[Ding Dong! World game loading...]
Su Ming'an seemed to hear such a voice, but he initially thought it was an auditory hallucination.
He remembered the video he had edited up all night yesterday, which he hadn't had time to upload to Bilibili, when suddenly a woman claiming to be a staff member from Bilibili called him to a coffee shop...
"Mr. Su, Mr. Su...?"
A seductive female voice came from in front of him.
Daylight shone brightly, filling the spacious and bright coffee shop with an aromatic haze.
The woman sitting before him had long hair dyed like a rose, and her gaze rested solely on him, her red lips slightly parted, her graceful figure leaning forward, speaking with an upward inflection like the tail of a hook.
"—We would like to invite you to join a game," the woman said.
"I don't have such plans at the moment," Su Ming'an said.
As a gamer who didn't show his face, if it were some sort of live reality show cross-over gaming event, he wouldn't be able to participate.
There was a "scraping" sound as a piece of paper touched the table, and the woman, pressing her hand on a pitch-black card, passed it over.
"This game is different," she said, "Why don't you take a look."
He looked down.
On the card, there were characters colored blood-red, as if outlined with fresh blood.
[Use the world as an arena, true beings as life bars——]
[Multiplayer online, unlimited instances! Simulated world, combat power struggle!]
[Global players, passionate competition! High level game, waiting for you to play!]
That description was as exaggerated as the popup ads for beauty card games online.
Su Ming'an frowned upon this unorthodox invitation method.
"Not interested," he said, tossing the black card back to her, picking up his clothes from the chair back, and turning to leave.
"If you leave now, do you know what kind of path you are heading towards?" the woman said, "But if that's your choice..."
The young man didn't stop his steps.
The woman quietly watched him leave, not trying to retain him anymore.
However, her vermillion lips slowly curved into a subtle smile.
...
"Whoosh!"
Vehicles sped by, their wheels splashing up water from the ground, which he dodged by jumping aside, followed by other pedestrians cursing the sports car.
The young man named Su Ming'an was eighteen years old, a university freshman who had just started school a month ago at a local run-of-the-mill university, majoring in psychology, with a very ordinary educational background, simply an average college student.
[Ding Dong! World game loading...]
Su Ming'an faintly heard such a voice again.
An odd feeling began to surge in his chest.
This voice, which had been there since he stayed up last night editing videos, seemed to remind him that something was about to happen.
In a scientific world that didn't believe in magic—he couldn't even say it aloud.
He paused for a moment, then hailed a taxi.
That evening was the birthday party of his high school classmate Shen Xue.
After arriving by taxi, the long-haired girl standing at the door looked at him.
Her bright eyes shone with gentle light, her dress accentuating her curves, emanating an exceptional charm. Her makeup was light, but obviously carefully applied.
He unexpectedly found that he was the first one to arrive.
"Busy man, how's the video coming along?" Shen Xue handed him a cup of brewed tea.
"Just the last segment left," Su Ming'an, who also part-timed as a Bilibili video uploader, would sometimes livestream when free.
He looked up at the clock pointing to six o'clock:
"Where are the other classmates? Are they all running late?"
"…Maybe later," Shen Xue turned back, her face slightly blushing.
A home girl in an apron, in a living room with just a young man and woman, the daylight gradually dimming.
Su Ming'an had heard rumors that the most attractive girl in class once had a crush on him, but these were just rumors—after all, as an ordinary college student, what was there that would make her cast her lot with him?
[Ding Dong! World game load complete!]
He heard that phrase again, looked up, but saw nothing.
Shen Xue stood there, slightly awkward.
With nothing to say to each other, Su Ming'an could only open QQ and remind those who hadn't yet arrived to hurry up.
[Ming'an: Class beauty's gathering, you're late, hurry up!]
"Try some pastries," Shen Xue said, looking at him with hopeful eyes.
Su Ming'an, finding no alternative, could only pick up a pastry.
The light in the girl's eyes grew brighter and brighter. It seemed like a dark fire surged and burned, making the temperature of the hall increasingly bright—
"Ding!"
The alert from the phone rang.
Su Ming'an lowered his eyelids, looking towards the lit-up screen—
[Lao Jiang: What are you thinking, a class beauty's gathering? Could we even dare think about Shen Xue, such a beautiful girl? What meeting are you talking about?]
His heart "thudded" in response.
...She only invited me?
Then why did she say she had invited others as well?
"Eat..."
From beside him, a dreamlike, seductive voice drifted over, "Why aren't you eating?"
Su Ming'an looked at her.
But Shen Xue suddenly pounced on him, her movements incredibly fast.
If it were any regular boy, seeing the class beauty pounce like this, he'd definitely forget everything in excitement. But Su Ming'an's one hand instantly reached toward his waist—
A cold sensation touched his arm, and with a "clatter," the hidden dagger fell to the ground.
—It was only then that Su Ming'an realized he had somehow lost all his strength.
It was the fragrance in the room!
"You want to kill me, why?" Su Ming'an had never thought the always gentle class beauty had lured him here just to kill him.
"Carrying such a thing with you." Shen Xue did not answer; she looked at the lonely, reflective dagger on the ground, her eyes seemingly ablaze with a wildfire: "...I know you feel insecure, but do you have to be wary of even me?"
Su Ming'an tried to get up immediately, but the girl suddenly climbed onto the couch, her fair arms extraordinarily glaring under the nightlight.
"I just... like you, that's all..." whispered Shen Xue.
—What does your liking me have to do with killing me! He extended his hand, pushing forward, but ended up pressing hard against the girl's chest.
"—And now you want to push me away." Shen Xue's voice turned cold in an instant.
"I..." Su Ming'an's ability to speak was fading fast.
—Wait, at least let me say something!
"Pfft—"
The scent of the mist spread over his face, a spray bottle in the girl's hand, aimed right at him.
Ever since inhaling that mist, Su Ming'an felt all his strength leaving him, slowly, and even the beating of his heart was slowing down...
In the end, the gentle whisper of the girl brushed by his ear, her breath warm, tickling like feathers:
"I just... like you, that's all..."
"Why... Why do you always want to stay away from me..."
...
"Then just... stay forever, stay by my side..."
...
Su Ming'an closed his eyes.
Carrying endless confusion, that last sliver of life in him faded away.
...
[The World Game has officially begun.]
[Detected experimental personal novice level failure, rating: D, preparing to return for the grand opening ceremony of the World Game for all humanity...]
[An unknown error has occurred, return paused!]
[...]
[...]
Suddenly, he heard a distinct alert.
This one sounded as if it originated from the depths of his heart, speaking directly to him.
[Confirming world line... Planning world ending...]
[Planning complete, game begins.]
[Player BE3030, welcome back.]
[—You are dead, would you like to load from a previous save?]