Everyone was scrambling to sell their accounts for the mobile game that was about to shut down. Only I stayed up all night, saying goodbye to each NPC in the game. My friends all laughed, calling me crazy for treating a bunch of data like real people. But then, monsters suddenly descended upon the world. The game’s NPCs became terrifying realities. Everyone was panicking, running for their lives. Only I was in my backyard, casually fishing and enjoying a barbecue. Terrifying realities? What terrifying realities? They were all my best friends. Eldoria Online, a globally popular game, announced it would shut down in one day. As soon as the news broke, everyone rushed to sell their accounts. My roommate, Leo, urged me to sell mine quickly too. “Even a little money is better than nothing,” he’d said. But I didn’t want to sell. For me, what that account meant to me, personally, was far more valuable than money. I politely declined Leo’s suggestion to sell our accounts together and logged in alone. I figured if the game was closing, I should at least give it a proper farewell. After all, this game had been with me through the hardest five years of my life. As usual, I logged on, harvested my garden vegetables, and tidied up my in-game yard. Then, I started visiting each character one by one. I went to the main city and spent all the gold in my account. I bought the old messenger his favorite pastries. I brought Professor Miller the paper and pens he wanted. I bought new shoes for the homeless man by the city gates. I brought something for every single game character. Watching them smile and say, “Thank you, noble hero,” filled me with satisfaction. I smiled back. “Goodbye for now. We might not see each other again, so please, take good care of yourselves.” I whispered to the characters on the screen. My roommate, Leo, scoffed dismissively: “I swear you’ve lost your mind. They’re just data. Once the servers shut down, they’re deleted with one click.” “Take care of yourselves? You actually think they’re real people? You’re out of your mind.” I lowered my eyes, my voice soft but firm as I retorted: “How you see it is your business.” “I consider them my friends. Please don’t insult them.” He snorted. “Alright, alright, ‘friends,’ hahahaha. You really need to see a shrink.” “Calling screen data your friends? How desperate for affection must you be?” “I told you before, something’s not right with him. We should tell the teacher to send him to a mental hospital.” As he spoke, he reached for my phone: “Stop being crazy. Just link your account with mine and sell them.” I pushed him away. “I said no. Leo, I’ll do what I want. Mind your own business.” “Besides, friends are people who provide good emotional support, and they give that to me. Why can’t they be my friends?” As we argued, the clock silently ticked past midnight. I frantically glanced at my phone, only to find the game had been forcibly logged off and shut down. Evelyn! I hadn’t visited Evelyn yet! It was all Leo’s fault, just one more to go. She’s so delicate; disappearing without saying goodbye would probably upset her for ages. But now, no matter how anxious I was, it was too late. Eldoria Online had officially shut down.
On the first day after Eldoria Online shut down, a fierce wind swept outside. A convenience store’s awning on the roadside was ripped up, base and all, flying several meters away. The frantic clerk tried to stop it but was pushed back by the strong gusts. The news repeatedly broadcasted reports of this global storm. Experts took turns analyzing it, but there was no definitive explanation. Some even speculated it was the end of the world. I looked at the dwindling food supply in our dorm and felt a surge of panic. The wind wouldn’t stop, making it impossible to go out. My remaining supplies would only last until tonight. Leo, however, was completely unconcerned: “See? I told you to sell your account with me.” “I made a fortune, eighty thousand bucks! Once the money clears, I can order takeout even if delivery costs a hundred. You just wait to starve!” I didn’t bother arguing with him. He hadn’t even considered that with the game shut down, no one would pay big money for an account; it was probably a scam. I got up to go to the bathroom and wash up when a mechanical system voice suddenly sounded: “Eldoria Online dungeon upload successful. Fantasy dungeon initiated. First mission: Find Ellie’s favorite thing!” “Time limit: 24 hours. Failure will result in annihilation.” “Ellie?” “What the hell is that sound? A mission? Who’s the crazy person talking?” Leo and I spoke at the same time, but our questions were completely different. Ellie was a character in Eldoria Online, the village elder’s granddaughter in the starting zone. She usually loved playing hide-and-seek in the grass by the stream near the village entrance, a really cute kid. But this must just be a coincidence, right? Same name. *Knock, knock, knock.