AEOGA CH83

Present day, inside an apartment building.

Wan Jia had bought a new computer and was livestreaming a game. The timer showed he had been streaming for two hours, but despite playing a game, his hands were completely off the mouse and keyboard.

Because without his input, the game’s plot progressed automatically.

The choice options had vanished, stripping away all room for player operation.

…

When Wan Jia first launched Xiang Jian Huan and opened the Emperor Route, finding that the game time was still in the third year of the Xi Reign had been a pleasant surprise. He had assumed switching devices meant his save file would be gone and he would have to start over, so finding his save intact saved him a lot of time.

However, as he played, Wan Jia noticed something was off.

Why did the Emperor bring the Empress out of the Cold Palace?

Why did the Emperor dismiss all common consorts?

Why does the Emperor stay overnight with the Empress every single day?

Why did the Emperor learn to attend the daily court audiences on his own?

And most importantly…

Where are the choices?!

An RPG meant role-playing where player choices decided the narrative direction. How could an RPG have no choice options while the character possessed a mind of his own?

In its current state, it resembled a visual novel with art and background music—a fixed narrative where the player was reduced to a mere reader, forced to watch the story unfold without being able to influence a single thing.

He simply treated the stream as reading a novel aloud.

On the Xiang Jian Huan forums, outrage had long since exploded.

— [User_A]: I tolerated all those previous bugs, but this time it’s utterly unbearable! Vanishing choice options isn’t just a bug anymore—the entire game has completely broken!

— [User_B]: Not even hiding it anymore, huh? Without choices, the Emperor doesn’t have eyes for anyone except Lu Xuechao. Was this the main plotline the studio set from the start? Lu Xuechao really is the developer’s favorite son. So why does the player roleplay as Lin Chanzhi instead of Lu Xuechao? Is this meant to disgust the players?

— [User_C]: Emperor-Empress CP shippers, rejoice! Official sugar drop! A three-thousand-member harem is all fake; only the Emperor and Empress are real!

— [User_D]: Please fix this ASAP, or else refund our cash-shop money! I’m a Consort Route player—why is Lin Chanzhi still an unranked candidate after an entire year in the palace? Not even a title after a year, is this really how a Consort Route protagonist should be treated? Now the Consort Route and Emperor Route storylines match up completely, making me nothing more than a camera spectator for their romance. Also, using the Voodoo Doll item to curse Lu Xuechao doesn’t even kill him anymore! Even cash-shop items are malfunctioning—is this game dying? If this continues, I’m complaining to the Consumer Protection Bureau!

— [User_E]: I don’t get it. Such a great game with top-tier character designs and art—why ruin a winning hand? I don’t believe any bug could cause choices to disappear while the plot continues on its own. The game developer must be a solo-stan for Lu Xuechao and turned it into a single-line route. Without choices, there’s zero playability, completely destroying its high-freedom selling point.

— [User_F]: Don’t flame me, but I actually think the current plot is quite nice. The Emperor attends court daily, works diligently for the people, dotes exclusively on the Empress, and all state stats are rising—even his Mood stat improved. Without our interference, he can finally love the person he loves. The consorts get along harmoniously without schemes or fights, hosting poetry gatherings, drinking games, and flying flower competitions together. It’s so wholesome!

— [User_G]: To the user above: if you like this plot, play it yourself, but don’t rob those of us who enjoy harem chaos and chaos-loving players of our fun.

— [User_H]: While you all argue, am I the only one swooning over Helian Yu’s design? Every time her character art pops up, I screenshot and admire it. Beautiful big sister, I’m yours! Shame her screentime is so brief, only making fleeting appearances during annual tributes. If only we could recruit her into the harem to admire daily.

— [User_I]: Wake up, this is a Danmei game… Though rumor has it a Female Emperor Harem edition is in development, right? The protagonist seems to be Helian Yu. I’m looking forward to playing the Female Emperor edition—just hope it doesn’t pull bizarre stunts like Xiang Jian Huan.

Inside a certain private indie game studio.

A plain-looking man wearing glasses stared at the overwhelming flood of feedback in his inbox, alongside a tidal wave of online complaints and negative reviews. Bloodshot veins filled his eyes, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

His throat tightened as he asked in panic, “System, have you still not found the cause of the bug?”

The man was named Bao Hui. He was originally an obscure game producer whose creations lacked highlights and drew no players, leaving him at the absolute bottom of the industry.

Until one day, a Game Creation System approached him. The System contained countless exquisitely crafted, original games that had never been released in this world, any of which would become a massive hit once launched. At first, only a single game icon titled Xiang Jian Huan was lit up, while other games remained locked in gray states.

The System told him he could publish the unlocked games under his own name. The more players played and the more positive reviews he gathered, the more Favor Points he would earn. Favor Points could then be used to unlock additional games for release.

