The next morning, Qiu Yunru woke up to an unbearable dinging noise and a blinding blue light.
Holy shit--am I dying?!
The only thing that it could be compared to was having someone shove a bright screen in your face as it blared with one thousand continuous new message notifications!
NOTIFICATIONS: Player is not dying!
NOTIFICATION: Player, please view new notifications!
NOTIFICATION: Player, please view new notifications!
Like one hundred little fireworks, bright blue notification screens popped up over and over in his vision. He squinted, eyes watering. Li Chenyuan was still fast asleep next to him, snoring loudly. Qiu Yunru had noticed this: whenever Li Chenyuan slept next to him, he started to snore. What was up with that? He didn't do it when taking a nap anywhere else on the peak!
Whatever, whatever! He closed the notifications rapidly, a headache beginning to build behind his eyes.
All right, all right! What's wrong with you, huh? It's not like I can spill water on you, so why are you acting like this? Besides, you haven't given me a notification in so long! What's this now? Don't tell me it's something bad!
As he opened the notifications menu, the thousand little notification boxes slowly petered out. Thank god!
What was this? In his notification menu, there was a type of notification he had never seen before.
Rather than being illuminated blue, this notification was bright red. Bright red, to the point that it was somehow even more blinding to look at than the others! The text on it was jet black, and just looking at it gave him an ominous sensation.
NOTIFICATION: Limited Time Event Beings! Event Title: The Final Act! Please open notification for further information. Failure to complete the event will result in total tragedy.
Qiu Yunru's chest tightened.
Usually, upon receiving bad news or some ridiculously dangerous quest from the game menu, he would curse at it, berating it and flicking at it in frustration. This time, however, something felt...off. He couldn't bring himself to scold the menu at all.
After all, didn't this seem...ominously serious? Didn't the title 'Final Act' imply an ending of sorts?
Swallowing dryly, he opened the notification.
At once, as though walloped over the head, he fell unconscious again.
Three images flashed through his mind over and over, as though on a carousel spinning at a nauseating rate:
There was the sky above Li Hua mountain. He was standing on the training grounds. Something was horribly wrong, and a feeling of complete dread filled his body--a heavier dread than he could ever remember feeling. Various screaming voices sounded all around; disciples ran in terror, covering their heads.
The sky had turned black. However, he had the distinct feeling that it wasn't nighttime. As he watched, much like an enormous, wispy ball of coal, a chunk of that sky broke off and hurtled towards him, smoking wildly.
Scenario One: The World Ends!
There was no time to process this; the next vision was already playing!
Here he was again in the middle of the training grounds at the Jade Clouds Sect. The sun was setting beautifully over the mountain, casting a pleasant orange glow over the scene before him:
There was Li Chenyuan, kneeling on the ground. Standing over him was a person whose figure was somewhat fuzzy, and standing all around were other figures as well. Qiu Yunru couldn't make out anything about them; the vision was being picky about what it allowed him to see. All he could see was Li Chenyuan in front of him, smiling sadly.
"Gege," He croaked. "Don't forget me."
There was a spurt of blood. The one standing behind him had slit his throat with one swipe, and blood gushed from Li Chenyuan's neck, staining the front of his white robes crimson. Li Chenyuan choked, gagging on his own blood as it seeped from his lips.
Scenario Two: Lie Chenyuan is murdered!
Stop, stop! Qiu Yunru called out, feeling sick. What are you showing me? Is this going to happen?!
But the game menu, ever cruel and unfeeling, had already moved on.
He was standing, once again, on the training grounds of the Jade Clouds Sect. It was dawn; the sun peeked over the mountains, casting a pink and golden light over the world. His body was shaking.
"Wang Zhi," someone called out. It was Liao Li's voice, coming from behind him.
He turned to see Liao Li standing in front of a portal. This was like no other he'd seen or read about; rather than seeming to be a swirling mass of colors and shapes, it could be described more as a tear of blinding white light. Through it, he could hear strangely familiar sounds: the honking of cars, the ring of a school bell, a newscaster narrating...
"Come with me," Liao Li said, his eyes crinkling.
