Song Ke logs in just before her gaming time limit kicks in. Her rushed actions trigger a bug, sending her into the full-dive game she's playing as a background duckling.
But she soon discovers she's not the only one affected by the bug. Every other player who was online has also been trapped in the game, unable to log out for a week.
As for how they'll manage to get by for the week, the heartless game company says that in-game problems can only be solved in-game. Just keep grinding, and there's nothing you can't get.
Song Ke looks at the other players' character screens: flashy skills, badass weapons, inventories packed with items, and even the gold they'd bought in the past.
Then she looks at her own empty screen, which makes it clear she can't even pluck a single feather from herself right now.
But Song Ke refuses to give up hope. Instead, she comes up with a daring plan.
She finds a chance to bump into the number-one player on the server and follows him around, pretending to be his bound pet.
He takes a step, she takes a step. He stops, she stops. He fights, she leeches experience.
The top player, feeling like he's been shamelessly latched onto: "..."
Three days later, he finally can't take it anymore and posts on the forum:
[What do I do about a pet that's forcibly bound to me? And it's not even a monster, just a Lego toy. It does nothing but leech experience. (Image.jpg)]
Someone suggests: [That's one plump-looking duck. Why not eat it? Maybe you'll get your experience back?]
So the top player threatens Song Ke: "If you don't leave, I'll roast you for dinner tonight."
Song Ke fires back: "Like I'm scared of you. If you eat me, I'll expose all the evidence of how you used to play female characters and wear women's clothes to trick people into falling for you."
"...Who told you that?"
"That's a secret." Song Ke sighs. "Sigh, you were cuter when you were a girl."
Theme: Life is full of disappointments, so cherish the good things instead.
