"Mission failed. Please restart." A line of deep green text appeared before her eyes, and then the girl's figure flickered and vanished, as though a glitch had distorted the virtual projection.
"Failed again..." Sitting beneath the fountain in the plaza, Chu Lian sighed in frustration. She had calculated everything perfectly—if she had attacked at that precise moment, she should've been able to finish off her opponent. So why did she still fail by just that tiny margin every single time?
"You don't have to be so impatient," Ayase said, sitting casually atop the fountain's edge, smiling as she looked down at her. "Look at the others—they've failed over and over too, but they're gradually getting used to it, aren't they?"
As soon as she said that, beams of light flickered across the plaza, and one by one, the girls reappeared in flashes of color.
Each of them wore different outfits—none fitting for modern society, all mismatched styles drawn from other worlds.
When they saw Chu Lian sitting there, they slowly approached and formed a small circle around her. All of them drooped their heads, too discouraged to speak.
"You all failed too? Same mission setting, different entry roles, same storyline, different choices... yet still failure in the end. So helpless." Chu Chu muttered as she leaned back and sprawled on the open ground beside the fountain, staring up at the thin veil of clouds overhead with a weary look.
"Yeah, I was just about to kill that zombie," Li Xiu'er complained weakly. "But the tank next to it slammed me away, and boom—mission failed." She sounded the most dejected of all. If she'd just been a little braver, maybe things wouldn't have gone like that.
Cai Ya, however, shook her head. "I don't think it's our fault. That place is just designed too cleverly. The target zombie is protected and positioned on high ground, and all the ones around it are stronger than we are. Just being able to get close was already an achievement. Killing it... that's seriously difficult."
Though she had been heavily injured right at the start and forced to withdraw early, her stubborn nature had driven her to improve quickly during these simulated battles. Even if she hadn't faced the same life-or-death challenges as the others, she still complained the least—and her ability to learn was unmatched.
So when she analyzed things, her words weren't an excuse but a genuine attempt to shift everyone's thinking—to look at the problem from another angle and find a real solution.
"Right, I thought the same," Liu Yanran said, resting her chin on her palm as she pondered. "We keep thinking we were 'just a little bit' away from killing the mission target, but that mindset's wrong. If we don't figure out how to separate them first, we'll always be that 'little bit' short. Our stats are all fixed at 15, while even the weaker zombies average around 20. We can't brute-force this. We have to outsmart them."
Her words, along with Cai Ya's, resonated deeply with the rest of the girls. At first, when they couldn't even approach the enemies, it wasn't so bad. But once they got close—close enough to see victory within reach—yet still failed at the very last step, it felt unbearably frustrating.
As they mulled it over, their gazes slowly shifted to Chu Lian, who was listening attentively, which made her a bit confused. "What? Is there something on my face?" she asked, instinctively touching her cheek—then realizing that was silly. This was a virtual environment. Dust and dirt weren't even programmed here.
"Lian, how did you come up with this kind of scenario?" Inori finally asked, glancing at Chu Lian and then back at the group, breaking the silence.
"This one wasn't my design—it was Ayase's. She made this small-scale mission scene a couple days ago so we could test for bugs and balance issues." Chu Lian finally realized why they'd been looking at her like that. They must've thought she was the one who created that torturous mission.
Sure, she might've been the one who suggested they run the test—but the mission itself? That was all Ayase's handiwork. There was no way she was taking the blame for that.
"Hey, that mission actually isn't that hard. Think about the layout of where the enemies spawn—and then look back at where the mission begins. You'll understand how to clear it." Ayase swung her long, elegant legs as she spoke calmly, unfazed by the sharp looks the girls were giving her.
"The starting point?" Since the designer herself had given them a hint, everyone immediately began to rethink what they might have missed. After all, one of the system's fundamental design principles was: 'No mission is impossible to complete.'
Given the intelligence and processing power of the game's neural system, it was bound to know far more than any of them. If this mission existed, then there had to be a way to clear it.
The question was—where was that solution hidden?
"Inori, what do you think the key to clearing the mission is?" Chu Lian leaned closer, lowering her voice as she whispered the question beside Inori's ear.
"Ayase said it's related to the starting point," Inori replied thoughtfully. "If that's the case, there must be some kind of mechanism or tool near the spawn area that can help us complete the mission."
"In the first mission, most players mess up right away because they're unfamiliar with the system. They're nervous, distracted, and rarely notice whether their starting location contains anything useful."
"Then, as they progress through repeated trials, they grow stronger and more experienced. They start learning how to fight."
