As the System's countdown hit zero on its final second, the massive illusory clock hanging over Arc City shattered into a sky full of golden fragments.
The ten-day closed beta of [Ordinal Scale] had finally come to an end.
A few minutes later, the official website of miHoYo Studio and the front pages of every major gaming forum simultaneously refreshed to display a dazzling 'Beta Final Rankings and Points Leaderboard.'
At the very top of that list, there was no suspense at all.
The name [Tofu Puff] sat firmly on the throne of first place, with a lead so terrifying it left everyone else in the dust.
Behind those rows of glittering numbers lay absolute ownership of a luxury full-floor penthouse worth ten million yuan, right in the heart of the city.
The next moment, the entire gaming forum, every livestream platform, fleet chat groups, beta test groups, and every social platform full of onlookers all exploded at once.
"Holy crap!!! Ten million?! The old scammer's actually serious?!"
"This isn't even handing out a prize anymore, this is straight-up shoving a deed down our throats!"
"Did miHoYo strike oil under their headquarters or something? Throwing money around like this!"
"Seriously, how many monsters did Tofu Puff even slaughter these past ten days? When she's not streaming at night, is she sneaking into the server room and hacking apart the System's motherboard with a knife?!"
"Chill out up there, she's got school during the day too, plus her exam prep workbooks to grind through."
"Damn! That's even more terrifying! Doing exam papers by day, slaughtering Chariot-class Honkai Beasts by night, and casually walking off with the server's #1 property deed on top of it? What kind of modern-day grind demon is this, Arc City edition?!"
In that moment, the fleet chat of the [Tofu Puff Fan Support Club] was going off like New Year's Eve.
"Sis Rin is a beast!!! Godslayer!"
"First place! We're number one! We just slapped the faces of all those so-called top fleets swollen, hahaha!"
"Bros, drop those tears in the public chat! Ten days of anti-hair-loss shampoo money, well spent! Long live grinding till you drop!"
Everyone's face burned red as they spammed the screen, celebrating this miraculous victory.
"I called it! Right at launch, I called it! I knew we'd absolutely take the top spot!"
"Guild Leader, stop screaming in the voice channel, my eardrums are about to burst!"
"If they burst, that's a work injury! I'm filing a medical claim with the fleet!"
"Who's got a screenshot? Quick, quick, grab me one with my ID on the #1 screen, I need to flex on my social feed!"
"Posting to your feed is small-time, I already dropped the screenshot into my family group chat. My third aunt just sent a voice message asking if I got picked for the national esports team to prep for the Olympics!"
"Your third aunt's got good taste. Where's Sis Rin? Come on, top-ranked boss, say a few words! Tonight you've got to treat the whole fleet to bubble tea, no question!"
The channel descended into chaos — laughter, howling, and the sound of fists pounding on desks all piled on top of each other.
But what really left everyone's jaws on the floor — more than the #1 rank or the ten-million penthouse — happened in the next five minutes.
Because the very person whose name had just filled an entire page with "Sis Rin is a beast," silently opened a private chat with official customer service and sent a short request.
"I'd like to convert the property reward into cash."
The support agent on the other end was clearly caught off guard.
Even the "the other party is typing" indicator above the text box stopped and restarted several times before anything came through.
"Hello, please confirm: you wish to convert the penthouse reward into a cash prize pool of ten million RMB, per the terms of the contract?"
"Yes."
"Please confirm this is your final decision. Once converted, the physical property reward cannot be restored..."
"Confirmed."
The moment the message went out, the entire fleet channel fell silent as if someone had hit mute with a remote.
"Huh?????"
"Wait wait wait wait wait, cash out?!"
"Wait, why?! Sis Rin, did your finger slip?!"
"It's a house! A house in the heart of Arc City! You could trade it for multiple school-district apartments!"
"Someone splash water in my face and wake me up, am I hallucinating from an all-nighter?"
"Sis Rin! Stop! Don't hit confirm!"
Carole's private message popped up first, her typing speed fast enough to set the keyboard on fire.
"Are you serious?! If you're worried about the hassle of dealing with the property or paying taxes on it, the fleet will pitch in and hire an agent to handle it for you! Don't just impulsively cash out everything!"
On the other end of the screen, Rin sat in her chair, looking at the stream of messages. Her fingers hovered over the screen for a long moment before she slowly began to type.
[Tofu Puff]: Everyone, quiet down for a second. Check the announcement.
