Great, we're doomed now!

Yumiko suddenly realized something: "That's right, the players who came with me... does that mean I'm the only one who can be saved?"

"No, I will rescue everyone and bring this absurd world to its senses..."

Ye Shou paused for a moment, then changed the subject: "Do you know how to beat the game? Or do you know the whereabouts of Kayaba Akihiko and Heathcliff?"

"Clearing the game... I don't understand. Whether it's the Demon King or the Evil God, we've defeated many enemies, but without exception, we just keep entering new worlds. It seems like we can't trigger the 'clearing the game' condition no matter what we do."

So as time went on, many people, including myself, gave up. The better ones chose to integrate into the other world and live with the locals, while the worse ones became numb and even self-destructive..."

Yumiko hesitated for a moment. In fact, a lot had happened in the past twenty years, far more than could be explained in a few words.

For example, some people marry local residents, find jobs, and buy houses. They have no ties in reality, but live happily in another world—but once a player kills the "Demon King," they will all be transported to another world.

Everything built up before was just a castle in the air... Some people have attacked the "strategy team" because of this, but everyone can be resurrected, so the goal is simply to inflict as much pain on them as possible...

— She was reluctant to tell Ye Shou about these things.

She thought for a moment and then said, "But there are also people who have never become numb or given up, and have been pushing the plot forward... He is a veteran gamer who realized the problems of this world a long time ago, and has been searching for the mastermind behind it all these years. Maybe he knows 'Kayaba Akihiko'?"

"Oh?"

Ye Shou's eyes lit up: "Where is he?"

“I do have his contact information, but… although he’s not a bad person, his mental state is a bit unstable.”

Yumiko scratched her head. She felt she wasn't qualified to say that, but objectively she felt the other person was more "abnormal" than herself, so she had to inform Ye Shou in advance.

If something were to happen to the eldest son of the Jiu family here... she would be in big trouble!

"How unstable can it be?" Ye Shou laughed. He had just witnessed the crazed female warrior; could there be another one—

[I will destroy you on behalf of the world!]

For the world!

[The world is the best!]

It's no use, as long as the world is with me, that's enough!

The world loves me, and I love the world!

"..."

After listening to a segment of the recording, Yumiko put away the communication crystal, while Ye Shou fell silent.

"Is 'world'... a person's name?"

"I don't know, but he always talks about the 'world,' so we call him 'the world's partner.'"

"The voice is a bit muffled, it's hard to hear clearly."

"His accent has always been quite strong."

"name?"

"This guy likes to use aliases; he's a veteran player. But having been here for twenty years, his real name was exposed long ago."

Yumiko cleared her throat: "Shimazaki Yosuke."

"..."

Hey!

My uncle has returned from another world!

Ye Shou's eyes widened: "Wait, did he shout 'sekai' or 'sega'?!"

Have you forgotten?

Lucy's voice rang out at an inopportune moment:

[The "Power Platform" acquired a game company called "Sega," which later became our subsidiary, "Sega World Electronics Co., Ltd.", or "World" for short.]

what?

Sega has been acquired by Kuse? When did that happen?

How come I didn't know?

Interlude: Sword Art Online: Daughter of the Mirage: Chapter 412: There's Nothing I Can Do,jpg (4K)

Inside the Adventurers' Guild, a blonde, blue-eyed, and well-built saleswoman was tallying something when a figure appeared at the door. The previously noisy guild instantly fell silent. The saleswoman, sensing something, looked up and immediately smiled.

A male adventurer entered through the door, dressed in cloth armor and wearing a red scarf, lightly armed and not particularly imposing. He had medium-length hair, appeared to be around forty years old, and had a cold and rather haggard expression. Notably, he wore a pair of glasses that were rather rare in this world.

Image: "Yosuke Shimazaki", Location: "Images/1773165745-100440955-114561591.jpg"

"here we go again……"

"Who is this? Is he famous?"

"This is your first time seeing it? This is the 'Monster Killer Machine'."

"Monster Killer?! Is he a real person? I thought it was just something made up by a bard... It must be a lie. I heard that he will challenge any high-risk target regardless of the reward."

"You wouldn't guess, would you? Indeed, you would never guess from his appearance that he is such an important person."

...Ignoring the gazes and whispers of those around him, the man walked straight to the counter with a stiff face, waved his hand to open the task panel, a burst of particle light effects flashed, and a bloodstained knife fell from the air, landing on the counter with a crisp sound, with faint black mist still swirling around it.

"I'm here to hand in my mission."

"Yes!"

The older sister was clearly startled and instinctively stepped back. She didn't dare to approach the small knife and quickly notified the guild's seal master to take it away before she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright... The SSS-rank quest 'Blood of the King' is complete. This clears all epic difficulty quests for you. The reward is—"

"A new task for me."

The man's voice was devoid of emotion, and he didn't soften even when facing the very attractive receptionist, while the female clerk looked troubled.

"The remaining ones are 'national missions,' which are not something a single adventurer can undertake. I don't have the authority to take them on..."

"I'll find a team to join. Give me the intelligence first."

