Do You Understand the Pain of Being a Shut-In? (Annoyed)

Destiny Fantasy 14, or DF14 for short, is a world where swords, magic, machinery, steam, gears, arcanum, lasers, vacuum tubes, bio-engineering, chakra, spiritual pressure, nuclear explosions, fel energy, battle qi, true qi, internal force, Space Marines, idealism, Marxism, and… well, a whole lot of other things coexist.

Its game map boasts a total area exceeding that of Eastern Siberia, offering an incredibly rich and diverse array of PVE and PVP gameplay. Players can explore over three thousand dungeons and more than four hundred major city-states.

It features an epic storyline a million times more compelling than Legion or Shadowlands, character balance a hundred thousand, perhaps even ninety thousand, times better than Overwatch, and a drop rate a hundred times higher than Dungeon Fighter Online.

Weapon stats are comparable to Call of Duty, while its skins are slightly uglier than Fortnite. The game’s design is marginally superior to Battlefield, and its servers are a billion, or perhaps nine hundred million, times better than Dead by Daylight.

Truly, it lives up to its name as the world’s number one online game.

Due to its incredibly high freedom and strong randomness, DF14 naturally generates excellent entertainment for live streams, making it a favorite among streamers, including VTubers.

Currently, the world event and guild war, ‘Constantinople in Historical Transformation,’ was nearing its end. The mysterious and marvelous Urban Orbital Cannon had already blasted open the city gates of Constantinople. Bright, vibrant Turkish flags, like countless crescent moons, encircled the city walls.

The guild leader of the ‘New Dynasty Elegant Politics Ottoman,’ Mumumumu II, was leading their army into this historic city, accompanied by the melody of a ‘Hometown Folk Tune.’ Victory seemed within their grasp.

“Wait————wait!”

Just as victory seemed assured, a female character, adorned with an abundance of buffs and shimmering in full sets of rare, legendary gear, descended from the sky. With her left hand, the +20 Smough’s Greatshield effortlessly blocked an Urban Orbital Cannon blast.

Her right hand, wielding the +30 God-Slayer’s Fury, swiftly decapitated Mumumumu II. Then, empowered by the +27 Windfury Boots and +33 Gundanium Alloy Armor, she charged alone into the bewildered masses.

Every member of the ‘New Dynasty Elegant Politics Ottoman’ guild was utterly dumbfounded, left entirely defenseless as she unleashed a torrent of attacks.

Who is that?

Who? Who?

Is that a VTuber?

VTuber Man~ VTuber Man!

The spectators had already noticed something amiss. The character’s model—especially her facial features—was incredibly familiar. Her iconic pink twin-tails fluttered in the breeze, moved by a realistic physics engine.

Her expression, her beauty, her aura—

Could it be—

“That’s right! After two months, I—everyone’s idol, Bailian Chomi—am finally back in DF14 with the start of the new season! And just to be clear, this isn’t some sponsored content, okay? To all my DF14 players, did you—miss—me?!”

Amidst the chaos, Chomi struck a ‘kirakira’ pose for the camera, her movements and expression more professional than any idol. This immediately sent the spectators into a frenzy of cheers.

““““““We~~~~~~~missed~~~~~~~~~you~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!””””””

“Excellent! Then the next stream time is set! At nine PM tonight, I’ll be leading everyone through the brand-new dungeon, Divine Grace City, and we’ll also make a round in the PvP battlefield~~ So everyone, please be there to support me~”

““““““Chomi-chan! Chomi-chan! Chomi-chan! Chomi-chan! Chomi-chan! Chomi-chan!””””””

The sparkling debut of this world-class virtual streamer was a resounding success, capturing everyone’s attention. Surely, all the major gaming forums were being spammed with posts right now. The claim “this isn’t sponsored content” was, of course, a lie.

This was the DF14 operations team’s strategy to build hype for the upcoming world-class PvP tournament. They had contacted Chomi, a former T0-level player in the game, to further ignite public interest. Well, it was a common tactic.

“So then—tonight at nine, I’ll see you all in the stream!”

“Tonight at nine… in the stream… see you all…”

The girl removed the most advanced full-dive helmet on the market, unplugged the data cable from her neck, and scratched her messy hair. With slumped shoulders, she climbed out of the dive pod.

Behind her, the screen displayed the DF14 login interface. The character roster showed over two dozen maxed-out accounts, all equipped with event-exclusive legendary gear that was long out of print. Any single character could buy a house in the upper district of Starry Night City.

“Hiss… cough cough… talked too much, my throat hurts… tea, tea, tea…”

The girl turned off the computer screen, rubbing her tangled hair, muttering to herself. She rummaged through a mountain of junk, finding a teacup and a cheap tea bag, then scratched her stomach as she went to boil water.

It was a very spacious room, yet it appeared incredibly cramped due to the sheer volume of clutter. Trash bags, mice, keyboards, game controllers, daily necessities, and bundles of magazines were strewn everywhere, leaving almost no room to step.

