[The greatest luck in one's life is to discover their mission when they are at the peak of their strength and vitality.]
[Where freedom is limited, the game ends.]
[—And facing 'restricted freedom,' some will ignite the flames of war.]
[Because loving a world needs no reason.]
[—Excerpt from the Top 3 hot post 'The First Player Alger and His Lighthouse' on the 2021.10.12 (Future) World Game Human Forum.]
[World Game Loading...]
Alger looked up.
He rubbed his eyes, feeling like he was hallucinating from editing videos late into the night.
It was just another ordinary day today.
He remembered staying up late to edit his videos yesterday, only to be called to a café by someone claiming to be from Bilibili...
He yawned, looking around the brightly lit café.
"Mr. Alger, Mr. Alger...?"
A voice came from in front of him.
A woman with long, red-dyed hair, like a rose, sat in front of him.
"We'd like to invite you to join a game," the woman said.
"I'm not interested at the moment," Alger said.
He was the kind of game streamer who didn't show his face, and he wouldn't participate in games similar to live reality shows.
The sound of paper scraping on the table came, and the woman pressed her hand on a pitch-black card, handing it over.
"This game is a bit different," she said. "Why not take a look?"
His gaze fell.
The card was adorned with blood-red text, as if drawn with blood.
[Using the world as the arena, with real beings as life bars——]
[Multiplayer online, infinite dungeons! Simulated world, battle of strength!]
[Global players, intense competition! High-level game, waiting for you to play!]
The description was as exaggerated as a pop-up advertisement for a beauty card game on a website.
Alger frowned at such an irregular invitation.
"Not interested," he said, tossing the black card back to her, grabbing his belongings from the back of his chair, and turning to leave.
"As you leave, do you know what kind of path you're heading towards?" the woman said. "But if this is your choice..."
Alger didn't stop his steps.
The woman watched him leave quietly, without trying to stop him.
But there was a subtle smile gradually forming on her face.
...
"Whoosh!"
Cars whizzed by, splashing water onto the pavement as Alger leaped to avoid it. Behind him, other pedestrians cursed at the speeding cars.
"Goodness gracious! Driving like a maniac, in a hurry to reincarnate!" A burly man, drenched in water, shouted with a thick accent.
Alger covered his ears, momentarily stunned by the noise.
At eighteen years old, Alger was a freshman in college, having just started a month ago at a local university. He was studying psychology, and his interests included reading philosophical and detective novels, giving him the appearance of an ordinary college student.
"World Game loading..."
He faintly heard the voice.
The voice had been there since last night, when he stayed up late editing videos. It felt like a reminder of something about to happen.
In the world of science, magic was not believed in—this was something he couldn't bring himself to say.
He paused for a moment, then hailed a taxi. He had a high school classmate's birthday party to attend that evening.
Inside the taxi, a broadcast came over the speakers:
"...According to information released by the national donor system, the 'Dual Heart Surgery' conducted by the XIAO Academy's expert cardiovascular surgical transplant team has entered a critical phase of experimentation. In the future, combining two hearts can help people extend their lives. However, this theory is still in the experimental stage. Please refrain from attempting to replicate..."
Alger was surprised.
...How could news that could potentially jeopardize societal security make it onto in-car broadcasts?
While heart transplants were one thing, "dual heart" surgery would certainly cause turmoil.
One heart corresponded to one human life; this was nature's evolutionary rule. In biology, there were no "rights" as humans described them—only various organs, abilities, and characteristics. To forcibly violate this principle and seize another's heart would inevitably deprive them of their life.
Although, on a larger scale, some individuals might selflessly donate their hearts to others. But what was more likely to occur was a disruption of order.
...Transactions, trades, power struggles, moral coercion, public opinion, emotional bias, trolley problems, and unacknowledged sacrifices.
These were all possible problems.
He arrived at the party venue.
Accompanied by Emily, a female classmate named Shen Xue led him inside. Today was her birthday party. Her bright eyes shimmered with a gentle light, her makeup subtle but clearly well-done.
Alger was surprised to find himself the first to arrive. In the kitchen, Emily's distant relative, Liu Anna, was preparing dinner.
"Busy guy, how's the video coming along?" She asked with a smile.
"Almost done, just one more segment," Alger, who also worked as a Bilibili (B站) livestreamer, replied.
He glanced at the clock—it was six o'clock:
"Where are the other classmates? Are they all running late?"
