Night fell on December 9th. There were only a few cigarettes left in the box, and the music in the KTV gradually faded. His voice was low, unsure if he was talking to himself or to his friend, “Today is not over yet, it hasn't ended, right...” His friend was whispering sweet nothings to the princess, as if he heard but didn't hear. Suddenly, he turned over and let out a hum, as if responding, but it also seemed not.

“Tomorrow might get better,” he thought, accompanying his princess to the restroom but hadn’t returned yet. In a daze, he caught a glimpse of the phone tossed aside, suddenly feeling an indescribable anxiety.

He sat up, leaning against the sofa, resting his legs on the low table, lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. The spotlight flickered, and his expression was hard to discern. He thought about the ups and downs of the past few months.

... ... Starting from mid-November, a dozen people continuously chatted in the WeChat group about counterfeit and MEME. Everyone rushed to say they hit the jackpot and began to flaunt their earnings. One said he made tens of thousands of USDT from a Dago contract, while another said he also made thousands from ACT. For a day or two, it was still manageable. By the third and fourth days, he started to feel envious. In the group, he still sternly advised everyone to stay steady and take profits when they can. Behind the scenes, he took out some money to open contracts, probably a few hundred USDT.

What kind of contract should I open? Bitcoin at 100,000 is too high, and Ethereum seems to always be underperforming. How about trying some MEME? After thinking for a while, he suddenly heard a friend mention ACT, saying it's some AI concept, so let's go with that. He entered the market price directly, leveraged it 20 times. Seems like it was around this time? He didn’t think too much, threw his phone aside, and fell into a deep sleep.

He got up, continued to be busy, and forgot about the opened contracts; the group also quieted down. After a few days, the group suddenly became lively again, with someone frantically praising ACT in the group. Suddenly, he thought of his own opened contract? He opened his phone to see an 800% return, turning a few hundred USDT into several thousand USDT, and quickly closed the position.

It felt like a dream. The sunlight streamed in from outside, “This is truly a new day,” he thought to himself but regretted a bit if only he had opened a few tens of thousands of USDT!

... ... Another night, the market was still very lively. He suddenly regretted closing the position so early. He used to not pay much attention to the market, but he started checking the K-line charts every day. The bright phone screen, the dancing numbers, slowly transformed into a vortex, shimmering and extending, giving a feeling that if he stepped in again, he could grasp the light of his future life.

You just have to seize the light; it seems like only Ethereum hasn't increased, but anyway, it's all profit, so why not take a gamble? I bought Ethereum for a few thousand USDT, and it's still 20 times.

But that night, it felt like he didn't sleep that soundly. This position was not so easily forgotten, and dawn came a little earlier. The first thing he did upon waking was no longer to smoke a cigarette but to check his phone. 200%? His eyes widened; during this time, he had been drinking and singing at KTV with friends until late at night and rarely saw the dawn. So when he saw the sunlight like thin gauze floating over the garden outside, he felt very excited. “What a beautiful day,” he thought; seeing beautiful scenery during the day and beautiful women at night, the past few decades were not as comfortable as this one month.

The market seemed to have been good for a long time; it seemed to have risen for a long time, but no one noticed. Yet he continued to bet, this time it became 100,000 USDT, still 20 times, still Ethereum. He heard people say Ethereum would rise to 10K, but now it’s only 4K!

That evening, he went to a KTV with friends again. This time, he had a new princess, who spoke elegantly.

“New here, how come I haven't seen you before?” he asked.

“I just came to Guangzhou recently,” the princess said, “I've only been here for a few days.”

“I feel like you are different from other princesses.”

“No, I guess,” after a pause, the princess added, “it's also due to life's pressures.”

“A seriously ill mom, a gambling dad, and a brother who needs to study?”

“Hahaha, do you believe such a joke?”

“I don't believe it.”

“It’s a bit like that, but the gambler is not dad; it’s me.”

“Is it you?”

“Well, I used to do business with tiles, and I did quite well. Later, I got into contracts, the crypto world, you know Ethereum, right?”

“I know, I'm also in the crypto world, and I've traded contracts before.”

“Don't play anymore. I started off casually, but then I got deeper and deeper, and in the end, I lost everything,” the princess said, “including myself.”

“You don't know how to trade contracts. There are many techniques involved, the dealer controls the market, K-line trends, so many things you don't understand; of course, you'll lose.”

“You are amazing!” The princess didn't insist anymore, complimenting him in agreement, and leaned her body against him to toast, her breath fragrant.

... ... He drank too much that day, but he woke up very early. Today was different from the previous days; the garden was shrouded not in sunlight, but in dark clouds. He opened his phone, and his eyes suddenly widened. -97%. Cold sweat suddenly broke out on his back.

After smoking a cigarette, he leaned against the headboard, forcing himself to calm down. He told himself that if he could withstand a drop of this magnitude, he could also withstand a rise of the same magnitude; it’s fine, mindset, mindset. While comforting himself, he reluctantly welcomed the new day but was always distracted, checking his phone every half hour. Looking at the K-line, checking the group, always thinking about finding some clues and comforting himself—seeing if anyone was still holding on, if there was any good news.

A rebound after a plunge, not just the price but also the mood. It felt like a rebirth; he looked at the sky, and the sun was hiding behind the clouds.

Tonight continues! That princess is really different from others. Thinking of that new princess, he felt restless.

... ... The princess returned from the restroom. His thoughts also returned; he reached out to grab the phone still on the sofa and looked at it. It no longer showed the profit and loss percentage. He had been liquidated. The princess didn't notice his unusual behavior and prepared to pour him another drink, intending to apologize since she had just gone to the bathroom, and according to the night club rules, she had to drink a cup as punishment.

The wine jar didn't pour out much wine; he looked at the last few drops that dripped from the wine jar, thinking that his savings balance seemed just like those few drops of wine.

He couldn't stay calm anymore; he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He found there were no cigarettes left in the box. December 10th. That day, he said he ran out of cigarettes and wanted to go downstairs to buy some; he didn't take the stairs or the elevator.