The system was nervous.
And shifty.
Really Shifty.
|Broadcaster should not discuss clearance levels in public
"Why not?"
|Because it's CLASSIFIED
|And also because Bianheng is terrifyingly perceptive
|System does not trust him
"Wait, you can hear my system?" Ah'Ming turned to Bianheng.
"No. But I can see the telltale signs of system panic." Bianheng's lips quirked. "Your eyes unfocus slightly when you're reading panels. And you just glanced to your upper left—classic system notification placement."
Bianheng paused. "Also, my system is telling me to shut up as well, as with Zhaoying and Huipao's, I believe. Normally, we'd be punished for this, but since you (a higher-permission person) are here, we're fine."
"That's... creepy."
"That's observation." Bianheng leaned back in his chair. "But to answer your unasked question: yes, all systems are connected. Think of them like... a hive mind, but with individual personalities."
Ah'Ming perked up at that. "A hive mind?"
"Sort of. They all stem from the same source code, the original System. But each peripheral system develops its own quirks based on their assigned broadcaster." Bianheng pulled up his own system panel, which Ah'Ming could actually see this time. It was a deep purple instead of blue.
He glanced at his own system.
Why couldn't it have been solid gold?
"It's like having multiple video game accounts," Zhaoying added. "Same base game, but each account has different progress, different items, different... personalities, I guess?"
"Okay, that actually makes sense." Ah'Ming nodded slowly. "So Steve—"
"Steve?" Huipao choked on his drink.
"My system. I call them Steve."
|System's designation is SystemAI E-f0031
|Not 'Steve'
|Broadcaster is an embarrassment
"Steve is connected to all the other systems, but also unique to me?"
"Exactly," Bianheng confirmed. "Which is why your clearance level is so unusual. Peripheral systems don't normally have access to higher-tier permissions. Unless..."
He trailed off, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"Unless what?"
"Unless you've been flagged by the main system for some reason." Bianheng's gaze was uncomfortably intense. "Which would explain why you survived a punishment instance two levels above your rank. And why you're able to clear the main story solo."
"I mean, I'm just built different—"
"No." Bianheng's tone was flat. "You're not. You're strong, yes. But not that strong. Something is protecting you."
Excuse you, Ah'Ming was plenty strong. But, the other group had never seen him in combat... Hadn't even seen a glimpse of his claws. Poor things, living their lives in the dark.
The system panel smacked the back of his head.
Ah'Ming shifted uncomfortably. "System?"
|System cannot comment on broadcaster's clearance level
|It is above system's paygrade
|Literally .-.
"See?" Bianheng gestured at Ah'Ming's expression. "System deflection. Classic higher-clearance behavior."
"You're making me sound like some kind of conspiracy theory."
"Maybe you are." Huipao's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Maybe you're secretly the son of the main system! Or a reincarnated game master! Or—"
"Or maybe I'm just really lucky?" Ah'Ming suggested weakly.
"Luck doesn't explain clearance levels," Bianheng said. But he smiled slightly. "But it's fine. We all have our secrets."
Zhaoying raised her coffee cup that was as black as her soul. (She had a pitch black espresso. Bianheng had asked for a coffee black as his soul, and the person had given him a vanilla frappe. Huipao had doubled over.) "To secrets and newspaper clippings."
"To secrets and newspaper clippings," the others echoed.
Ah'Ming clinked his imaginary cup with theirs, feeling oddly warm despite the early morning chill.
They spent the next hour coordinating their final submission.
Bianheng pulled up a system interface that Ah'Ming hadn't seen before—a shared quest log that showed the main storyline progress.
[Rule-based instance #4238: Restful Resort]
[Main Story: The Living Meridian]
Discover the town's history: COMPLETE
Find the ritual book: COMPLETE
Confront the sealed entity: COMPLETE
Collect evidence (Newspaper Clippings): 50/127
Final Submission: PENDING
...
Restful resort? Isn't it the resentful resort?
|Resentful is just an accurate nickname, Broadcaster.
|Similar to how yours is idiot <3
Ah'Ming muted the panel.
"So we just... submit it?" Ah'Ming asked.
"Basically." Bianheng tapped the SUBMIT button. "Though the system will probably do some dramatic flair first."
He wasn't wrong.
The moment the button was pressed, every light in the cafeteria flickered.
The other players froze, conversations dying mid-word.
Then, a massive system panel materialized in the center of the room, visible to everyone:
|MAIN STORY: THE LIVING MERIDIAN
|COMPLETION DETECTED
|PRIMARY CONTRIBUTOR: AH'MING
|SUPPORTING CONTRIBUTORS: DARKLANCE GUILD (FireBoy, Avenger, Labber)
"It's Darklance, by the way," Huipao muttered. "You've been saying it wrong this whole time."
