A baby stared at the glowing system display in front of him, making a face that shouldn't be possible at his age, a face full of disbelief.
His chubby little hand reached up to rub his eyes, as if that would somehow change what he was seeing. Unfortunately, the image stayed the same.
He then glanced down at his tiny 'tool' and back at the quest screen.
His mouth formed an unnatural twitch.
"What in the actual hell?!" the baby wanted to scream, but what came out of his mouth was a garbled, "Googoogaga?!"
...
"December 24, 2024: An asteroid designated ASG-00 has come dangerously close to Earth and is predicted to collide likely."
"The sea level is rising, forcing countless Indonesians to abandon their homes and seek refuge on higher ground. Jakarta, once predicted to sink by 2050, is now forecasted to do so by 2030."
"ISoSlow, the YouTuber famous for his reckless antics was caught just outside the Chernobyl exclusion zone. However, before authorities intervened, his livestream camera captured a massive military camp deep within the area. What exactly are they protecting? And why now, decades after the disaster?"
"Mysterious black substances poured out of the site, infecting all crew members on the North Sea oil rig. Their current status remains undisclosed."
"Tensions escalate among nations in conflict. Will nuclear weapons be the next escalation?"
"The Doomsday Clock has moved forward again!"
"The end is near! Praise the—"
"What are you reading?" a voice interrupted.
Zhou Rui tensed for a moment at the familiar voice, then relaxed. "Nothing," he said, quickly switching off his phone.
His friend laughed. "Ha! Are you texting some girl and too embarrassed to let me see your corny messages?"
"Are you talking about your experiences?" Zhou Rui shot back with a smirk, quickly changing the subject. "Where are the others?"
"Old Ding volunteered to go ahead to the restaurant and reserve a table for us. Fatty Jiang said he'd be coming soon. I stopped by his place earlier, but he told me to go ahead without him. Not sure what he's being so mysterious about. Then I bumped into you here," Liu Yan replied with a shrug.
Zhou Rui nodded, grinning. "Isn't Fatty Jiang the type who's too scared to go anywhere alone? I remember back in high school, he'd always ask us to go to the bathroom with him."
"Ugh, don't remind me. He's not a beautiful girl, so why do I always agree to his request?" Liu Yan shook his head, chuckling. "Now that you mention it, I'm getting more suspicious. What could he be planning—"
Just then, a series of loud honks interrupted him. At first, they tried to ignore it, but the honking persisted, grating on their nerves.
"Damn it! Who's the idiot honking at us?" Liu Yan snapped. "People really seem to enjoy getting on other people's nerves these days."
"I'm gonna beat him so bad his mum won't recognize him!"
But as they turned toward the source of the noise, their anger deflated like a balloon pricked by a needle. In unison, they exclaimed, "Fatty Jiang!"
Across the road, Fatty Jiang with his head poked out of the window shouted with a smug smile. "Come on, let's all ride to the restaurant together!"
"Since when did you get a car?" Liu Yan asked, slightly dumbfounded.
"Do you even have a license?" Zhou Rui asked skeptically.
"My father bought this for me as a birthday gift. Of course, I have a license! I'd be courting for a ticket otherwise" Fatty Jiang replied, proudly lifting his double chin.
"Alright, wait there, we're coming over."
Zhou Rui and Liu Yan headed to the crosswalk and waited until the pedestrian light turned green.
Soon, the light turned green, all the vehicles halted, and they began crossing. Suddenly, Zhou Rui heard a commotion.
"Thief!"
"Catch the thief!"
Turning toward the noise, Zhou Rui saw a group of people chasing a man in a black hoodie, his face was obscured, revealing only a copper mask with an intricate pattern. Falling rather behind the group ran a girl, her face flushed red with anger.
Liu Yan's eyes sparkled. "Should we join the chase? My hands are itching for some action."
Zhou Rui thought for a moment. "There's a decent crowd after him already. I doubt they need our help. Plus, he's going in the opposite direction."
"You're right," Liu Yan easily agreed.
"Wait…you're not actually going?" Zhou Rui looked surprised. Liu Yan was usually the hot-headed one, always eager for any physical action.
Liu Yan chuckled. "Honestly, ever since college started, I haven't worked out as much as before. My six-pack has turned into a little belly. Now, I run out of breath easily. Recently, I even tried to participate in my college sports event, and guess what? They nearly had to drag me across the finish line like a dead dog!"
"Pfft! That's what you get for overestimating yourself. But honestly, I hadn't noticed you've gone fat."
"That's because I've been sucking in my stomach this whole time. Check this out!" Liu Yan puffed out his stomach, his flat abdomen suddenly rounding out under his white shirt.
Zhou Rui gaped, laughing. "Damn, what kind of magic trick is this?!"
"Dao Breathing: First Form, Stomach Compression!" Liu Yan said with mock seriousness, patting his belly as it shrank back to flat.
As they were fooling around, Zhou Rui couldn't shake the feeling that he should keep an eye on the direction the thief had gone.
