1 My choice is, both
The waning glow of the sunset filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting a mottled pattern on the worn carpet, mapping the passage of time into golden patches of light.
In the midst of this bustling city, John's dwelling was like a forgotten corner, secluded and silent. The ticking of the clock on the wall, tick-tock, tick-tock, seemed to count each second of loneliness. The room was engulfed in silence, the only sound being John's solitary breathing, echoing in the vast space.
To break the silence, John reached for the TV remote and flipped through the channels aimlessly, letting the broadcast fill the void.
On the screen, a live show was playing. "...And that concludes our city's 8,675,309th 'Thrilling Instance,' with 4.678% of participants awakening their talents. Let's give a warm round of applause to welcome back these brave 'Returnees'..."
As the camera panned, the so-called "Returnees" displayed a variety of expressions.
Some were checking their "spoils of war," laughing heartily. Just surviving meant they could live a life of financial freedom for the rest of their days.
A gambler, drowning in debt, raised his hands high, looking at the bottle filled with a green liquid, and let out an excited shout.
"Ha-ha, let's see who dares to look down on me now!"
Following that, a luxury car pulled up beside him, and a billionaire worth hundreds of billions pleaded with the gambler, "I'm currently suffering from cancer and on the brink of death, with only a month to live. I want to trade 10% of my assets for that bottle in your hands..."
"No, at least 20%, or no deal!"
While some rejoiced at their rewards, many more had faces clouded with persistent sorrow.
Some had already started to vomit off to the side.
Others stood in a daze, on the verge of tears, but no tears would come.
"Daddy! Mommy! Where are you?"
A child's plaintive cry pierced the night sky.
It was a scene all too familiar after the conclusion of each Thrilling Instance, and the media, scenting the trail of viewership, shifted the camera to a close-up.
A little girl, clutching a tattered teddy bear, searched among the group of "returnees" for the most familiar figures.
"Daddy... Mommy..."
Even as her voice grew hoarse, her calls remained unanswered.
Suddenly, a tear fell onto John's hand. He quickly wiped his eyes, no longer able to bear the sight, and switched the channel.
John stood up, picked up the photograph of him with his parents from the table, and wiped it again with his sleeve.
"Dad, Mom, where are you?"
...
John's childhood was filled with happiness, with parents who showered him with love and a older sister who was exceptionally kind to him.
However, in the year John turned 17, his parents vanished under mysterious circumstances.
In his quest to find them, John took a year off from school, searching far and wide, but all for naught. This quest left him with a mountain of debt.
Ultimately, persuaded by his sister's patient counsel, John abandoned the search for his parents and decided to return to school to pursue his studies.
John's stomach growled, snapping him back to the present from his memories. He hadn't eaten all day, and the troubles weighing on his mind made his hunger feel all the more acute.
He went to the kitchen, opened the barren fridge, then dressed and stepped out of the house.
With nothing left to eat at home, he needed to buy some food, or he'd be forced to resort to eating the expired dog food.
John first walked for 30 minutes, then took the subway to a sizable supermarket.
Pushing a shopping cart, he looked for discounted food items throughout the store.
As John examined the labels and prices on the shelves, his eyes suddenly bulged in shock.
"Constantine brand cigarettes, priced at $500 or 1 ghost Coin."
"Beef, priced at $2500 or 5 ghost Coins."
"Condoms (ultra-thin), priced at $1250 or 2.5 ghost Coins."
"Holy smokes! The prices have gone up again? Has the currency really devalued this much?"
While John lamented the devaluation of the currency, he couldn't fathom the allure of these so-called ghost Coins.
You see, John's country was once the most developed in the world. Even after the arrival of the Thriller World, which dealt a massive blow to social order and caused a significant decline in power, the exchange rate with other developed countries had remained around 1:3.
But now, the exchange rate between the dollar and these ghost Coins had reached an inconceivable 1:300!
John felt utterly disheartened. He touched the few American bills in his pocket, which now seemed almost as worthless as scrap paper.
John purchased some nearly expired milk, bread on sale, and a few daily necessities. These items only filled 10% of his shopping cart but cost him 99% of the cash he had on hand.
With a sigh, John silently left the supermarket.
Upon boarding the subway, he unexpectedly found his best friend from school, Karl, along with several other classmates there.
"What a coincidence, what brings you guys here?" John greeted his classmates proactively.
Karl, upon seeing John, displayed a look of shock, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
"We're heading to a party. Do you want to come with us?"
Just as Karl finished speaking, a piercing screech of metal grinding tore through the calm of the subway car. A powerful lateral force caused the car to sway violently, the screams of the passengers intertwining with the screeching of the emergency brakes.
Sparks flew from the friction between the subway wheels and the tracks, like a steel behemoth gone berserk and directionless. Then, with a sharp turn, one side of the car slammed into the rocky wall of the tunnel, throwing the interior into chaos.
In an instant, the forward momentum of the subway came to an abrupt halt, and all sounds ceased, leaving only the faint sound of alarms and the panting of the passengers.
Rescue teams arrived quickly and searched for an entire day, but to no avail.
Because every single passenger in the subway had vanished without a trace!
...
John awoke from unconsciousness to find himself in another world, one permeated with the stench of blood and decay.
Before him were two rings of light, one black and one white. The black ring exuded the shadow of demon, while the white ring radiated the glow of angel.
"Welcome to your first visit to Thriller World. Before everything officially begins, please choose your system."
"The white ring represents the Angel System. You can obtain random rewards by absorbing the positive emotions of your targets. The amount of the reward is related to the intensity of the positive emotions." (Positive emotions include fondness, adoration, etc.)
"The black ring represents the Demon System. You can obtain random rewards by absorbing the negative emotions of your targets. The amount of the reward is related to the intensity of the negative emotions." (Negative emotions include anger, fear, etc.)
"You have ten minutes to choose. Once a system is selected, the instance will officially begin."
After a brief moment of shock, John realized a fact: he was not dead; he had entered Thriller World.
And most crucially, before anything had even started, John already had the power to obtain a system.
The two rings before him, each emanating a power that could dominate everything, promised that by choosing one, he could completely rewrite his fate!
This must be a blessing from above, a monumental turning point in John's otherwise unfortunate destiny!
Standing at the convergence of the two rings, John carefully weighed the respective advantages of the two systems, determined to make a well-considered choice.
However, his consciousness suddenly became hazy, as if a mysterious force had taken control of him, compelling him to utter the words that shocked everyone: "My choice is, both."
After a moment of silence, the will of Thriller World seemed to be evaluating this unprecedented request.
Then, the rings representing the demon and the angel systems shone simultaneously, their colors beginning to merge, creating an unprecedented shade of purple light.
"This is an unprecedented choice. Current fusion success rate is 3.1415926%. Good luck," the voice of Thriller World's sounded once more.
