“You think it’s okay to play with human lives like this?”
The tied-up human looked at me. Its eyes were angry. So angry.
“Well, yes.” I answered, feeding it some dog kibble, which it fiercely spat out. “But I have more interesting plans for you.”
I took out my phone and showed it a website.
NPC.com - []
—A site that most humans didn’t have access to.
Even then, it had a couple of million visitors per month.
“Welcome to NPC.com,” the site proclaimed, “the ultimate destination for everything about 'Non-Playable Characters'—NPCs, for short. Fueled by our sponsors' passion for entertainment, we've created fun games for all your beloved characters!”
The website itself was similar to video-streaming platforms, but adopted a conventional forum structure. All you had to do was navigate to the latest webpage and you would see the newest posts:
“W-what’s this?” The human blinked, its tone shaking. “N-no. It… can’t be.”
“Woah, you’re actually really popular.” I whistled, impressed.
The human did not look happy about that. It bared its teeth and tried to bite my fingers. Instead, its nose ‘booped’ on my phone screen, accidentally clicking a post:
“Home > Latest > Do not trust the g@me…
- Posted by deleted_user114472283
Notice: This post has been auto-flagged for using black-listed words/phrases. Views and comments have been limited.
Ever wondered what it's actually trying to do?”
One question. One line. You’d think that it wouldn’t be a big deal, right? But when the human and I looked in the comment section, we discovered an entirely different story.
“Comments:
| The first commenter: It's… It’s… trying to make profit off us and collect our data, duh.
| The second commenter: Oh great, another conspiracy theorist… or maybe a troll. It’s hard to tell the difference between dumb and dumber.
| The third: Back in my day, we had smart people. Then, everything changed when some nation attacked. Only the moderator, master of…
└ A reply: You’re the moderator.
└ The third: Haha, welp, time to dip.”
We continued to scroll down. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the comments was getting way more of the heat than any others:
“New users suck,” The human and I looked at each other. “The registration process should be stricter so that we don’t have to see the same questions over and over. I can’t believe we have to deal with new ascensions…”
“└ A reply: Hey, what’s wrong with newcomers?
└ The response: The fact that they’re new. Isn’t it obvious?
└ Shut up. At least we actually earned our place here.”
“They’re really fighting each other down here,” I remarked, watching the comments flood in.
The human nodded earnestly.
I looked at the human, who looked back at me. See, one good thing about it was that it was well potty-trained. And, compared to some dogs… erm, that I knew, that was impressive. I figured I had to give credit where it was due.
“Come on guys,” I typed, using an alt account, “Just because some newcomers are slow doesn’t mean they don’t go on to do great things. Yesterday, I saw one pick up after itself after leaving a dookie on the sidewalk.”
In the comments, multiple users started “typing…”
Beside me, the human barked for attention again. I closed my phone.
“Hm…” I murmured, picking up the human with one hand.
It responded with a growl.
“Oh, don’t give me that look” I muttered. “After all I’ve done for you?”
The human gave me a look, like it couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. Ah, this little…
I suddenly remembered a line.
It was from a book I'd read once. Let’s see, what did it say again?
Something like… humans get angry when they have fleas in their hair? No, that wasn’t it. Humans get angry… when their needs aren’t addressed? Yep, that made sense. Okay, so maybe the human wanted food or needed to relieve itself.
“Do you want to go for a walk?”
______________________________
Bubbles rose in the fish tanks, softly illuminating the dimly lit room.
Pop.
At the desk, a boy’s silhouette was defined by the light from the computer screen. For a while, all that echoed through the room was the clatter of keyboard keys… tap-tap-tap. He leaned back, his chair emitting a drawn-out crea-ak…
In a swift motion, a 'click!' echoed as he closed the forum window.
- ‘Ding!’
A chat message. The boy clicked it open to see a short message:
“Hey, I’m dropping someone in your room. We just came back from a walk.”
A thump followed after the message, like something had dropped onto the floor.
Muffled noises.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Unfazed, the boy didn’t turn around. He placed headphones over his ears to block out the growing noise and opened a game window:
For a short second, the computer screen flashed:
[Game Notification]: "Welcome back, HappyOnions!”
“Would you like to continue where you left off?” [Yes/No]
Click.