"At that point, they begin to think they've mastered everything—and rush to take on the final mission. But then they realize something: not only are their stats lower than their enemies, they're also outnumbered."
"But the mission still needs to be completed, so the stubborn ones keep forcing their way through—again and again, failing and retrying."
"After countless failures, they finally start thinking differently. Maybe there's a tool, a mechanism—something that can help them. And that's when they remember the starting area. For some, it becomes the first thing they check. For others, it's the easiest thing to overlook. That's when players start to divide into two types."
"Ayase designed it that way to teach players that games require brains, not just reflexes. This isn't some simple casual game—it's a death game, one where you only have a single life."
"If you don't want to restart every time, then value each life you're given. Treasure it, protect it, as though it were your own real life."
"And once they reach that mindset, players will fully immerse themselves in the world—learning every mission's intricacies, appreciating the brilliance behind each design."
"They'll start thinking like the designer—analyzing her logic, stepping into her shoes, and figuring out how she intended the mission to be solved."
"It's a brilliant design. Unforgiving, yes—but one that truly lets players experience the beauty of a world where life only comes once."
Those words didn't come from Inori. In fact, just as she was about to share her own thoughts, Chu Chu had jumped in first—launching into a full, eloquent monologue that left the two of them smiling helplessly, unable to interrupt.
"But if that's the case, isn't the difficulty still a bit too harsh? People might think the game's just toying with them." Chu Lian rested her chin on her hands, gazing thoughtfully at the hazy horizon. She sighed softly.
She genuinely wanted this game to be great—but that made her think too much. Overanalyzing everything led to hesitation, and her judgment suffered for it.
That was why she couldn't see things as clearly as the others—because she cared too deeply, she ended up blinding herself.
"Big Sis, that's not quite right," Chu Chu said confidently, wagging a finger like some all-knowing sage. "The harder it is, the more people will get invested. The more they'll turn into die-hard fans—and they'll start treating this game like a belief, a religion."
"I get what you mean," Chu Lian nodded slowly. "If it's too easy, players who clear missions won't feel any satisfaction. They won't value their first life. Even if we ramp up the difficulty later, it won't have the same impact. Only by hitting them hard right from the start can we wake those still treating this as just another game—and show them that this is a second world, a second life, not just some virtual fantasy."
Since Chu Chu had already explained things so clearly, Chu Lian naturally understood the key point. Still, she couldn't quite bring herself to agree with the idea of putting players through so much torment.
"Big Sis, you're overthinking it. Humans are inherently masochistic creatures. The harder something is—so long as there's a chance of success and it doesn't cause real harm—the more they'll want to try," Chu Chu countered again, this time even giving a few examples.
"It's like people who watch horror movies even though they know they'll be scared. Or those who try spicy food even when they know it'll burn. Or those who read tragic love stories even though they know they'll end up crying. As long as it doesn't cross their tolerance threshold, people will keep trying—again and again."
Her examples were oddly persuasive, dissecting human curiosity in a strange yet insightful way.
"Lian," Inori said gently, taking Chu Lian's hand and pressing a soft kiss against it, "Chu Chu's right. Only what's earned through hardship will truly be cherished."
"Exactly. So there's no need to pity them," Chu Chu continued with a grin. "Once this game's true charm begins to unfold, people will only grow more addicted. No matter how hard the missions or how powerful the enemies, they'll keep trying until they succeed. That sense of accomplishment—of finally overcoming something impossible—will make them fall even deeper in love with it."
She giggled cheerfully. Despite having been tortured plenty by the missions herself, she could still see the brilliance behind them.
"Masochists, huh? I really can't understand you people," Chu Lian muttered, shaking her head. Though she'd accepted the reasoning, she still couldn't resist teasing her overly confident little sister.
"Well, it's kind of like chasing after your dream girl," Chu Chu explained with a playful grin. "You go through all sorts of suffering, but in the end, when you finally win her over, that sense of fulfillment makes it all worth it. It's the same feeling—it's all about psychological satisfaction."
Knowing her sister's tsundere tendencies, she played along smoothly, offering an analogy that made perfect sense in its own weird way.
Hearing Chu Chu's tone, Chu Lian rolled her eyes but didn't bother arguing.
Beside them, Inori covered her lips and let out a soft, amused laugh.
At that moment, Ayase's voice echoed through the plaza. "Alright, the mission is restarting. This time, you'll be in teams of three—choose your teammates."
As soon as she said that, the girls exchanged glances—and within moments, everyone had decided who they wanted to partner with...