Chapter 2: Mission Activation—Blood and Iron

"???" Feng Mu was stunned.

Watching the progress bar steadily climbing on his retina, Feng Mu’s mouth hung open, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his throat.

What the hell?
Is the game turning into reality?
Am I, a poor student who can’t even afford to take the college entrance exam, about to be transformed into Feng Mu, the founder of destiny and the grand villainous boss wanted by all of humanity?
Damn, in the next second, won’t the authorities be kicking down my door?

When the game was just a game, Feng Mu once fantasized about it replacing reality. But now that the dream was coming true, he instinctively felt danger!
Red, alarm-level danger!!!
There was a police captain sitting in his own home right now. Was the first step of his transition into a boss—killing his own father to prove his path?

"Uh, if I could really ascend to the heavens in one step, bearing a little sin... perhaps, it’s not entirely out of the question, ahem~"

As various wild thoughts swirled in Feng Mu’s mind, the light curtain on his retina flowed and converged into two 3D character models.
One model was clearly Feng Mu himself, wearing the school uniform he currently had on, standing in a halo of light.
The other was Feng Mu, the villain, sitting on the Throne of Destiny, his face flickering in and out of view, perched in the shadows.
The two 3D models stood side by side, yet their shadows beneath them seemed to be entangled and twisted by some eerie force. A file transfer symbol appeared between them.

[Inheritance Progress: 0%!]
[Inheritance progress has not yet been activated. You must complete the activation quest: Blood and Iron.]
[Blood and Iron: You must bathe in blood and iron, completing a death sacrifice to demonstrate your resolve and rebirth.]
[Completion Rewards: 1. Activation; 2. Inherit "Iron Eater"; 3. ???]
[The ritual of sacrifice is as follows...]

A quest pop-up window crashed into Feng Mu’s vision, catching him off guard.
"Blood and Iron," "Death Sacrifice"?
The first two keywords alone made Feng Mu’s scalp crawl. He didn't even have the heart to look closely at the subsequent rewards and task steps.

"Whether it’s sacrificing someone else or sacrificing myself, I just can’t do it~"
Feng Mu was certainly eager to inherit the game, but these bloody words felt like a bucket of ice water dousing his enthusiasm.
Sacrificing himself meant suicide.
Sacrificing others meant the death penalty.
In either case, Feng Mu felt the risk was far too high. He didn't want to end up dead before even completing the quest.
Feng Mu was willing to inherit the game and bear the sins, but that required inheriting first, then bearing the burden.
The activation quest, however, demanded he bear the burden first, then see if he could inherit.
The former meant taking the benefits before weighing the risks; the latter meant taking the risks before seeing if there were any benefits at all!
Damn it, once the order was reversed, the nature of the situation changed entirely.

Feng Mu took a few deep breaths and irritably minimized the game interface on his retina.
He pulled back the curtains and looked out through the narrow, grime-streaked window. The gray mist spewed from dense exhaust pipes mixed with the polluted air to create an oily, sickly color.
"It’s just like a rotting landfill where countless colorful maggots grow and breed, and I’m just one of the malnourished ones!" he thought.

***

Incidentally, the night in the Lower City wasn't really a "night" in the strict sense, because what illuminated the sky wasn't the sun, but the underside of the Upper City.
The people of the Lower City were more accustomed to calling the darkness—"Lights out!"

***

Waking up from his sleep, Feng Mu had two dark circles under his eyes.
He hadn't slept well; every time he closed his eyes, he saw game visuals.
After shoveling a few bites of food into his mouth, he hurried out.

Only after he left did Feng Ju walk out of the bedroom.
Wang Xiuli noticed her son’s preoccupied expression and said with worry, "The boy didn't sleep well. You shouldn't have talked to him like that yesterday; it hurt his pride."
Feng Ju bit into a steamed bun and said dismissively, "Which word I said yesterday wasn't the truth? His talent is poor, he has no prospects—isn't that a fact? Don't look at how he doesn't talk back; deep down, he’s been bottling up his anger all along."
Wang Xiuli was surprised, "You knew that, and you still provoked him?"
Feng Ju snorted coldly, "I just wanted to extinguish the fire in his heart using that method."
Feng Ju’s tone wasn't like a father speaking to a son, but rather like he was speaking to the prisoners he punished, cold and ruthless: "When a talented person bottles up that energy, it’s called ambition; when an untalented person does it, they only harm themselves."
Wang Xiuli wanted to say more but hesitated.
Feng Ju slammed his chopsticks onto the table, brooking no argument: "To survive in the Lower City, you have to recognize your own place. I have to put out that fire in his heart so he can abandon these crooked thoughts, settle down to help with the household, and support Yu Huai."
Wang Xiuli was just a housewife and didn't understand these principles; she only sighed, "It’s just hard on our son."
"Hard?" Feng Ju sneered. "As long as Yu Huai can succeed, what does it matter if he suffers a little as an older brother? Besides, which of us lowly people doesn't suffer? Just being alive is good enough."

Feng Yu Huai walked out of the bedroom, rubbing sleep from her eyes: "Dad, when are you taking me to buy that wristwatch?"
Feng Ju straightened his face, feigning anger: "Always thinking about that watch. I’ll buy it for you on the way to school later. Once you get into the key class, you have to work hard and not let your mother and me down."
Feng Yu Huai beamed: "I’ll definitely work hard. In the future, I’ll get into the Upper City and become one of the elite. When I do, I’ll definitely bring the whole family up."

