[Chinese-Style Horror Infinite Flow | Rule-Based Mystery | Ensemble Cast Growth | Mutual Redemption | Pure Love | Happy Ending]
His older brother protected him by leaving, but he kept chasing after him again and again to prove that the ones left behind bear a cost, too.
Four years ago, Lu Zhiyuan disappeared, leaving behind only an email that ended with a semicolon.
Four years later, at 3:17 a.m., Lu Zhiye receives a night-shift notice from an address that doesn't exist. No. 17 Huai'an Road was demolished long ago, and its street number has been revoked. Yet after midnight, an archive still appears on the original site.
There is no main god here, no administrator, and no monsters waiting for players to defeat. There is only a social procedure that has lost its supervisor, still running mechanically. Enter a name incorrectly, and a person's identity changes with it. When records conflict with memories, reality adjusts itself to match the records. Once a living person is officially archived, the world begins deleting all evidence that they ever existed.
In file number 07138, Lu Zhiye sees Lu Zhiyuan, missing for four years. The photo was taken seven days ago. On the back is a single warning:
“Don't let him sign that confirmation form.”
They grew up under the same roof in an orphanage. Though they share no blood, each became the other's only family.
Lu Zhiye is almost certain his older brother is still alive. But he can't be sure whether Lu Zhiyuan can't come back, or never intended to.
When records can define a person's birth, name, family, love, and death, what they have to prove is not merely that they are still alive. A life someone has lived cannot be decided by a file alone.
This time, he doesn't want to be left outside the door again.
