Old Wang sat on his creaky office chair, staring at the constantly refreshing "cat tax" payment records on his screen. This was the third time he had hit the refresh button, and the numbers were climbing like crazy weeds, each one higher than the last. Just a few months ago, who would have thought that this previously obscure Xiaohongshu account would become wildly popular because of a bunch of American netizens paying "cat tax"?

Initially, Old Wang just wanted to post photos of his tabby cat named "Tuanzi", mundane things like "Tuanzi slept all day again," and "Tuanzi ate half my bread." Until one day, an American netizen commented, saying that seeing Tuanzi reminded them of their cat that had recently passed away and they felt healed, adding in broken Chinese, "This cat, I want to pay tax."

He was once a popular idol, the prince charming in the hearts of countless young girls, the affectionate Zhong Tianqi in the TV series "My Lucky Star."

But now, he has become a suspect in a murder case, locked up in a cold prison. His past halo has long faded, leaving only endless darkness and remorse.

Old Wang was selected.

Not for the lottery, nor for a promotion, but for the company's newly launched "Firewall Project." The HR manager patted him on the shoulder, beaming, "Old Wang, you're usually so diligent and honest at work; this project is perfect for you!"

Old Wang opened a "Fortune Recycling Station" in a corner of a waste recycling center on the edge of the city. To put it nicely, it's recycling, but in reality, it's just reselling. Reselling what? Certainly not bottles and cans, but the "Five Blessings" that Alipay promotes every Spring Festival.

These days, who cares about those few yuan in red envelopes? Old Wang knows that people collect blessings for the sake of the excitement and the sense of ritual. But Old Wang doesn't think that way. He thinks it's a big business.

“Add episodes! Add episodes! Add episodes!”

On Little Li's computer screen, the barrage was filled with the words “add episodes,” so dense that it seemed to burst the screen.

Old Wang was a well-known "Fu collector" in his company. Every year during Alipay's Five Fu collection event, he would get as excited as if he had been injected with chicken blood, searching everywhere. This year was no exception. He opened Alipay on time every day, scanned for Fu characters, watered energy trees, and wished he could poke a hole through his phone screen.

This year was different. Alipay had launched a "Universal Rare Card." The official promotion stated that this card could be used to randomly redeem any Fu card, greatly increasing the probability of collecting all five Fu. Old Wang, of course, was no exception. He put in all his effort, running around, and asking people to scan his Fu characters. Finally, on the last day of the event, he got what he wanted, a golden, sparkling Universal Card.

Old Wang has recently become obsessed with "inner strength" courses.

It started when the company organized a "corporate culture" training session. The main speaker was a so-called spiritual mentor, who spoke eloquently on the stage: “People with inner strength should have a positive attitude, embrace change, not be afraid of challenges, and dare to take responsibility...”

At the company's year-end party, the lights were dim, and the air was filled with the scent of cheap perfume and the subtle aroma of alcohol. The host, a greasy middle-aged man, was announcing the winner of the "Annual Best Creative Award" in his high-pitched voice.

"She is the pride of our company! She is the epitome of innovative thinking! She is our administrative assistant, Li Wei!"

Old John, a retired firefighter, habitually sat on the porch of his small cabin at the foot of the mountains in the evening, gazing at the distant peaks. Today, the sky was an unusually deep red; it wasn't the sunset glow, but a wildfire. Since that "redirected" fire, he had been watching like this every day, a nameless feeling always weighing on his heart.

Autumn in Los Angeles, even the air is burning.

The wildfires are like runaway wild horses, ravaging the edge of the city. On television news, the smoke billows, the flames lick at the hillsides, a scene of the apocalypse.