[Tofu Puff]: About the penthouse. I've already contacted official support. I don't intend to keep the apartment. I've applied to convert it into a ten-million cash pool.
The group fell dead silent for three seconds, then a screenful of question marks flooded in.
[Tofu Puff]: These past ten days, I was sitting in a classroom during the day. I had no time to log on. It was everyone in the fleet, working tirelessly day and night, grinding my AFK account for exp and materials.
[Tofu Puff]: Without all of you filling in the gaps in my level and resources during the day, I wouldn't have had the confidence to challenge high-difficulty dungeons at night.
[Tofu Puff]: I need this money badly. But I know this #1 rank was never mine alone.
[Tofu Puff]: Carole, I've already transferred the money into the fleet's official account. Take over the permissions and distribute all of it according to everyone's contribution over these ten days!
The moment this message dropped, the entire fleet chat completely exploded.
Ten million! A full ten million in cash!
Split among a fleet of just over a hundred people, even accounting for differences in contribution, everyone would still average tens of thousands of yuan each.
For most of the students and ordinary working folks in this group, this was undoubtedly a windfall from the sky — more than enough to live comfortably for a good while without any pressure.
"Sis Rin... are you serious? That's ten whole million!"
Someone sent a trembling voice message in the group, their voice clearly on the verge of tears.
Carole spammed a flood of furious meme stickers in the group: "Rin, are you out of your mind?! This is money that could change your whole life! We helped you grind because you're our banner, it was everyone's own choice — if you give it all away, what are you going to do?!"
Faced with Carole and the members' indignant refusals—
Rin cradled her phone, smiling so wide her eyes curved into crescent moons.
After more than half an hour of back-and-forth in the group—
Rin gave in, letting herself be persuaded to keep three million as a down-payment lump sum.
The remaining seven million, Carole spent the whole night drawing up the ledger and transferring the distributions uniformly.
As transfer after transfer of real cash landed in the members' accounts, nearly everyone in that small hundred-person group teared up in front of their screens.
"Waaah... I've lived twenty years and never seen this many zeroes! Sis Rin, you're my cyber foster father! My second parents!"
"No more words needed! Once open beta drops, my life belongs to Sis Rin!"
"Follow Sis Rin, live the good life! Come open beta, our fan support club will go to hell and back, no questions asked! Anyone who messes with Sis Rin, I'm yanking their ethernet cable!"
Watching the screen fill with fervent oaths, warm waves surged through Rin's heart, again and again.
She knew this three million was enough for her and her sister to live happily in this world.
And all of it, that man had given her.
After the money-splitting assembly wrapped up, night had already fallen deep.
On the streets of Arc City, a wild heavy motorcycle tore through the evening wind.
Helmet on, Carole twisted the throttle while loudly bragging about her feat of glory to Rin, sitting on the back seat, putting on airs like a fox borrowing a tiger's might.
"Oh man! Rin, you have no idea, when I was sending money to everyone one by one just now, that feeling... it was seriously awesome! Throwing money around like dirt, you know? I felt like a queen surveying her domain!"
"And another thing!" Carole rolled her neck. "My mom just called to check up on me! She saw me glued to the screen splitting money and thought I'd gone money-crazy, about to grab your ten million and skip town!"
Rin, sitting in the back, couldn't help but burst out laughing, and called out loudly, "So what did you say?"
"I told her straight!" Carole tilted her chin up, pleased with herself. "I said, have a little more faith in your own daughter! Sure, a few million is tempting enough to make anyone's heart race, but I'm still the number-one fan and support-club president of our great Tofu Puff! I've got to hold up my end, there's no way I'd pull something that shameful!"
"You really said that to Captain Lewis?"
"Of course!" Carole said, righteous as ever. "She even threatened me, said if I acted up, she'd personally drive her patrol car across districts to arrest me! Hilarious, I'm not some legal illiterate — I'm doing legitimate bonus distribution work here, completely legal, reasonable, and compliant! Every single transfer has a backend log screenshot!"
The more she talked, the more excited she got, even her turns carried a smug little rhythm.
Rin listened to Carole's energetic voice, occasionally laughing and chiming in.
The evening wind brushed across her face, scattering the faint shadow that had always lingered between her brows.
While waiting at a red light, Carole snuck a glance at Rin in the back seat through the rearview mirror.
The dim glow of the streetlight fell across Rin's face, and on that fair, delicate face bloomed a brilliance and confidence belonging to a seventeen-year-old girl — something Carole had never seen before.
