Xie Shuangxue knows he is an NPC in a game. The game "Gods and Demons" has been live for three years and is currently the most popular VR game worldwide. During its third-anniversary celebration, the game company Boundless Sea announced a major update, introducing a new map—Dreamfloat Cloud Realm—while releasing a pre-world quest, "Tome of the Floating Dream," uncovering a past story centered on the tangled love between the Winged Clan's princess and the former Demon Emperor. Xie Shuangxue makes his debut in this new storyline. He isn’t the protagonist—at best, a fourth male lead—a mere plot device with a shallow and lowly backstory. As an orphan adopted by the Winged Clan, his unrequited love for the princess drives him to betrayal and revenge, only to be executed by her, much to the players' delight. Xie Shuangxue: ...I don’t think so. NPCs have their own thoughts too. And so, players grinding the quest for the first time encounter an NPC with unprecedented interactivity. At first, Xie Shuangxue seems nothing more than a pretty shell—gloomy, shallow, and utterly unremarkable. But as the plot unfolds, they learn of his hidden suffering, his unspoken devotion, his struggles, and the countless things he has silently done behind the scenes. This complex Xie Shuangxue ultimately awakens in the final stage of the world quest, smiling as he lifts his sword and slits his own throat. His black hair scatters in the snowstorm, his blood crimson as cinnabar, becoming the key that unlocks the new map. That day, the official "Gods and Demons" account was flooded with enraged players. "Cursed writing, give us A-Xue back!" "SCREW YOU DEVS HOW DARE YOU KILL SHUANGXUE?!" "If Xie Shuangxue really dies, don’t you dare survive either, Boundless Sea :) The utterly roasted dev team: ...Heavens, this was NOT the original plot! The "Gods and Demons" team held an emergency meeting, urgently contacting the CEO of Boundless Sea—rumored to have an in-game account. On the call, the typically composed boss's voice sounded off, gritted yet carrying an indescribable emotion. "He’s not dead." "Everybody’s been fooled."