After This Shot, I'll Delete My Account

The shocking sight of Assassin turning to ash did not linger among the Players for long. After all, in this game, "death" was practically an everyday occurrence. It was just that this time, the "death effect" had been especially dazzling and cool.

After a brief round of amazement, the atmosphere in the factory quickly returned to its earlier festive mood. Although the lottery had produced all sorts of bizarre items, most Players were very satisfied with what they had received.

"The developers really put some effort into this. They actually made a hundred completely different things for us to draw," one Player remarked.

"Yeah. What game on the market these days has this kind of sincerity?" his companion agreed.

Most Players were immersed in the joy of "unboxing" and seemed not to notice that Assassin, who had made the most spectacular exit of all, had still not reappeared after so long. The few who did notice, such as Ruan Wenbo, merely assumed that he had something urgent to deal with in real life and had logged off temporarily. They did not think much of it.

At that moment, on Earth...

"Fuck, why can't I log in?!"

Liu Yubin, known in the game as [Ruthless Assassin], abruptly sat up in his Game Pod and clawed frantically at his hair with both hands.

The reason for his panic was exactly what he had just said. After casting the godlike skill [Hell Fire] that he had drawn, Liu Yubin's character had immediately died. If it had only been death, it would not have been a big deal. Reviving took only a few seconds.

The key was that after dying, he had been kicked straight out of the game by the system! Liu Yubin was dumbfounded and hurriedly tried to log in again, only to find the system repeatedly prompting him with [Information Error! Character data could not be found]. He simply could not get back in. He tried several times in a row, but every attempt brought up the same cold message.

Could the game have a Bug? Liu Yubin quickly considered that possibility. After all, this was a game that had only just appeared before the public and had demonstrated technological capabilities beyond its era. It would have been stranger if it did not have Bugs!

So he hurriedly wrote up the entire incident in detail and posted it on the official forum.

<Help! The game seems to have a Bug. I suddenly can't log in!>

The moment the post went up, its views and comments began skyrocketing. The title alone was eye-catching enough, not to mention that beside the poster's ID was a gleaming First Closed Beta Honor Badge.

Although the comment count kept rising and Liu Yubin kept refreshing the page, there was not much useful advice below the post. To put it bluntly, most people on the forum right now were Players waiting eagerly on the sidelines. Asking them to offer useful advice about in-game Bugs was simply asking too much.

Before long, Liu Yubin's post caught the attention of other closed beta Players, and "comrades" gradually began leaving comments beneath it. Most of them, however, were mocking him and taking pleasure in his misfortune.

"Brother Assassin, you died so horribly! Hahaha, you even turned into ash!"

"Don't worry, brother, go in peace. I'll use your equipment for you and collect your compensation for you!"

"Is this the price of being a Lucky King?"

When Liu Yubin saw that even Ruan Wenbo had commented beneath his post, "It's fine, Assassin. Don't worry. There probably won't be any battles anytime soon," which essentially meant, "Brother, there's nothing I can do either," his heart sank, and he began to feel anxious.

Just then, a little red notification dot suddenly popped up in his forum private messages.

Liu Yubin was briefly surprised—hadn't he set his messages so that only friends could contact him? His only friend was Ruan Wenbo, who had just commented on his post. Why would he send a private message?

But he quickly realized that this was not the usual private message icon. He hurriedly opened it and saw that the sender was actually named [Bit], with a dazzling gold official verification badge after the name! Liu Yubin rubbed his eyes and looked again. The badge bore two words: [Developer]!

Bit: Your problem is complicated. I am currently investigating it.

Seeing this message, Liu Yubin felt as though he had grabbed hold of a lifeline and hurriedly typed a reply.

Ruthless Assassin: Boss! Developer boss! Can you explain exactly what the problem is?

Bit: Every Player's existence relies on a piece of [Core Information]. Whether alive or dead, they are merely different states displayed by that Core Information. Some parameters change, but the Core Information itself still exists.

Bit: But your death was not a transition of [Core Information] from the state of "alive" to "dead." Rather... the entire piece of Core Information was directly deleted, or rather, consumed.

Liu Yubin stared at the words on the screen, completely stunned.

Ruthless Assassin: Boss, are you saying I can't log in because of that [Hell Fire] I cast? But wasn't that a skill you designed?

Bit: Yes.

Bit: I did design the skill, but the information architecture of the entire Warhammer world has nothing to do with me. Still, I did not expect the two to produce such a reaction when they met. I will allocate more computing power to this matter. It is a very interesting subject. Your Core Information is also being reconstructed. Don't worry, I will build an information core identical to the previous one. Your attribute caps and race will not change.

Seeing the research enthusiasm of someone who had discovered a new toy practically spilling from the other person's words, Liu Yubin's mouth twitched.

Ruthless Assassin: ...Boss, what I mainly want to know is when I can log in again.

Bit: Since this is also my first time encountering such a situation, I cannot be certain. However, according to preliminary calculations, it will probably take eight to twelve hours.

Behind the screen, Liu Yubin wore an utterly lifeless expression. He slumped back in his chair and muttered, "I'd better not use this skill again in the future..."

Then he suddenly thought of something, sat upright again, and typed a line into the chat box.

Ruthless Assassin: Oh, right, boss. Can I post this conversation? Let everyone understand what's going on too.

Bit: Do as you wish.

With the developer's permission, Liu Yubin perked up and immediately posted a new thread on the forum.

Update! I've contacted the officials!

In the opening post, he briefly explained the situation, then pasted screenshots of his conversation with the developer [Bit] exactly as they were, without changing a single word.

The instant the post went up, the entire official forum erupted once again. If the previous Bug help thread had merely attracted attention, then this post was like a depth charge, directly detonating every lurking, spectating, armchair, and online Player.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! It can work like that?!"

"So that's what 'consume everything you have' means! I thought it would just drain health or mana or something, but it straight-up consumes your entire account?!"

"An Account-Delete Cannon? Fuck, this skill is way too hardcore!"

"Amazing, Brother Assassin. You actually managed to pull off something like this. My eyes have truly been opened."

"The developer is pretty amazing too. 'It is a very interesting subject.' Look at that—does that sound like something a human would say? I can feel the wild joy of a researcher!"

"I feel bad for Assassin. The price of being a Lucky King is deleting your account for eight to twelve hours. Hahahaha, sorry, I really can't hold it in."

"So, are all one hundred things in that lottery pool bizarre items on this level? What exactly did the developers stuff in there?!"

Looking at the Players' varied replies, Liu Yubin smiled helplessly in front of the screen. Being forcibly kicked offline was frustrating, but seeing the celebration he had stirred up on the forum seemed to dilute much of his annoyance.

He closed the lively thread, slumped in his chair, and stared at the ceiling.

How was he supposed to get through these eight to twelve hours...

Sleep? He had just gotten out of the Game Pod and was wide awake. Try some other form of entertainment? His mind was filled with images from this game, and he simply could not settle down.

Then he suddenly thought of something. He slapped his thigh and sprang up from his chair.

Hadn't he promised Ruan Wenbo and the other Players in the game that he would write a tips post about the "self-destruct truck"? The lottery had interrupted him at the time. Now that he had plenty of time, he might as well finish what he had started.

The moment the thought occurred to him, Liu Yubin got to work. He rubbed his hands together, created a new document, and gave it the title—<On the Art of "Self-Destruction"—From Beginner to Burial>.

Perfect. It would help him pass this long period of "character reconstruction."