When the Long Night Breaks

Everyone thought Jiang Ming was sure to embarrass herself during the livestream.

And indeed, at the production team's invitation, she appeared on the full-dive stage at the Starcatcher promotional event, playing a useless player who loved to whine.

She was supposed to fall into traps, get lost, run away crying from monsters, and then lose to her ex-boyfriend according to the script.

Instead, Jiang Ming calmly swung her sword and took down the monster in two quick strokes.

Viewers: What? What's going on? Is someone else playing for her?

Reborn Jiang Ming: I've played this lousy game three times already.

*

Chen Ye, the creator of Starcatcher, had never met a newcomer who could almost fight him to a draw.

"Mr. Chen, I've confirmed it. She isn't cheating."

Chen Ye took off his VR headset, watched the battle replay, then narrowed his eyes slightly and pointed to the bright-eyed, lively girl on screen. "She's going to be the game's spokesperson."

*

On launch day, Jiang Ming livestreamed to an audience of over a hundred million. But the moment she logged into Starcatcher, she fell into darkness.

A voice spoke, cold and mechanical: Jiang Ming is dead. Login denied.

Chen Ye: Looks like the system AI has a bug.

Jiang Ming: No, don't blame her.

Chen Ye: ?

So she could only use administrator privileges to become an NPC.

Meanwhile, after investigating why Jiang Ming couldn't log into Starcatcher, Chen Ye used scientific calculations and suddenly discovered her secret...

Chen Ye: I think I've figured out something incredible.

*

On the top floor of the silent Tengfei Tech building, the AI Galaxy glimmered with green running lights.

It seemed to have a mind of its own.

Galaxy: Learning. Do not disturb.

The heroine is a materialist who is reborn, and the hero uses science to dispel the curse

Note: The technology in this story is entirely fictional.

Theme: There are always some things AI can't do.