I'm a conscientious office worker, until I found a bizarre game app in my email: Red and Black Star.
Looking at its slick cover, I rubbed my hands together. I love playing games when I'm slacking off at work.
I typed “Asuka Ayi” into the name field, and the game began.
Red and Black Star: Press S to skip dialogue...
Me: Sssssssssss.
What the heck? It's a shooter, why is there so much story? Talk about being considerate!
The secret to beating the game: chop NPCs like cabbages, and roll the choices like dice.
From then on, as a speedrunning master, I blasted through the story, randomly clicking every choice that came up. The only things I took seriously were the first-person shooter sections and random minigames built into the game.
Then the game's forced ending punched me right in the face: the protagonist died in a car accident and never got back up.
I was so furious I nearly threw up blood. I grumpily searched the wiki for Red and Black Star, only to find not a single thing about it.
Me: Got it. This is just some trashy, unfinished bootleg game!!
Until one day, I saw characters from Red and Black Star in real life.
That's when I remembered that the pile of dialogue I'd skipped was practically filled with the “bloody bonds” (evidence of crimes) between Asuka Ayi and those characters.
Now all the NPCs with red names were taking turns surrounding my front door, and the final choices popped into my head:
A. Insist that I have dissociative identity disorder, and tell the first personality to sit down right now.
B. Fire a shot at the door to prove they were all just game-induced hallucinations.
C. With the BGM playing, drop to my knees right there, clutch my head, and start sobbing in repentance.
D. An obtuse angle.
Me: I was too quick and picked them all.
Hahaha, here comes the payback for clicking random choices. This life just keeps getting more and more criminally exciting. (Without mercy.)
Me: ...What does Asuka Ayi have to do with me?!
※
Asuka Ayi is a mystery
Her actions make no sense, yet she always manages to complete her missions with pinpoint accuracy.
She is the organization's “cleaner,” an unmistakable presence no one can ignore.
And perhaps even she herself couldn't explain who she really is.
Gin once told her: Only the abnormal can survive longer here.
One moment, she single-handedly wipes out an entire enemy group and makes a name for herself in the organization. The next, she appears in a Japanese newspaper as a compassionate hero.
She boasts about her heroic deeds rescuing people in front of the organization's boss, then brags to the police and public security about her unique experience of killing people.
Organization members: ?
Organization members: She's way too abnormal. Gin, do something about her!
Gin: Heh. (Gun loaded.)
xxx
1. An old-school, idiosyncratic female lead. First-person narration early on, third-person later.
2. The characters may be out of character. I'm already on my knees apologizing.
3. No pairing in the main story. This isn't a power fantasy about a player from another world.
4. Written purely for my own tastes. If it bothers you, run away. Don't curse me out.
Theme: The courage to face life.
What a crazy girl. I feel like that bar is more like san value [question mark] than blood volume.
I feel like drinking gin is like looking at a lunatic [question mark] [eating melon]
Is this really a game? It doesn't feel quite like it (Raotou). Instead, it looks like amnesia, dual personality, hallucinations (referring to the game interface), and the like.
Oh Momo, anyway, come on, madam, it's a nice article!
Looks good, I like it! Come on, come on [lop-eared rabbit head][lop-eared rabbit head]
Love clothes·swipe point version: Le
Aiyi·Blocked Version: Unhappy
Staff (wiping sweat): If we continue like this, the inventory in the base will be gone!
I can quickly select this question
The moonlight may have disappeared because the fight lasted too long. Sister, just hold the box and sit there for another day and the moonlight will appear again.
Good news, the advance collection of articles on my bookshelf has been updated. Bad news, last updated two months ago
Good news, the advance collection of articles on my bookshelf has been updated. Bad news, last updated two months ago
What a crazy girl. I feel like that bar is more like san value [question mark] than blood volume.
I feel like drinking gin is like looking at a lunatic [question mark] [eating melon]
Is this really a game? It doesn't feel quite like it (Raotou). Instead, it looks like amnesia, dual personality, hallucinations (referring to the game interface), and the like. Oh Momo, anyway, come on, madam, it's a nice article!
Looks good, I like it! Come on, come on [lop-eared rabbit head][lop-eared rabbit head]
Love clothes·swipe point version: Le Aiyi·Blocked Version: Unhappy Staff (wiping sweat): If we continue like this, the inventory in the base will be gone!
I can quickly select this question
The moonlight may have disappeared because the fight lasted too long. Sister, just hold the box and sit there for another day and the moonlight will appear again.
Good news, the advance collection of articles on my bookshelf has been updated. Bad news, last updated two months ago
Good news, the advance collection of articles on my bookshelf has been updated. Bad news, last updated two months ago
Ah? [Pigeon] Two months ago, that was bad