"Zhou Xiaoyi, just look at this trash character you designed! Permanent combat power boost? How are the pay-to-win players supposed to play now? Are you even competent? If you can't do your job, plenty of others are waiting to take it!"
A young woman wearing glasses and with a stunning figure slammed the office door shut in fury.
"Serves you right for being unlovable!" Zhou Xiaoyi grumbled to himself.
Zhou Xiaoyi was originally a game designer at a gaming company. Who would have thought that the boss's own little sister also played their company's game?
The boss's sister, Jiang Qingyue, was in her early twenties—a classic case of being naive and filthy rich. Somehow, she became completely addicted to the game and spent money like it was going out of style, topping up until she seized the top spot on the server leaderboard.
She probably wanted to brag to her little girlfriends about how amazing she was. But who could have predicted that a regular free-to-play player would exploit the game mechanics to defeat the server's number-one paying whale? In an instant, the entire server was flooded with claims that "paying doesn't matter." Things like: "Your tens of thousands of top-ups can't beat someone's lifetime of dedicated grinding." "Even if you bought the entire game company, you still couldn't defeat a normal player—because the game designer doesn't pay a dime."
Zhou Xiaoyi muttered: "What a crap game. I already set the mall exchange rate to 1:1 with real money, and people still play for free? I add four zeros to a garbage weapon and design a hundred thousand of them—buy as many as you want. You love paying? Fine, I'll switch it to probability draws, five zeros per pull. When you're just 1% from completing the set, I'll throw in a one-in-ten-thousand golden stone for you to keep pulling. Earning this money is way too hard."
Grumble as he might, Zhou Xiaoyi still took the server down to deploy the new patch. Once it was back online, he stared at the system announcement at the top of the screen: [Due to complaints from paying players, all attributes for free players have been reduced by 99.99% (infinite loop). All players, please line up to top up.]
He couldn't help but laugh out loud. Zhou Xiaoyi: "If you won't let me play, then nobody gets to play."
That's right—the regular player who defeated the server's top whale was Zhou Xiaoyi himself. As the game designer, how could he not have his own account? He just never imagined that the only easter egg he'd hidden to give free players a bit of fun would end up being crushed by a paying whale—who, to be precise, was the boss's sister.
Zhou Xiaoyi sighed: "A lifetime slaving away like an ox or horse, never a moment of rest. If only I could run my own private server..."
Suddenly, the office lights went dark. When Zhou Xiaoyi regained consciousness, everything in front of him was hazy and blurred.
Zhou Xiaoyi: "Where... where am I?"
His vision went black again. He tried to walk forward and kicked something with his foot, faintly hearing the voice of that spoiled young lady. Just then, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.
"Congratulations, Host, on activating Seven Realms Private Server 1.0. This system provides the Host with the initial server: Immortal Realm Private Server 1.0, supporting up to 10,000 concurrent players. Please select the activation location: 1. Eighteenth Heaven of the Immortal Realm; 2. Five Directions Immortal Domains."
Zhou Xiaoyi: "I've traversed worlds? And I can run a private server? Haha!"
In his mind: Everyone else is traversing, huh? Fine, I'm traversing too. "The domineering emperor abandons his empire for me," "The enemy nation's king kneels just for a glimpse of me and begs me not to leave"—that kind of melodramatic nonsense is absolutely forbidden on my private server.
Zhou Xiaoyi: "Choose 2. Who knows what kind of ancient monsters are hiding in the Eighteenth Heaven? Better dip my toes in the Five Directions first. The Five Directions Immortal Domains sound like some desolate backwater—perfect place to start, no mistakes there."
System: "Core definitions of the Five Great Immortal Domains:
1. Qinglai Immortal Domain (East)
· Positioning: Blessed grotto-heaven, origin of spiritual roots.
· Features: Immortal islands and sacred mountains, spiritual energy condensing into rain.
· Core: Immortal herbs and spiritual plants; orthodox holy land of alchemy.
