what's my task?"
"It's not time for you, the password expert, to act yet. Just follow me and don't wander off."
Rustle, rustle...
A brisk walk later, Lin Xian arrived at the bank entrance with Big Face Cat.
"Is everything set?" Big Face Cat asked.
His henchman nodded.
Big Face Cat pressed the pistol against his henchman's forehead—
Bang!!
Blood splattered the wall!
He casually wiped the gun barrel and patted Lin Xian's shoulder.
"With one less person to share, we can split a lot more money!"
"Wasn't he your henchman?"
"This guy's hands aren't clean. For our safety, we can't keep him."
As Big Face Cat spoke, he led Lin Xian inside.
The two arrived at a junction in a corridor.
A masked man was tampering with the electrical box.
"Is it ready yet?"
Big Face Cat urged.
Click.
The masked man cut a wire, wiping sweat from his brow.
"It's done. The alarm system is deactivated!" Bang!!
Another shot to the back of the head! The electrical box was now covered in blood!
"Big bro, don't you find this a bit unsettling?"
Lin Xian pointed at the body on the ground.
"Is your henchman also not clean?"
"This guy's relatively clean, but he was hitting on your sister-in-law! Should I let him live?"
"Is it tough being a big brother?"
"Oh, don't sweat the small stuff! Aren't you happy we have one less person to share the money?"
Lin Xian pushed away the hand on his shoulder.
"You're not planning to knock me off later and keep the money for yourself, are you?"
"Absolutely not!"
Big Face Cat thumped his chest and then retrieved a grey object wrapped in adhesive tape from his waist. He handed it to Lin Xian.
"What's this?"
"C4 explosive."
Big Face Cat pointed at the switch and explained to Lin Xian.
"I'm an honest man, Face Bro. I never stoop to dirty tricks! If you ever think I'm trying to kill you, just press the switch and blow both of us up! Feeling reassured now?"
"Alright, sounds reliable."
Lin Xian gave a thumbs-up and accepted the C4 explosive.
Rustle, rustle...
The two continued forward.
A masked man emerged from an underground passage.
"Boss, I've cut off the main power supply—"
Bang!!
Brain matter splattered the ground.
"Bro, this guy—"
"It's fine, Face Bro."
Lin Xian waved his hand, indicating he was used to it.
"Just tell me how many people are left to split the money."
"It's just the two of us! Hehehe... Just the two of us!"
Big Face Cat hurried Lin Xian along.
"Look, we're at the warehouse! It's time for you, the password expert, to shine!"
Before them...
stood a thick black wall, with a silver-coded door in the center.
"What's the code?"
"Ha! If I knew the code, why would I need you, the password expert?"
Big Face Cat pointed at his watch.
"Quit messing around, buddy! Hurry up! We don't have much time left! Once the main power is restored, the security system will automatically trigger the alarm!"
"I know you're in a hurry, but you need to chill."
Lin Xian approached the coded door and started tinkering.
Big Face Cat paced back and forth, his facial muscles contorting under the cartoon cat mask.
"How long are you going to take?"
"10."
"10 minutes!?" Big Face Cat exclaimed, "That's too long!"
"9... 8... 7..."
???
Big Face Cat looked shocked as Lin Xian sprinted out!
Then he turned and saw the C4 explosive stuck to the coded door!
And the continuously changing red numbers on the detonator!!
"Shift!"
He lunged at the wall—
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
The deafening explosions pierced his eardrums!
Countless bricks and iron pieces rained down on him!
"Cough... cough... cough..."
Big Face Cat wiped blood from his face and roared:
"I... You... Are you trying to say you're a password expert? You cracked the code like that?!"
"Efficiency is not your strong suit."
Lin Xian walked over, covering his ears, and pointed at the collapsed wall:
"Look, the warehouse is right there."
Big Face Cat cursed as he struggled to get up:
"Not a single reliable expert among you..."
...
Lin Xian stepped into the gaping hole in the wall.
It was his first time entering a bank vault, but it was nothing like he imagined...
"Why is there no money at all?"
The warehouse was empty.
No stacks of banknotes as he imagined, no piles of gold bars as in the movies.
On the walls around the warehouse were neatly arranged safes, one after another. Lin Xian approached to inspect.
Each safe had a different name written on it.
Wang Shuo.
Liu Liping.
Wei Shengjin.
Lin Xian.
Wang—
???
Lin Xian stepped back, staring at the name on the previous safe.
[Lin Xian]
Genuine.
Why would his name be on this safe?
Click.
Behind him, a hot gun muzzle pressed against his scalp.
"Face Bro, have mercy."
Lin Xian raised his hands, surrendering:
"Face Bro, you have to be reasonable. I have no dirty dealings, I didn't seduce your sister-in-law. Even if you're cleaning house, you shouldn't pin it on me, right?"
"Alright, Face Bro, I admit, I lied to you. I'm not a password expert at all... I was just strolling in the square, picked up an Ultraman mask randomly, and then you showed up and dragged me into the car without a word!"