She carefully navigated her small feet through the debris, turned on the induction cooker, and started boiling water. Only then did she finally feel as though she had returned to the ‘real world.’

“Stream at nine tonight… need to set up fifteen minutes early… Haaah… such a hassle…”

She sighed deeply, searching through the floor full of clutter (trash) but failing to find a hair tie. So, she casually grabbed a Type-C data cable and used it to tie up her hair, which had grown so long it trailed on the floor from lack of trimming.

Her hair was quite unique: the ‘outer’ side was raven black, while the ‘inner’ side emitted a soft, glowing blue light.

She opened her phone to check her live stream earnings for the afternoon… Hmm, a pile of Super Chats, a pile of donations, a pile of planes, a pile of rockets. She had long grown numb to these things.

‘…A bunch of idiots.’

‘These ridiculous viewers, with all that money, what else couldn’t they do? Yet they insist on giving it to a stranger on the other side of a screen. They don’t even consider what if that cute avatar hides an old man using a voice changer?… Well, that’s just how people living under this system are. Ultra-rich profligates who squander money without a care only exist in people’s imaginations. The wealthier someone is, the more they cherish their money. It’s the common folk with a bit of spare cash who impulsively splurge, willingly falling into the trap of consumerism.’

She muttered to herself as she washed her face, then unfolded her folding bed. Without even taking off her clothes, she climbed straight in. Tonight’s stream was sure to be exhausting, so she needed to rest and recharge now.

[Yah ha, Cyan? Are you going to sleep already?]

However, a vibrant young girl’s voice suddenly emanated from the speaker on the wall beside her bed, instantly jolting the drowsy girl awake.

“What now, Chomi…”

[Lunch, lunch! You haven’t eaten lunch yet, have you? I’m really worried about your health, you know!]

The 16K giant display, which occupied an entire wall, automatically turned on. On the screen appeared a beautifully modeled pink-haired paper-thin girl—the virtual avatar used by Bailian Chomi, also known as her ‘skin.’

What was astonishing was that the real person—the girl named Cyan—was neither streaming nor using motion capture equipment, yet the avatar moved on its own and even spoke. Furthermore, its voice, apart from the intonation, was identical to the girl’s.

“I’m not hungry, and I don’t have an appetite…”

[That won’t do! I’ll order takeout for you. The usual, a small pizza?]

“You don’t need to worry about it. I… ugh, I’ll go out and buy something myself. Don’t keep ordering takeout.”

[Ehhhhh!?!?]

Chomi gasped, covering her face as if she had just heard some earth-shattering news.

[Go out and buy something? You? You’re going to personally go out to buy lunch?]

“Do you have a problem with that…?”

[Don’t push yourself, okay? Forcing yourself is worse than not eating!]

“Don’t underestimate me… even I… can make progress…”

The girl spoke as she put on her clothes. On top, she wore a fleece-lined flannel shirt with a distinctly programmer vibe, and on the bottom, faded, thick jeans. Both were oversized, making her look comical in her petite frame. But it didn’t matter; after all, people only loved the virtual idol named Bailian Chomi. No one cared about her true self.

“Well then, I’m heading out—”

The girl took a deep breath and pushed open the door to her luxurious apartment.

Before her lay a wide, futuristic hallway, illuminated by cool-toned lights.

Through the hallway windows, she could see the streetscape of Starry Night City’s upper district.

“…………”

Her small feet, clad in cotton slippers, carefully stepped over the threshold and landed on the cold corridor.

In that instant, a strange wave of nausea surged into her throat.

She swallowed hard, desperately, then moved her other foot out. She walked a few shaky steps, her breathing growing heavier with each one.

‘Cyan, the outside world is dangerous.’

‘Only home is safe.’

‘So, don’t leave.’

The man’s voice involuntarily echoed in her mind. She violently shook her head to cast it away and kept walking, walking, walking. The elevator was only fifteen meters away, just a few steps—

“Hiss… ha… hiss… hoo…”

Her breathing grew increasingly ragged. The cool air felt like sticky syrup, her feet seemed to tread on ice, and her vision distorted. The four walls pressed in, making it hard to breathe. Her head spun; it was so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable, so uncomfortable—

“………………Ugh!”

When she came to, she was back home, gasping for air, collapsed beside the shoe rack. The instant food she had eaten last night surged as a torrent of acid towards her throat. She desperately covered her mouth, trying to suppress the urge to vomit.

[I told you not to push yourself, but you never listen.]

Chomi on the big screen shook her head. The girl gave her a resentful look, but in the end, said nothing.

The outside world was dangerous, terrifying.

Only here was safe.

Only here was happiness.

That was enough.

But…

[I’ve already ordered a pizza for you. Extra cheese, no olives or mushrooms, right?]

“Mm… Thanks…………”

This indescribable sense of unease had never vanished since she moved into this apartment.