Xing Shuo, I need your help.

 

After seeing Xing Ye, Xing Shuo was visibly stunned for a moment. He adjusted his glasses before saying, “He looks extremely similar to my older brother.”

Director Hao asked, “Then… do you think he…”

Xing Ye understood Director Hao’s cautious attitude. He was a major taxpayer in the city; if he had truly suffered an accident and lost his memory, while another “Xing Ye” still existed at home, that would be a major case. And if he were not Xing Ye, yet shared identical fingerprints with Xing Ye, that would also be a major case.

Either way, for the municipal bureau, it was not good news. Unless Xing Ye himself had accidentally slipped while walking, fallen into a river, climbed back out, hit his head, and lost his memory—only then could everyone coexist peacefully without incident. As for how Xing Ye would be treated afterward, that would no longer be the bureau’s responsibility.

After observing Xing Ye for a while, his younger brother Xing Shuo said, “My brother really hasn’t been home recently. His company can’t reach him either. We originally planned to report it, but he’s an adult, very capable physically, and we didn’t receive any ransom calls, so we weren’t sure whether something bad had happened. And since it hasn’t exceeded 48 hours, we decided to wait and see.”

Director Hao said, “Then your meaning is…”

Xing Shuo replied, “My brother isn’t feeling well. I’ll take him to the hospital for a checkup first. Once his condition improves, he’ll come back to reapply for all his documents.”

Since the family did not pursue the matter and acknowledged the situation, everyone at the municipal bureau let out a sigh of relief. Xing Shuo signed the paperwork, promising to contact the bureau immediately if anything arose, and the bureau also promised to inform him after investigating the cause of Xing Ye falling into the water.

After the procedures were completed, the young Xing Shuo led Xing Ye—who had visibly lost a great deal of weight—out of the municipal bureau.

It was just noon. Xing Shuo asked, “Have you eaten lunch yet? Want to go eat?”

Xing Ye looked at his younger brother’s expression. Xing Shuo resembled him by about forty to fifty percent, but his features were softer. With a pair of glasses, he looked refined. The glasses he chose this time were slightly small, square black frames which, when he lowered his eyes, concealed most of his emotions.

Reserved, well-behaved—just like the younger brother in Xing Ye’s memory, the younger brother he had always idealized.

Xing Ye couldn’t tell what Xing Shuo was thinking at the moment—was he suspicious, or did he believe him? And what purpose did the system have in arranging this younger brother for him?

Xing Ye said, “Eating isn’t urgent. I want to buy a phone—it’ll make contacting people easier.”

Xing Shuo pushed his glasses up with his right index finger and smiled gently. “Sure.”

Buying a phone wasn’t troublesome. They casually entered a phone store, picked one, and bought it. Xing Shuo even used his own ID to register a SIM card for Xing Ye, then drove him to a high-end restaurant.

It was Xing Ye’s first time being taken care of by someone like this, and the feeling was novel.

After getting the phone, he immediately scanned the QR code on his wristband and reinstalled the “Challenging Fate” app. Upon opening the game interface, a notification appeared: the beginner mission had been completed; the skills “Mirror Reflection” and “Repainting Brush” were unlocked; 100 points were awarded; and the next mission was issued—to gain the trust of his younger brother Xing Shuo. The mission reward was 1000 points and the “Knowledge Power” QR code.

“Knowledge Power” was Xing Shuo’s initial skill, its specific ability unknown. Yet this time, it had become a mission-reward QR code. What exactly was the system trying to do?

Xing Ye touched his chin, put down the phone, and noticed that every dish on the table was something he disliked. He couldn’t help but reveal a gentle smile.

Nine years ago, he had still been a student—high IQ, arrogant, and extremely picky. Any dish he disliked, he wouldn’t even touch. Nine years later, after being tempered by society, Xing Ye could now eat food he disliked without changing expression.

He had always believed that his younger brother didn’t know his preferences. Now, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Xing Shuo had played the game before; the system must have analysed his data in detail. Even if the brother before him were fake, the system wouldn’t falsify something so trivial.

So Xing Shuo truly knew what he liked and disliked, even though Xing Ye had tried his best to conceal it.

Xing Ye neither deliberately hid nor displayed anything. Following his usual habits, whether he liked the food or not, he ate a restrained amount to replenish his strength. Who knew what he might encounter in the game? You needed to be full to have the energy to fight.

After the meal, Xing Shuo said again, “Home is too far; we can’t make it back at noon. I have a place near my school. You can go rest there first, and I’ll take you home tonight. How about that?”

Hm? Hadn’t the municipal police said earlier that Xing Shuo had already graduated from graduate school? Xing Ye remembered that he didn’t plan to pursue a PhD for the time being. He wanted to follow his advisor for a while, mainly working on restoring historical documents at a museum, with no plan for further study.

His current workplace should be a museum, not a school—so why go back to a place near the campus?

Xing Shuo had always had money. Xing Ye never interfered in how he spent it. Back in university, since the campus was far from home, his brother had bought a place near the university. To congratulate him on getting into a nation-top-tier university, Xing Ye had even gifted him a car.

Xing Ye put on an act of remembering nothing, nodded obediently, didn’t ask why Xing Shuo wasn’t taking him to the hospital for a brain checkup, and followed him to the apartment near the school.

