Chapter 2 Losing Merit and Gaining Merit
The 9th volume of the Mahayana Sutra (Da 44.899b): "When we talk about merit and virtue, merit means function. Good deeds have the function of benefiting the people, so they are called merit. This merit is the virtue of the good deeds, so it is called merit and virtue."
[Rule 1: If the merit of the contractor in the Merit Book is negative, the contractor will be killed. If the contractor's initial value is negative, the merit value can be exchanged for life or offset the negative merit value. The life exchange rate is 10 merits/day. If the merit for exchanging life cannot be paid within 24 hours and the contractor's merit value is still negative, the contractor will be killed. ]
Rong Yuan stared at the word "erase", his pupils dilated to the extreme in an instant, and for a moment, the fingers holding the merit book were trembling slightly.
—Eradicate? In other words, within 24 hours, if he couldn't find a way to get 10 merit points to pay for this tattered book, he would be erased?
——And this is not just a matter of one or two days. Until he has offset all the 178.5 million negative merit points, he must get at least 10 merit points every day to exchange for lives, and then he must find a way to obtain as many merit points as possible to offset the negative value, otherwise it will be impossible for him to even terminate the contract?
——Why did this happen to him? Where did the merit book come from? Why was the contract signed with him? What happened in the three days he lost? Why was his merit value so exaggerated? What did he do?
In an instant, countless questions popped up and completely occupied Rong Yuan's mind. The huge anger made him unable to think normally. Rong Yuan grabbed the merit book and threw it away fiercely, pressed his forehead and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down.
It's not that he didn't suspect that this was a high-tech prank, just like "The Truman Show". Maybe the person who arranged this scene was watching his every move through the camera on the other end for fun. But firstly, Rong Yuan was sure that he was just an ordinary person and it was not worth anyone spending so much energy to tease him like this; secondly, the technology reflected in this merit book was beyond the reach of any organization or country within his knowledge; thirdly, life is only once, even if all this is fake , being teased is much better than losing your life.
Therefore, the most urgent task at present is to find a way to get 10 merit points within the specified time limit, and then have the energy to consider other issues.
It shouldn't be difficult to gain merit, it's nothing more than doing some good deeds. But the most important question now is: when does the 24-hour limit start? If it starts from the time he sees this rule, then he still has plenty of time; but if it starts from the time he signs the contract... who knows when that is? Maybe he still has an hour, maybe he will be wiped out in the next minute.
So first of all, time is very important to him. If he doesn't want to die, he has to get 10 merit points as quickly as possible. Even if it's just one second earlier, his hope of survival will be greater.
Thinking of this, Rong Yuan immediately jumped off the bed, grabbed his clothes and pants from the closet and changed into them as quickly as possible, put on a pair of shoes at random, grabbed the merit book and stuffed it into his schoolbag, and rushed out of the house.
While running downstairs, Rong Yuan continued to think about the second question he had just thought of: he did not know the rules for calculating merit points in the merit book. If saving a life counted as one merit point, the possibility of him completing the task would be infinitely close to zero.
Again, how does the "erasure" of the merit book come about? If it creates all kinds of accidents to kill people like in Final Destination, can we find a way to avoid it? Or will the merit book release a strong electric current or ultrasound to kill him in an instant? Or will it explode for no reason like in Infinite Terror?
If the means of annihilation were some kind of technological means or an accident, he could still find a way to find a glimmer of hope; but if it was really a supernatural force, then there would be no hope.
——So, don't take chances. Make sure you survive first, then think about other things.
…
The Tai'an community in City A where Rong Yuan lives is not a remote area, but is located right near the city center. Tai'an community was built a long time ago, when City A was still very backward, and most people had no idea about location. Many people would choose to live in the suburbs because of the low housing prices - of course, the suburbs at that time are also excellent locations now. Rong Yuan's uncle was allocated this house because he worked in a state-owned enterprise.
Although the area is only about 70 square meters, the layout is outdated, the decoration is simple, and the exterior walls of the buildings are covered with traces of vicissitudes of wind and rain, the greenery of the community exceeds any high-end, international, and ultra-luxury residential areas advocated in advertisements. Tall trees that are decades or even hundreds of years old can be seen everywhere in the community. There are no parking spaces or fitness equipment installed in the open space between the buildings. It is full of various trees and flowers, as well as stone tables and stone benches placed by the residents themselves, which is comparable to a small ecological garden.