"I KNEW IT!"
|FINAL EVALUATION CALCULATING...
|SUBSTORY COMPLETION: 34% (50/64 unique stories)
|MAIN STORY COMPLETION: 94% |COMBAT PERFORMANCE: EXCEPTIONAL
|PUZZLE SOLVING: ADEQUATE
|PROPERTY DAMAGE: CATASTROPHIC
|NPC RELATIONS: SURPRISINGLY POSITIVE
"Hey, that last one is actually a compliment!" Ah'Ming beamed.
|OVERALL GRADE: S
The cafeteria erupted.
"AN S?!"
"WHO THE HELL—"
"THAT'S THE HIGHEST GRADE POSSIBLE!"
Ah'Ming stared at the glowing golden S on the panel, mouth hanging open.
"I... I got an S?"
|Broadcaster should not sound so surprised
|System always knew broadcaster had potential
|...Minimal potential
|But potential nonetheless
"Steve, are you being nice to me?"
|System is merely stating facts
|Do not get emotional
|System will vomit pixels
Huipao was vibrating with excitement. "Dude! You got an S! Do you know how rare that is?!"
"Extremely rare," Bianheng supplied. "Less than 0.01% of broadcasters ever achieve S-rank on a main story."
"What do I get for it?" Ah'Ming asked, already dreading the answer.
The panel shifted:
|REWARDS PROCESSING...
|+15,000 POINTS
|+$50,000
|TITLE ACQUIRED: [Story Breaker]
|TITLE ACQUIRED: [Hoarder of Tales]
|SKILL ACQUIRED: [Narrative Sense] (Passive)
|SPECIAL REWARD: [World Fragment - Resentful Resort]
|ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: [First S-Rank Clear] |ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: [Main Story Pioneer]
Ah'Ming's brain short-circuited somewhere around the fifty thousand dollars.
"That's... that's a lot of money."
|System suggests broadcaster invest in財 literacy classes
|And also not spend it all on food
"I'm going to spend it all on food."
|System regrets everything
The cafeteria was still in chaos, with players crowding around their table, demanding to know how they'd done it, what the main story was, if there were any secrets—
Bianheng stood, radiating an aura of "do not approach or I will end you" that scattered most of the crowd.
"We're leaving," he announced.
"But the questions—" Huipao started.
"Can be answered never." Zhaoying grabbed her bag. "Come on, before they start getting aggressive."
They made their escape through a side exit, Ah'Ming clutching his newspaper-turned-book like a lifeline.
Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise, painting the resort in shades of gold and amber.
"So," Huipao said, grinning ear to ear. "That was fun."
"Define 'fun,'" Ah'Ming muttered.
"We cleared a main story, got great rewards, and didn't die." Huipao ticked off on his fingers. "That's like, the best-case scenario."
"He's right," Bianheng agreed. "Though I suspect the instance difficulty will increase for future players now that the main story has been cleared."
"Oops?"
"It's fine. They'll figure it out." Zhaoying stretched, joints popping. "Or they won't. Natural selection."
"That's dark."
"That's reality." She shot him a sharp smile. "Welcome to the Broadcast, Ah'Ming."
The system panel flickered one last time:
|Would broadcaster prefer to return to The Hub Zone or stay in the instance for the rest of the time period?
Ah'Ming considered. "I'll leave. I've encountered most of the fun things anyways."
|Please prepare for transport.
|Broadcaster will be teleported in thirty minutes.
"Thirty minutes," Ah'Ming said. "What do we do until then?"
"Breakfast," Huipao declared. "I saw a dumpling place that accepts Player cash."
"Sold."
They walked together through the resort, past pavilions and ponds, past NPCs who waved at Ah'Ming (the receptionist actually blew him a kiss, which was sweet), past the clock tower that still bore his carved message.
For a moment, just a moment, it felt almost peaceful.
Then Ah'Ming's gauntlet buzzed.
[Aliya]: NEW PROTOTYPE READY
[Aliya]: ROCKET LAUNCHER :D
[Aliya]: WANT?
Ah'Ming looked at the message.
Looked at his friends.
Looked back at the message.
"Hey, guys?"
"No," Bianheng said immediately.
"You don't even know what I was going to ask!"
"You have that look. The 'I'm about to do something catastrophically stupid' look."
"It's a very distinctive look," Zhaoying agreed.
"I hate you all."
"No you don't," Huipao sang.
And he was right.
Ah'Ming didn't hate them at all.
|Instance transport initiated
|Goodbye, RESENTFUL RESORT
|System hopes broadcaster enjoyed the experience
|Next time, please try not to steal the architecture
"No promises, Steve."
|System is filing a complaint with HR
"You don't have HR."
|System is creating HR just to file a complaint
The world dissolved into white light.