The Game Developer Prevented Players from Getting Addicted by Not Letting Them Log Out. Reasonable, Right?

Azure Planet had long since been destroyed. It was precisely because of the Galaxy Civilization's Object Manifestation Movement that players had the chance to leave the surface, head to Star Abyss, and officially embark on their legendary cosmic adventures.

Yet now, the creation of that dead and fallen civilization stood vividly before him.

He examined it carefully. The white corpse on the floor was not one of the common C3-'Luca' Type Cosmic Human Race either. As a Cosmic Race, they had no physical defects, no freckles on their faces, fine pores, and generally attractive features.

Yet the white corpse before him, "Lanny Johns," was pockmarked, and his skin turned red after just a little sun exposure.

The contrast was striking.

Li Si turned his head and swept his gaze around. The Global Development Bank - Frostplate Branch sign on the wall and the tightly shut rear door behind the bank counter both indicated that he was in the earliest version.

The version where Azure Planet had not yet exploded.

"This isn't a Cosmic Human Race. It's a race from Azure Planet."

Li Si felt a headache coming on. Even as a veteran high-level player, he was baffled by this situation.

His physical abilities were incredibly weak, completely at the level of an ordinary person—this was definitely not his fully optimized Starcaller account, ranked No. 96 on the entire server! This was no prank. Something major must have happened.

He considered many possibilities: a bug in the game, a sudden massive rollback, or perhaps the network fluctuation just now had loaded him into the wrong version of the game and put him into single-player mode.

But honestly, for an old game like "Star Abyss," which had been operating for over a decade and used photon intelligent computers, those guesses were not exactly impossible, but they were at least absurd.

If the photon AI responsible for handling all political affairs in the future could make mistakes—then what could possibly be right? Li Si calmed down. He guessed that he had logged into the wrong account. Perhaps the network fluctuation had just created a new account for him. But no matter what, he needed to activate the game system first, log out quickly, and contact the developers for a fix.

"Players appear in the game as 'Descenders.' To activate the game system, you first need to identify the identity, appearance, and interpersonal relationships you've 'descended' into."

The simplest method was to find identification and a mirror, then talk to someone. That would complete the descent.

Li Si was very familiar with this. He immediately began searching the pockets of the Security Uniform, but just as he lowered his head and pulled out a ring of keys, a bone-chilling sensation suddenly rose behind him.

"Danger!"

Years of fighting in games made him react instantly. He curled up and ducked beneath a counter. Only then did he realize that he seemed to be in an Old Era bank.

Tap, tap...

Footsteps sounded nearby. They were light, as though someone were stepping across water, producing a strange crisp sound. Li Si held his breath, gripping the baton tightly and doing his utmost not to make a sound.

The footsteps drew closer and closer. Something seemed to be approaching the counter. Li Si's heart pounded wildly. The sound was right beside him, as though it stood just outside the counter, separated by only a wall.

Tap.

The footsteps suddenly stopped. Li Si's heart seemed to skip half a beat as well. A faint layer of mist visibly spread across his exposed skin. The cold pierced to the bone, and he vaguely sensed a gaze trying to peer at him.

"A Spirit Wraith!"

Li Si immediately understood. Version 2.0 was so long ago that he had nearly forgotten Azure Planet was not a purely technological planet. It had spirit creatures and supernatural systems.

"I should have realized... That white man had no external wounds, yet he still died suddenly. It was extremely similar to a Spirit Wraith's handiwork."

Spirit Wraiths were very basic spirit monsters. They were immune to physical damage, could pass through walls, see through objects, and detect stealth—for new players, they were practically monsters designed to make them quit.

For a veteran player and streamer like Li Si, even without his system activated and with no idea what his current attributes were, he still knew how to deal with a Spirit Wraith even if he had nothing in his hands.

The mist covering his skin gradually cooled and solidified. His body temperature was falling. Azure Planet Human Constitution was weak; once body temperature dropped below thirty degrees, any impact could prove fatal.

Move!

Li Si thought briefly and recalled the method for driving away Spirit Wraiths.

He lowered his head and viciously bit his right index finger. Blood gushed from the wound, and the real pain instantly cleared Li Si's head—fortunately, he had never turned off pain feedback.

