My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

The data from the fitness tracker has been updated.

Current loan amount: 7-year lifespan

Lin Xiaofan stared at this line of text for a long time. 7 years. He had just consumed 7 years of his lifespan, and now it showed that his "current loan limit" was 7 years. What was the connection between these two things?

"Ordinary monitoring bracelets can only detect basic data," Chen Xuan's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What truly displays the cost and consumption value is this."

He took an old copper coin out of his pocket.

The coin was larger than ordinary coins, its surface covered in verdigris, and its edges were severely worn. The square hole in the center was still there, but the original inscription was no longer legible. The rust patterns resembled some kind of ancient runes, faintly visible in the dim light.

"This is..." Lin Xiaofan asked.

"An ancient copper coin detector." Chen Xuan placed the copper coin on the table. "It's far more accurate than the bracelet. It can directly sense the operating status of the cost balance within your body, converting the cost you consume into a specific value."

He looked at Lin Xiaofan: "Hold out your hand."

Lin Xiaofan hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand. His palms were slightly sweaty, whether from nervousness or fear, it was hard to tell.

Chen Xuan picked up the copper coin and gently placed it in Lin Xiaofan's palm. The movement was as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.

The moment they touched, a cool sensation spread from his palm. The copper coin vibrated slightly in his hand, as if reading some information. The feeling was strange, like countless tiny needles running under his skin, yet it didn't hurt, only giving him a tingling sensation.

"Don't be nervous," Chen Xuan said. "This won't harm you at all."

Lin Xiaofan nodded, trying to calm himself down. He looked at the old copper coin and suddenly remembered something. Zhang Hao... had he also used this kind of copper coin?

The vibration lasted for about ten seconds, then stopped.

The surface of the copper coin began to glow faintly.

It started as a dark gold, then gradually turned into a bright silver-white, and finally settled on a hazy gray color. The light wasn't dazzling, but it gave Lin Xiaofan the feeling that he was being seen through.

Chen Xuan took a closer look, and his expression changed.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xiaofan asked nervously. He subconsciously tried to pull his hand back, but Chen Xuan pressed down on his wrist.

"Look for yourself," Chen Xuan said, handing him the coin. "Don't flip it over, look at the front first."

Lin Xiaofan took the copper coin and looked down at it.

On one side of the coin, a line of text is clearly engraved:

[CP Consumption: 777]

There is also a line of small print next to it: Each rule mission costs 7 CP, and one mission has been completed.

"CP?" Lin Xiaofan read aloud, "What unit is that?"

"Cost Points," Chen Xuan said, "This is a unit of measurement used by ancient balancers. 1 CP is roughly equal to 1 year of lifespan, but the exact conversion will fluctuate depending on your physical condition."

Lin Xiaofan felt her heart racing.

777CP... In other words, he has already consumed something equivalent to 777 years of lifespan?

But he only used up 7 years.

"Don't panic." Chen Xuan seemed to have read his thoughts. "777 isn't your total consumption, but rather the value that's 'locked' within you. The rule for the taboo number 7 is this: completing a task consumes 7 CP; failing a task deducts 70 CP."

"What does 777 mean...?"

"You are the seventh target locked by the rules." Chen Xuan's voice was calm, but Lin Xiaofan could sense the weight of it. "Each person locked has a unique locking code. Your locking code is 777."

Lin Xiaofan looked down at the line of words and suddenly understood something.

777...isn't that just the endless "7"s in his dream?

From the very beginning, the rules had left their mark on him. Those recurring dreams, that endless corridor, those countless "7s"—all were imprints of the rules.

"Can this copper coin track my spending at any time?" he asked.

"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded. "As long as you carry it with you, it will automatically record your costs. The value will update each time you complete a mission; each time you fail, the value will decrease significantly."

"What if the value becomes zero?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a moment.

The office was so quiet that the ticking of the wall clock could be heard. The sound was exceptionally clear in the silence, each tick feeling like a blow to Lin Xiaofan's heart.

"That means your lifespan has been completely consumed by the rules."