Bao Hui had been ecstatic, virtually envisioning a future of fame and fortune. He never questioned who had created the games. Since they didn’t exist in his world, obtaining such a get-rich-quick opportunity made him feel like a chosen child of destiny.

As expected, once Xiang Jian Huan was published, it received widespread acclaim, causing Favor Points to skyrocket and quickly unlocking the second game, Feng Qi Wu—the Female Emperor Harem edition.

Feng Qi Wu shared the same world background as Xiang Jian Huan, merely set in a different kingdom with certain cross-over elements. Players obviously couldn’t roleplay an Empress Regnant nearing sixty, so the female protagonist of Feng Qi Wu was the young Helian Yu.

Xie Chongjin had been the sole heir to Changli’s royal line, making his ascension logical. To ensure his early succession, the System had written off the previous emperor when Xie Chongjin was eighteen.

Xifeng’s national situation differed, marked by fierce internal struggles. Helian Yu was also the older sister of Helian Xi in Xiang Jian Huan. Had she ascended at eighteen, her intense brother-protecting nature would never have allowed Helian Xi to be sent to Changli for a political marriage.

The System had forced Helian Xi into the Changli marriage alliance specifically to push Helian Yu—unable to protect her young brother—into complete dark-siding, leading her to slay her sister, imprison her mother, and ascend at twenty-six. Helian Yu’s temperament was far more ruthless and cold-blooded than Xie Chongjin’s. While Xie Chongjin’s initial trait was a benevolent, forgiving monarch, Helian Yu was a vindictive tyrant. Better than her mother, she prioritized national interests and avoided senseless slaughter, yet held an iron fist in politics, acting ruthlessly against enemies who threatened Xifeng or her loved ones.

Helian Yu’s brief appearances in Xiang Jian Huan had garnered immense popularity, leading many players to eagerly anticipate Feng Qi Wu‘s early launch. Bao Hui had intended to strike while the iron was hot, but Xiang Jian Huan suddenly encountered severe issues.

Xiang Jian Huan had always contained bugs—such as the Emperor’s perpetually miserable Mood stat, or the non-functional Pregnancy Pills that resulted in no consorts conceiving. Players assumed official functionality wasn’t implemented yet, but in reality, even Bao Hui didn’t know what was happening.

Those were minor; later, loopholes grew larger and more frequent. Nine times out of ten, the Emperor flipped the Empress’s tag, displaying extreme favoritism toward the Empress while completely ignoring the Consort Route protagonist. Players stormed the studio over this, cursing the developers to high heaven. Bao Hui wanted to cry without tears—he truly hadn’t secretly tampered with the bedtime selection probabilities!

Then Lu Xuechao went on a rampage—either tripping up Consort Route players to trigger Game Over screens, or assassinating the Emperor to send Emperor Route players packing. Aside from cash-shop curses or Cold Palace executions, players were helpless against him. Such a game-balance-breaking existence brought another wave of severe backlash.

Now, to top it off, game choices had vanished entirely, prompting players to tear the official channels apart.

No matter how great a game was, it couldn’t survive being ruined repeatedly. Xiang Jian Huan‘s popularity plunged rapidly, its ratings falling off a cliff. Bao Hui paced anxiously, asking the System what was going on. The game was provided by the System; aside from publishing it, he hadn’t touched anything.

The System, however, gave him no answer.

How could the System reveal that these so-called game worlds were actual real planes in another dimension? The controlled game protagonists were the Children of Fortune of those worlds, and the named side characters similarly possessed formidable luck.

These individuals carried the world-sustaining fortune.

Fortune was a potent nourishment for that Lord, but because Children of Fortune possessed exceptionally resilient mental wills, even that Lord could not plunder it directly. By using the collective power of common mortals to manipulate and torment the Children of Fortune until their minds collapsed and their souls suffered, the Lord could absorb their fortune at the cost of their soul dissipation. When all Children of Fortune in a world perished in soul, that world would meet complete destruction.

Unexpectedly… the very first world hit a massive wall.

Xie Chongjin’s mental fortitude was inexplicably unyielding, enduring for so long without breaking down. Lu Xuechao was terrifyingly intelligent, joining forces with Xie Chongjin to create endless loopholes, disrupt game operations, and enable side characters to shine in their respective positions, thereby safeguarding everyone’s fortune.

The entire Game Creation System was merely a tool for that Lord to plunder fortune, and these two had derailed the Lord’s master plan.

The System spoke: “My recommendation is to abandon Xiang Jian Huan and publish Feng Qi Wu.”

Xie Chongjin was too tough a nut to crack; there was no need to remain hung up on him when they could target Helian Yu instead.

