The Cyber City’s Night Shift

The young girl was slumped in her gaming chair.

Her gaze was fixated on the glaring “Eliminated” plastered across the screen.

It had been a guaranteed victory—occupying the high ground, annihilating all opposition. Not even a world champion team could have turned the tide. Yet, at the crucial moment, a mysterious character descended from the heavens, executing a dazzling kill that instantly flipped the massive score.

It happened in an instant.

The ion shield, which should have still been active, vanished without a trace. Her fully upgraded epic weapon, the BattleMoon-Warlord, inexplicably missed every shot. All her accumulated buffs simultaneously expired, and she watched helplessly as abundant supplies lay scattered around her, unable to move a single step.

The character, however, strolled through the bombardment of a Tier 4 ultimate skill with the casual grace of a leisurely walk, the lingering light illuminating their form.

It was a bottom-tier, ‘sewer’ class, equipped with generic white-grade gear. Their level and title screamed ‘newbie,’ and even their face was the uncustomized default model—utterly shabby.

“ROUND LOSE—YOUR TEAM……OPPONENTS……”

The character turned, facing the girl’s monitor directly.

In that moment, the girl was convinced she had found the man of her dreams—as if!

“This person’s cheating, right? Absolutely cheating!!!”

Days Ago—

Northwest, Cyber City, Starry Night City.

This was the sacred land of humanity’s technological faction, far removed from the Everwinter Glacier and the Abyss. It stood as the largest human settlement outside of Haijing, the capital of commerce and politics, and Difvarensa, the Holy City. Alongside Penglai, the headquarters of the Eastern Cultivators, it ranked as the third-largest city in humanity, independent of any nation or alliance, governed by its own complete order.

With 34.2814 million permanent residents and 9.7269 million transient inhabitants, the city was a melting pot of all walks of life: fresh, young blood from the tech sector, the middle class, merchants, immigrants, and criminals. Starry Night City was home to the headquarters of all major tech giants, the highest scientific academies, and a million-strong army of mechanics. It was like a bottomless abyss, welcoming all comers, where anyone could find their own way of life.

Its upper, middle, and lower districts, radiating outwards, symbolized a cold class division. From opulent cyber palaces to bustling commoner districts and honeycomb-like lawless zones, every day brought major news, astounding crimes, technological advancements, and inspiring rags-to-riches legends—but more often, the bitter tragedies of phoenixes turning into sparrows.

Its influence on adolescents was immeasurable.

North of the city, at the intersection of the middle and lower districts, life pulsed vibrantly. Apartment buildings housing tens of thousands, factories with towering chimneys, massive shopping malls constantly emitting light pollution, and private schools for commoners were densely scattered. All living and production facilities were arranged horizontally and vertically across three dimensions, with barely any buildings under a hundred meters tall, demonstrating astonishing space utilization.

A single skyscraper often integrated residences, commercial areas, factory workshops, small plantations, and various educational institutions. “Making full use of all space” was the primary rule in Starry Night City, where every inch was precious.

However, regardless of their social class or where they resided, anyone who stayed long enough in Starry Night City would invariably develop two characteristics:

Firstly, they would feel no aversion to mechanical body modifications. Even the impoverished would install a cybernetic limb or two, with both legitimate and illicit medical facilities for limb adjustments found everywhere.

Secondly, they possessed an extremely high acceptance of technology-based entertainment. Any household with a stable income owned at least one full-dive immersion device. Various video games and virtual reality experiences had become indispensable forms of entertainment, with arcades, internet cafes, and experience stores offering such diversions proliferating throughout the city.

At the junction of the middle and lower districts, a corner of Bracklin Skytrain, seventy meters above ground, showcased a three-dimensional tapestry of commercial streets and residential areas interwoven and stacked. Vehicles of all sizes, adorned with RGB lights, constantly streamed by, while the glare from colossal holographic projection screens made it difficult to keep one’s eyes open. A faint scent of machine oil permeated the air.

Wage earners, students, mechanics, and diverse ‘Starlighters’ mingled together—this was the most common sight in Starry Night City.

The internet café “Silver Hand Spin-Spin-Spin,” well-known in this area, was located here.

Of course, being called an “internet cafe” was merely a habit carried over from the old era. In reality, it boasted over 300 full-dive immersion devices of varying grades, from PS-VR100 to XBOX-FullDive2000, covering all popular and niche, online and offline games on the market. There was even a nostalgic zone featuring traditional consoles like the PS8 and NSBig, and even retro SEGAY arcade machines.

