Chapter 1 Time is Money
Some people say that time is money.
If you lost everything from the poker table and had twenty dollars left, what would you do with it?
Should I take the money and take a taxi home, or should I trade for the smallest chip again and fight for the slightest chance of making a profit?
He Chi probably only has a few hours left in his life.
In California's rarely inhabited Valley Park, He Chi lost his footing and fell off a cliff, leaning against the cliff alone. A sharp pillar of rock penetrated his lower abdomen. He lost a lot of blood and was in a very bad condition.
The blood loss made his stiff body feel a little cold. He took out his cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out one with his hands that were getting colder, held it to his lips, and then lit it with a cheap lighter.
The tobacco passed through the lungs, and under the combined effects of tobacco tar and nicotine, his brain began to calm down.
Penetrating injuries to the flank, possible internal bleeding, leg fractures, difficulty moving, and body surface hypothermia, each situation may be life-threatening.
The biggest problem is that he may be hallucinating.
A constantly changing countdown appeared in the retina of his right eye, and the number on it was now [04:29:27]
He rubbed his eyes, but the number did not disappear, but continued to decrease.
He Chi had a hunch that when the number returned to zero, it would probably be the day of his death.
He is not one to sit still and wait for death.
He worked hard to get the mountaineering bag aside, pulled out a tourniquet from it, and tightened the shirt that was already stained with blood. The bleeding speed began to slow down significantly.
As the first aid measures were completed, the numbers on the countdown began to change, and the numbers became [04:41:22]
Did you gain 12 more minutes of life because you slowed down the blood loss?
But this does not change the ending that he is heading towards death step by step.
Unless the rescue team and ambulance can be called now, he is dead.
But looking at the mobile phone that fell to the ground and fell into pieces, he knew that this was just a wish after all.
Pulling out the rock climbing pick, He Chi gritted his teeth and broke the stone pillar inserted into his lower abdomen, temporarily keeping the remaining part in his body, and then climbed bit by bit in the other direction.
He didn't know what the point was, but he didn't want to lie there quietly waiting to die like a wild dog.
"It has been detected that the player has a strong will to survive and meets the basic requirements for entering the game." A voice suddenly appeared in his ear.
"The time currency mode is activated, the current exchange rate is 1 hour/copper coin, the player's remaining assets are: 4 copper coins, do you want to activate the gambling system mode?"
Without He Chi thinking, a floating countdown The following "yes/no" options appeared in front of him.
It seems like it's really not an illusion.
Although He Chi hasn't figured out what's going on yet, he vaguely knows that this is his chance to survive.
“Yes, I choose yes!”
With these words, He Chi clicked on that option in his mind.
"The player has confirmed that the betting mode has started. The current exchange rate is 1:1, and the copy has begun to be built." As the voice rang in his ears, the time in front of him quickly cleared and turned into four bronze coins falling into the sky. He Chi's pocket.
Then the surrounding scenery went dark and he lost consciousness.
A long time passed, or maybe it was only a moment.
He Chi slowly woke up.
He found that he was in a big pit, surrounded by wet soil, which buried half of his body.
There was sand in his mouth and nostrils, making He Chi's breathing very uncomfortable. There are constant screams, human groans, and rumbling...
The sound of gunfire!
Why are there gunshots?
Is public security in the beautiful country so bad?
What is going on? ! Can anyone tell me?
He Chi couldn't turn his head for a while.
"The player's request for information acquisition has been detected. Players can pay to obtain the briefing. The fee is one copper coin. Do you want to pay?"
He Chi, who was still a little confused about the situation, nodded subconsciously, and then He noticed that there was a light in his pocket, and one of the four strange copper coins inside was missing out of thin air.
"The dungeon briefing is opened, background: World War I, time: 1918, location: Somme River, gambling success conditions: survival for 72 hours. Expected minimum profit from gambling: 80 copper coins. Dungeon failure conditions: The player died. Failure penalty: Unknown. Warning: The penalty exceeds the player's current assets. If the player fails in this game, he will be completely erased." The voice reminded him emotionlessly.
1918? Somme?
The battlefield of World War I?
Failure to completely erase, does it mean death?
He Chi looked around subconsciously and found that he was surrounded by tunnels and messy barbed wire fences. Not far away, several suspected corpses were lying on the ground.
He lowered his head and looked at himself. He was wearing a tattered old clothes. The cuffs were frayed and the threads inside were loose.
I touched my jacket pocket and found three strange coins inside, and the rest was something similar to a document.
Opening the certificate, it says in traditional Chinese:
Kandong Prefecture Labor Dispatch Association
Name: He Chi
Age: 26 years old
Origin: Dalian Beida Shantong Dashanliao
Now he is sent to Europe by the government to serve as a civilian husband. He will serve for five years and receive an annual salary of 2,000 francs. The French government will pay him. Overseas Chinese will help each other and the Allies will protect him.
The spring of the 6th year of the Republic of China.
Is this body a Chinese labor aid to Europe?
In 1917, China officially joined the Allied Powers in World War I. Although it did not directly send troops, it exported about 100,000 Chinese workers to serve as frontline civilians to assist the Allied Powers in fighting, making a huge contribution to the Allied Powers' victory.
Are you one of them now?
There were several corpses lying in the trenches around him. He Chi turned some of them over and found that they all had Oriental faces and were not wearing military uniforms. This should be a temporary shelter. It seemed that a shell fell here, including these corpses. Everyone, including the owner of the body, was sent to heaven.
After checking the body and finding no external injuries, He Chi briefly searched the house.
A few bags of cement for construction, there is gasoline in the corner, and next to it are some cans in boxes. In another corner, there should be bags of flour and vegetables, and some small packages stacked together. Fine crystals were exposed inside the bag. He Chi took a little taste and found that it was sugar.
This should be a logistics warehouse containing a large amount of daily supplies.
But unfortunately there are no weapons here, probably because they are all non-combatants.
In the end, He Chi found a relatively sturdy-looking shovel and held it in his hand to defend himself, and then carefully fished it out of the tunnel.
Staying in place on a battlefield with roaring artillery fire is not necessarily safe, not to mention it is not his habit to sit and wait for death.
As he groped his way through the end of the tunnel, the gunshots all around him became louder, mixed with shouts and groans. There seemed to be people in every direction, but he couldn't see anything.
Bump!
A puff of smoke suddenly rose from the tunnel next door, and then there was the sound of tearing each other, followed by a blood-curdling roar.
He Chi poked his head out of the tunnel a little and peeked over, and found two soldiers grabbing each other's necks and wrestling with each other. The sounds that sounded like humans and animals came from the mouths of the two men.
After a slight hesitation and seeing that there was no one else, He Chi walked behind the two people with a shovel and prepared to help.
Then he was stunned.
Which one is yours?
(End of this chapter)