* The dorm door suddenly rattled. Leo walked over and opened it: “Who is it?!” “Mark? What happened to you?” I leaned in to look. Mark was covered in blood, weakly clinging to the wall: “Help, help me!” He stammered the words, and before we could react, he collapsed to the floor. Behind him emerged a small girl with two pigtails, holding a lollipop, her big eyes blinking. She squinted at us and grinned: “Big brother, did you find Ellie’s favorite thing?” Leo jumped back in fright: “Where did this kid come from? You scared me! Kid, where are your parents?” I stared at the girl’s face, finding it increasingly familiar. Wasn’t this Ellie from Eldoria Online? Her clothes and appearance were identical to the game model. How could someone look exactly like a game character? Unconsciously, I shifted a step to the side—a habitual movement when I was thinking. But a sudden chill pierced my calf, making me flinch. What was that? So cold. I looked down. It was Mark! I knelt down and touched him. Mark, at some point, had stopped breathing. His whole body was ice-cold, like he’d just been pulled from an ice cave. I scrambled back onto the floor, stunned: “Dead! Someone’s dead!” “Dead? Are you losing your mind?” Leo turned back to glare at me, annoyed. At the same moment, computers, TVs, phones—every electronic device worldwide—suddenly switched to the same screen. “Experts have confirmed that this anomaly originates from a fantasy game: Eldoria Online.” “Urgent broadcast: We are seeking information from anyone familiar with this game!” “Remember, if you encounter anyone who strongly resembles a character from the game, do not stop! Do not look, do not listen, evacuate immediately!” “If you unfortunately encounter one, please answer any questions they ask with extreme caution. A wrong answer will lead to death!” “Repeat: All citizens must answer any questions posed by these characters with extreme caution!!!” “Now broadcasting character game screenshots.”
“No, no way. It’s a joke, right? Game characters actually came to life?” Leo stared back and forth between the computer screen and Ellie’s face, utterly disbelieving. Ellie still smiled at us, looking just like a normal kid. “Brother, did you find Ellie’s favorite thing? It’s getting late, Ellie needs to go home. Hurry and tell Ellie!” My hands trembled, not from fear or nervousness, but from excitement! I thought I’d never see my friends again, the ones who’d been with me for five years. A game shutting down is sad and helpless. No matter how much you don’t want it to, if the developers decide, everything you poured your heart and soul into—the people, the things, the account—can disappear overnight. And you’re powerless to stop it. The moment I saw the shutdown announcement, my blood ran cold. My mind was consumed by uncontrollable panic. I couldn’t imagine how I’d live without them. But now, they were back. Even if it was in this terrifying form that spread panic among the public, I felt overjoyed! “Ellie’s favorite thing? Who the hell knows? She’s just a starter zone guide. Her storyline is less than one percent of the game.” Leo’s eyes darted around. He suddenly grabbed me and shoved me forward forcefully. “Ask him! He knows! He found it!” *Slam!* He shut the dorm door, leaving me and Ellie locked outside. Through the transparent window on the door, he smirked at me triumphantly: “I’m not dying. You can die first, you monster.” “Besides, didn’t you love studying character lore? Now’s your chance to shine, good luck!” His eyebrows were raised, showing the arrogant swagger of a spoiled rich kid. He was utterly vicious. Just like he used to be, telling classmates I was crazy for treating screen characters as real people, leading everyone to ostracize me. It made my teeth itch with hatred. Fine, Leo, you treat me this way, don’t blame me. I looked at Ellie: “Ellie, I know what your favorite thing is, but after I tell you, you have to go ask that big brother over there. That big brother also wants to answer your question.” Ellie tilted her head: “That big brother also wants to play with me? Okay! You tell me first, and after you do, I’ll go find him!” Leo instantly panicked, pounding on the metal door and cursing: “Alex, you bastard! You’re trying to get me killed! Why don’t you just answer it yourself?” “Damn it! Damn it!” I ignored him, leaned close to Ellie’s ear, and whispered so only we could hear: “Our little Ellie loves big machetes.” A flash of insight sparked in Ellie’s eyes. She giggled: “Brother knows so much.” Leo’s pounding on the door grew louder: “What did you say?! Tell me! Alex, you can’t just leave me to die! We’re roommates!” “But… that’s the wrong answer!” What?! Wrong answer? How could that be? I was stunned, and Leo froze too.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “309500”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #后宫Harem #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply