"I curse every scumbag to suffer! May they meet a terrible end!"
Rowe, who was staring blankly out the window, jumped in surprise and quickly looked toward the source of the shouting.
In the classroom, a girl was crying loudly, and the surrounding classmates were gently trying to comfort her.
Rowe let out a small, inexplicable sigh of relief—he thought she was cursing at him.
Turns out, her boyfriend was fickle, flirting with anyone he met, which had angered everyone…
Weird… why does my heart start racing even though she's cursing someone else?
Am I feeling guilty or what?
Rowe couldn't help but sink into deep thought…
"Eh, look! Rowe's looking this way~"
Seeing Rowe, who had been silent the whole time, glance over, caused quite a stir among the girls.
Although the new guy rarely spoke and usually just sat staring out the window, someone with a striking appearance always caught attention.
Her female desk mate finally found a reason to talk to him.
"Rowe, you have to judge this for us!"
"Uh…" Rowe forced a smile under the gazes of all these staring girls.
To avoid being distracted from his thoughts, he casually replied,
"Yeah, right! Scumbags deserve it."
His desk mate stared at Rowe's faintly smiling face, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed.
The other girls, having gotten the answer they wanted, chattered excitedly among themselves.
"Rowe looks so good when he smiles…"
"Actually… if someone as good-looking as Rowe were mine, even getting scammed wouldn't be so bad~"
The boys scoffed, dismissive.
"Hah, women…"
The noisy classroom made Rowe feel strangely annoyed.
He shifted his posture, resting his chin on his hand, and looked out the window.
Rows of retro Gothic buildings stretched below, and a gigantic airship pierced the clouds, glowing with a mysterious blue light.
On the streets, gentlemen passed by, wearing top hats, holding canes, and dressed in old-fashioned long coats.
This wasn't his original era, nor any era that should exist.
Yet, Rowe felt strangely familiar with it.
[Exotic Containment Facility]
[Game 2.0 Updating…]
[Loading Data Pack, please wait]
Right—Rowe had just been transported into a game he once played.
The reason he had been daydreaming earlier was simply because he was new here and a bit confused.
Other people who get transported to another world often start with plenty of perks. But he was thrown straight into class.
And the class… was some magical engineering workflow thing, like a sacred text—completely incomprehensible…
[Exotic Containment Facility] is a dark fantasy dating sim.
It's a world where steam technology and magic coexist, and human society thrives.
But as the strange begins to awaken, behind the flourishing human world, in hidden dark corners… many bizarre and inexplicable creatures stir, and even—indescribable evil gods awaken in the shadows.
The game's protagonist appears to be a student at the "Saint Carlen Royal Magical Science Academy."
Behind the scenes, however, he's actually the director of a containment facility that researches mysterious powers and anomalous creatures.
His facility doesn't just hold ordinary monsters—it contains supernatural beings that threaten humanity.
But since this is a "dating game," most of the captured beings are monster girls—horned, winged, white-haired, red-eyed, even tentacle girls…
So the main gameplay is collecting these "problem girls," exploring the mist-shrouded world with companions, and ultimately saving the world.
Rowe had been startled at the first curse, "scumbag" and "meet a terrible end."
Because… flirt with everyone, discard them after? Isn't that… me?
The game requires him to "contain" the girls, meaning he has to fully pursue each heroine in every chapter to earn rewards and unlock the next chapters.
But Rowe was a pure player.
He loved this dark, grotesque tone so much, the world was so fascinating, he almost forgot it was a "dating game," playing it more like an investigative, mystery-solving RPG…
He should have been flirting with the girls in the game, but instead, he spent most of his time unlocking story fragments and exploring the world.
What are women? Just an annoyance!
I'm a mysterious investigator walking in the shadows, a man destined to save the world!
The heroines were just tools for earning rewards.
However, this approach could have consequences.
The game had high freedom, and the girls' affection influenced real story developments.
If he really flirted with everyone and discarded them afterward, their affection would drop.
If it dropped too low, they could even turn hostile.
Rowe couldn't accept that. So he used a sneaky strategy.
He ignored his early stats. Since the game focused on investigation, there weren't many battle stages, so he put all the reward points into his [Charm].
