"The day has finally come!" a young man exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement.
The man had dark circles under his eyes, and his body was drenched in sweat, causing his clothes to stick to his skin. It was the peak of summer, and despite his hopes, the temperature only got higher with each passing year, never lower.
"Today, I, Feng Fan, will buy the final Chapter of One Treasure!"
To make the last episode even more special, the publisher had decided to sell a thousand copies one day before its official release to those who arrived first at its headquarters.
Feng Fan, a devoted reader of One Treasure since its launch in 1997, couldn't miss the chance to get his hands on one of those copies. He was only ten years old when his father gave him a copy of the first Chapter of One Treasure to read, and he has been hooked ever since.
He had been camping in line for the past seven days. Feng Fan set up a small tent, barely big enough for him to sleep in.
Despite being in line for seven days, he wasn't first—he was ninth. There were eight other fanatics ahead of him.
The heat and his anxiousness had kept him from sleeping well in the past few days, but that didn't dampen his excitement. It was nearly 9 a.m., and the store was about to open for business.
A pretty woman in a white blouse, black pencil skirt, and high heels appeared. Her smile was polite as she greeted the customers in line.
"Good morning, everyone. Thank you for your patience. I'll be handling the sale of One Treasure's final Chapter today."
The first person in line paid a thousand dollars without hesitation, this was the price set by the company for those who wanted to buy one of the thousand copies ahead of time.
Despite the obvious rip-off, thousands of people lined up to buy it, but only a thousand would have the chance to be ripped off.
And they would do so with smiles full of excitement plastered on their faces.
When there was only one person left in front of Feng Fan, he felt his heart stir. It wasn't from arrhythmia or any other heart condition, of course.
Since he was young, Feng Fan had possessed a special ability—his sixth sense. Every now and then, he would feel it warning him.
It was random, but it was never wrong. Once, it saved his life; the last time, it helped him catch his girlfriend cheating.
'Damn it, what now?' Feng Fan thought to himself, but he still did what needed to be done.
He turned to look behind him and saw a dazed-looking guy with bloodshot eyes staring at the mountain of One Treasure Chapters. Feng Fan snapped his fingers in front of the guy, drawing his attention.
The guy took a step back in surprise, then glared at Feng Fan. "What?!"
Feng Fan wasn't bothered by the anger and smiled politely. "Hey, I see you're really eager for this. How about you take my spot in line, and I'll take yours?"
The guy was taken aback by Feng Fan's suggestion. It didn't make much sense to swap places since they would both get the Chapter in the end, but he nodded anyway.
"Great!" Feng Fan said.
They quickly switched spots, and the guy bought his Chapter without issue.
Feng Fan watched the guy leave, a puzzled look on his face. 'Huh? Why didn't anything happen? Did my sixth sense fail me today?'
"Hurry up! Just buy the Chapter and get lost!"
The irritated shout from the person behind snapped Feng Fan out of his thoughts.
Feng Fan looked behind him with a displeased expression and retorted, "Calm down, son. Your mother and I are already working on giving you a little brother. Don't be so impatient!"
He didn't wait for the man's response, he moved quickly, paid for his Chapter, and grabbed it. But before he could leave, a loud siren blared, drawing everyone's attention to him.
Suddenly, the woman selling the Chapters went behind the table where the Chapters were stored. She rummaged for a few seconds before finding what she was looking for—a confetti cannon and a straw hat.
She approached Feng Fan and, with a smile, set off the confetti in the air. Ignoring his stunned expression, she continued.
"Congratulations, customer! You've been selected to win the One Treasure protagonist's hat! This is a special prize just for you!"
She quickly handed him both the Chapter and the straw hat. Feng Fan took them, still in disbelief. After a moment, a big smile spread across his face, and he nearly jumped with joy.
'Good instincts! Very good! I'm definitely the luckiest person in the world!'
Grinning, he placed the straw hat on his head. That's when everything went black.