John Carter nodded. “Unlike you, I don’t have any family background to rely on. I have no special skills, and the major I studied doesn’t make it easy to find a job. Four years from now, I’ll have to survive in Huadu City, where housing prices are over ten thousand per square meter. I have to start working hard now, or I won’t even be able to pay off my student loans in the future. Besides… my dad’s health isn’t good.”

John Carter lived in the countryside. His parents ran a small rural clinic, but his father’s health had always been poor. He would sell medicine while taking it himself, and life was tough. The money to build their new house was borrowed.

The burden on John Carter’s shoulders was heavy. The pressure in today’s society is just too much. Even if John Carter graduated with excellent grades in every subject, with no work experience, it would be impossible for him to find a high-paying job in Huadu. Even if he did, the family’s debts, including student loans, would take him two or three years to pay off. By then, things like marriage or dating would be luxuries he couldn’t afford.

So, while other freshmen were still falling in love and dreaming about the future, he had to start working hard right away.

Mule patted John Carter on the shoulder. “Say no more, bro, I’ve got your back. Come on, let’s have a drink.”

……

The two of them drank for an hour, finishing half a case of beer. Mule could really hold his liquor, but John Carter was just average, and soon got tipsy. By ten o’clock, he was in bed, fast asleep.

As for Mule, he rented an apartment outside and lived with his girlfriend. Once John Carter fell asleep, he went out to be with her—they had plans to go shopping together the next day.

Mule’s girlfriend was his neighbor; they’d grown up together. A big reason Mule applied to the Chinese Department at Lingnan University was for her. Her family was well-off, too. Both families had already met and agreed that they’d get married after graduation.

As for John Carter’s other roommate, his name was Olivia Miller, and like John Carter, he was single. He was a local from Huadu City, and since tomorrow was the weekend, he’d skipped class and gone home that afternoon.

So today, only John Carter was in the dorm.

Half-asleep, John Carter had a dream. He dreamed he became a great thief who could fly and vanish at will, punishing evil, stealing secret treasures, righting wrongs, amassing countless riches, and winning the hearts of countless beauties…

The John Carter in the dream was so awesome that even he realized he was dreaming. Later, because he’d drunk too much, John Carter woke up needing to pee, and the beautiful dream was cut short.

What a strange dream. John Carter groggily got up, but suddenly saw someone standing in front of his desk. The room was so dark he couldn’t see the person’s face…

John Carter was startled awake, all his drowsiness gone. “Damn it, Olivia, what are you doing up in the middle of the night trying to scare me to death?!”

No response…

Wait, that person looked about the same height as Olivia, but on closer inspection, the outline didn’t quite match. Besides, Olivia had gone home today—there was no reason for him to come back to the dorm in the middle of the night.

At this thought, John Carter’s heart skipped a beat. Who was this person? What did they want?

A thief? A robber? A murderer?

A chill ran down John Carter’s spine. Instinctively, he reached out for something handy to defend himself, but all he grabbed was his phone.

“Who the hell are you?”

John Carter turned on the phone’s backlight. In the glow, he almost cried out in shock—the person standing in front of the desk was… himself?

How could that be!?

But looking at the facial features, it was clearly identical to himself. If that was him, then what was “that lump” lying on the bed?

Was he still dreaming?

Was he seeing things from drinking too much?

Definitely not. This real and vivid feeling couldn’t be fake.

Could it be that he’d died sleepwalking, and his soul had left his body?

Was the one on the bed the soul, and the one at the desk the body?

Damn it, what kind of joke is this!

John Carter was furious. He rolled out of bed and—“snap!”—turned on the light!

The old fluorescent lamp flickered, as if it was struggling to turn on, and the figure in the room appeared and disappeared in the flashing light. Those few seconds felt especially long…

John Carter instinctively gripped his phone tightly. This old brick phone was heavy—if that figure rushed at him, he’d throw it with all his might, and it would probably break the guy’s head.

Finally, the whole room lit up. When John Carter saw the scene before him, his mouth dropped open wide enough to fit an egg. He just stared blankly at the “himself” in front of the desk, unable to speak for a long time.

That person really did look exactly like him, except the eyes were completely lifeless. But that wasn’t what shocked John Carter—he’d already prepared himself for that. What surprised him was that the person was actually wearing the grave robber’s cloak from the game “Gods and Demons,” with a pair of blood-red attack claws strapped to his hands, gale greaves on his legs, and boots of speed on his feet. Looking at his neck and hands, there was even an assassin’s ring and a gale necklace.

This… isn’t this exactly the equipment he wore in “Gods and Demons”?

John Carter felt like his brain couldn’t keep up. What did this mean? Could it be that… this person was the “himself” from the game?