The game’s text box began to spout lines of dialogue:
> “You want high stats. But you’re just a grain of sand. Maybe… we should start with breakfast.”
‘Acquired unknown ??? Breakfast’
> “Put it in your inventory for now. You’ll never know when you'll need it."
Click.
- ‘Ding!’
| ‘Achievement Unlocked: Find and Start Hidden Event: ‘Who is Li Ming?’!’ |
A bunch of notifications followed each other in succession. The boy skimmed through most of them, before opening a bag of chips. Crisp and sweet-
His chair shook slightly. Finally, he turned around.
Near his feet, a tied-up, gagged human had bumped into his chair. It had tears in its eyes… its wrists, a sore red. ‘Please help,’ its eyes seemed to say, ‘Some crazy thing kidnapped me.’
He didn’t know what it was saying. Did that mean it was hungry? He threw a piece of chip on the floor so it could have some food and popped another into his mouth.
“Mmph!” The human protested, its mouth still gagged.
CRUNCH! The chip broke apart in his mouth. The boy clicked the game, ignoring the human. With that, the screen blacked out and a loading screen took over…
- - -
LOADING…
LOADING… [|||||||_______________] 25%
TIP: For mobile users, throwing your phone at the wall will help this load faster. For book users, try reading faster. >
LOADING… [|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||] 100%
Loading Complete!
- - -
The computer screen flickered as the game finished loading:
[Buildings sprout and arrange themselves into neat rows where villages once lay. Where the camera pans and zooms…]
> “NEW Location unlocked! SHANGHAI.”
[A bustling metropolis.
Under the neon lights, a secret society thrives. A place where warriors, cultivators, try to grasp a thread that runs and hides… >>
…Immortality.]
Two voices began to speak.
> NARRATOR 1: But for this alleyway street, it is just another night. Here, the candy shop flashes its lights. Behind the storefront glass, amongst people lost in the colors of the candies, stood a little boy. Alone, small, overlooked…
> NARRATOR 2: But just this once, his story will be told.
Next to the counter, that boy has just tripped, hitting his knee, head and elbows. His name is Li Ming.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
> NARRATOR 1: Li Ming’s mother was a woman called Ling Ling. She was an amazing mother, even though barely present in Ming’s life.
But she’s not in this store.
[A gravestone pops up. It reads: “Here lies Ling Ling: a cannon fodder mother.”]
As a result of an assassination attempt ordered by a jealous stepmother, Ling’s life was cut short.
> NARRATOR 2: Tragic.
> NARRATOR 1: Now, Li Ming is not supposed to be in candy shops.
> NARRATOR 2: He’s an orphan.
> LI MING: (Sobbing…) I’m an orphan.
> NARRATOR 1: He’s not supposed to be there. According to the shop owner, his presence is a crime.
Look! That old grump is kicking poor Li Ming out of the shop right now…
OLD SHOPKEEPER: “GET OUT!” >
Poor Li Ming. His hand wipes at his eyes, but the tears escape anyway. Does his life ever get better?
> NARRATOR 2: Hopefully not.
> NARRATOR 1: … Anyway,
Li Ming sits on the steps, his stomach growling. He is poor, hungry, and worse of all crippled. He grasps his chest, feeling a bit of pain. “Mom…”
He could almost hear her voice. “Hm…? My little Chao-Chao?” It was the nickname that his mom gave him, which meant stir-fry.
“Mom…”
It hurts…
He recalled the day it happened. The doctor that had found him, simply wrote: “Li Ming’s core is broken like a crushed tomato. His meridians are severed like fresh scallions. To fix him, money is nee-”
> LI MING: “What’s money?”
> NARRATOR 2: But with no way to pay the medical bills, Li Ming was kicked out.
> NARRATOR 1: He tried not to think about it now. But the last thing Li Ming remembered before everything faded was his mom’s face. A weak smile.
With the last of her strength, Li Ming’s mother held him up, telling him, “I will always love stir-fry,” and used her powers to send him away.
His path of cultivation: finished, before it even began.
> NARRATOR 2: Oh, fate can be so cruel! His step mom was at the funeral, like: “Li Ming dear, I heard commoners love stir-fry. Apparently, it’s to DIE for!”
> NARRATOR 1: Could it get any worse?
> NARRATOR 2: Yep. His fiance broke up with him.
