The Heroine System Has Arrived

Crackling, clattering. Crackling, clattering.

In the scorching summer heat, even the cicadas' high-pitched chirping could not drown out the crackling sound of the keyboard.

The keystrokes were crisp and incredibly practiced. Ten fingers flew wildly across the keys, and the computer screen soon filled with black dialogue boxes.

Su Qi operated at incredible speed, his thoughts clear and organized. He looked just like a hacker from a TV drama, making anyone watching the screen feel impressed even if they did not understand what was happening.

"Wow, Old Qi, you're insane! You really are the King of Shut-Ins!" Wu Wei, who had only come down to take a leak, was stunned by Su Qi's display.

Although he had long known that his roommate was skilled with computers, seeing it firsthand still left him awestruck.

"Shut-in is fine. Leave out the king!" Su Qi slapped away Wu Wei's sweaty hand from his shoulder, then turned his attention back to the monitor.

"If you don't want King of Shut-Ins, then I'll call you Big Teacher! Do you have any stock left? Give me some!" Wu Wei rubbed his hands together and asked awkwardly.

Wearing nothing but underwear, he looked so ridiculous doing that that Su Qi felt embarrassed for him. It'd be better if you were a cute girl!

The stock he meant was Su Qi's original drafts. After living together day and night, Wu Wei had accidentally discovered that Su Qi was actually a Doujin Artist. He had even read many of Su Qi's works, and before long, Su Qi had become known as the dorm's Big Teacher.

Still, Su Qi found it a little embarrassing. It was not exactly proper material, so he had told his two roommates not to spread it around.

Su Qi waved a hand. "No stock." Then he raised his right index finger and firmly pressed the large "Enter" key.

With that action, a dialogue box popped up amid the garbled text on the screen. A low sound followed, and an animated scene slowly appeared inside the box.

Blooming Metropolis. Its large Chinese title appeared on the screen.

"It's done?" Wu Wei asked in surprise.

Su Qi nodded.

"What? Brother Qi, you finished your game?" someone above Su Qi asked as he pulled open the mosquito net.

The speaker was Wang Dongxu, the second eldest in the dorm. With a side flip, he leaped down from the high top bunk.

With a loud thud, the floor trembled. Su Qi glanced downward, hoping the people downstairs were not sleeping at this hour.

"What are you planning to do with this game? How much are you selling it for?" Wu Wei asked.

As an excellent Doujin Artist, the game Su Qi made was naturally not some proper game either. It was one of those adult games.

Su Qi did not answer right away. Instead, he gave up his seat to Wu Wei. "Try it out first."

Before long, Wu Wei and Wang Dongxu's breathing became a little hurried. It could not be helped—the Female Protagonist in the game was simply too...

However, Su Qi was already lying in bed. After pulling two all-nighters in a row, he truly could not take it anymore. He felt that if he did not sleep now, there might be news of his sudden death tomorrow.

"The plot is very nice, and the storyline is also very clear." Wu Wei, who had played many single-player games, gave a deliberately serious review.

"The character art is worthy of Teacher Qi's work. It's as outstanding as ever. No, I need to go to the bathroom!"

When Su Qi woke up, it was already noon the next day.

Crackling keyboard sounds came from the dorm. However, Wang Dongxu was now the one operating the computer instead of Wu Wei.

When Wang Dongxu saw Su Qi wake up, he immediately said, "Teacher Qi, the game's immersion is incredible! I got off several times in one night."

"You don't need to tell me that!" Su Qi said awkwardly, then looked toward the character in the game.

Naturally, it was a female character—the Female Protagonist of Blooming Metropolis. As an ADV game, it used character art effects. It took up a bit more computer performance, but greatly enhanced the gaming experience.

The Female Protagonist on the screen was fully clothed, with none of that seductive blush on her face. Her delicate features were instead filled with innocent confusion, like a young girl untouched by the ways of the world.

As the game's creator, Su Qi naturally understood that this was the Female Protagonist before she had been corrupted. After pressing X to open the menu, he tapped the right arrow key, bringing up another set of stat descriptions. It showed the Female Protagonist looking somewhat shy.

Besides the Female Protagonist's body, the screen also described various parts of her body, displaying what she had experienced.

But everything was currently at zero.

"So what are you doing?" Su Qi looked at Wang Dongxu.

"I'm not some filthy cuckold like Wu Wei. As a Pure Love Warrior, I must clear the game with her purity intact."

While Wang Dongxu was speaking, he carelessly forgot to drink a potion and lost an encounter with a wild monster.

"Don't... mm... mm..." A weak, alluring sound came from the computer, tugging at the heartstrings.

Yet Wang Dongxu skillfully operated the controls, pressed X to exit to the game desktop, and started over.

As the game's creator, Su Qi really liked players like Wang Dongxu, players willing to replay the game for a happy ending.

Many people played this type of game by directly looking for save files and getting straight to it.

Would that not lose the point of the game? In Su Qi's eyes as a creator, they might as well just watch videos. What mattered most in games was the sense of participation.

And how to spark the players' interest—that was the problem a game creator like him had to solve.

Watching his roommate Wang Dongxu play with a focused expression, Su Qi wondered whether he should set a higher price for the game.

After thinking it over, he decided against it. They were all fellow perverts, comrades on the same path, practically half kindred spirits. After some thought, Su Qi lowered the price from 129 to 59.

But he still felt like he was losing out. After thinking some more, he added an advertisement on the game's opening screen for a toy manufacturer he had previously discussed a partnership with. Note: Personally tested, easy to use. Even better when warmed up!

This both improved the user experience—it was indeed much better than doing it by hand—and earned him thirty percent of the toy manufacturer's profits. Of course, money was not important. The main thing was improving practicality!

Su Qi simply had not expected that this decision to add that page would later make her regret it so deeply.

Upload!

Since he had informed his fans long ago that it would be released today, over a thousand people bought it the instant it went live. These were all fans he had accumulated from his work as a Doujin Artist. Before long, Su Qi saw the comments in the group explode.

Some computer experts directly discovered from the files that the game had more than 5,800 CG images and over 25 short animations, yet it was only selling for 59 yuan.

In an instant, the word "conscientious" flooded the discussion forum.

Su Qi, meanwhile, stared at his virtual wallet. Watching the amount continuously rise, he felt an immense sense of accomplishment.

The number remained in the five digits for quite a while.

Only after an hour did it finally break into six digits.

Just then, Su Qi heard a strange sound.

Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully binding to the Heroine System!