"But I didn't know this Ultraman mask was your [code phrase]! Honestly, I just joked around with you for fun, I didn't harm you."
"Besides... if you had brought the real password expert today, who knows if they could crack the code by dawn? Meeting me was your lucky break!"
Plip, plop—
Copper-bell-like laughter echoed from behind:
"I'm not that dumb! If a password expert can't crack the code by dawn... what kind of expert are they?"
Then, the hot gun muzzle left Lin Xian's scalp.
Lin Xian turned around.
The person behind him was a slender woman, with her hair tied up and wearing the same Ultraman mask as him.
"Where's Face Bro?"
The woman nodded toward her feet.
Big Face Cat lay in a pool of blood, holding a gun with a big hole in the back of his head.
"You killed him?"
"If I didn't, it would've been you."
The woman kicked the corpse aside. "He was planning to kill all of you and take the money for himself. Not a good guy."
"You guys are a pain to deal with..."
"Don't lump me with them, I'm not with them."
The woman pushed past Lin Xian and headed to the safe on the wall.
"I'm meeting him for the first time too. I don't know him, I only know the cartoon cat mask."
"Can your secret code be any more retro?"
The woman ignored Lin Xian.
She and Lin Xian brushed past each other, their gazes scanning the safes on the wall.
Finally, she stopped at the safe labeled [Lin Xian].
Inspecting the eight combination dials on the safe, she grunted and tossed aside her handheld computer:
"A mechanical lock... of all things."
Pressing her ear against the safe, she clicked the combination dials.
"What's in this 'Lin Xian' safe?" Lin Xian approached from behind.
"Don't know."
"Do you know Lin Xian?"
"Don't know."
"Why are you opening his safe then?"
"Why so many questions?"
Through the Ultraman mask, the woman glared at Lin Xian:
"Just stay out of the way!"
She continued fiddling with the combination lock.
Lin Xian watched the eight combination dials on the safe, pondering...
"Try 19990320."
"What?"
The woman looked at Lin Xian incredulously.
"I said, try the code 19990320 for that safe."
"What's that number?"
"My birthday," Lin Xian replied confidently.
"..."
"..."
"Are you crazy?!" the woman asked sincerely.
"Listen."
Lin Xian took a deep breath.
His serious gaze pierced through the Ultraman mask, looking straight at the other Ultraman:
"The alarm could go off at any moment. Nobody jokes around in this situation. Our goals are aligned, and honestly... I'm even more curious than you about what's inside that safe."
"Trust me."
Lin Xian took a step forward, his face solemn:
"This code absolutely cannot be wrong!"
...
The woman looked at Lin Xian without saying a word.
But evidently, she was convinced by Lin Xian's confident demeanor.
"You... say it again."
"19990320."
Click, click...
The woman set the eight combination dials, glanced back at Lin Xian, and pressed the lock—
Click!
It didn't open.
"What the—"
Lin Xian froze, realizing the code was wrong!
The woman's eyebrows twitched, and she took a deep breath:
"I should've let Cat Bro beat you to death earlier!"
"He insisted on being called Face Bro..."
"Enough!!!"
The woman couldn't take it anymore and pulled out her gun, pointing it at Lin Xian!
Through gritted teeth, she said:
"One more word! And I'll kill you!"
Lin Xian raised his hands, backing away two steps.
He wasn't afraid of death.
But he was more curious about what was inside that safe.
...
Click, click, click...
The woman kept trying to crack the code, but to no avail.
Lin Xian sat on the ground, chin in hand, also at a loss.
Click!
With a crisp sound of a circuit connecting, the piercing alarm rang out throughout the area.
It seemed the main power had been restored, triggering the automatic alarm.
The woman punched the safe in frustration and sighed.
Lin Xian checked his wristwatch:
[00:41:53]
He stood up, stretching lazily:
"No more time left, let's try again tomorrow."
"Hehe! Tomorrow?"
The woman laughed as if hearing a joke of the century, sneering:
"After blowing this place up like this! You think you'll have another chance tomorrow?!"
"You indeed won't have another chance..."
Lin Xian smiled faintly:
"But I will. I can have it every single day."
He waved to the woman:
"Bye-bye~"
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
The sudden arrival of white light! The whole world turned bright!
There was no time to feel any pain, no time to react!
The scorching white light engulfed everything!
Evaporating everything in its path!
...
...
Exhale...
The night wind rustled the window curtains, dancing shadows.
Moonlight filtered through the glass, casting frosty light.
Below, the shouts of men playing games and drinking in the night market could be heard.
The rush of water from the neighboring bathroom pipes echoed.
The manuscript on the desk fluttered in the wind, the notebook opening and closing like a clamshell.
On the bed in a corner of the bedroom...
Lin Xian opened his eyes...
He sniffed and sat up, looking at the digital clock on the bedside table—
[December 7, 2022]
[00:42:01]
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[00:42:02]
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[00:42:03]
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[00:42:04]
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