Chapter 1: Clearing the Game

Yan City.

Tian's Barbecue Restaurant.

Tang Song patted his flushed cheeks, exhaling a breath tinged with alcohol.

He turned on the tap, scooped up some icy cold tap water, and splashed it on his face.

He took out his phone and checked the time.

[22:02]

This day-long departmental team-building event was finally coming to an end.

He went back into the private room.

He pretended to quickly blend into his colleagues' conversations.

With a benign smile on his face, Tang Song occasionally chimed in with a few words.

The atmosphere was lively and harmonious.

Director Chen Yunteng raised his glass, his face flushed, uttered a few formalities, and with a casual promise of a bright future, put the perfect full stop on today's team-building.

Stepping out of the entrance of the barbecue restaurant.

The slightly cold night breeze greeted them, and colleagues said their goodbyes to each other.

"See you Monday, bye~"

"Remember to let us know when you get home in the group chat."

"Drive safe President Chen, goodbye."

"Tang Song, let's go together; our ways home coincide!"

...

In the black Nissan Teana.

Two female colleagues in the back seat were chatting animatedly.

Tang Song leaned against the passenger seat, eyes half-closed, expressionless.

Having joined Jinxiu Commerce for over four months, he had poured all his energy into the development of the company's new SCM (Supply Chain Management) system.

System reconstruction, feature development, information integration, interfacing with ERP, automation of business processes...

Once the system went live, it greatly improved work efficiency and significantly reduced the costs of goods procurement, earning high praise from the company's senior leadership.

As a new employee, Tang Song was filled with a sense of achievement, dreaming of the promotion and raise that leadership had promised him.

Yet reality dealt him a heavy blow.

The success of the SCM system ultimately credited to Department Director Chen, seemingly having nothing to do with him.

The maintenance work for the project was handed over to Du Shaokai, a colleague with connections.

Tang Song was assigned to develop a new project, continuing to shine for the company.

A series of unfair treatments made him extremely upset, to the point where he considered quitting.

Perhaps sensing his thoughts.

Today, during the team-building, Director Chen had expressed in private that he would apply for a 10% raise for him next month.

He asked him to work diligently and promised he would never be shortchanged in the future.

After much consideration, Tang Song decided to stay for the time being.

Stick to a steady job while searching for a better offer; he would resign when one came along.

A few days ago, his mother called, mentioning a new real estate development back home and suggesting he visit it when he had time.

If he were considering buying a house within the next six months, he couldn't afford to interrupt his contributions to the housing provident fund.

Lost in thought, Zhao Yue suddenly tapped him on the shoulder from the back seat, "Brother Song! You seem listless today, you didn't get your heart broken, did you?"

Tang Song masked his feelings, and said with self-mockery, "First of all, I need to have a girlfriend."

Zhao Yue covered her mouth and giggled, "Brother Song, you're actually pretty outstanding. Skilled, with a handsome face and tall stature, it's just that you're a bit overweight. Hurry up and lose weight to gain muscle, the girls in our company will surely be falling over themselves to chase you!"

Tang Song touched the thick layer of fat on his belly, helplessly responding, "Then I'll work hard."

"Go for it!" Zhao Yue cheered, making a cute fist-pumping gesture.

Next to her, Hu Mingli teased, batting her eyes, "Yue, with such a great catch like Tang Song, why don't you snag him for yourself?"

"Mingli sister, I suspect you're testing me. You wouldn't happen to have your eye on Brother Song, would you?"

"Haha, how about we compete fairly for him?"

"I'd have to concede, after all, you're the bigger bear!"

The slightly tipsy female colleagues teased and pushed each other playfully, but no one took it seriously.

Tang Song was indeed a good person, warm, sincere, ambitious, and with undeniable work capabilities, having once worked for a large internet company in Imperial City.

However, his family background was a bit poor, just an ordinary rural guy, with homeownership in Yan City a distant dream.

In terms of appearance, nothing stood out; his style was casual, his haircut slovenly, and he was overweight.

As a colleague or friend, absolutely no problem.

As for something more serious? Better not.

…

Fresh Home Community.

Tang Song tossed his backpack casually and collapsed onto his bed.

As the effects of the alcohol surged, fatigue, disillusionment, and helplessness instantly overwhelmed him.

After a while, he rolled over, opened WeChat, and typed in the department's group chat, "Got home."

Then he clicked on the 'lucky money' red packet sent by Director Chen, claimed three yuan twenty cents, and sent a "Thanks, boss" sticker.

He opened Moments, scrolling aimlessly through the screen.

Like an outsider, he silently browsed through the statuses of familiar and unfamiliar "friends."

Some were enjoying everyday life, some flaunting their significant others, some living the quiet life, some striving for improvement.

It seemed that everyone but him was living happily.

Unconsciously, his eyes caught a familiar photo.

[Deng Yazi: "Accidentally found a graduation photo from high school. Old classmates, how are you all doing?"]