Tai'an Community is quiet and peaceful, but once you step out of the gate, it's like entering another world - looking in all directions, countless vehicles shuttle back and forth, and the signs of various shops on both sides of the road are more eye-catching than the other, and the goods displayed in the windows are dazzling. The sidewalks are crowded with people, and the sounds of cars, people talking, and music are heard, making the noise unbearable.
Because of the noise and chaos, Rong Yuan usually didn't like to go out, but he was very glad about it at this moment, because as soon as he went out, he saw a beggar.
He was a man who made people feel sympathy for him. He was only half the height of an average person, with nothing below his thighs, and was dirty. His hair was very long, covering most of his face. He "sat" on a crudely made wooden cart, sliding on the ground with his hands. In front of him was an old and dirty enamel cup.
Rong Yuan walked over, took out a dollar and put it in the beggar's cup. The beggar slowly turned his head and said "thank you" in a low and numb voice.
Rong Yuan ignored him, took out the merit book and flipped through it, but there was no change on it.
——Is it because he gave money for utilitarian purposes that he didn't have any merit points? Or is it because this little merit is too small to be counted?
Rong Yuan didn't believe it, so he put in another ten yuan. The beggar looked up at him in surprise, whispered "thank you", reached out and grabbed the ten yuan and stuffed it into his clothes.
There was still no reaction from the Merit Book.
Rong Yuan simply took out two hundred-yuan bills and put them into the beggar's bowl. He felt the book of merit in his hand warm up. He was delighted and quickly opened it. On the second page, he saw a few lines of words:
[The person who signed the Merit Book: Rong Yuan]
[Current Merit: -1]
[Exchangeable Merits: 0]
【Record of Merits and Losses:】
[Encouraging people to gain something for nothing, prompting Li Furui to strengthen his faith in begging, merit -1]
Merit -1?
hehe.
Rong Yuan quickly took the two hundred yuan back from the beggar, glanced at him, and said expressionlessly, "I'm just kidding."
Regardless of the reaction of the beggar who should be called Li Furui, Rong Yuan turned and left. After his merit points were deducted for teasing others, he calmed down completely. Although the threat of annihilation was still a sword hanging over his head, Rong Yuan had now found a way to delay its fall.
In order to gain merit points, one should help those who really need help - not those who pretend to be beg , not those who use other people's sympathy and compassion to satisfy their own selfish desires. His target should be those who are in trouble and urgently want others to lend a helping hand.
In the past, when he walked on the street, he never paid attention to the pedestrians on the road. Now, if he observes carefully, he will suddenly find many "target persons".
At a nearby intersection, an old man with a cane looked at the endless stream of vehicles in front of him hesitantly. Every time the green light came on, he would move forward a few steps, but soon a car turning right would whiz by. The old man had to step back a few steps and wait. Finally, the right-turning vehicles passed by and the red light came on.
Suddenly the old man's arm tightened, and a black-haired boy held his arm and said with a smile: "Grandpa, let me help you over."
The boy's eyes were clear and bright, his smile was faint but sincere, and his politeness was also a bit childish. The old man's lonely and sad mood could not help but feel a warm current, and the wrinkles on his face were all smoothed out, and he smiled very kindly.
"Good! Good! Good boy." The old man grabbed Rong Yuan's hand and said repeatedly.
Rong Yuan smiled and said nothing more. When the green light came on, he helped the old man across the road and watched him leave slowly after thanking him repeatedly. Rong Yuan opened the merit book and saw that a positive number finally appeared after two consecutive "-1".
[Helped Yang Aiguo, who was in trouble, to cross the road, merit +1] In the next two hours, Rong Yuan helped a vendor who accidentally scattered apples all over the ground to pick up apples, bought candied haws, ice cream and other snacks for three crying children, took a girl who fell down the stairs to the hospital, distributed flyers for a college student who was in a hurry to go to the toilet for five minutes, gave directions to two lost tourists, and bought a box lunch for a person who was rummaging through a trash can looking for food.
His existing merits and convertible merits have both become 8. In addition, a new rule has appeared in the title page: [Rule 4: Merits can be obtained by helping life forms in distress. The amount of merit obtained is positively correlated with the degree of distress of the recipient.]