> NARRATOR 1: And this was because Li Ming smelled…
> NARRATOR 2: …like the sewers?
> NARRATOR 1: What they didn’t know was that he was training in secret…
[A short montage plays. The sun and moon rise over the city, one after another, day after day.]
Before long, ten years had passed by. Seasons shifted, and Li Ming had grown into a university student. And to most, Li Ming looked like an average student walking to class. But under his everyday attire, he was a…
A cultivator.
> FLASHBACK to young Li Ming crying on the steps. Where he was last left off, he was wallowing in self pity next to an open manhole…
Maybe a construction worker had left it open.
The game displayed an action choice: “[Press P to push Li Ming into the sewers]”.
PLOP! The splash and scream of a falling boy played.
> NARRATOR 2: Li Ming fell into the sewers that day. He looked around to find the entrance of an ancient, secluded sect.
[The camera pans to the bustling sprawl of underground buildings in the sewers. In front of him, a barred gate prevents him from entering. Nearby, two rats are eating a circle of pizza.]
And that day, Ming met a crack with eyes.
> CRACK: “Well, well, well. What do I find here? A CRIPPLED boy.”
> LI MING: “I’m not crippled.” (sobbing noises.)
> CRACK: “What if I told you… there’s a way to fix that tangled up mess inside of you?”
> LI MING: “R-really? How?”
For a couple days, Li Ming was in agony as the cracks in his core were healed by the crack. It was like the inner energy in his body was being forcefully shoved back together. And there his core was, with cracks and all but complete.
> CRACK: “Turns out cracks can heal after all. But… am I really a crack?”
The crack takes off a face mask.
> CRACK: “You won’t believe this, but I’m actually not a crack. I’m a… SHI-FU.”
A SHI-FU? That meant… he was a teacher? Li Ming blinked.
> SHI-FU: Indeed. But let’s stop with the obvious.
His teacher ran up the sewer walls, kicking up a rat and plopping on their feet.
> SHI-FU: Now that your core is healed, you’ll find many things you weren’t able to do before. All thanks to the mystical energy… Qi.
> NARRATOR 2: Wow, so profound.
> NARRATOR 1: And slowly, but surely, Li Ming found a home in this unlikely place.
[Next to the wall, a shower casually slides out.]
He found friends, too.
[The camera moves to show his best friend, who whacks the camera.]
Good things like this hadn’t come easy to him…
[FLASHBACK ends. Back to present Li Ming.]
> NARRATOR 2: …Because Li Ming had a knack for finding trouble wherever he went. Like that time he was trying to be a normal college kid, but somehow kickstarted the end of the world. Right before finals week, dungeon portals started opening all over the world. Destruction. Havoc. Never-seen-before catastrophe.
Monsters.
> NARRATOR 2: Dungeons, oh, where did they come from? ;)
> NARRATOR 1: …they’re… naturally occurring.
Finals were delayed.
- - -
> CUTSCENE:
Li Ming steadied his breath.
In front of him, a newly opened portal.
Spilling a ghostly, shimmering light, it cast eerie shadows that shivered on the ground.
The street had long been evacuated, leaving the store-fronts abandoned and the sidewalks riddled with cracks. Beside him were his two best friends - Jie Ke, the only guy he could really trust, and Zhen Ni, who he had a huge crush on.
(Sometimes, she even held his hand.)
“Well, this street has seen better days.” Li Ming playfully nudged Jie Ke and pulled his friends into a shoulder hug. “What d’ya say we grab some take out when this is all over?”
Jie Ke nodded, his brows furrowing.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Ming asked.
“Nothing.” Jie Ke brushed off his concern with a slight shake of the head. “We better get going.”
Ming looked over to Zhen Ni, who remained silent. Her nose was scrunched though, and she had this stern look on her face. Ming shrugged, and the three of them stepped into the swirling vortex, which seemed to echo a word over and over:
“Tr-”
Once inside, they navigated the dungeon, each step echoing in the silent void. The rooms and hallways there grew and shrank like living organs. Tension palpably clung to their skin, scratching at it… whispering a single word.
“-ansgr-”
Monsters rose. Blades flashed. Sparks flew. At the end of it all, they found an ominous open room. On the side, broken words read: “Do not ….ess. For …. sins, j…ged he-e.”
