Li Ming woke to pitch darkness.
Not naturally—he froze awake. He lay on the pavilion's stone bench, the slab cold as iron, night wind pouring from all directions, making him shiver, teeth chattering. Lips cracked and peeling, throat like sand had been stuffed inside, swallowing hurt, each gulp like blades scraping.
"How long... did I sleep?"
He sat up, head groggy, like someone had struck it hard with a stick, buzzing. Memories came in fragments, like damaged tape—only scattered pieces remained. He was going to rest at the pavilion, then...
Then nothing.
Like someone hit pause, and when play resumed, it was already night.
"Damn."
Li Ming cursed, voice so hoarse he barely recognized it. He checked his robes—the three spirit stones remained, cold. Wang Hu's Wakefulness Pills bottle was there, but...
Empty.
"I ate them?"
He didn't remember taking the pills. When did the bottle empty? Did someone feed him while unconscious? Or did he take them himself but forgot?
"Stop thinking."
A voice came from behind, soft, like speaking in his ear.
Li Ming spun around, moving too fast, his neck cracking. Old Zhou stood outside the pavilion, wearing gray robes, wooden staff in hand, the stone at its tip glowing faintly, pale blue in the darkness like a firefly.
"You..." Li Ming stood, but his legs gave way, nearly falling, sitting back down. "How long did I sleep?"
"Two hours." Old Zhou entered the pavilion, sitting on the bench opposite, the stone creaking slightly. "The pills wore off, you couldn't hold on. The body's limits can't be deceived."
"Was it you..." Li Ming paused, staring into Old Zhou's eyes. "You made me sleep?"
"Yes." Old Zhou didn't deny it, tone flat like discussing the weather. "You needed sleep. Three days without proper rest—push further and your body collapses."
"But the note said..." Li Ming remembered the black note on his headboard.
"Chen Feng placed that note." Old Zhou interrupted, something like disgust flashing in his eyes? "He didn't want you going to the black market for Wakefulness Pills—his informants are there. You go, you expose yourself. Exposure... equals death."
Li Ming froze, mouth opening and closing.
"Then Wang Hu..."
"Wang Hu is also a player." Old Zhou said, sighing. "But he... isn't on my side."
"Which side?"
Old Zhou was silent several seconds, looking at the pitch-black forest outside the pavilion, then slowly said:
"Do you remember last night's black note? 'Survive seven days, current surviving players 1024, eliminated 873.'"
"I remember." Li Ming said. "Those numbers, I remember them still."
"They were fake." Old Zhou said, voice soft. "There aren't 1024 players, nor 873 eliminated. That was just... initial data the system gave you, to scare you."
Li Ming's heart jumped—thump thump thump.
"What do you mean?"
"Meaning..." Old Zhou paused, like searching for the right words. "The game isn't battle royale. At least, not completely."
"Then what is it?"
"It's..." Old Zhou thought. "A test. Testing whether players can... see the truth."
"What truth?"
"The truth of this world." Old Zhou said. "Qingyun Sect, the cultivation world, techniques, spiritual power... all are code."
Li Ming clenched his fist, nails digging into flesh.
"I know. I can see code."
"What you can see is only the surface." Old Zhou said. "Like only seeing a webpage's HTML, not the database, server, network protocols behind it. Deeper layers... you aren't qualified to see yet."
"Then who is qualified?"
"Those who clear it." Old Zhou said. "Or... those who become part of the game."
Li Ming remembered Chen Feng's words. Chen Feng said he wanted to become an Executor, become part of the game, so he could modify the rules.
"Chen Feng..."
"Chen Feng is an Executor." Old Zhou said. "But he... took the wrong path."
"What do you mean?"
"Executors come in two types." Old Zhou said, raising two fingers. "One is voluntary, like Chen Feng. He chose surrender, accepted the game's mission, exchanged for power. One is forced, like..."
He paused, fingers dropping.
"Like who?" Li Ming asked.
"Like me." Old Zhou said, something self-mocking in his voice. "I cleared it ten years ago, but I... came back."
"Why?"
"Because I discovered..." Old Zhou paused, eyes drifting elsewhere. "Clearing isn't leaving, it's becoming an administrator."
"Administrator?"
"Game administrator." Old Zhou said. "Someone who can modify rules. But the problem is... the price of modifying rules is losing humanity."
Ice ran down Li Ming's back.
"So you..."
