Stringless

Also known as "The Years the Massage Therapist Became a Prostitute in a Game"

Country bumpkin Li Fei came to the big city looking for work. He found a shared apartment in N City so he could work there. His roommate was handsome but cold, and came and went at all hours. Li Fei didn't mind, since he was much the same.

One day, Li Fei came home from work and fell straight into bed. When he opened his eyes, he and his roommate had entered a place called "Elysium," where they were faced with a set of baffling rules.

World rules:

1. Players may not bring prohibited items into the world on their own, so as to ensure that no irreversible danger occurs in the world. If they need something, they can ask the System for help. The System will assess the current situation and provide the player with suitable non-dangerous tools.

2. Players may not form teams with others on their own, but may use special items to form a team of two. If a player breaks this rule, the System will take special measures to punish them.

3. The System will randomly open three game instances each month. The instances will grow more difficult, and the worlds will change at random.

4. During a game, if a player notices another player behaving improperly toward them or someone else, they may report that player. The System will assess the player's conduct in the game. If it falls within the scope of a violation, the System will take measures to erase that player's consciousness.

Li Fei had no choice but to obey the System. He thought he would finish the mission quickly and go home to keep earning money as a prostitute. Gradually, he realized that everything in the worlds he had experienced seemed connected to his fragmented memories, the so-called mysterious System, the roommate who treated him so well, and a tangled web of unresolved feelings.

I

As the game boss went on a rampage, hunting down players:

"Could you please take your hand off my neck? You're going to strangle me." Li Fei blushed and dodged Shen Yueyi's gaze as he spoke.

"I'm scared it'll bite me." Shen Yueyi's legs shook as he buried his head in Li Fei's shoulder and clung to him tightly.

"You think I'm not scared of being strangled to death?" Li Fei snapped, flipping Shen Yueyi onto the ground.

II

Later, some unknown creature fled into the room where the two of them were staying. Li Fei watched Shen Yueyi smash the door to pieces with one punch.

"Weren't you afraid of it?"

"What does that have to do with me smashing the door?"

"..."

Theme: A survival game, not entertainment.