Lin Xiaofan felt a chill run down his back.

"There's another number," Chen Xuan pointed to the other side of the coin, "turn it over and take a look."

Lin Xiaofan flipped it over to look at it.

On the other side is engraved a larger number:

Total consumption: ???

"A question mark?" Lin Xiaofan was stunned. What did this mean?

"This means your actual expenditure is being masked by some force." Chen Xuan's expression turned serious. "When an ordinary person uses a copper coin to test, it will always show a definite number. But your number is a question mark, which means... the balance of costs within your body is reacting abnormally."

"What was the reaction?"

"Uncertain," Chen Xuan shook his head. "It could be overactivation, or it could be some kind of protective mechanism. In any case, your situation is more complicated than that of a typical locked-in individual."

Lin Xiaofan held the copper coin, feeling its icy touch spread throughout his body. He looked down at the line of "???" and suddenly remembered something.

The balance of costs.

That power that can "borrow".

Is it helping him bear part of the cost, which is why the actual consumption is a question mark?

"Director Chen," Lin Xiaofan asked, "Does Zhang Hao... also have this kind of coin-detecting equipment?"

Chen Xuan's eyes flickered.

"Yes," he said, "but his copper coin doesn't show 777."

"What is it?"

"000."

Lin Xiaofan was stunned.

"000?" Su Mingyue asked from the side, "What does that mean?"

"That means his price has been completely consumed," Chen Xuan said. "Before he died, his lifespan had been completely depleted. But he didn't die while fulfilling the rules—he died outside the rules."

"Die outside the rules?" Lin Xiaofan didn't understand. "What's the difference?"

"Rule-based anomalies usually only kill once," Chen Xuan explained. "They either fail to complete the mission and die, or they pay a price to continue living. But Zhang Hao is different. He completed all seven days' worth of missions, so theoretically he should have survived. But he died on the eighth day."

"The eighth day?" Lin Xiaofan's heart tightened. "Isn't the rule only seven days?"

"Yes, the rule itself is seven days," Chen Xuan said in a low voice, "but Zhang Hao died at 3 a.m. on the eighth day. That was precisely the window of opportunity where the midnight rule expired and the new rule hadn't yet taken effect."

The off-season.

Lin Xiaofan felt a chill. It was the interval between the old and new rules, a period when his ability to deal with strange situations was almost zero.

"What killed him at that time?" he asked.

"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded. "We investigated the scene of his death and found some strange things."

He took a photo out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Xiaofan.

The photo shows Zhang Hao's body, just like before—sitting in front of a computer, the screen filled with "77777777777777777".

But this time, the angle of the photo is different.

Lin Xiaofan saw the corpse's table.

Scattered beside the keyboard were several old copper coins. They were similar to the one in his hand, but smaller and more exquisite. One of them even emitted a faint blue glow, as if it still retained some kind of vitality.

"These are..."

"Remnants of the rule-based experiment," Chen Xuan said. "Zhang Hao was studying these things while completing the rule-based task. According to our analysis, he was trying to construct some kind of 'rule-shielding device' using copper coins—attempting to escape the constraints of the rules."

"Did he succeed?" Su Mingyue asked.

"He succeeded, and he failed," Chen Xuan said. "He did briefly break free from the rules' control; otherwise, he couldn't have survived until the seventh day. But his actions angered some more powerful being."

"An even more powerful being?"

"We call him 'Night Raven'."

The moment the name left his lips, Lin Xiaofan felt his heart clench violently.

"Night Raven?"

"A mysterious organization," Chen Xuan said. "They specialize in studying rule-based anomalies and attempt to exploit the power of rules. The copper coins Zhang Hao came into contact with were 'experimental tools' they distributed."

Lin Xiaofan looked down at the copper coin in his hand, feeling that it seemed even colder. If this coin also belonged to Night Raven, then had he already been targeted?

"Zhang Hao...is he one of Night Raven's men?"