"I kept my humanity, so was stripped of administrator privileges." Old Zhou said. "But I retained some... abilities. Like making you sleep, clearing your dream intrusion marker."
"Then last night..."
"Last night I cleared part of your memory." Old Zhou admitted, eyes calm. "About the dream intrusion. That marker was dangerous—keeping it, Cleaners would find you and kill you."
Li Ming's eyes went wide.
"You..."
"Don't worry." Old Zhou waved his hand. "I only cleared the dangerous parts. Some things... the earlier you know them, the faster you die. This game... likes to give candy first, then the knife."
"What things?"
"Like..." Old Zhou pointed at Li Ming's head. "The memory currently synchronizing in your brain."
Li Ming froze.
"You know?"
"I know." Old Zhou said. "That's the game's 'newbie gift package' for you. In twenty days, synchronization completes, you'll... see some things. But those things... aren't what you can handle now."
"What things?"
"You'll know when the time comes." Old Zhou stood, dusting off his robes. "But I remind you—twenty days later, inner sect assessment day, synchronization also completes. That isn't coincidence."
"What do you mean?"
"Meaning..." Old Zhou paused. "The inner sect assessment is part of the game. Pass, and you contact deeper truth. Fail..."
"What happens?"
"Elimination." Old Zhou said. "Not death, but... being cleared. Disappearing from this world."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Li Ming clenched his fist, palm bleeding.
"Then why are you..."
"Why help you?" Old Zhou finished, like knowing what he'd ask. "Because I owe someone a favor."
"Whose?"
"A... player who already died." Old Zhou said, voice soft. "Before dying, he told me if I met a new player like you, help if I could. He said... in this game, help one if you can."
"Like me?"
"Can see code, can fix bugs, can... rewrite rules." Old Zhou said. "Such players... are rare. One in a thousand. You're the 1025th player, and in this batch... the only one who can see code."
Li Ming fell silent, helplessness rising in his chest.
"Then Chen Feng..."
"Chen Feng can't see." Old Zhou said. "He can only see system notifications, not the code in techniques. So he... needs to use you. He wants to use you to get complete techniques, find the method to clear."
"Then you?"
"I can see." Old Zhou said. "But I... can't modify."
"Why?"
"Because privileges were stripped." Old Zhou said. "I kept my humanity, lost my privileges. This is... the trade. Humanity for privileges, irreversible."
Li Ming looked at the old man for a long time. Moonlight fell on the old man's face, deep wrinkles, eyes carrying exhaustion, and something... resignation?
"Then how should I choose?"
"Choose what?"
"Choose humanity or privileges." Li Ming said. "If clearing means losing humanity, then what's the point of clearing?"
Old Zhou was silent.
A long silence.
Wind passed through the pavilion, rustling his gray robes.
"This question..." Old Zhou finally said. "You must answer yourself. Everyone is different. Chen Feng chose privileges, I chose humanity. You... choose yourself."
"Then you?" Li Ming asked. "Do you regret it?"
"Regret?" Old Zhou laughed, bitterness in the smile. "I regret it every day. If I'd chosen privileges back then, I might... already be an administrator now, able to modify rules, save more people. But I... didn't want to become a monster."
"Is Chen Feng a monster?"
"He's becoming one." Old Zhou said. "Being an Executor too long, you... forget you were once human. You'll treat players as data, as tools, as... things that can be sacrificed."
Li Ming clenched his fist, palm bleeding.
"Then I..."
"You have twenty days." Old Zhou said. "Twenty days later, inner sect assessment. Pass, you contact truth. Fail..."
"Cleared."
"Yes." Old Zhou said. "But clearing isn't death, it's... being sent back to the original world."
Li Ming froze.
"Sent back... to the original world?"
"Yes." Old Zhou nodded. "The game doesn't want to kill players, it wants to... screen."
"Screen for what?"
"Screen for those who can accept truth." Old Zhou said. "Some players go mad seeing truth. Some... accept. The mad ones... are cleared, sent back to their original world, but... lose this memory."
Li Ming fell silent, mind a tangled mess.
"So..."
"So you're not playing a game." Old Zhou said. "You're... being tested."
"Tested for what?"
"Testing whether you can... bear the truth." Old Zhou said. "Twenty days later, you'll know."
Then he turned to leave, footsteps soft.
"Wait." Li Ming called out. "One last question—you said Chen Feng took the wrong path, then what's the right path...?"