With maxed [Charm], Rowe became a "walking succubus in human form!"
Girls losing affection? Doesn't matter.
Invite them out alone, stroll the streets, go on a date, nudge their feelings—affection maxes out instantly!
Thanks to this trick, he nearly cleared the game.
But yesterday, after gaming all night, he fell asleep… and woke up in the game world.
The classroom was noisy at the end of school.
Outside the window, a steam bus stopped on the street opposite, blowing its horn.
Everything felt real, not a dream.
Looking at his reflection in the glass, Rowe smiled wryly.
He had just checked the game interface. The girls he had captured—the heroines—had all left his team.
Not exactly good news…
When the game became reality, it meant they truly existed.
Thinking about what he did back then, Rowe felt guilty. The game's protagonist was a bit of a scumbag…
Hopefully, they won't come at me with axes…
Don't tell me I'm about to get the "honest guy" ending?
Rowe looked at his reflection.
A boy in a white shirt, chin propped on his hand, slender fingers fiddling with a pen, deep in thought, giving off a melancholic, artistic vibe.
Handsome, mysterious—when he first came to class, he captured every girl's heart.
In the game, the protagonist had no fixed appearance. But real-life Rowe fit the role perfectly.
Returning to his thoughts, he felt less worried. All his attributes had carried over; [Charm] was still maxed.
Since he could charm them before, why worry now? He could always do it again.
A confident smile appeared on his face, making his desk mate's cheeks even redder.
It was dismissal time, and Rowe was about to leave when someone called him.
"Rowe, your girlfriend's here!"
Huh? Girlfriend?
I don't have a girlfriend! Rowe looked toward the door, puzzled.
"Eh~~"
"Where, where?"
Many classmates still lingering gawked curiously.
And then everyone froze.
"Excuse me…"
"Is my brother here?"
At the classroom door stood a shy, beautiful girl with deep blue eyes and light golden hair.
The afternoon sun shone on her, and her hair glimmered, skin nearly translucent.
She looked like a fairy lost to the human world, almost inhuman.
"You are…?"
Rowe froze for a moment at her appearance.
"Are… you Helena?"
The girl's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Brother! I finally found you!"
She lifted her simple white dress and ran excitedly toward Rowe.
Helena was the first "anomalous being" he had captured, a child he had picked up from the slums.
Playing the game before, he barely paid attention to her—he almost forgot she was a heroine.
But seeing her now, almost his height, hugging him, Rowe realized something.
She was 13 when he found her. Now… she had grown into a young lady.
So the time here wasn't the game's timeline—at least a few years had passed…
[Helena]
[Affection: 100]
[Description: A girl who likes you extremely much]
Though she looked human, Helena was actually an "anomalous being," extremely dangerous to humans.
In the game, Helena had always been obedient and stable.
Rowe had worried she might have changed in his absence.
Seeing her full affection relieved him.
"Helena… uh… I know you really like me, but you're almost choking me…"
Helena trembled with excitement, hugging him tightly, as if afraid he would disappear.
"Brother…"
Feeling the gazes in the classroom, she shyly let go.
"Let's go home now, okay?"
"Sure." Rowe smiled and patted her smooth hair.
"I actually have a lot to ask you."
Like, what time it is now, what happened while he was away, and where everyone is.
"Rowe, this cute little girl is your…"
Many girls curiously examined Helena.
Rowe held her hand, smiling.
"She's my sister. Haven't seen her for a few years."
"Oh, just your sister—"
Many girls breathed a sigh of relief.
They started chatting with Helena, making her even more shy.
She tightly gripped Rowe's wrist, head down, silent.
Then a male classmate passed by.
"Rowe! The teacher wants you! Go to her office after school!"
"Oh?"
Rowe noticed Helena's grip tightening; she wasn't used to being surrounded by strangers.
Seeing her timid and pitiful, he smiled and led her out.
"Let's talk tomorrow."
After saying goodbye
to the girls reluctantly watching him leave, Rowe held Helena's hand and left the classroom, chatting and laughing.
However, in a place Rowe didn't notice…
Helena's shy demeanor changed.
She glanced subtly at the girls, her eyes turning cold and twisted.
[TO BE CONTINUED]