He glanced up just in time to see the group of pursuers running back toward them, panic-stricken.
'What's going on?'
Zhou Rui thought, but his question was quickly answered by a shout from the crowd: "Run! Get out of here! The thief stole a truck and is going crazy! everyone, get out of the way!"
The warning echoed just as a massive truck came into view, swerving wildly. Zhou Rui's eyes widened as the truck smashed into a row of parked cars, causing a brutal chain-reaction collision.
"This guy's truly crazy...!"
"Watch out!" Liu Yan's voice rang in his ear just as he felt a force tug him sharply backward, causing him to stumble and fall back onto the asphalt road.
Vroom!
Whoosh!
Goosebumps erupted all over his body as the massive truck roared past, only inches away. Zhou Rui could feel the gust of wind from the truck's passing, close enough to feel the brush of death on his skin. If Liu Yan hadn't pulled him back, he knew he'd have been in that truck's path and likely ended up flattened by the gigantic wheels.
Snapping out of his daze, Zhou Rui quickly turned to check on Liu Yan. He saw his friend sprawled on the ground, face pale and twisted in pain.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but I think I sprained my ankle," Liu Yan replied, wincing. "That son of a bitch! If he ever gets caught, I swear, I'm going to smear his face with chicken feces!"
"Why not dog's poops? They stinkier and nastier."
"Uh, that's work too."
Zhou Rui helped him up, slipping his friend's arm over his shoulder for support. Around them, people were pulling out their phones, calling for ambulances and police as the chaos continued.
"To think you almost got the classic 'isekai' treatment—hit by a truck, sent to another world," Liu Yan chuckled weakly.
"Guess I should thank you for ruining my big debut as the hero with a harem, then?" Zhou Rui replied with a self-mocking smile.
Before Liu Yan could answer, another round of panicked screams erupted from further down the road.
"Kyaa!"
"The truck… it's coming back!"
"Can someone please stop that lunatic?"
Zhou Rui glanced up, and his heart skipped as he saw the truck speeding back toward them, now accelerating with nothing to slow it down.
Before long, the truck was only a hundred meters away from him.
"Damn it! That maniac is back!" Liu Yan groaned, then looked up at Zhou Rui, forcing a smile. "Just go! You can outrun it, but I'll only slow you down."
"Shut up!" Zhou Rui gritted his teeth. "We're getting out of this together."
"Fuck you! This isn't the right time to get all emotional and decide to be a hero. Just leave me alone already!"
Zhou Rui clenched his fists, his gaze flicking between Liu Yan and the speeding truck, the gap between them closing fast.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Rui steadied himself. Finally, with a hard look at Liu Yan, he said, "Live well."
"You—!" Liu Yan began, but his words cut off as Zhou Rui slipped his arm off his shoulder, planting a firm hand on his back and shoving him hard onto the pavement. He landed on the sidewalk, just out of the truck's path.
Zhou Rui didn't give up on his own survival just because he had shoved his friend to safety. The moment he pushed Liu Yan onto the sidewalk, he braced himself and attempted to jump forward, aiming to escape the truck's path. But it was too late.
The truck's headlights flooded his vision, blinding him for a split second before an unbearable force collided with his side, sending him flying.
Bang!
Intense, searing pain coursed through him as he hit the ground. His chest felt crushed, his head swam with dizziness, and every inch of his body throbbed with agony.
He could feel his consciousness slipping in and out as he lay there.
'Is this how I'm going to die?'
'Damn... I haven't even had a girlfriend yet... I'm still a card-carrying virgin... Elder Scrolls VI and GTA VI haven't come out… there's so much I still want to do...
Through his blurring vision, he caught sight of the truck swerving and slamming into an electric pole. The impact sent it crashing down onto the truck's windshield, shattering it.
Dong!
Katcha!
Despite the pain and fading consciousness, a faint smile crept onto Zhou Rui's lips.
'Serves you right!' Zhou Rui thought, finding satisfaction in the thief's demise.
He shifted his gaze, taking one last look at the dumbfounded Liu Yan. For a moment, he thought back to that split-second choice he'd made, pushing Liu Yan to safety instead of abandoning him and escaping alone.
Truth be told, the thought of leaving his friend behind had crossed his mind, but he hadn't been able to go through with it.
Before he could put his mind into action, he was suddenly brought to recollections of Liu Yan's cheerful bragging about finally winning over his high school crush, the way his face lit up talking about her.
Moreover, Liu Yan had a future waiting for him. A family who cared, parents who'd been promoted at their jobs, already setting up a place for him to work once he graduated.
Compared to him, his life was pretty much bleak. An orphan with no family, no girlfriend or prospect of one. Even if he died, only a small amount of people would be saddened by the news of his passing.
Thus, when the selfish thought of saving himself flashed through his mind, it faded just as quickly. Zhou Rui couldn't bring himself to abandon his friend, not when the latter had a bright life ahead of him.
So, in those final moments, he smiled, feeling a strange peace. His last thought before the darkness took over was a simple one:
At least I protected someone who mattered.