"They weren't official members," Chen Xuan said. "They were more like peripheral test subjects. They used money and the lure of 'supernatural powers' to attract ordinary people to participate in rule-based experiments. Zhang Hao joined this experiment to save his sick mother."

He saved his sick mother.

Lin Xiaofan recalled Zhang Hao's appearance before his death. That taciturn roommate was always alone and rarely interacted with other students. During final exam week, while everyone else was studying in the library, he would often disappear for hours at a time. His roommates thought he was just introverted, but it turned out he had been carrying such a heavy burden all along.

"He's like this now..." Lin Xiaofan asked, "How's his mother?"

"She's dead," Chen Xuan said. "Three days after Zhang Hao's death, the cause of death was 'cardiac arrest.' But our tests show that her manner of death was exactly the same as Zhang Hao's—both were directly eliminated by some force during a window of ineffectiveness in the rules."

Lin Xiaofan and Su Mingyue exchanged a glance and both saw the fear in each other's eyes.

"Why did Night Raven do that?" Lin Xiaofan asked.

"To silence them," Chen Xuan said. "Anyone who participated in the experiment, as long as they're still alive, is evidence. They won't leave any survivors."

"And what about us?" Su Mingyue's voice trembled slightly. "We've been dragged into this rule too. What if Night Raven...?"

"Not for now," Chen Xuan said. "Because you are the targets locked by the rules, unlike Zhang Hao who is an active participant. Night Raven is more interested in those who lock the rules—they want to study the diffusion mechanism of the rules."

"What's the point of this research?"

"Create controllable, rule-based anomalies," Chen Xuan's eyes turned icy, "and then use them like weapons."

Night Raven. Seven bizarre deaths have occurred at Jiangcheng University in the past three years, and Zhang Hao is the fifth. The manner of their deaths is strikingly similar—all were eliminated by some force after completing a task mandated by the rules. Night Raven is like a hunter lurking in the shadows, specifically targeting those who attempt to defy the rules.

"They've already got their eyes on me?" Lin Xiaofan asked.

"It's not just you." Chen Xuan looked at Su Mingyue, "Both of you are on the list."

Su Mingyue's face turned pale instantly.

"Then what should we do?" Her voice trembled slightly. "Hide? Run away?"

"It's useless." Chen Xuan shook his head. "The rule lockers have some kind of 'beacon' that allows the Night Ravens to track your movements. Wherever you go, they can follow."

"Isn't that a dead end?" Lin Xiaofan felt his voice trembling.

"The only way to survive is to become stronger than them," Chen Xuan stood up and walked to the window. "Or, to find the loopholes in the rules before they do."

He turned to Lin Xiaofan and Su Mingyue: "Starting tomorrow, you will officially enter the training phase. I will have Su Mingyue assist you with data analysis and teach you some basic cost control techniques."

"Wait a minute." Lin Xiaofan raised her hand. "I still have many questions to ask—"

"Save the questions for training," Chen Xuan interrupted him. "Right now, the most important thing is for you to survive until tomorrow."

tomorrow.

Lin Xiaofan suddenly realized that tomorrow would be the third day. The third task of the taboo number 7 was about to begin.

"Director Chen," he called to Chen Xuan, who was about to leave, "what if... what if I fail tomorrow?"

Chen Xuan stopped walking without turning around.

"You will die," he said, "and then your name will be crossed off the list of the living, becoming the next '000'."

Silence fell in the office once again.

Lin Xiaofan looked down at the copper coin in his hand, at the number "777," and suddenly felt a pang of irony. His biggest goal in life was simply to graduate smoothly and find a job, but now he had to struggle just to survive.

"I'll teach you how to use that scale," Chen Xuan's voice came from the doorway, "but remember—every power comes at a price. The more you borrow, the more you'll have to repay in the future."

The door closed.

Lin Xiaofan sat alone in the empty office, holding the cold copper coin in his hand. The number 777 gleamed faintly in the dim light, like an invisible eye watching his every move.

He took a deep breath and stuffed the copper coin into his pocket.

No matter what awaits him, he must survive.