But the words were too worn out to read, and they stepped in. Slowly, the doors closed behind them.
Abruptly, Jie Ke froze, his hand shooting out to halt Li Ming.
"Do you feel that?" Jie Ke asked, his tone a hushed whisper. Li Ming extended his senses, only feeling a subtle ripple of the Qi around them. He looked around, noticing a massive, marble statue.
Its eyes seemed lonely. The height of its toes ended around their heads. And green ivy seemed to find its home in the cracks. But one thing in particular stood out. It held a bronze scale, and above them, a feather slowly dropped…
…dropped…
…and dropped…
…until it reached the ground.
"I do," Ming confirmed. He looked around expecting a sudden attack, but…
Nothing. The cold, lifeless statue simply stared at them, watching their steps – and Li Ming couldn’t help but feel that he was missing something. But what?
The trio strolled around, looking at the soft weeds and other small flowers poking through the dirt.
“Here,” Ming passed some cookies to his friends. He knew it wasn’t the best time but, “you guys look hungry.”
Zhen Ni took it, her face lighting up as she chewed.
“I-” Jie Ke’s voice staggered, putting them in his pocket. “Thanks. I’ll eat them later.”
“These are good,” Zhen Ni sighed. Yeah, she had always liked the cookies he baked.
“Thanks,” Ming said, with a little blush, “I didn’t know if you guys had eaten breakfast.”
Zhen Ni gave him a nod and turned around.
For some reason, he could hear the sound of water that day.
Drip-Drop.
It landed on Zhen Ni’s face. She let out a gentle smile, and wiped it away as Ming looked. “It’s just water,” she laughed, her voice catching a little hitch.
“I think there's something up there.” Jie Ke softly brought up, pointing ahead.
Ming felt a shiver down his spine as he walked forward. Something felt… wrong. As he readied himself for a possible attack…
It was like his body gained a mind of his own. Before he even processed it, his legs jumped to the side narrowly avoiding-
—S-SHING!
Li Ming turned to see the glint of a blade that had sliced through the darkness. “J-Jie Ke?"
Jie Ke looked down at his sword, dissatisfied. It had sliced through the open air, leaving behind the faint smell of lotuses.
Ming brought his eyes back to his friends. Nothing was behind them, right? “There, there wasn't anything there.”
Once again, he glanced at the towering statue in the room. Were its eyes always closed?
"Hey, Jie Ke?" he echoed, again. “Zhen Ni, can you believe that he…?” His eyes found Zhen Ni, but what met him was an unrecognizable gaze. It felt cold, distant, and… her hand held a sword that kept getting closer.
[Press Q to dodge…]
Out of instinct, Li Ming dodged. No it couldn’t be… His friends. They were being mind-controlled. Was that it?
Was that… it?
"Jie Ke, Zhen Ni," his voice was firm. “What’s the meaning of this?”
But the two in front of them didn’t respond with words, only with their weapons.
Li Ming’s eyes opened wide as he clenched his fist. Jumping into action, the Qi inside swirled in a protective glow. The cultivation techniques his mentor had taught him breathed life into his limbs, and he… no, no, these were his friends.
Jie Ke attacked first.
His familiar blade sang a sorrowful tune as it cut through the silence. Li Ming swerved, his hand glowing with energy, and met the blade with a — CLASH!
His counter-strike sent Jie Ke spiraling back, but Zhen Ni was already advancing, her weapon arcing towards him.
[Press E to counter…]
“Snap out of it.” Li Ming begged, as he clasped the blade with two hands. “It’s me.”
“I know,” Zhen Ni softly replied, pushing the blade down further. “Don’t struggle…”
She knows? Then… it wasn’t mind control. It wasn’t a mistake?
A choked feeling rose in his throat. “No…”
He felt a bit sick.
Pushing the blade away, he asked: “W-What do you mean? This isn’t funny.”
At that moment, Jie Ke recovered, and laughed a cruel, deep laugh.
What was the meaning of that… laugh?
Lotus petals began to fall from Jie Ke’s blade. The ‘Hypnotic Lotus Blade Technique.’
Li Ming swallowed. It was beautiful, like a sorrowful rain. He had witnessed it many times before. But this time, it descended upon him.
