“Ah?”
Chen Huaian was utterly dumbfounded.
Wait, they really sent it?
Even small workshops handle materials like this?
Moreover, this game was definitely made by hackers; isn’t that a confirmed fact? They just opened his box!
Usually, a normal person would feel fear in situations like this.
But Chen Huaian was not afraid; he had a messed-up life anyway. If worse came to worst, he’d just be done for, so why be scared?
“Hey! You must be hiding in the hallway, right? Come out and talk! This game is too pay-to-win; can’t you change it a bit? I really don’t have much money!” He shouted into the dark hallway, his voice echoing back down the corridor, but no one replied.
“Fine, if you won’t come out.” Chen Huaian pouted and slammed the door shut.
He knew these hackers wouldn’t come out; he was just testing the waters with his shout.
“I’ll see how this goes.” He sat on the sofa, opening the box, still a bit curious. Since the other party had specially sent over a custom-made item based on a game character, it showed they were indeed very invested in this game, which meant the quality of this gift must be quite high!
Inside the box was a square object resembling an aromatic sachet.
It was exquisitely made, but when Chen Huaian turned it over, he couldn’t help but twitch his lips.
The sachet had three traditional Chinese characters written on it—Chen Huaian.
Below that was a line of smaller text: “Safe and Sound.”
Clearly, this was a talisman, but the characters on it…
Chen Huaian thought he could write better than that when he was in elementary school.
It looked as though it had been scrawled by a dog, crooked and messy; the craftsmanship was elegant, but just seeing the writing instantly downgraded it.
“What’s inside this thing, though?”
He tried to open the bag, but the material was tougher than he had expected and wouldn’t tear. So, to try to determine what was inside, he leaned in to smell it.
The moment he did, it was incredible.
A faint, delicate fragrance rushed into his nose.
Not too sweet or cloying, it was elegant and understated, with zero aggressiveness—like a girl silently expressing her longing.
He couldn’t quite describe the scent, but Li Qingran’s image naturally appeared in his mind.
He even had the illusion that the smell was exactly like Li Qingran’s!
“Oh, my God!”
Chen Huaian was shocked. What kind of game could achieve this level?
He had heard of games that gave gifts; his college roommate had even received things like the original flavor of stockings from female characters, which had a scent. But that was different; it was just the smell of cheap perfume, which didn’t evoke any associations. This talisman, though, was completely different.
He tried various positions to smell it, and his mind remained on Li Qingran.
Even when he opened the profile to face his favorite teacher and then sniffed, he still thought of Li Qingran.
“Amazing!” Chen Huaian smacked his thigh.
Come on, guys, with this technology, why not scam for money in the game?
Promote the game for free, launch a perfume brand—wouldn’t that rake in tons of money?
In the end, Chen Huaian chose to wear this talisman.
No particular reason; it just really gave him the feeling that it was personally made by Li Qingran!
…
In less than half a day, Chen Huaian had prepared everything.
He casually found a barbershop downstairs from the hospital and shaved his head, posted the cancer diagnosis on his live stream homepage, and asked a doctor to help film an inspirational vlog, which he uploaded as his first video, grit his teeth and invested a thousand yuan for promotions.
At noon, he found a noodle shop to eat a couple of bowls of mixed noodles.
By the afternoon, he boarded a flight to Panshan.
His live stream account homepage was very bold and a bit cringy.
[Youth has no price; life is only once. My name is Chen Huaian, and I have been diagnosed with late-stage cancer. In the remaining time, I will defy fate, laugh in the face of death, and challenge various physical limits, making my life as luminous as possible. Today’s challenge: summit Panshan in five hours!]
By the time he arrived at the foot of Panshan, it was already seven in the evening.
His goal was to start climbing at midnight.
Climbing to the top would allow him to view the sunrise over Panshan,
In this way, he could accomplish a small dream of his.
As for how much he could earn, he wasn’t sure, but the gimmick of climbing Panshan with late-stage cancer was rare, plus his legs really hurt. Both ankles were completely swollen, making it very inconvenient to wear shoes. Given this physical condition, let alone climbing, even walking a bit would be excruciating.
He found a chair at the foot of Panshan and lay there for three hours.
After ten o’clock, feeling recharged, Chen Huaian took out his phone again.
He first opened the game and checked on Li Qingran.
The girl was already awake, sitting on her bed meditating; her table was filled with already cleaned plates, and next to them was a basket of fruit, of which only a small amount had been eaten.
These were all things he had provided for Li Qingran today.
What a hardworking girl.
Well then, he needed to work hard, too.
His initially anxious mood calmed down the moment he saw Li Qingran.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Huaian smirked slightly and opened his live stream account.
After half a day of buildup, his vlog had already caught many people’s attention.
Including tonight’s live stream, there were surprisingly over a hundred reservations.
Though this number couldn’t be compared to normal outdoor streamers, he was already quite satisfied.
As the saying goes, the first step is the hardest!
[Streamer, how do you prove you’re a late-stage cancer patient? You’re not just here for sympathy and to scam money, are you?]
[Climbing Panshan with late-stage cancer is one thing, but you want to reach the top in five hours? Did I read that right? You’re not suffering from bone cancer, are you, buddy? Scams need logic, too, right?]
[Hahaha, so fake!]
…
The comments were pretty much what Chen Huaian had expected.
Shortly after opening the live stream room, various doubts came pouring in. He didn’t reply but patiently sponsored another wave of promotions in the stream.
Once the number of viewers broke into the hundreds, he finally spoke:
“Hello everyone, my name is Chen Huaian, and I will attempt to summit Panshan in five hours as a late-stage cancer patient, streaming the whole thing live without edits. My homepage has my diagnosis, payment records, and examination results. If you suspect my diagnosis is fake, you can apply to the relevant hospitals for verification, and I will accept any solid evidence!”
After saying that, he turned the phone around to show his legs.
Then, he rolled up his pant leg, removed his shoes and socks, revealing his swollen ankles covered with burn-like lumps, and continued pulling up his pant leg until it exposed the swelling on his right knee.
“As you can see, my physical condition is very poor right now; each step brings immense pain to my nerves and puts a heavy burden on my body.”
Chen Huaian switched the camera back, rubbing his bald head with a laid-back smile: “But I will prove myself, I will step on the head of illness, laugh at the helplessness of fate, and give death the middle finger. At that moment, at sunrise, I will share this moment with all of you behind the screen!”
With all the necessary medical documents prepared,
His legs covered in swollen lumps, his glaring bald head,
And Chen Huaian’s carefree smile…
All four aces were in play.
The entire live stream room suddenly fell into silence.
