Chapter 1: Heavy Rain
4 a.m.
"….the death toll from heavy rains and flooding has risen to 20. Authorities claimed 19 people has went missing in Dongzhe City and hereby as rescue efforts continue…."
In a small convenience store, a middle-aged man sat on a stool chair behind the counter. He took a long drag of his cigarette but once the old and rusty radio started malfunctioning, he would use his fat palm to slap the radio and the pleasant voice of the newswoman continued albeit the weird static noises.
"How is it, Xiao Nan? Are you confident you can fix it?"
In front of the counter was a tall young man dressed in a black hoodie, he put down his tool bag on the counter as he leaned down, letting his fingers fiddle with the radio.
"This little old radio used to belong to my old man, I can't bear to part with it."
Wei Nan was silent. If he did not just witness Uncle Li aggressively slap this radio earlier, he would've believed his words.
"It can be fixed, just give me 15 minutes."
Uncle Li was in a good mood and waved his hand, "Of course, of course. Take your time. Xiao Nan, the price can be calculated after you're done. I won't cheat such a hard working young man like you."
Wei Nan familiarly dragged over a chair and opened his tool bag. This was not his first time on the job thus he didn't waste any time with useless conversation and immediately got to work.
The radio was an old model and Wei Nan had to be very gentle with his movements. He carefully opened up the back of the radio, exposing the intricate web of wires and circuits behind the beige plastic surface.
The young man's slender hands gently touched and removed several components until he found the source of the problem and began the repair process.
Watching his skillful movements, Uncle Li sighed, as if feeling nostalgic, "My old man was also very skillful with his hands, there was nothing he couldn't fix. Young man, I really admire you."
Uncle Li wasn't embarrassed when the young man didn't respond back to his words, he continued to blow rings of smoke and indulge in his past memories.
Wei Nan's posture can be said to be very bad as he leaned down to take a closer look at the radio. His neck stretched downward, revealing a butterfly tattoo at the side of his neck, the red ink standing out against his pale skin.
The butterfly's intricate body was embellished with a half-moon that rested atop its right wing, the two colors complementing each other beautifully. The delicate wings appeared to shimmer in the light, as if they might take flight at any moment.
The clock tickled by and Wei Nan was finally done with his work. He turned on the radio and the crackle of static filled the room, followed by a faint melody that gradually grew louder.
Uncle Li smiled with satisfaction and handed over a few red bills, "Xiao Nan, here, take it. I'll have to rely on you in the future if any problem arises."
Wei Nan wasn't polite, this was his hard earned money. He carefully folded the bills and kept them in his pocket, "Thank you, Uncle. Then, I'll take my leave now."
However, just when he started packing his tool bag, heavy rain suddenly enveloped the city. The rain fell in a relentless, heavy downpour, each drop hitting the glass doors of the convenience store with an audible thunk. The glass doors were sealed shut, barely keeping up with the raging storm outside.
Wei Nan subconsciously pulled up his hoodie to cover his neck, shielding himself from the spray that seeped through the cracks.
'Why is it always that when I was just prepared to leave, it started to rain?'
The young man silently lamented his bad luck. He stared at Uncle Li who was busy running around finding used towels to cover the cracks, a few curses left his lips as he did so. Wei Nan didn't stay idle either, he stood up and helped Uncle Li to close all the windows.
In the process, he stared outside, the sky was a deep, inky black, with the clouds circling overhead in a tight vortex. The rain fell in sheets, soaking through everything in its path. The pedestrians on the street hurried to seek shelter and it was unknown how long this rain would last.
The air inside the convenience store was muggy and humid, with a chill that seemed to creep into his bones. Uncle Li shivered and immediately grabbed a padded jacket to cover himself, "Xiao Nan, you can take shelter here first. Don't rush out in this weather, you will get sick."
He zipped up his jacket and continued with a sigh, "These days, the weather is getting worse. The business isn't going well and there's even people dying out there."
Wei Nan was silent. He could imagine this night of rain flooding inside his crappy apartment and he would have to clean up once he gets home. His newly washed sheets and his freshly folded laundry would be doomed if the rain seeped through the apartment's ceiling.
"Uncle Li, can I keep my tool bag here for now? I will come get it tomorrow."
Wei Nan pulled up the hood over his head, protecting himself from the rain as he pushed the glass doors and walked out. Uncle Li hurried back to grab an umbrella and tried to call for him but the young man already made his way across the street.
The man smacked his lips and sighed, "Young man, you're really stubborn. Why can't you just rely on others a little more? Forget it. I will keep the tool bag safe for you."
Wei Nan shivered as the rain soaked through his clothes, finding its way down his neck and back, the damp clothes sticking onto his skin was uncomfortable. By this time, not even a person was in sight and all the doors of the shops on both sides of the street were tightly closed.
'Why is it raining so much lately?'
This was the question many citizens in Dongzhe City had brought up. Each month, the news would announce new deaths and missing person reports, making the once lively city seem rather gloomy and grim.
The rain poured down around him, turning the sidewalks into rivers of water. Wei Nan walked quickly down the dark, desolate street, his black hoodie a beacon in the rain.
In his opinion, the dark skies stirring above the city everyday was more like something out of a dystopian novel rather than a real, living city.
Once he reached the old residential building, he tried to knock on the window of the security box outside but there was no response. Wei Nan looked up at the locked gate, considering the idea of climbing over.
Wei Nan was not the type to ponder for long, if he considers it, he will most likely put it to work the next second.
After taking a deep breath, he climbed over the gate with a quick, agile movement and landed on the other side.
However, unnoticed by him, the lamp post near where he landed started to sway back and forth, as if it was about to fall over the next moment.
By the time he heard the creaking noise and looked over, the lamp fell straight down and hit him directly in the head, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud.
Ringing noise assaulted his ears, his vision blurry as he subconsciously tried to touch his head, feeling clearly the blood seeping through his hair and onto his fingers, it flowed down his neck and painted his butterfly tattoo a deeper shade of red.
'My phone….'
He asserted his remaining strength and reached down to grab his phone but with his inaccurate vision and consciousness slowly fading away, it was bound to fail.
Normally, with the bad soundproofing wall of the building, everyone would've heard the voice and came over to help. But with the loud rain as a cover, no one was able to hear him even if he shouted at the top of his lungs.
'Maybe I should've just listened to Uncle Li….'
That was his last thought before he passed out. The night sky loomed over him, a deep black backdrop to the bloody scene.
Just then, the phone that was carefully tucked away in the back pocket, the item Wei Nan tried so hard to reach with his remaining strength, rolled over by itself and unlocked the passcode.
It floated above the still warm corpse of the young man and a blue hologram light scanned him from head to toe.
The next moment, the corpse disappeared out of thin air and the blood was washed away by the rain, as if what happened earlier was simply an illusion.
Unbeknownst to him, Wei Nan was bound to a strange existence.
[Congratulations Player Wei Nan! You've now entered the game Debt of Terror.]
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xiaoxing66
xiaoxing66 Apologies to those who added my old book to their collection and now suddenly get the update notification for another book (￢_￢;) I have decided to write another one with my new idea so feel free to remove this from your reading collection. To the person who has voted this novel with their power stones, I am very sorry. I hope I can perhaps make it up to you with my new novel.
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