Delta: Mandel Bricks drop right at the start!

If you don't pay back the money within three days, I'll personally come and kick down the door of your rented apartment.

The person on the other end of the phone had a husky voice, and the words they uttered were rough and harsh, irritating Lin Rui's ears.

He took the phone away from his ear, looked at the call timer flashing on the screen, and waited until the threatening words finished before pressing the hang-up button.

There was a water stain on the ceiling of the rented room, shaped like a question mark.

Lin Rui lay on the creaking single bed, staring at the question mark for a full twenty minutes.

370,000.

The mess left by his father, plus the 150,000 yuan he was swindled out of while acting as a guarantor for someone during his university years.

Two debts weighed on the head of a young man who had just graduated six months ago and couldn't even find a stable job.

My phone vibrated again; this time it was a text message.

"Lin Rui, your rent is seven days overdue this month. If you don't pay soon, I'll have to change the locks. —Aunt Zhang"

Lin Rui tossed his phone next to his pillow and rolled over.

He looked at the assembled computer on the table and the half-new neural-connected virtual reality headset next to it.

That was his last valuable possession.

He bought the helmet on installment last year during Singles' Day, and he still hasn't finished paying it off in 24 installments, but it's his only way out.

Delta Force: Peak Operation

This globally popular virtual reality tactical extraction game opened a channel for the free exchange of HAF coins and real-world currency three months ago.

Every bullet, every armor plate, and every modified weapon in the game has a corresponding real-world value.

It's not news that professional gold farmers can earn over 10,000 yuan a month through this; top players can earn an average person's annual salary in a single game.

But that's the story of top players.

Lin Rui's gaming skills? He knew in his heart that he was only a below-average player.

After playing for two months, I only had enough Huff Coins in my account to buy a set of Tier 2 equipment; I hadn't even gotten my hands on Tier 3 armor.

"How about... we try one last time?"

Lin Rui sat up in bed, opened the drawer, and found a crumpled note inside. It was handwritten: "This month's goal - save up 3000 Haff coins to exchange for 300 yuan to pay for another month's rent."

Three thousand Huff coins are just a fraction of what many players earn in a single game, but for him it's an astronomical sum.

But if we don't take a gamble today, that door will really be kicked open in three days.

Lin Rui picked up the virtual reality headset and put it on his head.

The neural connection was activated, a string of blue calibration dots flashed in front of the retina, and then the entire scene of the rental house faded away, replaced by a vast 3D loading interface.

"Welcome back, Operator."

The system's female voice announcement ended, and the character selection interface popped up.

Lin Rui glanced at his operator profile: Level 12, dismal combat record, his most valuable piece of equipment was a P92 pistol with a modified grip.

Select a map.

Zero Dam, Changgong Valley, Space Base.

Longbow Valley requires a level of 20 or higher to enter, while the Space Base requires level 30.

Lin Rui only had one choice—Dam Zero, a beginner's map and also the most crowded battlefield for those who grind for resources.

Click to enter the matching process.

Ten seconds left in the countdown.

When the screen went black and then came back on, Lin Rui was already standing in the abandoned shed on the east side of Dam Zero.

Virtual sunlight at four o'clock in the afternoon streamed in through the broken window, and digital dust particles floated in the air.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard in the distance, indicating that other players had already engaged in combat.

Lin Rui looked down and inspected his equipment—a P92 pistol, two spare magazines, and an empty level 2 backpack.

"Alright, let's check two supply crates first, and see what we find."

He pushed open the iron gate of the shed, the hinges making a harsh metallic scraping sound.

Outside the door is a cement corridor that extends along the dam, and at the corner at the end of the corridor is a green, ordinary supply box.

Lin Rui crouched down, reached over, and squatted down to open the box.

Just as my fingers touched the lid of the box.

His perspective changed; something else appeared out of nowhere.

A semi-transparent filter was superimposed directly onto the game screen, giving him the ability to see through objects.

The contents of the box were clearly scanned—a roll of bandages, a packet of painkillers, and half a box of 9mm pistol ammunition.

At the same time, a line of golden text appeared in the center of his retina:

[Tactical withdrawal system activated.]

[Host's current status detected: Heavily in debt, poorly equipped, and with a dismal combat record.]

[The "Guaranteed Big Win" mechanism has been triggered for the first time.]

Please turn northwest and look 37 meters away; there is a forgotten hidden safe.

Lin Rui stopped moving.

He subconsciously raised his hand and waved it in front of his eyes, but the line of gold characters remained suspended in mid-air without moving.

It wasn't the game's built-in user interface, nor any system prompts he had ever seen before.

"What the hell?"

He turned his head and looked around. The corridor was empty, and the sound of gunfire could still be heard intermittently in the distance.

