Deceitful Game

Chapter 282 The Cycle, Never Ending

Mingpo slowly opened her eyes and found herself waking up in the zero-gravity chair in her office.

He slowly stood up and looked around.

………oh?"

Mingpo frowned slightly, keenly sensing the incongruity in the situation.

This isn't his office... or at least not entirely.

But the main thing is... the world in front of him no longer has that kind of "UI".

All the text, arrows, and labels that were originally floating in the field of vision in AR mode have been cleared.

He could no longer see the prominent contact icon, the constantly flashing unread email notifications, his current coordinates and weather, or the background music. He couldn't even see the GG icon that would force him to appear when he noticed a specific item.

It's just like……

...It's like playing Skyrim or Minecraft for a long time and creating many mods, and then suddenly playing the clean version?

A strange thought suddenly popped into Mingpo's mind.

He hadn't quite remembered what it was, but instinct overwhelmed him like a surging tide.

This sense of unfamiliarity, this feeling that "I don't seem to understand myself very well," left him feeling vaguely lost.

It wasn't exactly fear, but...

Thinking of this, Mingpo turned over and got up.

His spine was not directly connected to the zero-gravity chair, so he did not need to sever the connecting wires.

Meow~

At that moment, a cat's meow rang out.

Before Mingpo could respond, a well-behaved black cat jumped into his arms.

Mingpo's body moved on its own, catching it and picking it up.

But when she looked down and met those sapphire-like cat eyes for a moment, Mingpo was stunned before she realized what was happening.

Oh, right.

His cat wasn't a living being; it was merely a non-human, sentient being.

Mingpo held the cat, her bare feet on the floor, and looked around.

Although some of the decorations are things that only exist in an office, everything else has been changed.

The flooring is no longer the cold, high-tech gray-white anti-static ceramic tile, but dark walnut wood flooring.

The surroundings were filled with potted plants of all sizes, which was exactly what he had chosen. But next to the potted plants were many bookshelves, with plants and vines intertwined with them.

The bookshelves stretched from floor to ceiling. There were six shelves in total, the tallest of which was over two and a half meters high, and Mingpo couldn't reach it even on tiptoe. But the shelves weren't all books... In addition to books, there were also quite a few figurines.

It looks like a combination of a botanical garden and a library.

Looking at the figurine, Mingpo paused again.

Memories surfaced in his mind.

...He remembered.

This is Aiwas, an important supporting character in the game "Ouroboros" that he created in his previous life.

This character's personality is very similar to Ai Shiping's.

But in addition to that, Mingpu has added some of its own elements.

Mingpo actually wanted to put himself into the game, to put on a "suit" for himself in the virtual world, to create a clone... but he was also a little embarrassed.

Because Mingpo is arrogant. If he were to be included in a game, he would inevitably have to be the protagonist.

But... if people find out, it will make me seem too childish. It's like when you're playing house with your classmates or pretending to be a hero, and you insist on being Ultraman.

So Mingpo changed his approach.

He brought his only friend into the game, making him the one who accompanies the protagonist on his adventure. In that case, wouldn't I become the protagonist?

But afterwards, Mingpo felt a little guilty.

Because he used his friend's personality and appearance without permission... If Ai Shiping were to actually play this game, he would discover this very soon. Although she didn't know what would happen after he found out, Mingpo instinctively avoided that possibility.

So, in order to deceive Ai Shiping, Mingpo added a part of her own personality to the character.

It was at that time that Mingpo realized... that he also longed for adventures in another world.

But at this moment, he also felt a kind of self-loathing.

because……

...If I became the hero, could I really defeat the Demon King and save the world?

"It probably won't work."

Mingpo thought to herself.

"Because there is no justice, no hope, and no courage in their hearts."

Arrogance, paranoia, and madness alone... it seems like he'll only ever become a boss.

Mingpo sighed, and the black cat in his arms quietly licked his fingers.

Mingpo gently stroked the black cat's head, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"...But even if I were a BOSS, I should be Kel'Thuzad."

He rested his head on the cat's head and whispered, "Because I still have you, my Mr. Biggsworth."

Meow~

The black cat meowed obediently and licked Mingpo's forehead.

Mingbo chuckled softly, closed her eyes, and let the robotic cat, with the same temperature as a real cat, lick her eyelids.

It will not leave itself.

It will not betray itself.

Because that's how its program is written.

If one day it does hurt Mingpo, it will be because of a program error or someone hacking into his cat. But in any case, it will not be due to its betrayal.

Only in the presence of such a "non-human, intelligent pet" can Mingpo find a moment of hard-won peace of mind.

That's the sense of security he feels when he can completely control the other person.

He used to treat Ai Shiping the same way.

But now that Ai Shiping has gained memories of his past life spanning several decades, the situation is quite different.

He was still Ai Shiping, still the friend Mingpo trusted. But now... he no longer "belonged" to Mingpo.

Ai Shiping has indeed become stronger and more mature.

It's like your own child has grown up and become independent.

Its wings have hardened; it can fly on its own now...

Mingpo could no longer control him.

He could no longer understand Ai Shiping's every thought, nor could he predict his every move. He didn't even know what Ai Shiping was thinking right now... Just that alone made Mingbo uneasy.

"...I'm such a terrible person."

Mingpo laughed self-deprecatingly as she walked towards the floor-to-ceiling window, which was as large as a wall.

The curtains were drawn open as he moved, but the world he saw outside the window was gray and white.

It's like a black and white photograph... no, it's more like a very old-fashioned black and white film. Not only has it lost its color, but even the outlines of the people are somewhat blurry.

Mingpo's prosthetic left eye can magnify images. Even from fifty or sixty meters away, she can clearly observe details like the frayed edges of clothing. But now…

When he zoomed in on the image, the people became "blurred".

Just like a game with insufficient resolution, it becomes a pixelated mess after being magnified several times.

Mingpo, holding the cat, turned her back to the black and white cyber city and looked back at her beloved zero-gravity chair.

In the warm-toned room, the Takasagami Iogo on the back of the chair had been transformed into the Ouroboros icon.

The ouroboros bites its own tail, coiling it into a perfect circle.

One cycle, never ending.