Chapter Fifty-Three: The Grand Gathering

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Galantis was an exceedingly charming girl.

Don’t be fooled by the cross she carried, which made her seem far fiercer than her appearance suggested. Ever since her brother, Neilbass, had disappeared, she had lived in a constant state of worry.

This anxiety made her nervous when speaking with ordinary people, yet she became irritable when facing demons.

Never, ever underestimate any NPC in this world. If Xie Jing dared to harass her, he’d likely find himself flattened by that cross in no time.

The reason their conversation went so smoothly was, in large part, due to the aura Xie Jing radiated—a glow that made him instantly likable.

Above, invisible cameras continued recording. Xie Jing bade Galantis farewell and returned to his display stand.

After each horse race, there was always a lull—a pocket of free time. Taking advantage of it, Xie Jing extracted a segment from the video.

The angle was perfect: a beautiful girl with short hair, her expressions of surprise and tears clearly captured. Remarkably, the video even had sound.

The scenery of the streets in Dark City appeared in the footage, along with many players dressed in fashionable attire.

Compared to the game’s 2D graphics or illustrated avatars, Xie Jing’s video brought the characters to life—their eyes, noses, and mouths not as exaggerated as in the illustrations, but all the more breathtaking for it.

[Host may edit the video at will. Click the button to select upload platform.]

Xie Jing considered his options and decided to cut out the part set during nighttime, focusing on Galantis’s tearful beauty—after all, there would always be a crowd of gentlemen drawn to a crying beauty.

After much effort, he produced a video about twenty minutes long, interspersing shots of Dark City’s streets. The distinctly unmodern architectural style was bound to spark endless speculation among viewers.

As for whether anyone might suspect something, Xie Jing had no fear.

Choosing a platform took a while. Foreign platforms were out of the question. Few domestic platforms allowed short video uploads and livestreaming.

He ruled out Douyin, KuaiJiao, and Nanshan Shorts—they had poor reputations, and Xie Jing had never used them.

After deliberating, he settled on the renowned Bullet Screen Website, BiSite!

As the country’s largest anime bullet screen site, BiSite’s content was generally divided into material and parody sections. The material section included short videos akin to mini TV series—exactly where Xie Jing wanted to submit his work.

Moreover, BiSite allowed livestreaming. Why else had Xie Jing gone to all the trouble with the animal tournament, if not to grow his fanbase through future livestreams?

Having made up his mind, Xie Jing uploaded the video and gave it a title:

[Shocking!!! I made a beauty cry!!!]

He then selected a beautiful shot of Galantis as the thumbnail.

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Satisfied, he clicked upload and began the endless cycle of refreshing.

Like many struggling writers with a new novel, he refreshed the backend every three minutes, checking for new favorites and tips.

Xie Jing was no different. After uploading, he watched BiSite’s backend on his system screen, constantly hitting refresh.

Ding-dong!!!

Suddenly, a thunderous sound echoed, as if from the heavens.

“In five minutes, the game will undergo a temporary update and maintenance. All players will be forcibly logged out. Please prepare accordingly!!!”

Xie Jing looked up, scanning his surroundings.

Instantly, complaints erupted. Many players who had just logged in, hoping to gamble with their gold coins, were now faced with maintenance and began frantically spamming the chat.

Typically, they’d curse out three generations of ancestors.

With the announcement, the crowded street saw players vanish one after another in bursts of light. That’s how it was—maintenance meant everyone had to log off, no exceptions.

As the final moments approached, Xie Jing suddenly sensed a powerful force altering the world—a greatness he could not possibly resist.

“This... is another form of the Heavenly Way,” Xie Jing murmured, gazing upward.

Though he knew it was just programmers modifying code, the overwhelming force and its ability to arbitrarily rewrite rules felt no different from the workings of fate itself.

“That... Mr. Edward...”

His clothes were tugged, and Galantis’s voice sounded beside him.

Xie Jing turned to see a gathering by Seria’s tree hollow. All familiar faces, with Galantis smiling gently at his side.

“Hmm? You can move freely now?”

Galantis nodded. “Yes, except during nighttime. When the outsiders disappear, we’re free to move about. Everyone wants to meet you—it’s been ages since a newcomer appeared on the continent.”

“Well, let’s go!” Xie Jing replied with a grin, eager himself to meet these familiar strangers.

Familiar, because anyone who played the game had encountered them in quests.

Strangers, because Xie Jing had never seen them in person, and had no idea what these NPCs, now living beings, would be like.

The sensation was truly remarkable.

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Anime characters had become real, and you could recognize them at a glance.

Standing in the center was Miss Seria, whom players met daily. She wore a green top over a white knee-length skirt, her silver hair framing a delicate, almond-shaped face that made her look especially adorable.

Beside her stood Kelly, the woman players loved and hated in equal measure—keeper of the enhancement machine, she determined the fate of their weapon upgrades.

Success, and she was Sister Kelly; failure, and she became Old Woman Kelly.

Was Kelly really old?

Though her attire seemed a bit mature, Kelly was only twenty-six—a woman at her most alluring.

She wore a blue, loosely styled dress with slits, boldly displaying her fair bosom. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was pinned up with two metal rods, and she sported a mechanic’s goggles.

A perfect big sister style—figure, looks, everything!

Capture this, capture this!

Xie Jing switched on his camera.

Alongside Seria were Kanina and Aisha, who also shared the street. Behind them stood the High Priest in his robes and the Captain.

Some faces were familiar, others less so. Xie Jing walked over, and Galantis introduced him with a smile.

“This is Mr. Edward Shate, a merchant visiting Dark City for the first time. His events are very popular among the outsiders.”

“I’ve noticed! With so many outsiders crowding around him, you couldn’t miss it if you tried!”

Kelly stepped forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xie Jing, lips parted with a hint of provocation.

“Ah, so you’re the handsome young man—no wonder…”

She warmly draped her arm over Xie Jing’s shoulder. He caught a pleasant scent, tinged with the faint aroma of machine oil.

“Do you have time for a date with me? I adore handsome men!”

Xie Jing didn’t flinch. He immediately wrapped his arm around Kelly’s waist, a teasing smile on his lips.

“Of course, Miss Kelly. I like women just like you!”