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

"Is there any other way?"

I stared at Chen Xuan, a hint of anticipation in my eyes.

Chen Xuan remained silent for a few seconds.

"Yes," he said, "but you're not at that stage yet."

"What method?"

"Transfer the cost." Chen Xuan looked at me. "You can transfer the cost borrowed from the scales to someone else or... something else."

I froze for a moment.

"Others?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded. "This is a technique that only high-level balancers can master. But now that you've awakened the Balance Scales, you'll need to use it sooner or later."

I'm processing this information.

Cost transfer...

This means that I can not only borrow lives, but also transfer the cost of those lives to others.

"Wait a minute." Something suddenly occurred to me. "If I could shift the blame onto someone else, wouldn't that mean I could... have someone else die for me?"

Chen Xuan's eyes turned cold.

"You'd better forget about it." His voice was calm, but I could sense the warning in it. "Prison transfer isn't for harming others. If you try to use this ability to hurt innocent people, the scales will tip back."

"Backlash?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "The scales are two-way. You get what you give. If you try to gain power through unjust means, the scales will demand a heavier price from you."

I swallowed hard.

"I...I didn't mean to hurt anyone," I quickly explained. "I was just asking."

"It's best to just ask," Chen Xuan glanced at me. "Now, continue practicing."

I closed my eyes again.

The scales appeared in my mind, ancient and mysterious.

Two trays, one on the left and one on the right.

The left side is empty, and the right side is a faint ball of light.

"See that ball of light on the right?" Chen Xuan's voice came from outside. "That's the power that Tianping lent you. Now, try to touch it with your mind."

I cautiously extended my consciousness.

The ball of light was within reach, but I dared not act rashly.

"How do I touch it?" I asked.

"Imagine you're going to 'open' this ball of light," Chen Xuan said, "like opening a door."

I took a deep breath and imagined it in my mind.

Door......

Open......

The ball of light trembled slightly under my will.

Then--

"Bang!"

My consciousness seemed to be suddenly pushed away by something, and I took a step back.

When I opened my eyes, I found that my nose was bleeding.

"What's going on?" I covered my nose, a little panicked.

"You're too hasty." Chen Xuan handed over a tissue. "The balance can't be turned by brute force. You have to use 'skill'."

"What kind of skill?"

"Imagine you're not 'opening' it, but 'requesting' it," Chen Xuan said. "The scales are alive; they have their own consciousness. You must respect them, not forcibly suppress them."

ask......

I wiped the blood from my nose and closed my eyes again.

This time, I didn't act recklessly.

I whispered to the ball of light: I need your power.

It's not a command, it's a request.

The ball of light seemed to sense something and trembled slightly.

Then, a warm power surged out from the ball of light and flowed throughout my body along with my consciousness.

That feeling...

Very comfortable.

It feels like soaking in a hot spring in winter, or like drinking a cup of hot chocolate after a run.

I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"You felt it?" Chen Xuan's voice came from afar.

"I can feel it," I said, but my voice was a little muffled—my mouth was full of the taste of blood.

"Open your eyes."

I opened my eyes and found that my palms were glowing with a faint golden light.

The light was faint, but it was definitely there.

"This is the 'external' form of the scales," Chen Xuan said. "You can currently draw upon approximately 1 CP of power. The duration is about ten seconds."

1CP......

Ten seconds...

In other words, I can temporarily gain power equivalent to a year's lifespan?

"What can this power do?" I asked.

"Many things," Chen Xuan said, "enhancing reaction speed, increasing physical strength, briefly predicting danger... what you can actually do depends on your own development."

I looked at the golden light in my palm, lost in thought.

"Can I give you this power?"

Chen Xuan was taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." I gathered my thoughts, "if I borrowed the power of the scales, could I transfer it to you?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a while.

"Theoretically, it's possible," he said, "but only if you fully master the cost transfer technique. You can't do that yet."

I'm a little disappointed.

But then I thought, it's already pretty good that I know I have this potential.

"Alright, take a break." Chen Xuan glanced at the time. "There's another test this afternoon."

"A test?" My heart skipped a beat. "What kind of test?"

"A cost-bearing capacity test," Chen Xuan said. "Let's see how much CP you can withstand."

"Is...this dangerous?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said directly, "it might hurt a lot."

At 2 PM, I followed Chen Xuan to a basement.

It's called a basement, but it's more like a converted warehouse.

The walls were covered with talismans, and in the center was a circular platform with intricate patterns drawn on it.

Su Mingyue was already waiting there.

"You're here." She nodded to me, a hint of worry in her eyes. "Are you ready?"

"No," I said honestly, "but Director Chen said I had to try even if I wasn't prepared."

Su Mingyue smiled helplessly.

"He's right. In this industry, there's never such a thing as 'being ready.'"

I took a deep breath and walked towards the platform.

Standing on it, I felt the patterns under my feet were faintly glowing.

"Lie down," Chen Xuan said.

I lay down on the platform.

The light overhead was dim, and the surrounding area was filled with incomprehensible runes.