The perspective filter was still there; he could even "see through" the concrete wall in front of him.

Behind the wall is another storage room containing two weapon crates and a medkit supply station.

Further northwest, through two layers of walls, the outline of an object came into view, its edges gleaming with a faint golden light.

That was a safe.

In Delta Force, there are many types of safes, ranging from ordinary green military safes to rare red secret safes. The higher the level, the greater the probability of finding good items.

However, regardless of the type of box, it requires a keycard or decoder of the corresponding level to open.

The safe in his field of vision had a color he had never seen in the game before.

gold.

The golden light was rich and had a heavy, metallic feel.

[This safe contains: 1 Mandel Brick. Estimated in-game value: 15,000,000 Haf Coins.]

[Equivalent to approximately 10,000,000 RMB.]

Lin Rui's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Ten million?

He looked at the number three more times.

The decimal point is correct, and the number of zeros is also correct.

Ten million, seven zeros, followed by the word "yuan".

His entire net worth is less than three hundred yuan.

"It's a lie, right?" Lin Rui muttered, but his legs were already moving involuntarily towards the northwest.

Walk through the corridor, push open an unlocked fire door, and pass through a passageway filled with rusty iron barrels.

The system provides a route so precise that it shows the exact location of each step, even marking which paving stone will make a sound when stepped on.

Lin Rui covered the 37-meter distance in less than 40 seconds.

He stopped in front of a cement wall that looked no different from the other walls.

But when viewed through the light, a hidden compartment is embedded in the inner side of the wall, inside which is a small, bronze-colored safe.

"How do I open it?"

[Weakness detected in the wall structure. Strike the marked area three times with the butt of your rifle.]

A red crosshair appeared on the wall in my field of vision.

Lin Rui gripped the butt of the P92, aimed at the mark, and swung his arm to smash it.

The first crack appeared on the cement surface.

The second crack widened, revealing the hollow structure inside.

On the third strike, a piece of cement the size of a bowl fell off, revealing a corner of the safe.

Lin Rui reached out and pried open the pieces, pulling out the safe.

The box is not large, about the size of two shoe boxes, with a ring of intricate patterns engraved on the surface and an electronic combination lock in the middle.

[The password has been cracked. Please rotate three times and then press the center button.]

He did as instructed.

Click.

The safe popped open, and blinding golden light burst forth from the gaps, instantly filling the entire storage room.

A beam of light shot into the sky from the box, piercing through the ceiling and transforming into a dazzling golden cloud of light above Dam Zero, which lingered for a long time.

Lin Rui looked down into the box.

A gold brick the size of a palm rests on a black velvet cushion.

The surface of the brick has a fine mandelbrot pattern that shimmers under the light.

Mandel bricks.

The rarest and most valuable item in the entire game Delta Force, bar none.

It is the hard currency anchor of the HAFcoin exchange system, with one brick having a face value of 15 million HAFcoins.

Most players will never see a physical model of this item in their entire lives; they'll only catch a glimpse of it from afar in the official item catalog.

It's now in Lin Rui's hands.

[Automatically picked up. Please note: Mandel Brick has been added to your inventory's special items slot.]

[Warning: This item is extremely valuable. While carried, it will mark a golden signal point on the radar of all players across the map. Duration: Until extraction or death.]

Lin Rui's fingers tightened slightly.

A golden signal dot. That means every player on the map, including the seasoned veterans clad in level 6 heavy armor and wielding fully modified M4s, will know that someone has obtained a Mandel brick in this map.

They would pounce on him from all sides of the map and tear him to pieces.

He only had a P92 pistol and two magazines.

"Where is the evacuation point?"

The nearest evacuation point is located at the pier at the north end of the dam, approximately 420 meters from your current location. Estimated walking time: 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

[Warning: At least three groups of players have been detected moving towards the northern dock.]

Lin Rui licked his slightly dry lips.

Four hundred and twenty meters, three groups of enemies, and a small pistol.

Ten million.

He released the safety on the P92, pulled the slide to confirm it was loaded.

The sound of the bullet entering the chamber echoed loudly in the storage room.

"It was worth it."

He pushed open the door and took his first step toward the north end of the dock.

Behind them, the golden cloud of light had not completely dissipated.

In every corner of the dam, all the players were focused on the conspicuous golden dot on the radar.

In the in-game voice chat, someone was already shouting: "Look at the radar! Gold signal! Someone got a gold item!" "In the East District! Hurry! Bring all your ammo!"

Lin Rui gripped the P92 in his hand tightly and quickened his pace.

The echo in the concrete corridor amplified his footsteps twice as much, but he no longer cared about concealing himself.

420 meters.

Ten million.

Just run.