Old Zhou stopped, back to him.
"The right path..."
He paused, like recalling something from long ago.
"Is finding other players who can see code." Old Zhou said. "Then... clearing together."
"Together?"
"Yes." Old Zhou said. "This game... isn't solo. It's team-based. Only by teaming up can you find the administrator, can... kill him."
"Kill the administrator?"
"Yes." Old Zhou said. "But this... you'll learn later. For now... prepare for the assessment."
Then he vanished into the night, quickly out of sight.
Li Ming stood there, watching the old man's back disappear, palm covered in cold sweat.
"Twenty days... Qi Refinement Layer Three..."
He clenched his fist, nails digging into flesh, palm bleeding.
"Then let's try."
He turned back.
As he reached his room door, he found another note slipped underneath.
Li Ming bent to pick it up—white paper, ordinary, but the handwriting...
"Wang Hu is lying. Old Zhou is also lying. Only I... am real."
No signature, no time.
But on the note's back, another line in light handwriting, like written in haste:
"Tomorrow noon, library. Don't tell anyone."
Li Ming held the note, palm sweating.
Wang Hu said Chen Feng was an Executor, needed his help.
Old Zhou said Chen Feng took the wrong path, needed to find teammates to clear together.
Chen Feng said only he was real, wanted to meet tomorrow at noon.
Then who was...
"Damn."
He cursed, pushing open the door.
Everything in the room seemed normal. Bed, table, wardrobe, all in original positions. But...
On his headboard lay a small booklet.
Li Ming walked over, picking it up. Thin, about a dozen pages, gray cover, no title, only one line of code:
[Player_Handbook.py]
He opened to the first page. Only one line, black characters but glowing:
"Welcome to the game, Player 1025."
"Your mission is... find other players who can see code."
"Then... together kill the game administrator."
Li Ming's hands began trembling, booklet nearly falling.
Kill... the game administrator?
Then what Old Zhou said about clearing... was false? Old Zhou said clearing meant becoming administrator, but this booklet said... kill the administrator?
Or was what Chen Feng said... false?
Or...
"All true?"
The thought made Li Ming jump.
If clearing meant becoming administrator, and becoming administrator's price was losing humanity, then killing the administrator...
"For what? To stop more people from becoming monsters?"
He turned to the second page.
The second page held a drawing.
A... map of Qingyun Sect.
Drawn in detail—outer sect, inner sect, main peak, back mountain... all marked. But on the map, seven red dots, distributed in different locations.
Beside each red dot, a line of small text:
"Node 1: Library"
"Node 2: Back Mountain Cliff"
"Node 3: Law Enforcement Hall"
"Node 4: Inner Sect Main Hall"
"Node 5:..."
The last three were covered by ink, unreadable. Like someone deliberately smudged them, ink still fresh, like recently applied.
Li Ming stared at the map, a thought refusing to leave.
"What are these seven nodes...?"
He continued flipping.
Third page, only one line, red characters like written in blood:
"Twenty days later, inner sect assessment day, all seven nodes will simultaneously... activate."
"Activate what?"
Li Ming turned to the fourth page.
Fourth page was empty.
Fifth page was empty too.
The entire booklet, only the first three pages had text, the rest blank white paper.
"Damn."
He cursed again.
What kind of riddles were these? Couldn't they speak clearly? Had to use this method? One sentence split across pages, then leaving blanks?
He tucked the booklet into his robes against his chest, then sat on the bed.
The system interface appeared before him, pale green text flickering in darkness:
[Cultivation] Qi Refinement Layer One 15/200
[Functions] Code View, Technique Analysis, Bug Fix, Counter-Tracking
[Status] Disguise active (Cleaner detection difficulty +50%)
[Restriction] 30% system function disabled
[Anomaly] Dream intrusion marker (synchronizing 3%)
[Time remaining] 19 days 23 hours 59 minutes
"Nineteen days..."
Li Ming clenched his fist.
"Then... one breakthrough per day."
He closed his eyes, beginning to circulate the *Foundation Qi Circulation Technique*—already his fixed version.
Spiritual power flowed through his meridians, much smoother than before. That blocked feeling had vanished, replaced by fluidity, like water through pipes, unobstructed.
But each time breakthrough approached, he felt... some resistance?
Very slight, but definitely there. Like an invisible wall blocking him, preventing passage.
"What bug is this now?"
