At around 9:00 PM, Natsume finally finished the overtime work assigned by her boss and prepared to head home.
Sitting on the subway back, because it was already a bit late, there were only a few scattered people on the train. Most of them looked exhausted; one could guess at a glance that, like Natsume, they had all been working overtime until now.
The air conditioning was on in the subway, making it somewhat warm. In such an environment, listening to the sound of the train passing by, Natsume felt a bit drowsy.
She forced herself to glance at the time and found that it would still be a while before she reached home, so Natsume felt safe closing her eyes to take a short nap.
But after a short while, she fell into a deep sleep.
Natsume felt as if she was having a very long dream, in which her experiences from childhood to adulthood were vividly displayed before her eyes.
She had grown up in an orphanage since she was a child and didn't have any close friends. Usually, only the director would occasionally care about her. However, there were many children in the orphanage, and there were even younger children to take care of, so the care Natsume received was limited.
After growing up and starting work, her relationships with colleagues weren't very good either. Sometimes Natsume wasn't familiar with the things her colleagues chatted about, so they only had some interaction regarding work.
In the dream, Natsume watched herself grow up slowly like this, living, studying, and playing alone. It was quiet and lonely; sometimes she wanted to change but didn't know how, and sometimes she felt that being alone was also quite nice.
Just as Natsume was feeling a bit confused about why she would have such a dream, an electronic voice came through.
"Natsume, are you okay... Natsume, wake up..."
Natsume was awakened by this voice and suddenly opened her eyes.
The light in front of her was a bit piercing. Natsume used her hand to block her eyes, squinting for a while to adapt to the sudden brightness before lowering her hand to observe her surroundings.
She saw that her surroundings were not the subway car she had been in before, but rather a scene from an Amusement Park. She was sitting on a bench by the roadside of the park, and she could see a Ferris Wheel, a Carousel, a Roller Coaster, and other amusement facilities not far away. Tourists were coming and going in an endless stream, and screams and cheers reached Natsume's ears from time to time.
Just as Natsume was feeling puzzled by these sudden changes, the voice that had called her awake earlier appeared in her mind again: "Natsume, how is it? Are you awake?"
Natsume was a bit surprised; the voice appeared directly in her mind. She immediately thought of the systems in the novels she had read before.
Natsume wanted to speak to answer, but the electronic voice spoke up to stop her: "Natsume, you can talk to me directly in your mind; you don't need to say it out loud."
After hearing this, Natsume gave it a try: 'Hello, may I ask who you are?'
"Hello, Natsume, I am the System, designated number 111. It's like this," 111 began to explain the situation to Natsume: "You have actually passed away in your original world. The System detected your information and found that you meet the System binding requirements. Therefore, I have brought you here to give you a second chance to live. The condition is that you need to complete the System's tasks."
'Tasks... what tasks? And where is this place?'
Natsume thought about the fact that she had already passed away in the previous world and did not feel too much sadness. Having lived this long, Natsume had no close friends; perhaps no one would be too sad even if she died, which was just as well. There wasn't much in her bank account either; it would be nice to give what little money she had left to the orphanage to improve their lives.
"Please don't be in a hurry, there is still some time, I will explain it to you slowly," 111 said. "In fact, you haven't bound with the System yet. Our System cannot unilaterally bind a host. I will explain the general situation to you first, and then you can decide whether you need to bind."
111 first explained the information about the world Natsume was in: "This is the world of 'Detective Conan'. You should have some understanding of it, right?"
'Um... yes,' Natsume replied. After all, it was one of the few anime she had watched as a child, so she still had some impression of it. But because there were too many episodes, she hadn't continued watching later on, so she didn't know much about the subsequent plot.
"Understanding it is enough. Currently, this world has encountered some trouble that needs to be resolved by a host to maintain world stability."
'Trouble? What trouble?'
"This world mainly revolves around the confrontation between the Red Side around Conan and the Black Side of the Black Organization. Therefore, the power gap between the two sides cannot be too large—at least not too large before the finale. But now, the power difference between Red and Black is too great. The strength shown by the Black Organization obviously cannot compare to the Red Side. If this continues, there will be loopholes in the plot logic, which will gradually affect the stability of the world."
"And balancing the power gap between the Red and Black Sides is your task after binding with the System." 111 asked Natsume, "Is there anything else you need to know?"
'Yes, am I the only one doing this task?' Natsume felt a bit lost. How could she possibly complete this task alone? Was it certain she wasn't just going to the Black Organization to be cannon fodder?
'111, won't your system provide any help?'
"Of course there will be help," 111 comforted Natsume. "In fact, once you choose to bind with the System, an exclusive system to help you complete tasks will be drawn based on your situation. The system has various functions, which are what you usually call 'Golden Fingers', and it will definitely ensure your safety."
'Oh, so it's not you, 111, who will bind with me?'
"Yes, you will have your own exclusive system. So Natsume, have you thought about whether you want to bind with the System?" 111 asked.
'Let's bind. Anyway, any extra time I live now is a bonus. It's good to have something to do.' Natsume confirmed the system binding.
At this moment, 111's electronic voice prompt came into Natsume's mind: "Natsume confirms system binding. Now drawing exclusive system—"
"Drawing complete—Natsume's exclusive system is the Genshin Impact Role-Playing System. System binding in progress..."
"Binding 1%, 2%, 50%... 100% binding complete."
"From now on, your exclusive system will be in charge. I wish you success in completing your tasks." After 111 finished speaking, the voice disappeared.
Natsume called out a few times in her mind, but there was no response. It really left quickly.
"Hello there, Traveler." Suddenly, another familiar voice came into her mind.
'Are you... Paimon?' Natsume was a bit surprised. Although she had gained some psychological preparation after hearing that she had drawn the Genshin Impact Role-Playing System, she still felt a pleasant surprise upon hearing Paimon's familiar voice.
Genshin Impact was a game Natsume had been playing frequently lately—perhaps that was why she had drawn the Genshin Impact Role-Playing System. She would play for a while whenever she had time after work. She started playing initially because Genshin Impact is essentially a single-player game, so she didn't have to deal with socializing. After playing for a long time, Natsume always felt that Teyvat really existed, and that there was a group of friends living in Teyvat. In the game, Natsume had gained a lot of happiness.