Earth, Year X, Month X, Day X. Inside a mysterious QQ group:
—20:20—
Six-Fire Wraith: “Raiding the Empire on the 7th? @Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life, Teacher Lega?”
Bowsette: “Is the Guild Master someone you just @ directly? And now you’re calling her Teacher Lega? I don’t want to see that a second time.”
Bowsette: “Have some damn self-awareness.”
Time Devourer: “Guild fans, please mind your status and manner of speaking. @All Members”
Goblin Slayer Fanboy: “…If you’re gonna meme, at least don’t use the ones everyone else is done with.”
[Goblin Slayer Fanboy] has been muted for 23 hours and 59 minutes by a practiced admin.
The majesty of the Camping Admin, once provoked, instantly plunged the vast guild group into silence.
The silence lasted for a moment.
—20:23—
Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life: “…There’s only three days left before the game shuts down for good. Doesn’t anyone have anything they want to say?”
Yeah.
Only three days remained.
Ten years ago, when [Divine Crystal] first launched, its hype was at a fever pitch, an unstoppable force. Its insane ability to rake in cash didn’t break online gaming history records, but it still successfully inflated the small company that developed it into a booming second-tier game company in just a dozen or so days.
Later, the “Ocean Ark” company, which shot to fame thanks to [Divine Crystal], rapidly expanded. Operating under a “cultivation” model, it churned out hit after hit, reaching a zenith where it was no exaggeration to say this single company propped up half of Z-Nation’s online gaming industry.
But [Divine Crystal], the one that had contributed the most, began to be cold-shouldered and forgotten in a corner due to dwindling profits.
Despite repeated ravages by cheats and prodigy-level planners, [Divine Crystal] still had quite a loyal fanbase stubbornly holding on. Everyone clung to the belief of “As long as Divine Crystal stands, we’ll stand with you till the end”… but when the day came that the operations team itself disbanded due to company policy, an announcement of [Permanent Server Shutdown] ultimately became a nightmare, weighing heavily on the hearts of all Divine Crystal players.
Kongou Desu: “Mmm… I can’t stop Tencent from shutting the servers down, but buying the source code and hiring someone to set up a private server is no problem… The question is, will Weilin come play?”
Filthy Yellow Springs: “Buying source code, starfish… Sister Kongou, does your thigh need any more accessories hanging off it?”
Troublemaker Kakaa: “So the game’s about to shut down, how much longer does the Group Owner plan to keep dodging the crossdressing livestream he owes us?!”
Kongou Desu: “I almost forgot! Shame on you, you’re a game streamer, how can you go back on your word?! Quick! Crossdress!”
Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life: “Since when do I have to crossdress for you guys? I’m not a cosplay streamer.”
Kongou Desu: “What kind of game streamer doesn’t broaden their horizons? Every day we’re shouting for Asuna to save us? Why should we send you gifts?”
Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life: “So broadening my horizons means I have to crossdress? Also, were you just implying I can’t pull off the Sword Art Online style?”
Moe King Lilim: “…So boring. Why is every recent anime about getting transported into a game that’s about to shut down?”
Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life: “Hear that? Even if I, Lega Weilin, were to transmigrate into the game right now! Become a baseless rumor! I absolutely refuse to crossdress!”
Almost simultaneously with the message being sent, a system notification popped up right after: [‘Lega Weilin Who Just Wants a Quiet Life’ has left the group]
[Group Owner rights system has been automatically transferred to ‘Capture Play’]
Capture Play: “?”
—20:29—
Moe King Lilim: “Wait… is the Group Owner pissed off because Sister Kongou drove him away?”
Kongou Desu: “That guy, even if he’s really mad, there’s no need to leave the group… Fine, I’ll apologize and pull him back.”
—20:32—
Kongou Desu: “…………………Does anyone know Weilin’s QQ number?”
Bone of the Sin Domain: “No way, you didn’t add the Guild Master’s QQ?”
Kongou Desu: “I did, but that jerk deleted me!”
Bone of the Sin Domain: “…Huh, why was I deleted too?”
Moe King Lilim: “I was deleted too, and Weilin’s QQ is definitely 22878813! But… how could it…”
Kongou Desu: “Account does not… exist? What the hell?!”
Sebas Koopa: “It says ‘Account not found’ for me too. I checked the Group Owner’s IP address and it’s all gibberish. Teacher Lega… vanished from the face of the earth?”
Thinking back to the flag Lega Weilin had set earlier, a bizarre sense of creeping horror spread through everyone’s hearts.
—20:36—
Moe King Lilim: “It’s over, Weilin probably transmigrated. What do we do now, ahhh?”
Troublemaker Kakaa: “Moe King, calm down.”
Kongou Desu: “I’m booking a hotel. Offline meetup tonight.”
Filthy Yellow Springs: “300 Heroes 1=6, sexy Sword Art Online style making everyone scream, speed up and get on board.”
Bowsette: “You don’t play Shadowverse anymore?”
Filthy Yellow Springs: “Before, with the Group Owner alive I had no choice. Now, I just want to flaunt the Sword Art Online style!”
Capture Play: “You guys???”
