“Chi-ge, can you check if your equipment’s malfunctioning? You can run a self-diagnostic, and if there’s an issue, just report it to the System—it’ll auto-repair the fault.”
Chi Zhan gave it a moment’s thought. He wasn’t entirely sure what category he fell into, but it was clearly not a simple disconnection. Even if he were disconnected, it wouldn’t result in his identity being downgraded to an NPC.
A hardware malfunction, though—that was plausible.
But the idea that his real body had fallen into some kind of sleep… that was the part he couldn’t ignore. And yet, if he were truly asleep, how could he be aware of that fact in the first place?
Even knowing it, waking up would still be almost impossible.
Chi Zhan had no memory of his real-world self—what he did for a living, whether he had friends or family, or even… how he’d ended up in this world to begin with.
He didn’t think he would ever willingly choose to play a gay romance simulation game.
As Chi Zhan wrestled with these thoughts, Jiang Yi continued,
“The game’s going down for maintenance tonight. I’m logging off soon—you should too, Chi-ge. Who knows what kind of bugs might get triggered if you stay logged in. Worst case, you could get stuck. The game’s just entered open beta, there are still plenty of bugs. You never know what might happen.”
Chi Zhan responded distractedly, then suddenly snapped to attention as a shocking realization surfaced in his mind.
“…Maintenance?”
“Yeah, midnight tonight. Rumor is, someone unlocked a hidden achievement, so in three days, a new side story will open. Staying in this world won’t be possible anymore,” Jiang Yi said, oblivious to Chi Zhan’s reaction. “Can you log out, Chi-ge? If not, check the bottom right corner of your panel—there’s a red emergency logout button. It force-disconnects you from the System.”
Chi Zhan glanced down at his panel. “…Mm.”
It was common knowledge that NPCs couldn’t “log out” of a game—naturally, they wouldn’t have an emergency logout button.
What he really wanted to ask Jiang Yi was: “In the real world, is there someone named Chi Zhan?”
But that kind of question sounded like it came straight out of a horror story. Worse, it might attract the System’s attention. If his memory got wiped, he’d be left completely defenseless.
To a player, maintenance just meant three days without gameplay—and maybe some update rewards. But for an NPC, those four words carried far weightier implications.
It might be more than just a matter of switching identities.
“What’s the hidden achievement?”
Chi Zhan opened the NPC Handbook, combing through it for any rules related to maintenance downtime.
“I’ve got no idea—probably only the player who triggered it knows. Everyone’s curious right now, trying to figure out who it was. I actually thought it might’ve been you at first, Chi-ge. But I guess not?”
“It wasn’t me.”
Jiang Yi let out a disappointed sigh.
“I really liked this storyline, but I guess it’s not so bad to try something new now and then.”
Chi Zhan continued flipping through the handbook.
“Will you enter the next world?”
Jiang Yi was so touched he nearly cried. He wanted to shout, “I basically live in this game!”—but of course, that wasn’t realistic. The anti-addiction system capped sessions at twenty-four hours. Stay past that, and you’d get forcefully logged out. “Yeah, I’ll be there! You coming too, Chi-ge?”
“I will.” Chi Zhan’s gaze settled on a particular line in the rules.
[Once a player opens a side storyline, all NPCs will be reset and assigned new memories to match the current narrative template. Upon activation, the original world will be sealed and made inaccessible.]
When entering the next world, all NPC memories would be wiped… reset?
That meant everything they’d experienced up to now would be erased. And in the next world, who knew how long it would take to rediscover the truth again?
Jiang Yi had no idea what Chi Zhan’s silence meant. Still beaming, he said, “Alright, I’m logging out to eat. See you in three days!”
“Wait.” Chi Zhan’s tone was suddenly urgent. “Jiang Yi, can I ask you for a favor?”
“Of course! Whatever it is, just say the word—if I can help, I’ll definitely do it!”
Chi Zhan hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly, “If you meet me in the next world, say one thing to me.”
“Just tell me…”
“Why that specific line?” Jiang Yi was completely confused. “Besides, he’s a romance target. Won’t he notice something’s off right away?”
“I can’t explain the real reason,” Chi Zhan paused, “But please, you must tell him. Can you promise me that?”
Chi Zhan’s tone was so earnest that Jiang Yi instantly shoved all his questions to the back of his mind. Whatever Chi-ge said, he’d do it. No questions asked!
Yet in the next world, Jiang Yi never imagined… he wouldn’t even get the chance to see Chi Zhan again.
After hanging up, Chi Zhan glanced at the time—10:15 PM.
Less than two hours remained until midnight.
If everyone around him was going to lose their memories, that meant the romance targets wouldn’t be spared either.
And from what Chi Zhan had seen so far, the System wiped memories with clean efficiency—leaving not even the faintest trace. But thankfully, this was an open-world setting. Even if NPCs forgot, the players would still remember.
That was his one and only breakthrough.
Chi Zhan pondered briefly, then made a second call.
“Due to the cold air front and radiation drop, tonight’s high temperature will fall below freezing. Expect frost or icy conditions. A severe rainstorm is forecast for later tonight. Please dress warmly and avoid flooded streets…”
Chen Che was scrolling through short videos while checking the weather outside. The rain hadn’t let up, and even with the restaurant’s heating, it still felt chilly.
Qi Song sat gazing at the pitch-black sky, lost in thought. After a moment, he rose and left the restaurant.
Outside Chi Zhan’s apartment.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Chu Xingxiao stood with his arms crossed, glaring at Zhou Yanxing in open irritation. Zhou Yanxing shot him a glance and replied coolly, “I should be asking you that. What are you doing outside my boyfriend’s place?”
Chu Xingxiao’s expression changed. “Don’t talk nonsense—Chi Zhan is not your boyfriend!”