Scenario Three: Going Home!
As though shoved by some unseeable force, Qiu Yunru awoke with a silent gasp. In just that short amount of time, his body had become drenched in a cold sweat. His heart pounded in his ears with such strength that he could feel it beating against his chest.
NOTIFICATION: These are the Scenarios of the Limited Time Event: The Final Act! In order to prevent ultimate tragedy, Player must prevent 1/3 of these Scenarios. A maximum of 1/3 Scenarios can be prevented. If less are prevented, ultimate tragedy will take hold! If Player attempts to prevent more than one Scenario, failure will occur. Success is not guaranteed. High stakes, high reward! Good luck! We hope you enjoy our hard work on this event.
The notification menu zipped shut, leaving Qiu Yunru in darkness. He couldn't seem to get a full breath; every inhale was too shallow, and his chest hurt unbearably.
Shaking, he opened the menu again.
You can't be serious. This is a joke, right? Why would you make something like this? Do you really just want to hurt people?!
NOTIFICATION: This is not a joke! The purpose of the System is to create an engaging plot experience for the Player. We have worked hard. Please enjoy this Limited Time Event!
Qiu Yunru swallowed down bile. Explain it better. I have to stop one of these things from happening? Doesn't that mean the other two will go ahead and happen? There's no way to avoid tragedy, then! If I stop the world from ending, Li Chenyuan dies! If I stop him from dying, the world ends, and if I don't go home...well, in any case, there's no happy ending! If your purpose is to make something engaging, I don't want to engage at all!
NOTIFICATION: There will be a Happy End if Player succeeds in the requirements of the Limited Time Event. The reward is personalized to the Player. The reward for Player Qiu Yunru is a personal immortal mountain two miles from Li Hua mountain with a hot spring, a luxurious bamboo house, access to nearby cities, and--
Stop it! Qiu Yunru closed the notification, feeling even sicker than before. What the hell is wrong with you? It's because you're an AI, isn't it? I don't fucking want a mountain! I mean, I do, but--not if people will suffer as a result! If I get a mountain, but the world has ended, what use is that? If I leave this game, but get a mountain, how will I even access it?! Are you stupid?! Why do I even ask, ah!
NOTIFICATION:...Recalculating...Recalculated! There will be a reward for each instance. If the world ends, Player will be transported to a new generation of Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits. If Player goes home, Player will experience reduced illness. If Player does not go home and the world does not end, Player will receive a personal immortal mountain two miles from Li Hua mountain with--
Enough! Qiu Yunru gripped his hair, pulling on it subconsciously in his panic. Can you change it? I'm sure I'll find something else more engaging. If you can't change it, what's the time frame? How do I prevent these things? Do they all happen at once?
NOTIFICATION: Limited Time Event has been passed through code and implemented. No changes can be made at this time! All Scenarios will take place within two months. Player must use Stats and Inventory to prevent one Scenario of choice!
In any other situation, Qiu Yunru would have been impressed with the amount of information it was giving him. The game menu hardly ever responded to his furious questions, most often ignoring him entirely and only giving him notifications upon acquiring or completing quests.
In this situation, however...he could as a thousand questions and still not be satisfied.
He fired off more questions--would these events occur exactly like in the visions? What was this "ultimate tragedy"? Could he prevent one and a half events? But the menu only repeated the things it had previously said, giving him no further useless information.
You're a horrible game menu, He thought, waving the notification box away. I hope you run out of power and die alone!
He felt a little bad after cursing it like that, but quickly waved the guilt away. No; it was entirely deserved. At this point, couldn't it be said without pretense that the game menu was torturing him? Even if it didn't understand the harm it was doing, it was harming him nonetheless. At least half the things it had done to him could probably be classified as war crimes!
"Gege?" Li Chenyuan's voice, hoarse and husky from sleep, murmured to him. "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Qiu Yunru startled. He found himself unable to look at this kid without imagining blood pouring from his smooth, white throat. He gave a slight smile and shook his head: "I'm fine."
Then he proceeded to lean over the bed and vomit.
"Gege!"