Without making a sound, he pulled open his clothes and quickly drew a spiral-cross rune over his heart with his blood.

Even so, an ordinary human body reacted far too slowly. An invisible shadow immediately invaded and occupied his body. His blood rapidly thickened, his breathing became sluggish, and he could no longer move.

Possession by a Spirit Wraith—what a pain! This mortal body would need a while longer to adapt.

Fortunately, his technique was perfectly standard. The exclusive rune drawn from the Lord of the Undead was an immense deterrent to low-level Spirit Wraiths.

Once the rune was completed, he clearly sensed the Spirit Wraith hesitate. The cold and moisture around him gradually faded before finally vanishing.

Don't move.

The effect of this rune was to disguise himself as someone possessed by a far more terrifying spirit, thereby driving the other party away. During the entire exorcism process, he could not make the slightest movement. He had to make the Spirit Wraith believe that he was a being descended upon by the Lord of the Undead.

This method of fighting poison with poison, of magic clashing with magic, was not without side effects.

Li Si tensed every nerve and relied on the control he had developed over years to precisely regulate every muscle in his body.

Icy air coiled around his body. If he did not drive the Spirit Wraith away soon, he would eventually die of hypothermia.

But he could not move or shiver to warm himself. If he moved even slightly, the Spirit Wraith would see through him and possess him again.

Gradually, his body temperature slowly rose. The spirit left his body and headed outside.

Tap, tap...

The footsteps faded into the distance. Li Si let out a breath and hurriedly wrapped his wound. At the same time, he closed his eyes and muttered:

"1001, 1002, 1003..."

A person spoke an average of four characters per second. Conversely, reciting four digits with each count could basically ensure accurate timing.

"1025!"

After a full twenty-five seconds, Li Si immediately opened his eyes. His condition had recovered. He shot out from beneath the counter, then turned his head sharply a few seconds later. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a bright layer of white frost spreading across the counter.

Time was up.

His current race was merely an ordinary Azure Planet Human. He had no spirituality or supernatural abilities. This blood-drawn rune could only intimidate a Spirit Wraith for twenty-five seconds.

If it ran away, that meant the check had succeeded and he was safe. If it did not run, twenty-five seconds was still enough for Li Si to recover and tend to his wound.

That was enough time for him to run.

When escaping spirit entities, one absolutely could not go upward. Once possessed, the Spirit Wraith would control the body and make it jump from a building. Only by running downward and using complex, thick walls to gradually weaken its spiritual power would there be a chance to escape.

Li Si took out the keys he had found earlier and tried them one by one. He quickly opened the basement door, shut it behind him, and swiftly slipped underground. He moved nimbly, sliding directly down the stair railing, vaulting over the barrier, and calmly landing from more than three meters up. He rolled to disperse the impact, planted both hands on the ground, and launched himself forward.

The Spirit Wraith had been intimidated by his rune and was already far from him. With Li Si's masterful parkour skills, he immediately widened the gap between them.

Li Si hid behind a fire cabinet deep inside the basement. He had hurriedly glanced at the basement map just now. Years of gaming experience had made him especially sensitive to maps like this, and he had immediately memorized it perfectly. If that Spirit Wraith managed to reach this area, he could completely detour through the vault beside him and escape.

Still, he had fled down a full three floors. A Spirit Wraith from a Novice Village probably could not pass through somewhere this deep.

Sure enough, after he stayed there for a while, the Spirit Wraith in the stairwell became confused by his route, circled around several times, and gave up the pursuit.

Spirit Wraiths had little intelligence. After a failed hunt, they would quickly leave to avoid being hunted by human supernatural beings.

Tap, tap...

The water-stepping footsteps receded. Li Si steadied his breathing and checked his pockets, finding his identification. Next, he only needed to find a mirror and chat with a living NPC to activate the complete game system.

It did not matter if he could not find a living person right now. Players spawned randomly, and the game system had considered this thoroughly. As long as two of the conditions were met, most of the game system could be unlocked.

Identification—unlocked the system toolbar. Appearance—unlocked the personal panel.

