Endgame Player: Rewriting the Nation's Fate in Historical Instances

Sima Nan never imagined that helping his alma mater test a new domestically developed historical sandbox game would pull him into a real game of national destiny spanning two thousand years.

The rules that appeared on the login screen were simple:

1. Every historical scenario you enter is a real fragment of history;

2. You may alter any historical outcome, but each change consumes National Destiny points. If they reach zero, you and the reality you inhabit will disappear;

3. The only way to win is to raise the total National Destiny points of Chinese civilization beyond the limit.

From the final years of the Western Han, when Wang Mang usurped the throne, to the north bank of the Huai River during the Five Barbarians' ravages; from the Lingding Ocean, where people leaped into the sea at Yashan, to Shanhai Pass during the cataclysm of 1644, Sima Nan brings his solid knowledge of history and maneuvers through the gaps in the rules, correcting every deviation in civilization and making up for every lost opportunity to develop.

But the further he goes, the more he realizes that this game is no mere test. Names that vanished from history have been waiting for him in the scenarios all along:

An old friend of the young Wang Mang takes his hand and asks, "This time, can we keep you from becoming a traitor who usurps the Han?"

Shi Kefa, who defended Yangzhou to the death, stands atop the city walls and smiles. "I've already died once. This time, I'll gamble on the future of China with you again."

Only after Sima Nan finally clears the last scenario does he see the truth behind the game interface: every player who enters the game is a "fixer" for Chinese civilization. Everything we have today was won at the cost of their lives by countless players who came before us.