"The principle behind this test is very simple," Chen Xuan's voice came from the side. "I will inject a certain amount of 'simulated CP' into your body to see how much you can withstand without collapsing."

"Simulated CP?"

"It's not the real cost, just a simulation," Chen Xuan said. "But for your nervous system, the pain you feel is the same as the actual cost."

I swallowed hard.

"Let's begin."

Chen Xuan nodded and placed his hand on my forehead.

A cool sensation spread from my palm.

Then--

excruciating pain.

It felt like someone had filled my veins with shards of glass and then stirred them vigorously.

I couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Don't move!" Chen Xuan's voice was stern. "Hold on!"

I gritted my teeth, sweat rolling down my forehead.

The pain lasted for about thirty seconds, then gradually subsided.

"Very good," Chen Xuan said. "This is a 10CP load, and you withstood it."

I was panting heavily, feeling my whole body soaked in sweat.

"Now, I'm going to inject a higher intensity one," Chen Xuan said. "Are you ready?"

"Wait...wait a minute..." I said weakly, "Can I catch my breath?"

"No." Chen Xuan's voice was cold. "The bizarre realities won't give you a chance to breathe."

After he finished speaking, he placed his hand on my forehead again.

This time, the pain was even more intense.

I felt as if my body was being torn apart from the inside by something, my bones were creaking and my blood was boiling.

My vision started to go black.

But just as I was about to lose consciousness, I saw something.

Balance scales.

That ancient-style scale appeared in my mind.

The tray on the left started to vibrate, as if something was pressing down on it.

The ball of light on the right was flashing wildly, as if it were resisting something.

Hang in there!

Chen Xuan's voice seemed to come from a very far place.

I clung tightly to that scale in my mind, trying not to let myself fall.

I don't know how much time has passed.

The pain finally stopped.

I opened my eyes and found myself lying on the platform, completely soaked, as if I had been pulled out of the water.

"You held on." Chen Xuan's voice came from above. "30 CP."

I froze for a moment.

30CP?

The painful process just now was only due to a 30CP load?

"Is this...is this normal?" I asked weakly.

"This isn't normal." Chen Xuan's eyes held a complex expression. "The limit for an average newcomer is 20 CP. You've reached three times that."

"What does this mean?"

"This shows your talent far surpasses that of ordinary people," Chen Xuan said. "Or rather... the scales have chosen you."

The scales have chosen you.

This sounds a bit mystical, but I'm too tired to think about it right now.

Su Mingyue came over and handed me a bottle of water.

"Have some water," she said. "There's something else I need to do later."

"Anything else?" I was on the verge of tears. "Didn't we already do enough testing today?"

"This doesn't need testing," Su Mingyue glanced at Chen Xuan. "It's about Zhang Hao."

I suddenly became fully awake.

Zhang Hao.

My roommate.

The classmate who died because he violated the rules.

"We've found some new clues," Chen Xuan said. "We need you to confirm them."

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

The photo shows a page from a notebook.

The top was covered with densely packed numbers: 777777777777777......

But amidst these numbers, I saw something else.

A line of small print:

"After the seventh day, do not trust anyone."

My heart skipped a beat.

"This was written by... Zhang Hao?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded. "It was found among his belongings."

Don't trust anyone.

What does this mean?

"There's one more thing," Su Mingyue began, "We analyzed Zhang Hao's timeline of death."

She took out a chart.

"Zhang Hao died at 3 AM on the eighth day. A window of opportunity when the rules were ineffective. But we discovered a strange phenomenon."

"What phenomenon?"

"Seven minutes before Zhang Hao died, his cell phone received a call."

"A phone call?" I was stunned. "Who called?"

"The number is encrypted, so we can't track it," Su Mingyue said. "But the call duration is quite interesting."

She pointed to a number on the chart: 7 minutes and 07 seconds.

It's 7 again.

"7 minutes and 07 seconds..." I murmured.

"Yes," Su Mingyue said, "We suspect that the phone call is related to his death."

My brain is working at lightning speed.

Zhang Hao received a phone call seven minutes before his death, which lasted 7 minutes and 07 seconds.

Then he died.

"Can you... find out more?" I asked.

"We're investigating," Chen Xuan said, "but there's something more important right now."

He looked at me with a serious expression.

Tomorrow is the fourth day.

Fourth day.

It suddenly occurred to me.

Today is the third day, and tomorrow will be the fourth day.

Zhang Hao died at 3 a.m. on the eighth day.

In other words, he completed the tasks for the first seven days, but died on the eighth day.

"What will the task be on the fourth day?" I asked.

"I don't know," Chen Xuan said. "The rules change every day; no one can predict them accurately. But one thing is certain—"

He paused.

"Starting from the fourth day, the rules will become more dangerous."

More dangerous.

Looking at the photo in my hand, and at the small print that read "Don't trust anyone," I suddenly had a bad feeling.

Chen Xuan, Su Mingyue...

There were others...

Who can we trust?