2. Lanyue Immortal Domain (South)
· Positioning: Eternal immortal flames, origin of light and heat.
· Features: Perpetual daylight over glazed earth, nine suspended immortal suns.
· Core: All varieties of immortal flames; sacred ground for artifact forging.
3. Taixu Immortal Domain (West)
· Positioning: Gathering of sharpness, origin of blades.
· Features: Geng-metal baleful winds, mountains standing like swords.
· Core: Endless immortal ores; holy land for sword cultivators.
4. Xueqi Immortal Domain (North)
· Positioning: Return of true water to the abyss, land of utmost cold.
· Features: Ten-thousand-li frozen expanses, heavenly rivers turned into deep abysses.
· Core: Mysterious ice and true water; treasures of extreme cold.
5. Yunmeng Immortal Domain (Center)
· Positioning: Central hub of the Immortal Realm, convergence of authority and power.
· Features: Floating immortal mountains and massive cities; transportation nexus.
· Core: Convergence of ten thousand laws; central hub for all resources.
Please select a specific immortal domain."
Zhou Xiaoyi: "Choose 1. Anyone who picks 5 is a wide-eyed rookie just entering society."
System: "Immortal Realm - Qinglai Immortal Domain Private Server 1.0 launching!"
As the system's voice rang out, Zhou Xiaoyi was teleported to a certain blessed grotto-heaven in Qinglai Immortal Domain.
Zhou Xiaoyi: "System, what's going on here?"
He pointed at the person lying on the ground—the boss's own sister, Jiang Qingyue.
System: "This is a bug!"
Zhou Xiaoyi: "Damn, your designer is pretty trash too."
The system didn't respond. Soon after, accompanied by soft "whimpering" sounds, the spoiled Jiang Qingyue woke up.
She first surveyed the surroundings, then looked at Zhou Xiaoyi standing before her, and said: "Zhou Xiaoyi, I know you like me. If you like me, just say it straight—I actually have some feelings for you too~ There's no need to turn to crime. Kidnapping me won't get you anything good."
Zhou Xiaoyi's emotions surged like the Eight Seas—why eight? Because the Four Seas had flipped over twice.
Imitating Jiang Qingyue's tone in a mocking falsetto: "Oh, I actually have some feelings for you too~?"
"With your 'feelings,' you throw attitude at everyone every day? You still haven't figured out the situation? We've traversed—we've been isekai'd. This is Qinglai Immortal Domain in the Immortal Realm."
Jiang Qingyue looked at him disdainfully and rolled her eyes.
"Mm~ Little Yi brother~ Since this is the Immortal Realm, you wouldn't leave a delicate girl like me here for too long, right? I'm hungry and want some food~ Could you go get something for me to eat? Pretty please~?" (in an overly saccharine voice)
Zhou Xiaoyi, a straight single man of thirty years, had always remained calm and rational through countless romantic temptations. But faced with Jiang Qingyue's soft, gentle assault, even he felt his defenses waver just a little.
He softened his tone and said to Jiang Qingyue: "Jiang Qingyue, I know you think I'm kidnapping you right now. But the truth is, we've really traversed to the Immortal Realm. What do I have to do for you to believe me?"
Jiang Qingyue first looked down to check her own figure, then up at this straight guy who, even when she'd verbally torn him apart before, never dared to talk back. A trace of belief appeared in her eyes.
"If this is the Immortal Realm, can you fly?"
Zhou Xiaoyi: "I'm just a mortal!"
"Then do you have a system?"
"Stop reading all those weird novels!"
"You can't fly, and you don't have a system. Yet you say this is the Immortal Realm? Who are you trying to fool? Zhou Xiaoyi, if I didn't have some understanding of you—this hopeless straight guy—I wouldn't believe a single word of your ghost story. No man is any good! Hmph!"
With that, she crossed her arms over her chest, putting on an expression that screamed: You're finished.