“Nothing. There’s actually nothing here.”
Three minutes later, Ye Lian, who had started his exploration full of excitement, returned empty-handed and disappointed.
There was no mystery—this white space was simply too vast.
Just walking a circle around the area took a good chunk of time.
‘Exploring outward?’ Forget it.
Within the limited area, Ye Lian had knocked on the ground and reached into the void.
But he found absolutely nothing.
“This doesn’t make sense. The game designers added a countdown on the panel—there has to be a reason for that. Could I have guessed wrong?”
He lowered his head and began circling the game panel.
‘I treated the panel as the center and searched all around it. I shouldn’t have missed anything. If there really is a hidden task or item, it wouldn’t make sense to hide it too well. That would defeat the purpose of being a fun Easter egg.’
The more he thought about it, the more his head ached.
As he kept circling, the countdown reached the final fifteen seconds.
“Ugh, I give up.”
He stared at the tiny speck on the white panel where the countdown ticked away—then suddenly, a lightbulb went off.
“There’s one place I haven’t checked!”
No sooner had he spoken than he crouched down and looked underneath the floating panel.
Sure enough, there was another tiny speck, almost impossible to notice.
“Gotcha! Classic hidden-in-plain-sight move. This game designer has some style!”
Ye Lian immediately lay down to check the message.
If he didn’t get the Easter egg before the countdown hit zero, then this discovery would mean nothing.
He squinted and read the line of minuscule text.
[Want the reward? Spin in place twice and say ‘meow meow’!]
“Unbelievable!”
‘Even if I, Ye Lian, jumped from the twentieth floor and died in the street—I still wouldn’t take this reward!’
With that, he stood up and walked away with pride.
***
At the same time, in another white space…
“Meow meow~”
In front of a white panel, a tall girl with waist-length hair, dressed in black leather from head to toe, spun in place twice and let out a cute catlike sound.
Her face was strikingly beautiful, and her figure elegant, though her aura was cool and aloof.
Suddenly, her face flushed red, and an overwhelming urge to die surged up inside her.
‘That was so embarrassing!’
Fortunately, she was the only one here.
Steadying herself again, the black-haired girl looked toward the white panel.
At that moment, the space above the panel trembled.
A beautifully crafted rectangular box appeared, four feet long, three inches wide, and two inches thick.
On top were four golden characters: [Crossblade · Oblivion].
The instant she saw the box, a faint smile appeared on the black-haired girl’s otherwise cool and emotionless face.
A moment later, the countdown reached zero.
Her figure dissolved into white light and vanished.
***
Ye Lian felt the world spin violently around him, and the next thing he knew, he was in an entirely new place.
With a soft swoosh, a black-haired girl in a black leather jacket and pants suddenly appeared beside him.
Her expression was icy and calm.
She glanced sideways at him, then quickly walked away.
“Do I really look that scary?” Ye Lian muttered as he touched his own face.
He was, in fact, very handsome.
Standing at 180 centimeters, he had a slender build, smooth and delicate facial features, fair skin, and long black hair tied into a shoulder-length ponytail.
Altogether, he gave off a blend of masculine elegance and feminine beauty.
Not paying any further attention to the mysterious, cold-looking girl, Ye Lian turned his eyes forward.
In front of him was a massive crowd.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine beta testers stood together in the same area, and the sheer number alone created an oppressive atmosphere.
Everyone was gathered here because they were surrounded by a semi-transparent barrier—no one could enter or leave.
When he looked up, all he could see was a gray, foggy sky.
It was as if the entire world had been painted in dull shades of gray.
Looking ahead again, Ye Lian saw players from all over the world interacting and chatting.
The atmosphere was noisy and chaotic—like a crowded marketplace.
Some players kept their guard up, maintaining distance from others.
Some looked surprised, as though they couldn’t believe how real and immersive this game was.
Others, more socially adept, had already formed small groups of like-minded “friends.”
Ye Lian had no interest in joining a group.
In most games, he preferred to play solo.
Besides, in this particular game, it would be a huge mistake to trust anyone easily.
‘Because if you die in the game…’
‘You die in the real world too.’
This wasn’t just a game!
Tftc!
Kirito and Asuna?
Refusing to do something that small for a hidden reward is stupid as fuck. -1 for the mc already.
Hmm