One week later, inside the bookstore.
Jiang Ge sat alone on the sofa, deep in thought.
There were two issues weighing on his mind.
First, he only had two Self-Selections left. These were precious—life-saving chances that allowed him to directly choose a desired character instead of relying on luck. After countless draws of random, useless junk, every Self-Selection felt like gold. And now… only two remained.
Fortunately, he wasn't far from accumulating enough pulls to earn another, so it wasn't completely hopeless.
Second, ever since his mysterious disappearance and sudden return, Corin had become increasingly clingy toward him.
That in itself wasn't bad—but it highlighted a problem. Every time he "performed an act," everyone noticed something peculiar: Jiang Ge would vanish.
Sure, he could make up excuses—claiming he went to a secret base to give orders or to handle intelligence work—but that excuse wouldn't last forever.
Take Sam, for example. Every deployment of Sam was a display of overwhelming firepower and brutal efficiency; missions that should've taken hours were wrapped up in ten minutes. There was no reason for Jiang Ge to "disappear" whenever Sam appeared.
People would start connecting the dots.
In fact, when Nicole discovered that Jiang Ge had vanished around the same time Sam was deployed to deal with the Red Fang, she'd jokingly suggested that Jiang Ge might be the one controlling Sam.
At that moment, Jiang Ge's heart nearly stopped.
Fortunately, Billy loudly objected, claiming he absolutely refused to believe that his "Big Bro Sam" could be someone like Jiang Ge. The argument derailed the discussion, and the suspicion faded—though Jiang Ge still ended up throwing Billy out of the bookstore later.
Even so, the incident made one thing painfully clear: times had changed.
He wasn't living alone anymore.
He had Ellen and the Cunning Hares around him now. He couldn't just act recklessly like before.
He needed a solution.
As Jiang Ge sat pondering his dilemma, the System's voice suddenly chimed in.
> "Update complete. Added two new characters. Added March 7th's new Path."
"Oh? It updated? Let's take a look…"
But before he could check the new data, the System spoke again.
> "Master, are you troubled by the difficulty of dividing your attention?"
"Correct."
There was no point hiding it—whatever he thought, the System would know anyway.
> "Then I have a plan that may relieve your worries, Master."
"Oh? Let's hear it."
The System's proposal was simple, yet intriguing:
Jiang Ge could consume one Self-Selection to summon a character with autonomous consciousness.
This summoned character would not divide his mental focus, would obey his commands without question, and most importantly—would never betray him.
In other words, he could finally delegate tasks without worrying.
However, there were limitations.
Even if Jiang Ge had multiple Self-Selections, he could only summon one team (up to four characters) at a time.
Summoned characters would be removed from the gacha pool, meaning they couldn't be used for "Acting."
Certain characters couldn't coexist—Blade, Jingliu, and Dan Heng, for example.
Characters could be returned to the pool anytime, but the Self-Selection used would not be refunded.
Lastly, this was version 0.1, meaning many features were still in development.
After hearing all this, Jiang Ge felt conflicted.
He didn't have many Self-Selections left—only two, hard-earned through a year of effort. Using one now was painful.
But he truly did need someone to help handle commissions, cover for his disappearances, and serve as an alibi.
He needed someone with indomitable will, unshakable resolve, and the ability to keep pushing forward no matter what.
In simpler terms: someone who could run across entire maps multiple times for minimal rewards and had a legendary tolerance for getting beaten up.
…Yeah. There was really only one person who fit that description.
Wait—hold on.
Why did the counter just drop by one?
"Hey… why is there one less Self-Selection?! Did it just use one automatically?!"
> System: "Exchange complete."
"Damn you, stupid system!" Jiang Ge shouted, clutching his head in frustration. But since the Self-Selection was already consumed and couldn't be refunded, there was no choice but to move forward.
"Alright then… I choose you—Stelle!"
With that Pokémon-style declaration, a figure materialized before him—a girl with long, silvery-gray hair, her presence immediately recognizable.
Stelle.
The name known to countless players.
Well… sort of.
Jiang Ge had drawn her before, but Stelle was different from other characters. She wasn't just one person—she was a collective embodiment of countless players. A paradox.
Silent, she looked like a graceful beauty. The moment she opened her mouth—utter chaos.
At the very least, Jiang Ge wanted to confirm what kind of "autonomous consciousness" this version of her had.
He decided to start with a simple question.
"May I ask… what's your name?"
"…Huh?"
The girl slowly opened her eyes, locking her gaze on him. After a long pause, something seemed to click in her mind.
She crossed her arms, smirked, and spoke with confident arrogance:
"Speak my name… and amuse me!"
Jiang Ge froze.
Then he covered his mouth in disbelief, eyes wide with emotion.
"Oh my god… It's really her."
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A/n: While I am a new translator, I have a Patreon! While it may be a bit empty right now both this and the other book on my page has advanced chapters posted on patreon.
patreon.com/deadlygoober