Lin Zhiyan hadn't gone to the office, but he was still working from home.
With over half a year until the animation's premiere, he could afford to take some time off.
He worked at home while he waited.
After about half an hour, the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he saw Nanase Mayumi standing there.
"Good morning, Senior," Nanase Mayumi greeted him with a bright smile.
Lin Zhiyan returned the greeting and stepped aside to let her in.
After closing the door, he asked, "Let me see that game you mentioned."
Nanase Mayumi slipped off her shoes and pulled a game disc from her bag. "Here it is! I heard about it at the store—they said it's really fun."
Lin Zhiyan took the disc and glanced at it.
The cover felt strangely familiar.
He opened the game case, went to his study, turned on his computer, and inserted the disc.
After installing the game, he clicked the mouse to launch it.
The opening sequence began with over a minute of pure, fast-paced instrumental music. A variety of characters appeared in the visuals, alongside violent gunfights and exhilarating car chases, giving it the feel of a blockbuster action film.
As the opening sequence neared its end, a line of text appeared: "You can step toward even in the nightmare..."
Even in a nightmare, you can press onward.
Tsk!
What a strong scent!
As expected of the Warrior of Love.
At first, Lin Zhiyan had no idea what kind of game this was. He was more familiar with its Chinese title, Phantom of Inferno, and didn't recognize the original name. Moreover, Nanase Mayumi's English skills were poor, and her pronunciation was so bad that it was a miracle she could even pronounce the title correctly.
Now, he understood completely. Wasn't this Gen Urobuchi's debut work as the Warrior of Love?
After the opening sequence finished and the main menu appeared, Lin Zhiyan immediately handed the game controller to Nanase Mayumi beside him.
"You play."
"Hmm~ Senior, aren't you going to play?"
"I'm not really into this kind of game. I prefer casual, relaxing ones."
"But I heard this game is really fun to play. It should help you relax, right?"
"Even so... the art style just doesn't feel right to me. Why don't you play it first? If you think it's okay, I'll play it afterward?"
"O-okay..."
Nanase Mayumi didn't think much of it.
She picked up the controller and looked at the computer screen.
Just as she was about to start the game, Lin Zhiyan suddenly said, "Wait, let's have lunch first. We'll play after we eat. I'm afraid you won't even want to eat if you get crushed too badly."
"Then I'll go make lunch." Nanase Mayumi quickly put down the controller, stood up, and left the study for the kitchen.
This wasn't Mayumi's first time at Lin Zhiyan's place, nor was it her first time cooking for him. She knew the kitchen like the back of her hand, remembering exactly where everything—oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar—was.
Her cooking was excellent, so there was no need to worry about her making lunch. Still, Lin Zhiyan didn't idle. He also went to the kitchen to help out.
Afternoon.
Nanase Mayumi finally started playing the game, while Lin Zhiyan worked on storyboards for the Death Note animation nearby.
In truth, Lin Zhiyan had played Phantom of Inferno before, but his memory implant only worked for the animation.
He remembered the anime's plot clearly, but only the general outline of the game. It primarily followed the male protagonist, Reiji Azuma, who was abducted by an assassins' organization after witnessing an assassination during a trip abroad.
Due to his extraordinary talent, Reiji was brainwashed into becoming an assassin. During this time, he met Ellen, a beautiful girl who taught him killing techniques.
After a series of events, Reiji decided to escape the organization with Ellen. However, during their escape, he accidentally killed Ellen, leading to his mental breakdown. He lost himself and became a completely cold-blooded killer.
Later, Reiji encountered Cal, the second female lead.
Spending time with Cal slowly warmed his frozen heart again. But soon, upon returning from an outing, he witnessed their home being blown up.
Believing Cal had died in the explosion, he returned to the place where he first met Ellen, despairing and ready to end his own life. But unexpectedly, Ellen appeared.
The male protagonist believed Ellen was dead, but in reality, she had survived.
Together, they fled to Neon, disguising themselves as a pair of student siblings.
But that wasn't the end of it. The second female lead, Cal, had also survived. She had been out at the time of the explosion at her residence and narrowly escaped death.
Unable to find the male protagonist, she assumed he had abandoned her without a word, and a deep resentment festered within her.
Driven by vengeance, she became an assassin and traveled to Neon, determined to kill both the male protagonist and Ellen.
The subsequent plot was a relentless cycle of emotional anguish and suffering, culminating in a scene where the three stood locked in a standoff, guns drawn.
Satisfying?
Not even a little!
No matter which path you took, someone was bound to die. There was no happy ending in sight.
Yet despite its brutality, the game was undeniably brilliant. It stood apart from other bishojo games, exuding a refined and unconventional aura. Though released quietly, it quickly amassed a devoted following, propelling Gen Urobuchi from obscurity to become a leading figure in the bishojo game industry, known for his hard-boiled scripts.
The tightly woven plot meant the game's playtime was surprisingly short.
Lin Zhiyan was sketching storyboards, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard a soft sniffling sound.
"Hmm?"
He turned to look and saw Nanase Mayumi actually crying.
Crying because she's getting destroyed in a game?
Is that really necessary?
He couldn't help but find it a little amusing, but he still put on a puzzled expression, set down his pen, and asked, "What's wrong? Is the game really that sad?"
"Senior~"
Nanase Mayumi put down the game controller, glanced at Lin Zhiyan, and quickly turned away to wipe her tears with a tissue.
After finally stopping her tears, she said guiltily, "Senior, I... I just wanted to help you relax and de-stress. I never thought you'd end up playing a game like this. I was tricked!"
Lin Zhiyan was momentarily unsure whether Mayumi was crying from the game's emotional impact, from guilt, or from the injustice of being deceived.
He stood up and walked over to her, gently patting her head. "I know, Mayumi. You're not that kind of person."
After a pause, he added, "Let's not play the game anymore. How about we go to the movies instead? There's a well-received Digimon movie that came out last Saturday. I've been wanting to see it in theaters."
"Really?" Mayumi's face lit up instantly.
Lin Zhiyan nodded. "Of course."
Please Support me by becoming my patreon member and get 15+ chapters.
[email protected]/Ajal69
change @ with a
Thank You to Those who joined my Patreon