"Bang!"

The sound of fist striking flesh echoed through the chaotic basement.

The boy was tied to a chair, after enduring a heavy punch from the man in front of him, he fell weakly to the floor.

The fist landed on his stomach, as if it was twisting his intestines with pain.

The man who hit him was named Cyrus, the head of this place.

On the surface, he ran a collection company, but in reality, he was involved in some shady loan-sharking businesses.

The boy being beaten was Harper, seventeen this year.

Three months ago, his family suffered a misfortune, and in order to make some quick money, he reluctantly became one of Cyrus's "salesmen".

"Harper, don't you fall asleep."

Cyrus spat at the wall, then hoisted Harper up by his collar.

His eyes were wide open, filled with bloodshot veins, trying to oppress the young man with his spirit.

"Where's my money? Where did you put my money?"

Harper didn't speak, so another heavy punch landed on his face.

This time it hit his eye, Harper wondered if his eyeball had been smashed, everything in front of him was black.

But thinking about it now was of no use.

The money Cyrus was talking about was a sum he had lent out a while ago.

Seventy thousand yuan, just enough to pay for Harper's sister Hogan's hospital treatment fees.

Hogan is Harper's sister.

Three months ago, Harper was a normal high school student preparing for his college entrance exam, with both parents and a cute sister, living in a harmonious and happy family.

Not much different from others—ah no, a little, just a little.

He was a bit luckier than the average person.

Yes, Harper was a very lucky person—once.

His family was wealthy, his parents were loving.

His sister Hogan, although quiet and sometimes a bit strange, was kind-hearted.

He always got the content he reviewed a few days before the exam in the test, and even if he didn't know the multiple-choice questions, he would probably answer them correctly if he guessed randomly.

He always had green lights when he went out, he never encountered traffic jams.

He guessed the outcome of football matches, as long as it didn't involve money, he would probably guess right, no matter the strength of both sides.

So Harper thought he was a very lucky person.

With this luck, he got into a good middle school and was about to get into a good university.

But everything changed in the car accident three months ago.

The day after his father, mother, and sister sent him to take the college entrance examination.

They met a boy about his age at the intersection.

It was a boy who looked no different from ordinary students.

Seventeen or eighteen years old, with short bangs, looking very honest.

Holding a transparent tote bag, inside were standard mechanical pencils and filling rulers.

No one in the family knew him, but the other party stopped the car very anxiously because he missed the bus.

If no one gave him a ride, the boy would miss the comprehensive paper exam of the college entrance examination.

Fortunately, the boy's exam room was the same as Harper's.

The kind-hearted family opened the car door and invited him in.

However, not long after, something strange happened.

They hit a red light.

A full one hundred and twenty seconds of red light.

For Harper, this was a rare thing.

He found it strange, but the accident came faster than the doubt.

So fast that it didn't give this family time to say goodbye.

A very fast mixer truck came from one side of the road.

Without slowing down at all, it hit the small car the family was riding in.

Harper passed out on the spot.

When he woke up, he learned that his father who was sitting in the driver's seat and his mother who was sitting on the left side of the back row died on the spot, and his sister sitting in the middle was seriously injured and admitted to the ICU.

He was not seriously injured because he was sitting in the co-pilot and could be discharged from the hospital.

"What about... the other boy?"

"No, there were no other people in the car besides you."

The boy disappeared, taking with him two lively lives and Harper's innate luck, disappearing without a trace.

Harper missed his college entrance examination.

His life also began to become difficult from that day.

The family's property was quickly emptied after the death of his parents, the company's assets were handled, and the house was auctioned off and mortgaged.

Harper almost went to jail, but he had no idea what had happened.

When he returned home to get money for his sister Hogan's treatment, there was nothing left in the house.

Cyrus came to the door to collect the debt.

Harper couldn't come up with the money, but fortunately, he had a good physique.

He became Cyrus's "salesman", using his status as a minor to run some hard-to-recover funds for him.

Harper did a good job, he had learned Sanda, he knew the weight of his hands, and he had collected a lot of money for Cyrus during this period.

But the salary Cyrus promised—5% commission he could never get.

Hogan stayed in the hospital longer and longer, her head was seriously injured, and she might have to stay in the ICU for the rest of her life.

The hospital called Harper every day, the collector was being collected, which made him feel desperate.

So one day, after he collected the debt, he didn't return to the headquarters of the collection company.

Instead, he went straight to the hospital.

He handed seven bundles of cash to the hospital counter, all of which were charged into Hogan's treatment account.

But this is just a drop in the bucket, as for what to do next—God knows, maybe he will die.

Seventy thousand yuan is not a huge sum, but Harper's unilateral action made Cyrus feel that his prestige was challenged.

So, it became what it is now.

Harper didn't know what had happened—he meant, his life.

His life—his happy and contented life, was abruptly stopped at some point.

It became a nightmare he couldn't shake off.

The phone on the table with a cracked screen buzzed, it was Harper's phone.

The incoming call was an unknown number, Cyrus glanced at him, threw off the fresh blood on his hand, and handed the phone to Harper's ear after answering the call.

He wasn't so kind-hearted, he was just worried that it was a call from the hospital, if he answered it, he might be able to get the paid fees refunded.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a call from the hospital.

The other end of the phone was a very stiff mechanical sound, this was the third time Harper had received this mysterious unknown call.

"Do you want to remain silent in the wave of mediocrity, or do you want to struggle with fate, not be content with the status quo, and step into that unknown mysterious world..."

The opening line of this unknown number was always this sentence every time it called.

At first, Harper thought it was a call from an offshore gambling website, and he hung up very straightforwardly.

The second time he received it was on the subway, at that time he had seven bundles of cash in his bag and was on his way to the hospital.

So on the subway, he asked: "Scammer? I have no money, you got the wrong person."

The other party was silent, then replied: "You've made your decision, haven't you?"

Decision?

At that time he had just made a decision, to transfer the money to the hospital and let the hospital treat Hogan again.

This question made Harper feel a chill in the back of his head, making him inexplicably associate with his own luck and everything that happened recently.

He immediately hung up the phone.

This time in the basement, it was the third time.

After the voice on the other end of the phone finished its opening line, it didn't wait for Harper's answer.

Cyrus's punch was very heavy, and Harper wanted to vomit now.

Harper, who was a child loved by his parents three months ago, couldn't stand such a beating.

He thought, whoever it was, either come and help him, or kill him.

He became a person carrying debt, deeply trapped in a collection company, with no future.

In today's society, having no future is a terrifying thing.

So the voice on the other end of the phone rang again.

"Do you need help, Mr. Harper?"

Look, how polite.

Even in this situation, he still calls people Mr.

Harper coughed violently a few times, then retched a few times.

"If you do, please say to me 'I accept Smith's proposal', and our agreement will take effect immediately."

What happens when it takes effect...

"Then, you will get help."

Damn it...

I didn't say anything...

This thing...

Can it read minds?

Absurdity covered Harper, making him feel fearful and bringing him confidence from nowhere.

Anyway, can it be worse than it is now?

"I accept..." he opened his mouth with difficulty.

After all, there's no other choice, right?

Cyrus bent down with a frown, "What did you say? I told you to tell them to refund the money..."

"Smith's proposal..."

The inexplicable words made Cyrus angry, he threw away the phone, and punched Harper's face.

The agreement was reached, and naturally there was no need for other media.

The stiff and mechanical voice sounded directly in Harper's brain.

"Agreement signed successfully, Mr. Harper, you have become the 18146th guest of Smith."

The fist froze in front of him, and the next moment, it was like daylight.

---