Li Ming called up the code view, wanting to see the technique's code.
But this time, he didn't see the technique, but...
[Warning] Insufficient permissions detected
[Hint] Unlocks at Qi Refinement Layer Two
[Recommendation] Seek alternative solution
"Alternative solution..."
Li Ming laughed bitterly, the sound echoing hollowly in the empty room.
This game really pressed every step, each level harder than the last. Like coding—fix one bug, ten more appear.
But he didn't panic.
"Since the technique has bugs, then..."
"Fix them."
Li Ming concentrated, beginning to search the technique's code.
This time, he saw it.
```
[Qi_Circulation_Technique.py]
def circulate_qi():
while True:
absorb_spiritual_energy()
if energy_level >= threshold: # threshold = 200
breakthrough() # there's a lock here!
```
"threshold = 200..."
Li Ming stared at that line, eyes stinging.
Qi Refinement Layer One was 200 spiritual power, then Layer Two... by normal logic, should be 400. But this threshold, was it... a bit high?
"What if I... modify this threshold?"
The thought made Li Ming jump.
Modify the breakthrough threshold? Would that work? Side effects? Qi deviation? Meridians severed?
But then again, techniques were code. Code could be modified, why couldn't thresholds? If code was wrong, fix it—that was a programmer's common sense.
"Try it."
He concentrated, beginning to modify the code.
threshold = 200 → threshold = 100
The moment the code modification completed, he felt something in his body... disconnect?
Like some restriction had been severed. Strange, like someone unplugged the power, the whole world suddenly going quiet.
[Ding! Host detected modifying breakthrough threshold]
[Warning] This operation may cause unstable foundation
[Recommendation] Use cautiously
"Unstable foundation..."
Li Ming laughed bitterly.
"Still better than... being cleared."
He continued circulating the technique.
This time, spiritual power flow speed... doubled?
Like opening floodgates, water rushing in, much faster than before.
"It works."
Li Ming felt joy.
"Then..."
He continued modifying.
threshold = 100 → threshold = 50
[Warning] Threshold too low, may cause qi deviation
[Recommendation] Restore default value
"Qi deviation..."
Li Ming hesitated.
What did qi deviation mean? Meridians severed? Death on the spot? Or becoming mad?
But he remembered Old Zhou's words—twenty days, Qi Refinement Layer Three.
Normal cultivation, impossible. Even if he didn't eat or sleep, cultivating twenty-four hours daily, impossible. Techniques had speed limits, hard restrictions.
"Then... gamble."
He didn't restore the default value, but continued circulating the technique.
Spiritual power flowed madly through his meridians, like a breached dam. He felt his body burning, meridians swelling, like... about to explode. Every meridian sent tearing pain, making him grit his teeth, sweat sliding down his cheeks, dripping to the ground.
"Hold on..."
He clenched his jaw, metallic blood taste spreading in his mouth.
"Can't... give up..."
Suddenly, a crisp sound came from within his body.
Like something... shattered.
[Ding! Host detected breakthrough]
[Cultivation] Qi Refinement Layer Two 1/400
[Unlocked] Advanced Scan, Code Copy
"Broke through..."
Li Ming relaxed, then...
Darkness swallowed him.
He passed out, not even strength to fall, sliding directly from the bed to the floor, thud.
In the final moment before losing consciousness, he heard a voice, like coming from far away:
"Player 1025, breakthrough successful."
"But... price has been paid."
"Your foundation... has been damaged."
"Twenty days later, inner sect assessment day..."
"You will... pay the price."
Then, nothing.
What Li Ming didn't know was that after he collapsed, the system interface automatically appeared before him, new code being written, red, conspicuous in darkness:
```
[Li_Ming_Status.py]
def foundation():
status = "DAMAGED" # foundation damaged
collapse_risk = 0.7 # collapse risk 70%
estimated_collapse = "20 days" # estimated collapse in 20 days
```
Twenty days.
Same day as the inner sect assessment.
And outside the room, a dark figure stood behind a tree, watching Li Ming's room, expression complex.
It was Chen Feng.
He leaned against the trunk, arms crossed, face unreadable.
"He... really modified the threshold." Chen Feng said softly, something like surprise in his voice. "Madman."
He paused, shaking his head.
"But... that's good too."
"Only madmen... can clear."
"Normal people... all give up."
Then he vanished into the night, quickly out of sight.
