Countdown: Humanity's struggle to survive against yesterday

The elimination of 428 contestants with a single question was something no one had anticipated.

Putting aside the online discussions, even the contestants themselves were bewildered.

This naturally included Chang Niankong. He saw that he had advanced, paused for two seconds, and then took off his headphones.

However, before leaving the live stream, he made a point of glancing at the qualifying spots, a gesture that drew laughter from a group of people in the alley.

"Master Chang is experienced; he's afraid he'll pull this stunt again during the next national selection competition."

"That's right. Who would have thought that you would need to memorize your opponent's name before the competition? It truly lives up to its name as a memory contest."

Seeing that the match was over, Yang Hongliang quickly stepped forward and said, "Congratulations, Master Chang..."

"Thank you for your trouble!" Chang Niankong cupped his hands in greeting.

"No, no, you're too kind, Master Chang." Yang Hongliang returned the greeting with a cupped hand. "Master Chang's performance just now was truly astonishing. You actually got first place with a perfect score again. It's truly admirable."

"Just lucky."

After Chang Niankong finished speaking, he noticed that the shop owner looked uncomfortable, so he smiled and said, "Boss Yang, don't be so reserved. Just speak normally. This fancy way of using words is outdated."

"Yes, yes, Master Chang is awesome! Um... could I get his autograph?"

"Here, have this talisman!"

Chang Niankong took off the peach wood charm from his waist and handed it to Yang Hongliang, saying, "Anyway, the signature can't be preserved, but this will make you happy for half a day."

"this……"

Yang Hongliang reached out and took the peach wood talisman, his eyes filled with surprise: "Master Chang is truly a wonderful person; the emotional value he has given is truly abundant."

"Don't rush, I also have a favor to ask of Boss Yang."

"Oh, is there anything I can do for Master Chang?"

"Do you have a backdoor here...?"

……

Chang Niankong thought he was all set after avoiding the people at the entrance of the Moyu Internet Cafe, but little did he know that his first-person perspective video of the match had already been uploaded online after the game ended.

"Shocking! A real-life Taoist priest descending the mountain!"

"Was he a Taoist priest, or a genius of memory? Let's recount the life of Master Chang."

"The Great Regression Era: A Taoist priest who had achieved great success in his cultivation came down from Longhu Mountain."

"On Chang Daoshi's performance in the city qualifying rounds..."

One headline after another fell into the internet like thunderclaps, instantly drawing the attention of netizens across the country to Longhu Mountain.

The main reason is that the memory competition is currently very popular, and the Taoist profession has always been shrouded in mystery.

When the two collided, coupled with the encouragement of local authorities in Longhushan, things escalated.

In just three hours, Chang Niankong suddenly appeared on the trending topics of various social media platforms across the country.

After some people compiled the scores of the 940 contestants who advanced from 2000 live broadcast rooms, they were surprised to find that Chang Niankong was the number one in the national city qualifying competition.

Not only did it get a perfect score, but it also took the least amount of time.

This sparked a frenzy, with the wind fanning the flames and the flames fueling the fire. The entire internet was abuzz with discussion, with everyone shocked at just who this Master Chang really was.

Soon, information about Master Chang was leaked.

First, on the Peking University campus forum, many teachers and students said, "Isn't this Chang Niankong? He used to be an outstanding student at their school."

Then, another Fortune 500 company revealed that this person was once a senior executive in their company with an annual salary of one million.

Before everyone could even process this information, someone else revealed that Chang Niankong was the top liberal arts student in their province back then.

The words "outstanding student of Peking University," "PhD," "company executive," and "top liberal arts student" are all labels that are usually attached to Nian Kong. But when people come here, they realize that each of these identities is beyond the reach of ordinary people, compared to his identity as a Taoist priest.

In comparison, the Taoist priest's identity is the least noticeable one.

However, this most inconspicuous identity has greatly aroused the curiosity of the public and netizens.

They were all astonished: "What kind of experience could lead someone to enlightenment?"

The public discussed this issue for three days straight, but no conclusion was reached.

In a similar vein, the nameless Taoist temple on Longhu Mountain, which netizens call the Sanqing Temple, has been packed with visitors these past few days.

In the past, the temple was deserted and rarely visited, but now it is crowded with people every day. The pilgrims who stayed near Longhu Mountain after the major decline, as well as local residents, come in groups every day.

In the past, the local tourism industry would have been overjoyed; this would have been an unprecedented windfall.

But now, in this era of great regression, all traffic is no longer useful, and it is precisely because of this that the public's curiosity about Master Chang can be better demonstrated.

The public's enthusiasm lasted for five days, but they discovered that Master Chang seemed to have vanished into thin air. Every time the world rolled back, he would disappear without a trace in less than three hours.

Where did Master Chang go?

Actually, I'm still at the Fishing Internet Cafe in Lanshui Town.

In the past few days, a cover alliance has been secretly formed, led by Mayor Yang, Principal Han, Yang Hongliang, Wei Xiaoshuai, and a group of villagers from Lanshui Town.

They specifically protected Master Chang from outside interference, allowing him to focus on preparing for the national selection competition.

The national selection competition is held a week after the city qualifying competition.

This is not because the city promotion event was not completed, but because the authorities deliberately stretched out the time to maintain the buzz and keep the countless people who don't know what to do in this era of great regression having something to do.

With one day left before the national selection competition, a lively atmosphere was taking place in a private room at the Moyu Internet Cafe.

"Master Chang, hurry up, hurry up! He'll be crippled!" Wei Xiaoshuai shouted excitedly.

"Oh dear, what a pity... my oil!"

Chang Niankong saw the screen flicker, blinded by a flashbang thrown by the opponent, and then the screen went black. Helpless, he put down the mouse.

Yang Hongliang chuckled: "Master Chang, I've figured it out. You're good at memory-based games, but FPS games are really not for you."

"You bet..." Chang Niankong readily accepted the assessment, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I'm getting old. When I was younger, I could jump three times in one go. I just didn't expect this game to still be running. It really brings back memories!"

"Operation my foot!" Wei Xiaoshuai said with a sneer. "It just launched. I heard that major game companies release some old games every now and then. Playing games is really free now. As long as you log in, you can have a blast."

"But this isn't fun either!" Yang Hongliang said with a bit of weariness. "It directly increased the drop rate. I got two hearts in three rounds. The first two rounds were somewhat interesting, but now I suddenly find it boring."

Chang Niankong: "Isn't life like this? You feel a sense of accomplishment when you achieve something little by little, but you quickly lose the fun if you try to get everything at once."

"Is this why Master Chang entered the Dao? Did he unlock all the worldly achievements too early?" Yang Hongliang asked curiously.

He often smiled silently.

"Hey you two, stop playing games and think so much. Come on, let's keep attacking..." Wei Xiaoshuai said casually.

The simple joy of gaming is always fleeting. After the three of them lost more than a dozen games in a row, there was a sudden knock on the door of the private room.

Yang Hongliang went to open the door and was surprised to see Mayor Yang standing in the doorway, with a middle-aged man in military uniform standing behind him.

"Master Chang, I'm sorry to have disturbed your game. Can we have a chat?" Mayor Yang asked Chang Niankong with a smile.