Chapter 4: Two-Option Reward

Xu Mo was startled in an instant—who was speaking?

He turned his head left and right, and there was absolutely no one around.

Except for the woman in the car's trunk.

However, the woman's mouth was sealed with black tape, clearly unable to make any sound.

Could it be an auditory hallucination?

Just as Xu Mo continued preparing to drive forward, that voice sounded again…

"In this Cat and Mouse Game, your choice is…"

"Choice 1: Be the cat."

"Choice 2: Be the mouse."

Not an auditory hallucination!

Now Xu Mo finally heard it; the voice seemed to appear out of nowhere beside his ear, or rather, in his mind.

What's going on?

Xu Mo's eyes were filled with astonishment; this was the first time in his life he had encountered something like this, and what surprised and puzzled him even more was the information the voice conveyed.

Cat and Mouse Game?

Be the cat or be the mouse?

It seems to be a choice game.

Since finishing work tonight, this series of events has kept Xu Mo's mind racing nonstop.

In his two lifetimes as a human, he has never experienced anything so thrilling.

How should he choose?

Xu Mo began to think.

However, his thoughtful expression was interpreted differently by the Water Friends watching in the Live Broadcast Room.

"Why did this guy stop?"

"Scared?"

"Definitely—this kid must be scared stiff."

"He suddenly became a Wanted Status, and if it were me, I'd be just as bewildered."

"Haha, I love seeing these Challengers look bewildered after seeing news of themselves being Wanted, it's so funny."

"I just hope this kid can hold out longer; otherwise the show is too short and boring."

Amid the scrolling Danmaku, Xu Mo quickly made his choice.

"I choose to be the cat!"

He whispered it silently to himself.

The next second, the voice rang in his mind again.

"You chose to be the cat!"

"You have received a Two-Option Reward."

"Rules for being the cat: In this Cat and Mouse Game, each time you successfully toy with the investigators, you will receive a corresponding reward."

"Toying with investigators comes with a reward?"

"What does that mean?"

"Does Xu Mo have to toy with the police officers coming to catch him?"

Xu Mo felt a headache; a normal person would never do that—it's courting death.

He had already inexplicably become a Wanted Status, and doing this would likely make the consequences even worse.

He rubbed his temples as the voice in his head kept going.

"Please choose your initial reward."

"1: Colt M1873 single-action revolver plus five magazines."

"3: Choose to increase brain‑cell activity by 2 points."

The voice by his ear made Xu Mo fall silent.

He suddenly felt it was absurd.

Because both reward options, whichever, seemed somewhat unreal.

They clashed with his life.

Why does it feel so nonsense?

It sounds just like playing a game.

Would this thing actually be useful if chosen?

Xu Mo thought for a moment—if the reward were real.

A handgun is obviously too flashy; holding it is like a hot‑potato, and how strict the country's gun control is, how could he not know?

If anyone discovered he had a gun, it would be a very troublesome matter.

Not to mention Xu Mo is still in a Wanted Status.

Then the choice was simple.

Xu Mo directly chose the second option: "I choose to increase brain‑cell activity by 2 points."

He was testing, probing whether the reward was truly real.

Almost as he made the choice.

Thud—thud!

Xu Mo felt his brain pulse as if a single ECG flash flickered in his mind; his whole head became unusually cool and comfortable, like having applied menthol oil, but a hundred times stronger.

In this state, he found his eyesight had improved.

His slightly nearsighted eyes now saw with unparalleled clarity.

The entire world cleared up before his eyes once more.

This long‑missed sense of clarity excited Xu Mo!

His brain also became extremely clear and active, and he felt boundlessly energetic, as if with infinite drive.

He had just finished his shift, exhausted from a day's work, already feeling mentally fatigued.

Now the drowsiness vanished, and the feeling was simply too pleasant.

He hadn't expected that the two‑choice reward was actually real?

At that moment Xu Mo felt indescribably excited, even his breathing became eager; the thrill made him temporarily forget the female celebrity in the car's trunk.

Because this was a physical change!

That means this Cat and Mouse Game can enhance bodily abilities!

It's a game!

A game he cannot comprehend.

A choice game!

Having sorted it all out, Xu Mo's hands on the steering wheel trembled slightly, both from the tension of being under Wanted Status and, more so, from excitement!

His excited expression, of course, was captured by the hidden in‑car camera and broadcast to the Live Broadcast Room.

Everyone saw Xu Mo's excitement!

"What's up with this guy?"

"He seems to be smiling?"

"Even under Wanted Status he can still smile, and be this excited?"

"This brother is acting weird!"

"This Challenger seems a bit different this time."

"He can't have a brain problem, can he?"

The Water Friends were surprised by Xu Mo's excited expression; of course, if Xu Mo had chosen the Colt M1873 Single‑Action Revolver, they wouldn't just be surprised—they'd make the entire Live Broadcast Room explode.

Even the Program Crew would explode!

Meanwhile.

Many Water Friends noticed that the Sky Eye Operation Live Channel 2 was also showing activity.

The Investigation Team's operation has begun!