Yu Chen sat hunched over his desk, his eyes half-lidded from the endless barrage of code swimming across his screen.
His hands moved mechanically across the keyboard, his mind numb from the repetitive motions. It was almost midnight, and the only light illuminating the office was the soft glow from the computer screens.
The air conditioning wasn't working properly—again. Stale air clung to the room as Yu Chen loosened his collar, hoping for a reprieve from the heat. His back ached from hours of sitting, and the sight of the latest bug report only deepened the pit in his stomach.
He groaned and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, his tired eyes remaining fixed on the screen. "This... this isn't what I signed up for."
His cubicle neighbor, Cao Rui, rolled his chair over and chuckled weakly. "What's that? Wishing you were anywhere else but here?"
"Again?"
Yu glanced at Cao Rui, then back at the screen, his fingers still typing even as his mind wandered.
"Yeah. Maybe on a beach somewhere, sipping cold drinks instead of... this." He gestured vaguely at the screen, which displayed a flashing alert about a game-breaking bug. "I swear, every time we're about to release something big, this happens."
Cao Rui smirked, pulling up his own bug report. "Welcome to the world of gaming, Chen. You think the execs care? Just slap on some duct tape and call it a day. It's not like they'll give us more time to fix this crap."
Yu Chen let out a bitter laugh, but it died in his throat. He knew Cao Rui was right. Management cared about deadlines, not quality. No matter how many bugs they squashed, there were always more, and the higher-ups were too busy counting profits to care about the actual game.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even got into this job," Yu said, rubbing his eyes. "All I do is sit here, day after day, fixing code for a game I barely play anymore. No vacations, no weekends off... just more work."
"You know what? Scratch all that, I could really go for a nice, warm bed right now."
"Could be worse," Cao Rui shrugged. "At least we get to play around with the game mechanics. Imagine being stuck in customer service. Those guys have it bad."
"I don't know," Yu sighed, his fingers pausing for a moment. "Sometimes I think customer service would be better. At least there's some human interaction. Here... it's just code. Endless, mindless code."
Cao Rui shrugged again and returned to his screen. "Well, you could always quit."
Yu snorted. "Yeah, right. And go where? Every game company's like this. The entire industry's built on exploiting people who love games too much to leave. It's a nightmare, and every day I think I'll wake up from it, but... I don't."
A new alert pinged on his monitor, and Yu's stomach sank as he saw the subject line: URGENT: Game-breaking bug reported – Beta players report a glitch that allows access to nearly endless upgrade points.
"Oh, great," Yu muttered, clicking the report. "Just what we needed, more chaos before launch."
Cao Rui whistled. "That's the big one, huh? Heard some players logged in with thousands of upgrade points."
Yu groaned. "Thousands? That'll break the entire game economy."
"Yeah," Cao Rui grinned. "Good luck fixing that before tomorrow's launch."
Yu opened his programming model, staring at the lines of code that had somehow allowed this catastrophe to happen. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, but his mind wasn't in it. He felt the weight of it all pressing down on him, the exhaustion that had been building up for weeks. Months, maybe.
His chest tightened, and he leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "You ever think... there's more than this?"
Cao Rui snorted. "What, like some grand purpose? Don't start going existential on me, Chen. We've still got a ton of work to do."
Yu shook his head. "No, I mean... I don't know. Something exciting. Something... different. I feel like I'm just going through the motions, every day the same as the last. Wake up, go to work, come home exhausted, sleep just to wake up and do it all over again. I don't even remember what day it is half the time."
Cao Rui chuckled but didn't say anything.
"Sometimes I wish..." Yu's voice trailed off as he focused on the screen, eyes narrowing at the code. "I wish I could just take a break. Get away from it all. But they've got us locked in here until we fix this bug. No time to think, no time to breathe."
His heart raced as his fingers tapped the keyboard, but there was no passion behind it. Just exhaustion and frustration. He glanced at the clock—12:05. Break time was technically in five minutes, but what did it matter? He wasn't going anywhere. Not with this bug hanging over his head.
"No excuses," he muttered, bitterness creeping into his voice. "That's all they care about."
Cao Rui rolled over again. "Don't let it get to you, man. It's not like they'll appreciate us any more if we burn out."
Yu let out a hollow laugh. "Burnout? I think I passed that point weeks ago. I'm just so tired… been running on fumes for who knows how long now…"
"Maybe it's a nightmare," Yu said quietly. "Maybe one day I'll wake up and find out this was all just a bad dream."
Cao Rui raised an eyebrow. "A nightmare where we're all stuck programming bugs for a game we can't even enjoy? Yeah, I feel that."
Yu smiled faintly, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. Or maybe... maybe I'll wake up in a world where things are more exciting. Where I actually have control."
He sighed deeply, running a hand down his face.
But then suddenly...
His chest felt tight, tighter than normal..
And his vision swam slightly. 'Must be the exhaustion,'
He thought, trying to shake it off. But as he leaned forward, the weight in his chest deepened.
"Chen, you alright?" Cao Rui's voice floated in from beside him, but Yu couldn't muster the energy to respond.
The pressure in his chest built suddenly, sharply, and his hands froze over the keyboard. His breath hitched, and before he could understand what was happening, a searing pain shot through his chest. His vision went white, and his hands instinctively clutched at his shirt, trying to steady himself.
'No... no, no, no... this can't be happening.'
His eyes widened in shock as he realized what was happening.
Yu gasped, but no words came out. His heart pounded violently, then skipped a beat. Panic surged through him as his body betrayed him, collapsing against the desk. His legs buckled, and he fell to the floor, gasping for air.
