Chapter 10: Prelude, A-Rank National-Level Sequence Game

"Dear Nightwalker, welcome to the Nine Capital Amusement Park. Tonight's celebration music is performed just for you."

"Now presenting the 'Festival Program' for you."

As neon lights shimmered in the daylight, fireworks burst into the sky at the entrance of the Nine Capital Amusement Park, Alister's phone began to push related notifications, and a colorful interface covered the screen.

"I should have convinced Yumikou to come and play together..."

Feeling the festive atmosphere of the amusement park, Alister watched the pushed video for a while, gave it a thumbs-up, and then put his phone back into his pocket.

Raising his gaze, he looked up at the towering Ferris wheel and sighed before preparing to leave.

As an individual, he had no intention of going inside to play, so he just happened to pass by.

Turning around, he saw smiling parents and children with sparkling eyes.

"Hurry up, I want to ride that!"

"I'll take you there right away."

The parents lovingly patted the child's head and then held their hand, passing by Alister's side.

In that moment, Alister smiled and said, "Have fun, okay?"

The child tilted their head and asked, "...Big brother, aren't you going to play?"

"Big brother doesn't play that." Alister's tone was full of meaning.

"Oh~" The child seemed to understand something and nodded. "You're going to play the games for grown-ups, right?"

Alister's gaze deepened as he heard the child's unfinished words.

Once again, fireworks bloomed in the night, creating a dazzling display that illuminated Alister's profile. Many female students couldn't help but glance in his direction.

That's right...games for grown-ups... Alister's eyes grew even deeper.

With his hands in his pockets, Alister walked towards the area where a large number of sequence game players gathered in the Linggu District.

His slender figure gradually moved away, as if bidding farewell to the Nine Capital Amusement Park.

Because now, the magnificent scene that appeared before his eyes was...

"The countdown to the A-Rank National-Level Sequence Game: 2,591,999 seconds..."

"Eligible Ranks: A-Rank and below."

Gazing at the system announcement in the night sky, within the spectacular prelude of the countdown...

Alister closed his eyes, sensing his surroundings and listening to the bustling noise of the city that never sleeps.

In the vast sea of people, he spoke in a low voice:

"Shadow."

In an instant, shadows enveloped him, mysterious and ethereal. He wore a hood, a mask, and a black coat that resembled the lord of the night. A profound and unfathomable aura emanated from him.

The next moment, Alister opened his eyes, black orbs that seemed to penetrate the hearts of onlookers, and "Shadow" appeared once again.

"The countdown to the E-Rank Regional-Level Sequence Game: 3,599 seconds..."

"Eligible Ranks: E-Rank."

In A City, the players of the sequence game started to become active...

"Come, sequence game..."

Alister murmured, and he disappeared into the shadows.

The sequence game began with a significant change in rankings.

And at the moment when the A-Rank National-Level Sequence Game was born in A City, the intelligence network of players' forces around the world was immediately updated...

...

...

Nighttime, Tokyo Loop Line.

"Ah..."

On the high-rise rooftop where the evening wind howled, a certain disillusioned salaryman squinted his eyes, finishing his tenth cigarette and blowing out meaningful smoke rings.

Ding dong, his phone in the inner pocket of his coat rang with a notification.

"I already quit, and the minister is still messaging me..."

The salaryman, dressed in a brown-yellow coat, reluctantly pulled it open and took out his phone, unlocking the screen.

"Hmm?" The information in front of him made him contemplate for a long time.

"A-Rank Sequence Game..." he stroked his stubbled chin and said in a lazy tone, "After this job... I'll probably have enough to live as a NEET for ten years, right?"

Office workers really couldn't compete with these young people... I don't want to work anymore...

And at that moment, behind the salaryman, nine B-Rank yokai players emerged from the shadows and spoke in a solemn tone:

"It's time to collect the debt, Fujitani Nisuke."

"Ah..." Fujitani Nisuke sighed. "Why is it me that the minister owes...?"