The apartment was fully smart-home equipped. As soon as they entered, Xing Shuo tapped twice on his phone. The door automatically locked, all the curtains were drawn shut, and no lights were turned on—the room was pitch-black.

Behind him, his younger brother Xing Shuo said, “Brother, sit.”

The next mission of the Challenging Fate system was to have Xing Ye gain his younger brother’s trust. Yet on the brother’s side, calling him “brother” so enthusiastically was, in truth, rather eerie.

Moreover, the room was simply too dark. Xing Ye grew wary. Hearing a faint sound from behind, he instinctively dodged aside, creating some distance between himself and the brother who had been standing close to him. At the same time, he turned on his phone’s flashlight. In the dim light, he saw his younger brother holding a stun baton.

Xing Ye: “……”

He had long known that the well-behaved younger brother from his memories had never truly existed—but facing such a brother head-on still carried considerable pressure.

Xing Shuo’s expression did not change. Holding a phone in one hand and the stun baton in the other, he said, “Sorry. This is a self-defense tool. I’m a bit afraid of the dark. When the lights didn’t come on for a long time, I got scared and picked up a weapon to protect myself. I didn’t expect to almost bump into you.”

After saying this, he slowly put down the stun baton. His gentle eyes looked entirely harmless.

Xing Ye watched his brother warily. Although Xing Shuo had put down the stun baton, his other hand was still gripping the phone tightly. In a split second Xing Ye suddenly thought of a possibility. Seeing his brother’s finger move slightly, he decisively used his initial skill, “Mirror Reflection.”

“Mirror Reflection”: I am merely a mirror. You smile at me, and I smile back at you; you glare at me in anger, and I return the same expression; you strike me with a palm, and it will ultimately rebound onto yourself. However, this skill can only reflect special QR-code attacks. It is ineffective against mental manipulation and physical attacks among initial skills. It may be used only three times within 24 hours. Players are advised to carefully analyse the battle situation and not waste skills. Each use deducts 50 points.

Xing Ye was no longer the wealthy player who once possessed over thirty million points. Now he had only 200 points on hand, and even his initial skills had to be used sparingly.

But this time, the skill was not wasted. A beam of light burst forth from Xing Shuo’s hand, and a transparent mirror appeared in front of Xing Ye, reflecting the light straight back.

The light wrapped around Xing Shuo’s body and transformed into a golden-glowing rope, binding him tightly.

Xing Ye stepped forward, pressed down on his brother’s hand to prevent him from continuing to tap the phone, and said, “Either pull open the curtains, or turn on the lights.”

Xing Shuo’s home was fully smart-controlled and could be operated by voice. Hearing Xing Ye’s words, he let out a cold laugh and said, “Turn on the lights.”

The lights came on. Xing Ye pulled his brother up from the floor and helped him onto the sofa, then asked, “How long does this QR code last?”

His brother looked at him and said, “Five minutes. While the QR code is in effect, QR codes, initial skills, and items can’t be used. You win. You’re a player too? What’s your purpose in pretending to be my brother?”

Xing Ye sat down on the other side of the sofa. After hearing his brother’s words, he pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a soft sigh.

What kind of chaotic world had the system thrown at him in this final stage?

The stun baton in Xing Shuo’s hand showed that he did not believe Xing Ye was his brother. First, he acted gentle and warm, appearing harmless and attentive toward his amnesiac “brother.” Then he brought Xing Ye onto his own turf and launched an attack. When the first strike failed, he continued to act harmless, claiming he would put down the stun baton—while in fact, his other hand had already activated a QR code.

Xing Ye realized that his brother could also use QR-code attacks for two reasons. First, he had tested two phones in succession and found that both could install the Challenging Fate game. Since Xing Shuo had once been a player, it was highly likely that in the final stage, his brother also possessed a game system. Second, when Xing Shuo closed the curtains, he used his phone—yet he could have done so entirely by voice command. There was no need to tap his phone at all. Why go out of his way? The answer was only one: he wanted to do something on the phone, using control of the smart home to disguise his true intent.

Xing Ye looked at his brother and said, “Being unable to use QR codes, items, and initial skills doesn’t mean you can’t use achievement titles. You’re just pretending to be controlled. Because if I had any ulterior motive, I might have let my guard down after subduing you—and once careless, I might answer your questions. You simply failed to catch me the first time and switched to Plan B: deliberately showing weakness to draw information out of me.”

“And the function of this rope was something you told me yourself. The claim that QR codes and initial skills can’t be used is also just your word. But from your instinctive attempt to tap your phone after being bound, I suspect that this restriction was something you made up as well. You don’t know my abilities, and when attacking, you’d naturally fear being countered. So you wouldn’t use a QR code with overly strong attack power from the start—let alone a QR code that completely seals abilities. You wouldn’t use that in the very first exchange.”

The always gentle and courteous expression on Xing Shuo’s face turned serious. He said, “You understand me very well.”

Xing Ye sighed. “I understand you because when we were young, we often played chess together. I know your attack patterns. Your moves are relatively restrained—you never go straight for the kill at the start. You leave room for others, and you leave room for yourself as well. Xing Shuo, I know that this amnesia explanation sounds ridiculous, but I really am your brother. And I don’t know why I’ve fallen to this state either.”

“I only know that when I opened my eyes, I had nothing. I was lying on a park bench, covered with cardboard, turned into a homeless person. Even… my lover was gone.”

“Xing Shuo, believe me. I need your help.”

 

Translator : DarNan