Meili is a random NPC in a full-dive open-world RPG. She runs a shady antique shop near the players' starting point.
Her main job is to act like a bot whenever players trigger a conversation with her.
At first, she thinks the work is dull and repetitive, but at least there's a new sucker to fleece every day. She makes a fortune and enjoys every minute of it.
But later, she realizes her business is doing more than just well.
The junk she puts up for sale each day vanishes in less than a second.
Players fight to stuff the rare treasures they've collected from all over the world into her arms.
She thought a shady shopkeeper like her would be cursed out for at least a hundred pages in the forum's beginner's guide.
Instead, she unexpectedly becomes the most popular NPC.
Meanwhile, the hottest thread on the game forum, "Daily question: When will the lousy developers make Meili romanceable?" keeps growing taller as the player base explodes...
Meili is rather troubled by this.
She only wants the players' money, not their love.
Fortunately, the developers are stubborn and refuse to give in.
So Meili is still just a random NPC, with even fewer lines than the owner of the breakfast shop next door.
Until one day, suddenly,
a player designs a special romance-and-marriage cheat to win her over.
And this is a multiplayer game.
Every player present witnesses Meili cheerfully accepting the other player's romantic proposal.
The next day,
Meili discovers that all the players have started cheating.
Meili: )
One day,
after yet another group of players gets banned for cheating,
someone finally figures it out.
That NPC beside Meili, who always wears such a sinister smile, seems to be the developer himself, playing on an account under her name.
Players: Fists clenched
Theme: True love is priceless.