Carole felt a quiet pang of emotion.
When she'd first met Rin, the girl could smile, could be gentle with people, but that smile had always seemed heavy, as if she carried some worry that might crush her at any moment — the whole of her like a little hedgehog bristling with defensive spines.
But after these mere ten days of [Ordinal Scale], that timid girl who used to flinch even from eye contact was gone.
Now, there was light in Rin's eyes again.
"Anyway, I don't make a habit of prying into other people's secrets."
The light turned green, and Carole twisted the throttle again, her voice drifting back on the evening wind.
"Anyway, seeing you so confident now, Rin — it's really great!"
"Let's keep in touch a lot after this too! Whether it's gaming, hanging out, or anything else, our Tofu Puff Fan Support Club is with you all the way!"
"Yeah! It's a promise!" Rin called back loudly, her smile blooming like a flower.
The motorcycle came to a smooth stop beneath a somewhat aging apartment building.
Rin took off her helmet and handed it to Carole, waving goodbye with a smile, watching Carole vanish down the street amid the roar of the engine.
Rin turned to head upstairs, but her steps suddenly froze.
Not far away, beneath a streetlight flickering on and off, a familiar, tall figure stood quietly.
Long pink hair stirred faintly in the night breeze, and in those gentle eyes was reflected Rin's radiant smile in this moment.
"Sis—!"
Rin's eyes instantly welled up.
She hurried forward and, like a bird finally returning to its nest, threw herself into Sakura's arms with a heart full of joy and pride.
Sakura staggered back half a step from the impact but still caught her steadily.
"Careful," she said, reaching to support her sister's back, lowering her head to look at the head buried against her shoulder.
But the girl in her arms only hugged tighter.
"Sis! We've got money now!" The girl's voice was muffled against her shoulder, its tail rising high, brimming with irrepressible pride. "You'll finally stop having to work so hard and put up with other people's attitudes..."
As she said this, she seemed amused by her own words, and couldn't help nuzzling in a couple more times.
"Hehe, from now on, it's my turn to take care of you!"
Sakura's hand froze in midair.
She looked down at the sister glowing with such vitality in her arms, feeling the vibrant life radiating off of her, and for a moment felt an odd sense of unreality, as if worlds apart from where they'd once been.
These past ten days, she had quietly watched Rin every night, wearing her AR glasses, drenched in sweat in that cramped little room, even muttering "Deflect" and "iaido" in her sleep.
Sakura's fingers gently stroked Rin's long hair.
That man, Su Yu... he really was something.
Sakura sighed silently within her heart.
She never could have imagined that the severe post-traumatic condition that had plagued her sister for so many years — one even therapists had been powerless against — had actually been cured by Su Yu in a mere ten days, through what amounted to a near-outrageous "game boot camp."
That confidence radiating from the depths of her soul was something no amount of concealment could hide.
Su Yu had given Rin not just a weapon to fight her fear, but the courage to face the world head-on.
And yet, the moment she thought of the man who had wrought this entire miracle, Sakura's heart ached with a pain that came from nowhere.
In her mind, unbidden, rose the image of that day — in the arena broadcast live across the entire network—
how the man in black going by the alias "Jiahao" had trampled the dignity of every player on the server underfoot, with an arrogance beyond all bounds.
A deluge of curses, a network-wide bounty on his head, every kind of vicious curse...
Su Yu had successfully cast himself as an irredeemable bastard, a public enemy.
But only the very few who knew the truth understood that it was the last magic trick he would perform for this city, before the apocalypse arrived.
Sakura still remembered clearly the reckless plan Su Yu had laid bare to her before the beta began.
"I'm going to play the ultimate villain — someone who spits in the face of all humanity, someone everyone would gladly curse to the ninth generation."
"Only when they hate me to the bone, only when they'd love nothing more than to kill me just to vent — only then, on the day the apocalypse's iron hooves crush this city, will they flee to other cities in a mad rush, chasing after me for my blood."
It was a scheme both utterly insane and utterly cold-blooded — an open conspiracy laid bare for all to see, yet unstoppable.
He had calculated people's hearts, calculated human nature, even calculated himself into the plan.
He had left all the glory and hope to others, while shouldering the deepest darkness and the scorn of an entire network himself.
The more Sakura knew the truth, the heavier her heart grew.
"Rin."
Sakura pulled her scattered thoughts back, calling softly to the sister in her arms.
"Hm? What is it, Sis?" Rin looked up, puzzled.
