Lying on Kiriya's bed was a beautiful girl.
She rested there quietly, her delicate and ethereal face tinged with a soft flush. Her long eyelashes quivered ever so slightly, and her snow-white neck gleamed like polished jade.
Beneath her pink skirt, her smooth, fair legs had kicked off the blanket and were now completely exposed.
As he looked at her almost otherworldly face, Kiriya couldn't help but swallow hard.
She was—without a doubt—a breathtaking beauty.
"Miss… can you hear me?" he said softly.
He gently nudged her arm, but there was no response. Letting out a quiet sigh, he turned to leave—only to be caught off guard.
The girl suddenly woke, lunged forward, and clung tightly to his neck, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Why would you do this to me…? Why would you treat me like this…?"
Her voice was filled with grief and desperation. Warm tears quickly soaked through his shirt. Kiriya froze, clearly flustered, but his arms instinctively moved around her back, holding her.
Her scent enveloped him—a soft, sweet fragrance that lingered thickly in the air, intoxicating and almost dreamlike.
She trembled as she cried, her small shoulders shaking, her delicate, curvy figure pressed tightly against him.
Kiriya had never thought of himself as someone favored by fate.
And yet, the first time he saw her, something inside him stopped—just for a moment.
She was, without a doubt, the most dazzling girl he had ever seen in his twenty years. Beautiful, radiant… so radiant that he didn't know how to react.
In that fleeting moment, logic told him that this kind of scene only existed in scripted game events.
But somewhere deep in his heart, a nearly laughable thought took shape:
Could this be fate playing a rare joke on him? Or maybe… a long-delayed reward?
He lowered his head slightly, trying to hide his sudden, frantic heartbeat.
…No. He had to stay calm.
But reality, it seemed, had no interest in his imagination.
The next moment, the girl suddenly pushed him away, still crying, and looked up at him with teary eyes as she whispered:
"…I'm hungry."
Kiriya was speechless for a moment.
Was she… crying because she was hungry?
He stood up, intending to check on her, but to his surprise, the girl also stood up. The moment she saw his face, she froze—then let out a sharp scream.
"Thud!"
A keyboard flew straight at his forehead, smacking him squarely before he could react.
And before he even understood what was happening, he was shoved out of the room.
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind him and locked.
Kiriya stood in the hallway, stunned.
"Wait a second… isn't this my house?"
He stared at the door for a moment in silence before knocking gently.
"Miss? Come on, let me in. You can't just kick me out like that!"
No response. Not a single sound from inside.
With no other choice, Kiriya made his way to the balcony and peered through the glass—
and froze.
There she was, wrapped in his blanket, already sound asleep. Her delicate features looked peaceful and serene, like a sleeping beauty from a dream.
He slumped down on the floor with a long sigh.
What the hell is even going on?
His eyes drifted around the room, and suddenly landed on a couple of items left on the living room floor. Things the girl must have brought with her.
One was a half-empty bottle of wine.
The other was a round, lumpy bag. He couldn't tell what was inside.
Curiosity got the better of him. He reached over, opened it, and the moment he saw what was inside, his eyes widened.
It was a Mind Gear.
Even more shocking—printed clearly on its surface were the letters: EAO.
Kiriya's heart skipped a beat.
It was the official Mind Gear for [Eternal Art Online].
Half a year ago, the entire gaming world had been swept up in a promotional storm.
The global gaming giant Arkina Group, creators of the legendary [Mirage Realm], had returned after a decade of silence. They had poured ten years into developing a new game—one that was already being hailed by players worldwide as "the irreplaceable next generation."
Its name was—
[Eternal Art Online]
According to rumors, Eternal Art Online—EAO—utilized a groundbreaking neural-link technology that could fully stimulate every sensory receptor in the human body, allowing players to experience a true 100% immersive reality.
But that wasn't all. [EAO] also boasted some of the best narrative design in the industry, paired with a deeply emotional and dynamic equipment system that had already captured the imaginations of players worldwide.