Utilizing a step technique, Li Ming moved as if he was phasing in and out of the air, avoiding Jie Ke’s blades at a hair’s width. At the same time, he gathered energy in his other palm, preparing to catch the other blade swinging at him.
Finally, a guttural roar came out of his throat. “Why are you guys doing this? WHY?”
The answers he heard didn’t make things better.
“—I never thought of you as my best friend.”
“I could never love you—”
“—You were just a nuisance.”
“N-” His voice cracked. “No. NO. You’re lying, right?” Ming’s shoulders trembled as he looked at his friends. “You’re all lying.”
Jie Ke scowled. Zhen Ni had a distant expression on her face.
“You could have left me for dead.” Ming whispered, looking at the two of them. He closed his eyes, swallowing down tears. “When my half-brother left me for dead. You could have left me there, y’know that? But you didn’t.”
Jie Ke gripped his sword tighter. “I should have.”
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
“You gave me the thousand-year herb in that cave. You could have saved anyone else.” Ming bitterly whispered. He could feel a stutter in his voice. A sob coming up his throat. But he didn’t want to cry… Not like that weak, sniveling kid on the streets. “Why… Why would you waste that on me?”
“Admit it.” His fist lunged forward in a desperate attempt to reach Jie Ke.
But that was met by Zhen Ni’s sword. Her sword sliced forward like it didn’t want to give him any more room to talk. At that exact time, Jie Ke’s sword stabbed near his side.
So his body kept moving, kept dodging, but it all felt like a blur to him now. If he stopped, it would all end. But then… what.
No… he couldn’t stop.
The attacks blended together with seconds and minutes.
Each time, the pain of betrayal stung again. Like antiseptic poured over open wounds. Except his wounds kept building up and growing larger.
Li Ming laughed.
His fingers trembled. ‘Move.’ He told himself. But he felt his limbs stagger. The ground seemed to want to trip him, and wanted him to stumble. It reached out and spoke to him a complete word:
“—transgressor.”
It hurt.
“It’s… pointless. Just stop, now.” Jie Ke spoke, silently counting each of the places that his and Zhen Ni’s blades had connected.
“No.” Reality crashed over Li Ming, groaning desperately.
Their steps came closer. His fingers bled, but still managed to move.
With a flurry of movements, tattoos of hieroglyphs clambered down Li Ming’s hands. In his mind’s eye, he envisioned a jackal. The keeper of the underworld.
His late mentor had forbidden him from using this technique: “Too dangerous. Too deadly.” The words rang in his ears.
Ming jumped forward, steadily pushing them back as they anxiously dodged. But just as he cornered the two of them, why did he…
His hands trembled as he touched their chests, but the glow disappeared.
How could… he?
He smiled, meeting their eyes one last time. His arms dropped to his side. Why did he want to live, again?
He covered his eyes. A gulp.
“I must have done something terrible If even my best friends wanted to kill me…”
He…
With a move that seemed to slow down in retrospect, Jie Ke's blade found its mark, plunging into Li Ming's side. A wave of agony rolled through him, buckling his knees. As he faltered, Zhen Ni's weapon descended…
CR-ACK!
The blow echoed through the room.
Little, golden marigolds gently bowed at his feet as he fell. They eagerly drank the red seeping out of him. Crashing to his knees, he looked up, his vision smeared with the onset of pain. He just wanted to see their faces. Why couldn’t he see their faces?
“Oh no,” Ming chucked, choking on the liquid pooling in his lungs. He coughed, sputtering, “I-”
The last few words he whispered out were almost too faint. “Please…”
Their eyes met his. A heavy silence.
Li Ming's consciousness began to dwindle. His eyes drifted close, the pain from his wounds pulling him into death’s embrace… His last thoughts, tangled.
Heavy…
A gentle touch.
Then, he slipped away.
|
…
It was quiet.
--- _
- thump.
A soft thump.
His heart… was still beating. Why…?
- ‘Beep!’
Beep? The sound confused him.
- ‘Ding!’
[‘To see an ending so soon…’]
A soft voice spoke in his ears.
In his blurred-out haze, he saw an array of floating, holographic panels pop up. The system notifications – like something out of a videogame – presented him with one word:
['Respawn?' X]
At the bottom of each panel, was a small, glowing logo: ‘NPC.com’.
Welcome to NPC.com.