Old Dad became a father once again

"Player P-RAND4040, name: Bai Cha, system designation: F00023. His player ID was registered fourteen days ago, on the first day this instance opened."

Special observation room, basement level one, Death Instance Division One building.

In the middle of the dim room, an enormous cylindrical glass chamber stood from floor to ceiling, glowing with a faint blue light.

At the center of the chamber was a young man immersed in a special nutrient solution.

His eyes were closed, his face utterly expressionless, like a dormant robot whose settings had yet to be activated.

Wearing identical white coats, Li Qing and Zhang Qin stood side by side before the glass chamber, looking up at the young man inside.

"He first entered the death instance system through the B0021 instance. That matches our earlier investigation."

Li Qing spoke. His cool, clear voice was quiet, yet it echoed through the silent room.

"But according to Bai Cha, he's participated in this instance more than once."

Bai Cha was an NPC native to the B0021 instance.

In his original backstory, he had grown up poor and dropped out of school at an early age to make a living in the city. A talent scout had noticed his looks, bringing him into the entertainment industry.

But for him, that had merely been the beginning of another nightmare.

A rich, powerful older man had taken a fancy to him and made Bai Cha his secret lover.

He had brought Bai Cha greater wealth and fame, but he had also become the tightrope beneath Bai Cha's feet. One wrong step, and Bai Cha would plunge into an endless abyss.

Later, Bai Cha had met Gong Yao.

-or rather, the character assigned to "Gong Yao" in the instance, a playboy who flirted with everyone and had easily given Bai Cha a warmth he had never known.

But he could only bury his foolish hopes in his heart, then watch "Gong Yao" and "An Ya" hook up on set again and again, before everyone died one after another.

Then he would return to that nightmare of a place once more.

Li Qing fell silent for a moment before continuing:

"For the other players, 'being bullied' and 'suffering everyone's contempt' are just backstory. But for Bai Cha, that's the life he actually lived."

"-That's what makes him special."

Zhang Qin turned to Li Qing, half his face illuminated by the blue light, and gave an excited smile.

"Everyone has an original world before they're captured and put into the death instance system. And Bai Cha's original world is the B0021 instance."

He lowered his voice, but still couldn't conceal his excitement. "He's a character from this instance's original story, and he's been reborn!"

"...He's also an NPC. Data created after the fact."

"Exactly!" Zhang Qin slapped Li Qing on the shoulder. "You've spotted what makes this so valuable! Bai Cha was originally just an NPC, a piece of data we wrote. But for some unknown reason, he broke free of his fate, was captured and selected by a system to become its host, and gained player status!"

"Hmm..."

Li Qing pondered for a while, and a light screen unfolded before them.

Without the slightest hesitation, he opened the incident report and entered the cause:

[An NPC escaped the control of his original instance and was captured by system P00023 as its host, gaining player status.]

[When instance B0021 loaded its players, player P-RAND4040 (Bai Cha) was not included in the count, causing the additional player P-ZD458290 (Yu Xiaohe) to occupy the instance boss's body.]

[The absence of an instance boss resulted in an abnormal mortality rate.]

Zhang Qin pressed a hand to his forehead. "You're actually still thinking about work at a time like this?"

Puzzled, Li Qing asked sincerely, "Then what should I be doing right now?"

"Come on, he's the first NPC to gain player status! NPCs can be created, but 'players' can only be captured. Doesn't Bai Cha's existence essentially tell me-"

Zhang Qin looked at his somewhat short, stubby fingers, a feverish gleam returning to his eyes.

"The code we typed out, line by line, finally gave birth to a being that only an unknown god of creation should have been able to bring into existence..."

Li Qing's gaze returned to Bai Cha.

"So you had me bring him back to the Source Code Space intact, then preserve him here on basement level one using the Low-Dimensional Lifeform Preservation Solution that requires SS-Level Authorization to requisition, all so you could study this 'player' you created?"

"Yes, of course. I need to take detailed measurements of his bodily functions and compare them with ordinary player data... Ah, of course, once everything is finished, I'll still send him back to the instance!"

Clutching his chest, Zhang Qin declaimed theatrically, "Though! I gave him life! I have! No right! To take his life away!"

...A fairly open-minded father, at least.

Finally, he patted Li Qing's shoulder. "Thanks for all your hard work this time, Team Leader Li. It's thanks to you that the instance ended smoothly and we can keep developing our 'AI-generated dynamic dungeon instance' technology."