And—just rumors, of course—it was said that the game featured a wide variety of highly realistic, intelligent NPC beauties, each with unique personalities and appearances, waiting to be encountered, befriended… or even claimed.
So when the previous generation of VRMMORPGs began to fade, the attention of the entire gaming world naturally shifted to [EAO].
Countless professional teams had already liquidated their old in-game assets and were gearing up for a fresh start, ready to make history in this new world.
And today… was the day before [EAO] official release.
For gamers around the globe, it was nothing short of a monumental occasion.
But at this very moment, Kiriya couldn't bring himself to share in that excitement.
Instead, his thoughts were fixated on a far more confusing matter:
Who exactly was the girl sleeping in his room?
…Right. He hadn't explained how she ended up there yet.
That had happened just a few minutes earlier.
At some point, a brand-new white BMW had pulled up quietly outside the building.
Kiriya hadn't paid it much attention. He had been too focused on reading up on the game.
But then, not long after, he heard a few sleazy laughs drifting up from downstairs.
He walked over to the window, looked down, and saw several shady-looking thugs crowding around the BMW, snickering and muttering to each other in hushed tones.
He barely caught their voices from above:
"Wait, it's a girl inside?"
"Should we take the car and the girl?"
"Heh, she's got a nice face. Bet she'd scream real pretty…"
A chill ran down Kiriya's spine.
Kiriya's expression darkened.
He recognized those scumbags. They'd been taken in by the cops not too long ago—how the hell were they back so soon?
And the girl inside the car… was she in danger?
If he did nothing now, something was going to happen.
Without a second thought, Kiriya raced out of his apartment and bolted down the stairs.
The thugs noticed him immediately, and one of them sneered, "Well, well, look who's here. You here to play hero?"
Disgust welled up in Kiriya's chest, but he didn't bother replying.
He pushed past them without hesitation, walked straight up to the car, and grabbed the door handle.
Click.
To his surprise—
It opened.
A strong scent of alcohol hit Kiriya as soon as he opened the car door. But beneath the heavy smell of wine, there was also a faint, delicate fragrance—one unmistakably feminine.
He looked down and was instantly stunned.
In the driver's seat lay a beautiful young woman.
She was reclining against the seatback, her pale skin glowing softly in the dim light. Her exquisite features were breathtaking, almost ethereal. Her long, graceful neck only added to her fragile beauty.
She appeared to be around twenty years old.
In one hand, she held a bottle of expensive wine—one Kiriya had seen countless times in stores but never dared to buy for himself. Her other hand gripped a tote bag that bulged with something round inside.
At that moment, the group of thugs standing nearby caught sight of the girl through the window. They collectively gasped in shock at her stunning beauty.
One of them immediately shouted, "Hey, what do you think you're doing? We saw her first!"
Kiriya turned to face them, his voice cold and steady: "Step aside. She's my girlfriend."
The thug sneered, "Yeah, right. If you really had a girlfriend driving a BMW, why would you still be living in a place like this? Let her go—or we call the cops!"
Kiriya smiled wryly. "Calling the cops? Sure. Go ahead. Let me help you with that."
He reached inside the car and grabbed a pink smartphone—most likely hers.
The thugs hesitated. One growled, "Fine. You say she's your girlfriend? Then prove it. Take her upstairs, now."
Kiriya hesitated for a moment.
Damn, I've gotten myself stuck.
Seeing the thugs unwilling to back down, he clenched his teeth, wrapped his arm gently around the girl's waist, and lifted her from the car.
She smelled strongly of alcohol but only let out a soft murmur, leaning against his shoulder like a sleepy kitten.
"Click."
He pulled the car key, closed the door, and locked it with the remote.
Supporting her carefully, he carried her back upstairs.
Behind him, the thugs stood in stunned silence, whispering among themselves, "No way… is that really his girlfriend?"
Kiriya stumbled slightly as he reached his door, opened it, and laid the girl gently on his bed.
And just like that—
There was now a beautiful, unbelievably stunning girl sleeping in his room.