Other people's evaluations—unlocked the player function panel. The best spawn conditions were naturally in civilized cities, but those were relatively inconvenient for killing monsters, leveling up, and forming groups for adventures.

Therefore, most players would rather unlock the system later and spawn in an environment near the wilderness, suitable for heading out to fight. Places such as villages, mercenary groups, wanderer settlements, and military camps.

Li Si did not know whether his background was good or bad, but since he was in a bank and wearing a Security Uniform, he had most likely spawned in a town or rural area.

Spirit Wraiths would not disturb major cities. Those places were bustling with people and gathered supernatural beings. Spirit Wraiths were not stupid enough to seek trouble for themselves.

"What the hell is this? A task that normally takes less than fifteen seconds has taken this long."

Li Si muttered as he returned to the surface. He used the keys to open the counter door, turned the valve, found the restroom, washed his wound clean, and wrapped it with a strip of cloth. Only then did he raise his head to look into the mirror, holding his ID in front of him as he carefully examined the appearance he had "descended" into.

His features were well-proportioned and sharply defined. His face had obvious East Asian characteristics, but his build and complexion possessed a sickly milky pallor—caused by prolonged lack of sunlight.

"A Frostplate Citizen." Li Si identified him. "The style and material of this Security Uniform suggest that this was at least from the Internal Test Version period."

This body was well-proportioned, around 185 centimeters tall and roughly eighty kilograms. It was not quite strong, but it was not frail either—this reassured Li Si somewhat. In "Star Abyss," it was better to be a little fat than thin. For one thing, development levels varied from planet to planet, and a somewhat plump physique would be viewed by backward civilizations as that of a wealthy or powerful person and earn more respect.

For another, fat people stored more energy, could endure hunger better, and their accumulated fat made them more resistant to attacks.

The best physique was naturally that of a muscular man with fat over muscle—durable and hard to knock down. For players without much equipment in the early stages, having a better build offered a major advantage.

After escaping the Spirit Wraith's attack, his body temperature had risen again. The frost that had once solidified melted into water, wetting his black hair and making it lie obediently against his head. His gray eyes shone like steel, his features were bold and handsome, and he carried the friendly, sunny air of a handsome boy next door.

His Charm clearly would not be low. Li Si immediately liked this body.

When he completely imprinted his appearance in his mind, the familiar pale-blue screen appeared on his retina as well:

Name: Li Aoz

Title: None

Race: Carbon-Based Lifeform - New Generation Homo Sapiens

Gender: Biological Male

Age: 21

Template: Ordinary Neutral NPC Template (maximum health increased by 10%)

Faction: Layered Abyss - Galaxy Nebula - Fiennes Federation - Azure Planet - Frostplate Republic

Total Level: Lv. 2

—Main Class: Civilian Lv. 1 (0/50)

—Secondary Class: Security Guard Lv. 1 (0/100)

Health: 53/55 (Suboptimal Health)

Aura Value: Unawakened

Experience: 20

Attributes:

Strength—4 (physical power and destructive force)

Dexterity—5 (speed and precision of movement)

Constitution—5 (ability to resist injury; converts into Health)

Charm—13 (ability to attract others externally)

Will—6 (mental resistance; if converted to a Spellcaster class, this attribute will convert proportionally into "Intelligence")

Talent: Racial Talent: Teamwork—New Generation Homo Sapiens possess exceptionally strong teamwork abilities. While in a team, experience gains increase by 50%. This effect disappears upon leaving the team.

Specialties: None

Owned Skills: "Common Sense," "Intermediate Vocational Knowledge"—from Civilian; "Baton Strike," "Beating," "Bullying the Weak"—from Security Guard.

Social Class: Mediocre Person

Li Si did not care about the other values and information. His gaze remained fixed on the template for more than ten seconds.

"Ordinary, Neutral, NPC Template?"

He was dumbfounded.

This, this was wrong, wasn't it?

Players were supposed to have Descender Templates!

He hurriedly opened the system toolbar. The toolbar should have included game settings, plugins, mail, video, controls, graphics optimization, logout, and other options, but now only a single lonely mailbox remained.

"Fuck?" Li Si was stunned. "Where's my logout? How the hell do I quit the game?"