"...They'll be here soon, probably," Emily replied softly.
Dressed in an apron, the homely girl, illuminated by the dimming daylight and the unique aroma of the room, created a slightly ambiguous atmosphere.
Alger had heard rumors that Emily had once secretly admired him, but these were just rumors. After all, what did he have that would make her want to devote herself to him?
He thought about it and suddenly saw her sit down beside him without a word, just propping up her chin and gazing at him.
"What's wrong?"
"Alger," Emily finally spoke, "What do you want to do after graduating from college?"
"Well... maybe be a freelancer," Alger replied.
"Why did you choose psychology then?"
"I wanted... to seek inner peace," he said. "I deliberately searched online before, and it was all 'Don't study economics, run away',"Don't study law, run away," 'Don't study education, run away,' and so on... So, I chose a major that wasn't screaming 'run away.' Turns out, it's been great. I enjoy psychology."
Emily chuckled at his response.
Her eyes curved like a pair of beautiful crescent moons.
Alger, feeling grateful for her concern, politely replied, "And what about you, Emily? What do you want to do?"
Emily's gaze slightly intensified.
In this moment, the soft glow of the light encircled the edges of her figure, as if ancient oil painting pigments were flowing over her.
"I want to see the sea," she said after a moment.
"See the sea? Is it that simple?" Alger asked.
"Yes," she said. "I've never seen the sea because I can't stray too far from home."
"I feel that, even if something is worthless or useless, it will leave a mark in this world," she suddenly said. "Seeing the sea... is just one of my wishes. I want to see the vast sky and the sea. I want to open a tailor shop, sewing buttons and making clothes for people. I want to join a newspaper as a journalist, travel the world, understand the miners who have encountered difficulties, care about the bloody truth, and express my indignation about the world. I want..." her voice trailed off, "I want to live this life to the fullest."
Alger found it difficult to respond. He didn't know how the conversation had suddenly turned to this.
He understood the underlying meaning behind her words.
She didn't want to be trapped in an ivory tower or in routine work; she wanted to have a fulfilling and rich spiritual life, along with a journey filled with longing and passion.
...But how difficult that would be.
"Have some snacks," Emily suddenly changed the subject, handing him a piece of osmanthus cake.
And in the moment Alger took the osmanthus cake.
Emily suddenly lunged at him.
If it were any other guy, being pounced on by the school beauty like this would have made him forget everything in excitement.
But Alger was cautious; he knew that something was amiss. His hand instinctively reached for his waist—
Emily's hand shot out, and with a "clink," the self-defense dagger he carried with him was knocked to the ground.
Alger only then realized that his strength had been drained away at some point.
Was it the scent in the room... a sedative?
"What are you planning?" Alger's gaze turned cold.
"To think you'd carry something like this with you," Emily didn't answer. She looked at the lone dagger reflecting light on the ground. "...You don't trust me either?"
Carrying a dagger was Alger's habit, but he hadn't expected it to be used against him today.
...Why did Emily drug him?
"I..." he began.
"Pfft—"
The scent of the mist spread across his face. In the girl's hand, a bottle of spray was aimed at him.
Since inhaling the mist, all the strength in his body had been fading away.
He heard the girl's gentle voice, warm and feather-light like an itch:
"I just... like you, that's all..."
...
"Stay by my side... forever."
...
Alger closed his eyes.
With a pang in his chest, a sensation of being cut by a knife, his last breath vanished.
...She.
She actually wanted to kill him.
Why.
She was just...
Talking about the sky and the sea moments ago.
...
[The world game has officially begun]
[Personal newbie level checkpoint failed, rating: D, about to return, entering the opening ceremony of the Billion-Human World Game...]
[Unknown error occurred, return paused!]
[...]
[...]
Suddenly, he heard a distinct sound prompt.
This sound, as if emerging from the depths of his heart, seemed to be specifically directed at him.
Unlike the previous cold system prompts, this was a gentle male voice.
[Determining world lines... Planning world endings...]
[Planning completed, game starting.]
[Chaser of Dawn, Player BE3030, welcome back.]
[The authority to defy death is now in your hands, the world awaits you.]
[As the only one standing on the edge of the river of time, please do your utmost... to end this game that humanity has wagered everything on.]
...
[You will have a bright future ahead of you.]
The voice faded away.
...
[---You have died, do you choose to reload?]