"Yu! Yu Chen!" Cao Rui's voice was distant, growing fainter as the pain overwhelmed him. He felt hands grabbing his shoulders, shaking him, but his senses were slipping away too fast. His pulse slowed, his breath faltered.
'Is this it?'
'27 years old... and this is how it ends?'
His mind raced through fragmented thoughts—no girlfriend, no achievements, nothing remarkable in his life. He'd spent his best years grinding away in front of a computer, and for what? To collapse at his desk like this, with no one but Cao Rui noticing?
His chest tightened more, and his thoughts flickered to his mother.
'She's going to be devastated.'
And then, flashbacks hit him hard as he remembered. She'd always worried about his health, always told him to slow down, to take care of himself.
But he never listened.
And then there was Lany... his cat.
'Who's going to feed her?' His mind latched onto the thought.
'Did I even feed her this morning?'
He couldn't remember. Had he rushed out the door, forgetting again? The guilt pressed down on him like the weight in his chest.
He chuckled weakly, the sound barely escaping his lips.
'Sorry, Lany. Guess I screwed up again.'
The absurdity of worrying about his cat in his last moments almost made him laugh, if he weren't so tired.
'Well...'
he thought, the darkness closing in around him,
'At least I'll finally get some rest.'
His vision flickered, and the weight pulling him under felt like a welcome relief.
'Finally... some shut-eye.'
And with that, everything went black.
. . . . . .
In the void of unconsciousness, Yu Chen's mind floated, detached from his body. At first, there was only silence, deep and suffocating. But soon, distant voices began, echoing faintly, then growing louder, sharper.
"…archers! We need the archers now!"
"Fall back! Mages, cover us—now!"
"Get the wounded out of here! Healers, to the front!"
"Hold the line! Hold it—damn it!"
"We can't let it through!"
Then came the sound of something cracking, followed by a scream of agony. "I'm hit! Healer! Healer, get over here!"
Yu's thoughts reaced. 'What's happening? Where am I?'
He felt the ground tremble beneath him, the sensation so real it jolted his fading awareness. More shouts, more frantic cries filled the air, slowly his eyes flutterd open, he found himself on the ground, his breath hitched.
His body was aching, every breath a struggle. The sound of clashing steel, the whoosh of arrows cutting through the air, and the distant roars of some monstrous creature filled his ears.
Groaning, he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his abdomen. His hand instinctively went to his side, and when he pulled it away, his palm was slick with blood.
'I'm bleeding...'
'What... happened to me?'
Through his blurry vision, he caught sight of a massive, serpent figure in the distance—black as night, with glowing blue eyes that seemed to pierce through the chaos of battle.
The creature moved with terrifying speed, its enormous body coiling and striking down soldiers as they desperately fought back.
'What the hell is that thing!?'
Yu Chen's mind raced, panic rising in his chest. He had no memory of how he got here, or why the battlefield around him was torn asunder by the fury of this giant snake.
Before he could process any further, the sound of hurried footsteps approached. A figure knelt beside him, and Yu blinked to focus. It was a woman, clad in silver armor that had massive scratch marks from the battle.
Her blonde hair was pulled back tightly, and her piercing blue eyes looked down at him with worry.
"My liege! Hang on, you're going to be alright..."
"Please, stay with me!"
'My liege?'
The words didn't make sense. Who was this woman? Why was she speaking to him like that? Yu's head swam with questions, but before he could speak, she turned and shouted into the chaos, her voice rising above the clamor of the battle.
"High Priestess! The Emperor is bleeding badly! Hurry!"
'Emperor?'
Yu Chen's heart skipped a beat. 'Is she talking about me?'
His gaze shifted down to the deep wound in his side, blood pooling on the ground beneath him.
His surroundings felt alien, like he had been thrown into someone else's life. The massive black snake, the clashing soldiers, the woman calling him her liege—it all felt like a dream, one he couldn't wake from. But the pain he felt was intense, reminding him it definitely was reality.
Moments later, another figure appeared... a woman draped in flowing white robes with golden accessories, she had deep purple hair and bright purple eyes. She knelt at Yu Chen's side, her hands already glowing with a soft, golden light.
"Do not fear, Your Majesty. You will be healed!" She placed her hands over his wound, her touch warm against his skin. "goddess Melgura watches over you."
Yu tried to speak, to ask what was going on, but his voice came out in a weak rasp. The High Priestess closed her eyes, murmuring a soft prayer in a language he didn't recognize. The warmth of her magic began to flow through him.
"Holy Heal!"
A soft golden glow enveloped him, warmth spreading through his body. The pain in his side began to fade, the bleeding slowing as the wound started to close. It was like nothing he had ever felt before.
As the light faded, Yu Chen gasped for air, his strength slowly returning. But even as the pain subsided, the confusion in his mind only deepened. But before he could ask any more questions a green system interface suddenly what's your last before him:
____
[Welcome back to Genesis of Empires! Player: Yu_Chen001!]
Current Status: Battling the Shadow Serpent
Alert: Your troops are fighting a losing battle!
Troop Level: 25
Enemy Strength: A+ (Shadow Serpent)
Battlefield Grid Layout:
Your Forces:
Infantry: 150/500 (Level 21 - 25)
Archers: 80/300 (Level 19 - 25)
Mages: 50/100 (Level 17 - 25)
Enemy Forces:
Shadow Serpent: 1 (Level ???)
Upgrade Points Available: 1,000,000
Options:
- Shop
-Inventory
-Territory status
-Status window
-Relationships
-Gacha pool
-Hall of fame and achievements
-Build structure - (custom blueprint option now available) - [NEW]
-Costom weapon forge - [NEW]
...
As Yu Chen stared at the interface, he suddenly realized.
'Wait... Isn't this the menu tab for Genesis Of Empires?!'