His scrolling finger involuntarily paused.

Quickly, Tang Song located himself in the photo, his gaze becoming slightly unfocused.

Back then, he was about to enter university, brimming with youth, optimistic and bright, with his first love by his side, feeling hopeful about life.

And now? Single and overweight, without a car or house, his work and life in complete disarray.

It seemed that ever since the family upheaval in his senior year of college, his life had veered off its predetermined track, step by step becoming what it was now.

After casually liking the post, Tang Song put down his phone, sat at his computer desk, donned his headphones, and prepared to play a game to unwind for a while.

In every stage of life, there are things that can only be experienced in that stage.

In the three years since graduation, he had come to terms with reality, his edges smoothed out by life's grind.

To put it in nicer terms, he had matured.

The things he liked he still liked, but he no longer insisted on having them, so he left Imperial City, saying goodbye to his first love.

The things he disliked he still disliked, but he could tolerate them, so he integrated into the group, accepting the unfairness.

…

The game "Attractive Man Growth Plan" suddenly appeared on Tang Song's computer in his senior year.

He might have downloaded it by accident while browsing study materials.

Because its icon was big and conspicuous, Tang Song clicked on it with a critical attitude, wanting to explore what it was all about.

To his surprise, he became hooked for three years, and it was a major contributing factor to his weight gain.

It was a male idol simulation game centered around business management.

The game featured beautiful art, top-quality sound effects, thorough settings, and extremely unique gameplay, and it didn't require any money to play.

The game's storyline was based in the real world.

Everything, including the map, events, the financial market, businesses, policies, and the environment, was consistent with the real world.

More importantly, the game's timeline started in 2016.

Being in 2020 with access to a search engine, Tang Song had a prophetic edge in the game.

He knew the trends of stocks and futures, knew the next industrial hotspots, knew which companies would become unicorns, knew which movies, songs, and artists would become hugely popular...

Moreover, every character in the game had their own story arc, and players could witness their growth, life, and their joys and sorrows.

The level of immersion was maxed out!

In the game, Tang Song fulfilled his dream of being an attractive man and thoroughly enjoyed the pleasure of being a billionaire surrounded by beauties and at the peak of power.

But a game was still a game.

In reality, he was just a struggling worker without a house, a car, or a girlfriend, living a messy life and dissatisfied with his job.

Tang Song shook his head and stopped letting his thoughts run wild.

He entered the game, checked unread notifications, claimed quest rewards, bought new items...

After a series of skilled operations, he returned to the main interface.

Tang Song's mouse hesitated as his gaze fell on the time line within the game.

[April 1, 2023]

And the current network time was April 1, 2023, 23:50.

Due to the different flow of time, the timeline of the game was about to overlap with reality.

As a game set against the background of the real world, Tang Song was very curious about how the story would unfold next.

He licked his dry lips.

Casually he grabbed a bottle of soda.

He called his beloved Secretary Jin to report on work.

While "gulping" down the soda, he enjoyed the view of the beautiful legs in stockings and slim waists on his screen.

All worries dissipated, and his mood instantly brightened.

Although everything in the game was artificial, the happiness it brought him was real.

…

As the time crossed midnight, the rhythmic background music in his headphones suddenly stopped.

The date in the game changed accordingly.

[April 2, 2023]

Immediately after, a beautiful game animation started playing automatically on the screen.

Starting with the story from 2016, various game characters made appearances, and scene after scene of fantastic plot was acted out, with achievements, titles, badges, and items periodically flashing by.

It recapped the entire gameplay experience.

The screen gradually grew quiet, filled only with the sound of footsteps coming closer.

The character "Tang Song" walked slowly into view from outside the frame.

Dressed sharply in a suit, with an elegant and upright posture, and a confident and unhurried stride.

He stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the top floor of the high-rise, looking down at the glittering city lights below, exuding an indescribable charm.

The camera panned from above to below, finally resting on his silhouette.

A line of eye-catching text appeared in the center of the screen.

[It seems the story has come to an end, and you awaken from the long dream to embrace the real world once again. Congratulations, player!]

"Damn it! Did I just beat the game? That's it?!"

Startled, Tang Song leaned forward, frenetically clicked his mouse a few times, then pounded on the keyboard.

The game screen remained unchanged.

A chill went through Tang Song's heart.

He had become deeply attached to the game.

The realistic setting and unique level of immersion made him feel as though he really was nurturing elites, growing businesses, gathering wealth, and improving himself.

But from that moment on, the thrilling story in the game came to an abrupt end, and he lost connection with each lively character.

A strong sense of loss and disconnection surged through him.

Tang Song's breathing became heavy.

A clear notification tone suddenly rang out.

The game disappeared from the computer screen, replaced by the Windows desktop.

Tang Song's vision blurred for an instant.

A sci-fi style screen unfolded before him in a swish.

[Player verified]

[System resources loading... 1%... 50%... 100%]

[Complete]