The yokai players' captain unsheathed his samurai sword, took a step forward, and assumed a fighting stance, saying seriously:

"Because your minister ran away."

"Ah..." Fujitani Nisuke's sigh deepened.

He didn't even turn around to look at the yokai warriors. He simply reached out, as if shattering space, and pulled out a transformation device from the void.

"It's useless to come after me..."

Saying so, Fujitani Nisuke, as if he had done it tens of thousands of times before, skillfully placed the transformation device at his waist.

With his eyes half-lowered, he said in a deep voice,

"Henshin."

In an instant, the aura of an A-Rank player surged through the crowd, and the light blue data particles wrapped around Fujitani Nisuke, gradually manifesting as a magnificent masked armor.

...

...

North Continent Federation, Dawn Corporation.

In the most highly encrypted pure-white experimental space, in the depths of a serene sky and an orange sea of clouds in the virtual data world where the research on scientific truth was underway.

A middle-aged scientist with golden hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white lab coat, inserted his left hand into his pocket, swiped his right hand to create a spatial window, and presented the information to the white-coated girl beside him:

"The A-Rank Sequence Game has been confirmed to have emerged in the HX786 region." He looked at the vast expanse of orange and clear sky before him.

Like a mirror, the space they were in stretched endlessly with orange and clear skies, boundless and infinite.

The white-coated girl took off her technologically advanced research goggles, and her fingertips lightly touched the spatial window as the detailed information about the A-Rank Sequence Game began to cover her field of view.

"A long-awaited A-Rank Sequence Game..." the girl mused.

The middle-aged scientist turned to look at her, taking over the remaining analysis work, and said:

"Go collect the materials."

"Understood."

...

...

A City, the executive floor exclusive to the Board of Directors.

When the head secretary handed a pile of pending documents to be processed on the table, it meant that the casual chat between Yumikou and the heiress of this conglomerate had come to an end.

With black hair and red eyes, a high and mighty young lady in a black coat with a red pleated skirt reluctantly opened the work documents and then stamped them with the company seal in a monotonous manner.

"Qingxian... how can life be more interesting?"

After five minutes, she suddenly asked.

Yumikou stared at the sole heiress of the Himezaki Corporation, who was dressed in a black coat with a red pleated skirt, and suggested with a calm tone:

"Perhaps you should go and experience the life of an ordinary person, Himizuki."

"Is that so?" Himizuki's lips curled up playfully. "Is the life of an ordinary person interesting?"

As the heiress of the Himezaki Corporation, she had always been high above others, and no one had dared to ask her to experience the life of an ordinary person.

This was the first time a friend said such a thing, and it was a friend with whom she had a close relationship.

Yumikou closed her eyes, then opened them again, and said with profound meaning:

"Because when you can have anything at your fingertips, you don't understand the joy of ordinary people's hard work and subsequent rewards."

Yumikou remembered the time she spent with Alister, the little things they did together, even something as ordinary as playing a claw machine, challenging it as an ordinary person, and even if they failed, it was still fun.

Himizuki propped her white chin, contemplating, and then shifted her gaze, showing interest as she asked:

"Have you experienced the life of an ordinary person?"

"No." Yumikou decisively denied it.

Yumikou perfectly concealed her lie. She didn't want Alister to be involved in the world of the sequence game because of her own mistakes.

"That means it's just empty words, right?"

Himizuki lost interest again, retracted her gaze, and opened the next document.

Rustling sounds of flipping pages echoed in the air.

"Knowledge in books doesn't always need to be put into practice." Yumikou took a sip of the red tea on the table. "I'm just offering you advice as an observer."

As the saying goes, those who are directly involved are often confused, while those who observe from the sidelines have a clear view.

After a moment of silence, Himizuki glanced at Yumikou with a lingering gaze, her eyes filled with danger as she said:

"The show is about to begin..."

Yumikou also looked in the direction of the countdown, gazing at the numbers silently.

"Long time no see..."