If Feng Qi Wu wasn’t published soon, Xie Chongjin and Lu Xuechao might produce even larger game exploits. Should player Favor Points drop to rock bottom, making it impossible to unlock the next game, even Feng Qi Wu would be locked away again.

“So, Your Majesty seeks an alliance with me not because of Yelang, but because of these mastermind manipulators?” Helian Yu put down the Heavenly Book, her expression grim.

Xie Chongjin nodded: “Precisely.”

If Helian Yu were merely Xifeng’s Seventh Imperial Daughter and future Empress Regnant, then given Changli’s rapid economic growth and gunpowder development in this life, an alliance would not have been strictly necessary.

Yet their true enemy had never been just Yelang.

After returning to the palace last night, Xie Chongjin and Lu Xuechao discovered that the contents of the Heavenly Book had updated.

Players complained about losing game options, growing increasingly dissatisfied with the game, and uninstalling it in massive numbers.

To Xie Chongjin and Lu Xuechao, this was wonderful news.

At the same time, they noticed specific discussions—several players were strongly calling for the Female Emperor Harem edition.

— GB is so good! When is the Female Emperor version going live? A beauty like Helian Yu deserves three thousand handsome men to serve her!

— Let Feng Qi Wu finish testing before launch; don’t release a game built on bugs like Xiang Jian Huan.

— Is there an incest route? Every tribute visit, Sister cares so much about Helian Xi. She even wanted to bring her brother back after becoming Empress Regnant. I ship it!

Xie Chongjin: “…”

They had long suspected that if Xie Chongjin could be controlled, could rulers of other nations be controlled as well? The Heavenly Book’s latest updates completely confirmed their suspicions.

Having suffered immensely from being manipulated, they could not allow Helian Yu to follow in their footsteps. Thus, they sought to warn her, even revealing the secret of the game’s Heavenly Book.

Before the mastermind behind the scenes, they and Helian Yu stood as one. That entity was infiltrating their world for unknown motives, and to safeguard this world, they needed Helian Yu to prepare early.

This was the true matter at hand.

Helian Yu’s initial reaction was natural disbelief. Without experiencing it firsthand, who would believe their world was merely a game where one could be controlled at any moment? Games, past lives, players—it sounded more like Changli fabricating mysterious claims to deceive her for some hidden motive.

Xie Chongjin was in no rush: “The Seventh Imperial Daughter knows full well how tragic Changli was from Year 1 to Year 3 of my reign. It was not Yelang’s Gu poison, but the doing of this mastermind.”

Helian Yu grew half-doubting. Changli’s Emperor was young and capable, yet became muddled and foolish upon ascension, only to turn wise and benevolent now—anyone would suspect sorcery or possession. Having spent time in Changli, she could see how deeply the Emperor loved the Empress, and Helian Xi confirmed the Emperor touched no one else; yet with such devotion, why would he send the Empress to the Cold Palace for three years while taking so many consorts?

Yelang’s Gu poisons were formidable, but never heard to be powerful enough to control minds to this extent. If Yelang possessed such power, why hadn’t they poisoned the rulers of all three nations to unify the world effortlessly instead of waiting around?

Attributing it to an otherworldly mastermind actually offered a plausible explanation, even if it sounded absurdly hard to believe.

Noticing Helian Yu’s lingering hesitation, Lu Xuechao dropped a subtle yet heavy remark: “I hear the Seventh Imperial Daughter has a primary consort whom she deeply loves.”

He lowered his eyes and sighed softly: “Surely the Seventh Imperial Daughter would not wish him to end up like me—left alone in a Cold Palace, watching new favorites smile while old ones weep.”

Helian Yu’s expression changed instantly.

Helian Yu was fiercely protective of her own. Normally wise and calculated, the moment the safety of her loved ones was touched, her composure vanished, making her believe the most absurd claims and execute the most drastic actions without regard for consequences.

Whether it was slaying her sister and imprisoning her mother in her past life just to gain the power to bring Helian Xi home, or seeking revenge for Helian Xi’s death by fueling Changli’s war against Yelang despite Xifeng’s own peril, or even attacking Qin Yulong inside Changli’s palace earlier today to vent anger for her brother—if anyone harmed those she cared about, she was capable of anything.

It was both her greatest strength and her personality flaw. And flaws could be exploited.

Lu Xuechao had clearly seized upon this.

How could she ever let her husband suffer such humiliation? She would not permit even a fraction of a chance.

She asked, “What do I need to do?”

“I have lacked freedom ever since I ascended at eighteen,” Xie Chongjin said. “In the previous timeline, you ascended at twenty-six.”

He offered a pointed hint: “If you were to ascend at twenty, would the game be altered right from the start?”

Helian Yu lowered her gaze, contemplating for a moment.

She spoke calmly: “I will find a way to have my Imperial Mother and sisters die immediately.”