"When do you think the open beta will launch?"
Sakura's gaze rested on the sleepless sea of neon lights far off across Arc City, her voice quiet.
"Pretty soon, probably?" Rin thought it over, a spark of anticipation in her eyes. "Everyone was saying during the stream today that given how mature miHoYo's tech looked this time, open beta's likely within the next few months. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"I see."
Sakura seemed to arrive at some resolution.
She looked into Rin's eyes, the corners of her mouth curving into a soft smile. "Rin, once open beta starts, let me join your Tofu Puff Fan Support Club too."
Rin froze completely.
In her memory, her sister had always been a down-to-earth person, even somewhat old-fashioned. She worked from dawn to dusk every day and had never really warmed to something as "virtual and frivolous" as online gaming.
"Sis... are you serious?!"
Rin's eyes widened bit by bit, and she excitedly grabbed Sakura's arm.
"You want to play games with me?! That's amazing! Once open beta drops, I'll help you level up! I'll give you all the best gear!"
Watching her sister, so happy she looked ready to jump in place, a deeper tenderness settled into Sakura's eyes.
But where Rin couldn't see, Sakura's mind was quietly running back through the other half of Su Yu's plan.
That man had once looked her in the eye and laid out the situation with perfect calm.
"To achieve a full evacuation of the player base, hatred aimed at Jiahao alone won't be enough."
"Hatred can drive some people, but only profit and glory can drive the rest. We need multiple approaches working together."
"Sakura, your skills are excellent. Once open beta launches, I need you to establish yourself as a dominant top-tier player."
"You need to spark other players' competitive drive, drawing as many top-tier challengers as possible to come after you."
"By the eve of the apocalypse, you'll need to set up a challenge arena in another, safer city, using massive prize money and gear as bait."
"Only by preparing as thoroughly as possible, setting up as many channels to draw people away as we can, can we minimize the casualties."
It was a task heavy enough to steal the breath from anyone's lungs.
But Sakura hadn't hesitated for even a moment.
That man had already staked everything he had for this city; as someone who knew the truth, there was no way she could stand by and do nothing.
"Sis."
Rin's voice suddenly cut through Sakura's daze.
Sakura snapped back to the present, only to find Rin had already stepped back half a pace.
The girl's playful expression had vanished. She stood ramrod straight, her right hand instinctively resting on the hilt at her hip.
It was a ready stance for drawing a sword.
"What is it?" Sakura asked, looking at her with some surprise.
Rin took a deep breath. She stared straight into Sakura's eyes and asked, one word at a time:
"Starting today, can you... teach me real swordsmanship?"
The night wind swept through the empty street, tugging at the hems of their clothes.
Sakura went completely still.
She looked at the girl before her — the one who used to shake all over just from seeing a fruit knife, the one who would fall into a panic attack at the sight of blood.
And now, here she was, asking on her own to take up a blade.
Strength in a game was, in the end, just a pile of numbers. But right now, Rin was hungering for power in the real world.
Sakura fixed her gaze on the flame burning in her sister's eyes.
She didn't ask why, because the answer was already written in those unyielding eyes.
She wanted to become strong.
Not just so she'd stop being a burden hiding behind her sister, but so that one day, she might truly catch up to that black-clad figure's footsteps, and uncover just what kind of heavy secret that man carried.
"All right."
After a long silence, Sakura smiled, a weight lifting from her.
She stepped forward and took her sister's hand again.
"But before that, let's head home first. I made your favorite fried tofu puffs — if we don't get back soon, the food's going to get cold."
"Yay! Sis's delicious dinner!! I could eat three whole bowls tonight!"
Rin cheered, turning back into her carefree self, hugging Sakura's arm tight.
The dim streetlight stretched the two sisters' shadows long, long across the pavement.
In the quiet night, amid laughter and chatter, they walked slowly toward the place called "home."
The evening breeze was the same as ever, but the hearts of the two sisters had already turned completely upside down.
Each carried her own private resolve.
One silently swore to herself that she would hone her skills with everything she had, to become a pawn on that man's grand chessboard, helping him complete his mad plan to save the world.
The other privately vowed to grow stronger, in both reality and the virtual world, until she earned the right to charge to the very front lines and personally tear off the mask of that insufferable 'Jiahao.'
Clearly, after being baptized by this storm called [Ordinal Scale]—
the hearts of these twin flowers had, hopelessly and beyond saving, become entangled with the man named Su Yu, never again to be untangled.
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