***

"The school will be entering the college entrance exam registration information next Monday. Students who are not participating can go to the Academic Affairs Office this week to register for early graduation."
During the break, the homeroom teacher, Dong Kai, came in to make the announcement.
As he spoke, his eyes swept around the classroom, pausing for a moment on Feng Mu, who was looking down, though he felt no real ripple of emotion.
"Starting next week, one-third of this classroom will be empty," Dong Kai thought.
Every year near the college entrance exam, a batch of students graduated early; he was already used to it.
He couldn't be bothered to look into the reasons; it was nothing more than a lack of talent, a lack of hope, or a lack of money to pay for the exams... in short, they had been eliminated early by the college entrance exam.

"Wow, early graduation, it almost sounds tempting, but it’s really just being expelled, right~" a mutter came from the corner.
This triggered a round of laughter.
The laughter wasn't necessarily malicious mockery, but the sense of superiority was unmistakable.
At that moment, the entire classroom was split into two circles: one circle was laughing with their heads held high, and the other was sitting in silence with their heads bowed—distinct as two different worlds.

*Ring-ring—*

"Alright, the next class is in the martial arts gym, don't waste time," Dong Kai reminded them before turning to leave.
A few students who were goofing around followed him out. Suddenly, one of them turned back and laughed, "For those not taking the exam, don't come and use the equipment; we don't have enough to go around as it is. Thanks~"
Martial arts courses required various equipment, and limited by the resources of the 47th School, students usually had to take turns using a single set.
As the words fell, the figures who had quietly stood up stiffened, then sat back down in their chairs in silence.
The classroom quickly fell into a deathly stillness. Time seemed to freeze. The figures sitting there were rigid and silent, and Feng Mu became a part of that oppression.

***

After a long while, a hoarse voice said, "People are born different. When my dad told me that before, I didn't understand. Now, I understand."
A numb voice replied: "My mom told me the same. The rich have the life of the rich, and the poor have the life of the poor. It’s fate, and you have to accept it. Those who accept their fate live longer; that’s the rule of the Lower City."
A miserable voice added: "I just hate this rule. Why does the government have to categorize everyone? Even more ridiculous is that you only get a rating in the government system if you pass the college entrance exam. For us, we are just a blank slate in the government system. Do you understand what 'blank slate' means?"
A voice filled with grief and indignation answered: "It means we are only fit to do the hardest work, receive the lowest wages, enjoy no benefits, are forbidden from crossing districts, can only buy standing-room tickets on trains, have limits on the medicine we can buy when sick, and aren't even allowed to buy a cemetery plot when we die."
A rational voice spoke: "That’s because after the Great Catastrophe, the planet’s resources became scarce. The United Human Government designed the [Blood Exchange Elimination Mechanism]. Resources are tilted toward the Upper City because the Upper City represents the future of humanity, while the Lower City entered an era of low energy consumption, further refining the rating system."
A voice choked with tears added: "The rating represents potential and contribution to human survival. The higher the rating, the more resources and benefits one receives. For most, the college entrance exam is the most important initial rating. Having a rating at least means you are of value to human survival. But a 'blank slate' means—you have no value. You are waste blood in the human circulatory system. Even breathing is a waste of resources, and you should be purged from the body."
A humble voice said: "It is said that when the New Era first began, the 'blank slates' were collectively sent to the [Sleeping Zone]. Two hundred years have passed, and humanity has restored humanitarian civilization, so people like us can have the opportunity to dedicate a tiny bit of value to human survival with our humble lives. We should be grateful."

The emotions everyone had been venting were silenced.

"You’re right, we should be grateful. Next month, I’m taking over my dad’s job at the incinerator to process disaster corpses. I’m going to the Academic Affairs Office now. Who’s coming with me?"
"Yeah, I’ll go with you. I don't have the guts to burn disaster corpses, so I’ll just go find a construction site to carry bricks."
"Yeah, let’s go. To the Academic Affairs Office."
"I don't want to live like this for the rest of my life. It’s boring. I want to go out and explore. One day, I want to see the Upper City. They say the water there is pure, and the air is sweet. So, I plan to register for the vanguard team under the Investigation Corps."
"Luo Ji, you’re crazy. The vanguard team is all cannon fodder. You’ll die."
"I’d rather gamble on that slim chance than live like this. At worst, I’ll just die. I’m only afraid the vanguard team won't even look at a worthless life like mine."
"Better a miserable life than a quick death, sigh..."

While they talked, one figure after another walked out of the classroom.
"Feng Mu, aren't you coming?"
"Yeah, coming."
Feng Mu replied with a blank expression, but his butt remained stuck to the chair. His black pupils were like the gloom before a storm, oppressive and dull.

"Not afraid of death, but afraid of not even having the opportunity to die?"
Feng Mu sat in the empty classroom. The sultry air, stirred by the fan, became even more irritating. He unconsciously shook his water cup.
On the filter of the cup, a thick layer of sediment had accumulated—that was the additive used to neutralize radiation factors.
The top layer was not clean or clear, and the bottom layer was full of murky pollution.

"Maybe in the next second, I’ll die from drinking this water. In this world... heh, what the hell am I hesitating for?"

Feng Mu gulped down the water, grabbed his schoolbag, and walked out of the classroom. He glanced in the direction of the Academic Affairs Office and the martial arts gym, then turned his head and headed in the opposite direction.
Those were not the paths he was meant to follow; his path was one only he could see.

[Blood and Iron: You must bathe in blood and iron, completing a death sacrifice to demonstrate your resolve and rebirth.]
[Completion Rewards: 1. Activation; 2. Inherit "Iron Eater"; 3. ???]
[The ritual of sacrifice is as follows: Consume 1 jin of raw iron, and use fresh blood to draw the pattern of destiny.]
(PS: Those who are fearless and mad, bathe in their own blood to be reborn; those who are cowardly yet vicious beasts, devour the blood of their own kind to revive. Different choices forge different destinies!)