A Background Character in an Escape Instance [Infinite]

Blurb:

Yu Li, the top abnormal player in the escape game Survivor, is the NPCs’ official favorite.

Typical players: Fear ghosts, avoid ghosts, get killed by doors, stairs, under the bed, and all sorts of other things, then die horribly.

Yu Li: Ghosts bang on the door, I sleep. Ghosts try to scare me, I take pictures. Ghosts curse me, I report them. I’m a good citizen of the new era, here to dispel feudal superstition!

Ghost NPCs: Damn it, when is this woman going to die?

*

Because Yu Li has seriously disrupted the game, the authorities decide to assign her a dedicated System to monitor her every move in real time.

System 000 does its job diligently. Apart from a brief period when it wants to quit, it does a flawless job of keeping watch.

So flawless that, in the end, it gets caught up in the game itself.

000 once had a name, a long time ago.

It thought there would never be another day when it would want to remember or use it.

Until it met someone.

Its frozen blood began to flow again, its stopped heart began to beat once more, and its incomplete soul became whole again.

It wants to stand beneath the hot, bright sun and embrace her with a body that is no longer cold.

To hear her say its name.

To have her say once more how much she loves it.

■ A silly, mildly scary infinite-flow story, with lots of original worldbuilding. The romance becomes a much more prominent part of the story starting around the middle (the third instance). If it’s not for you, feel free to stop reading.

■ Feel free to read only the instances you want. If the subscription rate is too high to skip chapters, you can leave a comment. However, since this story has a very clear and continuous main plot, skipping may make some parts difficult to understand.

■ The heroine’s style contrasts sharply with that of the other players. There will be plenty of bystander POV, because she’s so strong.

■ Don’t expect the heroine to be overly virtuous.

■ The instances vary in length, with a touch of ensemble cast.

■ The male lead appears at the end of the second instance.

■ First version of the blurb posted 2022.8.22, revised 2024.2.8.

This story’s couple also features in the ancient-set alternate universe novella The Princess Agrees to Marry.

Theme: Look at the world from a different angle.