Gaming masters from all walks of life competed here. The wealthy battled it out in specialized full-dive pods, while those with less money stood on omni-directional treadmills, waving controllers with brain-computer interfaces. Many traditional players, who insisted that manual control was the true romance, furiously pounded on arcade machines, and if they lost, they’d simply log off to engage in real-life mantis blade brawls.

And who am I?

A refined and amiable Void Titan who uses ultimate abilities to shield teammates and protect the boss? Sorry, that’s not me.

A Cerulean Star who activates their ultimate and enters the gate alone, leaving teammates outside? Sorry, that’s not me.

A Dota-slinger seen everywhere except in the client itself? Sorry, that’s not me either.

A Warrior of Light who slays Uncle Emet-Selch and unblocks toilets? Sorry, still not me.

A map-running machine who furiously spent ten top-ups for a certain sword technique? Sorry, that’s still not me.

As for me—

“Net manager, two machines!”

“Please show your ID card~”

“Forgot our IDs! We’re both well over eighteen, don’t you worry!”

“But you still have a middle school badge around your neck~”

“Ah, well—that’s my little nephew’s, I’m just holding it for him!”

“Impressive, huh? Let me see your ID cards then.”

“I just said we forgot! Cut us some slack, won’t you?”

“The schools around here are strict with checks; we businesses have our difficulties too.”

“Brother, you’re a magnanimous man! Want a cigarette?”

“I don’t smoke. Minors should go play on their phones at school, not try to act tough here.”

“…………Tsk!”

I, Kos Blavin, shooed away the two brats like flies. One of them, with a dazzling cybernetic eye, glared at me furiously, even threateningly flashing the RGB lights on their hand and shoulder prosthetics. These kids are apparently an upgraded version of ‘Ghost Fire Youths’… I think they’re called ‘Ghost Eye Youths’? I don’t really understand youngsters these days.

“Whew…”

Taking advantage of the temporary lull at the counter, I poured myself a cup of iced soy milk and began to enjoy a brief respite from work, eagerly anticipating my shift ending in an hour.

Being an internet cafe manager was… well… to be honest, it wasn’t exactly a great job. Ambitious young people wouldn’t want to be cooped up in an internet cafe; those seeking ease and stability would join state-owned enterprises or take civil service exams. Being a net manager didn’t require high technical skills; it was mostly about overseeing the machines and resolving occasional network, software, or system issues. It wasn’t exactly busy, nor was it entirely idle.

Of course, for me, this was already enough.

I started work at 8 PM every night and finished at 5 AM the next morning, working the night shift. This seemingly contradicted my pursuit of an easy life, but Starry Night City was truly a city that never slept. Shrouded in haze and light pollution, day and night often blurred, and people had long grown accustomed to reversed schedules. So, all I had to do was invert my biological clock.

And another reason that prompted me to find this job… was, frankly, novelty.

Although the scientific faction had a shallower foundation compared to mages, cultivators, espers, alchemists, and divine spellcasters, its development speed was incredibly rapid. Most commendably, science had genuinely brought convenience to everyone in the world. Mobile phones, computers, networks, smart wearables… these products were far more universal than magical counterparts with similar functions, breaking down barriers of talent and adaptability, allowing everyone to enjoy a convenient life.

In this era, the scientific faction already stood as one of the major powers alongside traditional factions like the religious, money-and-power, esper, magic, and cultivation sides. Sakuma Ryoji, the representative of humanity’s scientific faction, known as “Neon Glow,” was even one of the Nine Apostles, enjoying unparalleled prestige.

However, Sakuma and I had almost no interaction. None of my nominal wives were from the scientific faction. My only connections to the scientific faction were my Guawai Nongyao phone and my beloved PS8 game console. For me, Starry Night City was an unprecedentedly fresh environment, and even a mere internet cafe was filled with novelties.

Here, there were operators more eager to breach walls than shoot people—

“Bang bang bang!”

“Who the hell picked Fuze in a hostage situation???”

There were Ts and CTs squeezed into the middle door crack, sniping at each other—

“Oh my god, what the f***!”

“Two smokes on A1!!!”

There were utility players hunting in groups—

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, watch out, watch out, watch out, it’s gonna cat!”

“That beast is about to use its ultimate, damn it! Those with rocks, hide behind them! Those far from rocks, jump high!”

…Such sights. Watching them roar with their full-dive immersion devices on was truly amusing.

But for me, the most interesting thing was, after all—

I stealthily turned on a dozen monitors, simultaneously admiring the graceful figures of a dozen vtuber beauties (though only paper-thin), listening to their soft, cute, sassy, or silly voices, a satisfied smile spreading across my face.

Ah~~~~~~~ Starry Night City truly lives up to its name! The world’s largest vtuber gathering place is just too wonderful!!!!!