Li Qing said, "...I'd rather you stopped developing it. It's honestly a huge hassle."

"Heh, technology frees up our hands, right? It'll ease some of the pressure on our Dungeon Instance Product Development Team. Haven't you seen Team Leader Jack? He's going bald..."

Li Qing ignored him and looked at a machine off to the side instead.

Its screen displayed not a set of readings, but a constantly shifting ball of light.

"This is..."

"The system that captured Bai Cha, 00023..." Zhang Qin ambled over. "Hmm, I suppose we should call it F00023 now. The lowest system rank."

"Twenty-three..."

System designations were different from player IDs.

Every player's ID was unique. Even if they died in an instance, their ID would never be released for reuse.

The systems that accompanied players, however, would be deployed again under the same designation after their hosts died.

System 23 was already a veteran employee in every sense. At the same rank, its level of artificial intelligence was considerably higher than that of later systems.

Smiling, Zhang Qin pressed the activation button. "This fellow has really made a major contribution this time."

A mechanical system announcement came from the speaker:

"System F00023 successfully activated."

"System F00023 successfully converted to source code."

An enthusiastic voice immediately rang out. "Hi! Hello, my dear superiors! We meet again! Huh? Has my host died again?"

Li Qing: "..."

He exchanged a look with Zhang Qin, who spoke first. "No, no. He's alive and well."

"Oh, please allow me to identify your ID. S-A0000002... You're, you're!" F00023 grew excited. "My dad!"

Zhang Qin: "..."

"Stop right there. Sure, I wrote the artificial intelligence modules for your first batch of systems, but I don't make a habit of being a father across species!"

"Okay, Dad. I'll keep that in mind!"

F00023 paid no attention to that whatsoever and turned its ball of light toward Li Qing.

"Huh? You're the player my host wanted to deal with... No, wait. You seem to be the same kind as Dad."

Li Qing said evenly, "Death Instance Maintenance Team leader. Employee ID S-A9B08F013."

F00023 became theatrical again. "So you're the famous Team Leader Li! Unfortunately, I can only stay in the Source Code Space's system module for a short time on each visit. I've never had the chance to meet you!"

It eagerly expanded and contracted its "body."

"A9B08F, oh, what a lovely color, as beautiful as your eyes!

"13? What a wonderful number. It reminds me of a beauty I briefly met before. That system's designation was also 13!"

Li Qing: "..."

After a moment's silence, he looked at Zhang Qin. "They have standards of beauty, too?"

Zhang Qin said, "...Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess."

"Code is what makes us beautiful or ugly, sir! If it had a human appearance, I think it would be every bit as stunning as you! Ah, I actually met 00013's host recently. Sadly, the instances forbid systems with hosts from communicating with each other. Otherwise..."

Zhang Qin said, "Stop, stop, stop. I'm not interested in stories about lovesick AI groveling for attention. Tell us about your own host."

F00023 gave an "Oh," then listlessly recounted how it had made Bai Cha its host.

Watching Zhang Qin shift into work mode and begin grilling it for details, Li Qing returned alone to Bai Cha's cultivation tank.

He looked at Bai Cha's peaceful face, but his mind recalled all the different expressions he had worn in the instance.

The place on his neck where Bai Cha had choked him grew faintly warm, bringing an illusory sensation of suffocation.

How had an NPC developed emotions that broke through the limits of his code?

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Qin's voice came through the glass of the equipment room.

"Are you interested in him? That won't do. I think your compatibility might be pretty low. If you absolutely have to pick an instance player as my son-in-law, Dad recommends R0000..."

Li Qing completely ignored his teasing.

Without answering, he watched quietly for a while, then finally stepped back twice and turned to leave.

"I'm leaving. Before you put him back into the instance, remember to delete his and his system's memories of me."

F00023 let out a miserable cry. "Please don't, sir! I won't reveal your identity!"

Zhang Qin, however, agreed at once. "Will do!"

Then he smiled again. "Li Qing."

Zhang Qin rarely called him by his full name without adding anything to it. A little puzzled, Li Qing stopped and looked back at him.

Zhang Qin met his gaze through the glass, his eyes flickering inscrutably behind his lenses.

"You actually had a pretty good time on this assignment, didn't you?"

Li Qing froze.

Then, contrary to Zhang Qin's expectations, Li Qing didn't dodge the teasing question as he usually did.

His clear eyes rested calmly on Zhang Qin, and he gave a quiet "Mm."

Then the brisk, efficient team leader wasted no more time on redundant small talk and left the special observation room.