The man seemed quite experienced. He took out a piece of parchment and handed it to the older woman. The family crest on it made her gasp. Then, he quickly skipped the formalities and directly took out the information he wanted.

—Yosuke Shimazaki was not surprised at all and turned to leave.

The people in the Adventurers' Guild were used to him, and no one tried to talk to him. Although he was a renowned strongman, no one felt they had the ability to recruit him.

Because he was challenging terrifying beings that ordinary people could not reach, and adventurers who lack self-awareness do not live long.

This lone wolf just keeps accepting missions, turning in missions, gathering intelligence, and accepting more missions... He doesn't even care about the rewards; he's practically a machine designed to clear out high-difficulty trials.

The number of liches, dragons, and alien races who died at his hands was so great that a long list could be compiled!

Generally, the union would bestow a respectable title upon such a person, but no one knew his personality, preferences, or aesthetics; they only knew his profession and name on his identity card.

...so it can only be called "Monster Killer".

At first, some people approached him out of curiosity, but they quickly gave up—this man was basically a nobody and probably wouldn't open up to anyone.

His mysterious background, formidable strength, and aloof personality earned him both respect and deep fear. As a result, apart from the receptionist who frequently interacted with him and knew that he was outwardly cold but inwardly warm, everyone else kept their distance from Yosuke Shimazaki.

Little did they know, Yosuke himself was actually quite helpless.

Upon arriving at his hotel room, he first analyzed the newly acquired intelligence, then took off his equipment and lay down on the bed wearing only a cloth robe.

"It's about time to challenge the top of the tower... Heathcliff, this is the only clue we can find right now."

This name can be heard in every other world, so he should be a player too, but no one has ever seen him... But if he's a 'local,' the probability is too low.

It's rare to find one of his 'footprints'. Since he once went to the top floor, we might be able to find relevant clues there.

However, before that, we still need to collect all the legendary items in this world. Based on the experience of the previous worlds, without the special attack effect of the exclusive items, it is impossible to get past the top-level monsters.

The strategy team... never mind, I'll just do it myself, like before.

Initially, in order to "find the truth of the world" and return to their homeland as soon as possible, some players with gaming experience or outstanding talent stepped forward to actively participate in the exploration of the other world, and were called the "strategy team". Other players were responsible for providing information and support.

But this world is not a simple game. Everything is too real. There is no pain reduction or emergency internet disconnection. They have to experience real life-and-death struggles. No matter how terrible the things they encounter, they cannot escape and must persevere to the end.

At first, things were fine, since there was a resurrection mechanism, which gave everyone a sense of security and made them much more composed when facing danger.

However, as time went on, more and more people developed PTSD, and the team became extremely divided... Now, Yosuke is probably the only one who can remain normal and persevere in his exploration.

(Actually, he's not normal in other people's eyes either.)

Yosuke wasn't aloof at all; he was just a shy, game-obsessed otaku at first. His decision to cut off contact with people wasn't out of contempt, but out of fear.

What if feelings develop?

When they first arrived here, everyone thought it was another world reincarnation. Seeing the panels and other things, they suspected that this was a game. It wasn't until later, when a few people recognized "Kayaba Akihiko's" design style, that they were finally able to confirm it.

Yosuke didn't care. He was a huge fan of Sega and had played countless console games. He had seen all sorts of outrageous backstories, so he was so chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) that he didn't feel anything even when he was trapped in the game world.

Of course, you have to get out early, since you can't play Sega games here... no, it's so your family won't be sad.

After getting to know the people here, Yosuke felt that staying longer wasn't a bad idea. Why? Because the residents, known as "NPCs," were all kind and friendly. Even though Yosuke was introverted and withdrawn, he could feel their heartfelt concern.

To put it somewhat inappropriately:

She is gentler than people in "real life".

In his first alternate world, he met many people and formed numerous bonds. His mission to defeat the Demon King was not only to return home, but also to make the game world they inhabited a better place.

But later...

Through repeated "time travels," Yosuke experienced countless partings, and gradually became afraid to get close to people.

Meanwhile, his fellow time travelers also fell apart due to despair, and even became indifferent to life and death. They not only did not cherish themselves, but also inflicted violence on the natives... Whenever Yosuke encountered such things, he would choose to stop them, even at the cost of "killing".

However, since everyone can be resurrected, Yosuke can't change anything. One person's power seems so pale and weak in the face of collective depravity.

Moreover, even if the innocent are protected, everything will start all over again the next time you travel through time, making you doubt whether everything you've done has any meaning.

As someone had told him before, he was just a shut-in.

He has poor physical strength, below-average looks, and mediocre grades. He has never had a romantic relationship and doesn't have any close friends. He is an ordinary person, except for knowing everything about Sega. He has no outstanding qualities whatsoever.

For someone like him, failure is the norm; he's incapable of accomplishing anything anyway.

--but!

Knowing that he couldn't be a savior, that he didn't have enough power to change the status quo, or the amazing charm to appease the transmigrators... he could only persist in doing what he could.

That's "games"!