Behind Byte, across the sea, was a building familiar to anyone who had seen 'bungo stray dogs': the Port Mafia's distinctive five black towers, and the Ferris wheel near them.
This was a scene often appearing in the anime's opening and ending credits.
"Are you telling me this level of detail is for a fan-made game?"
"This is what a true Dazai fan should do."
"If you love Dazai, make him a Virtual game."
"I've dreamt of transmigrating for years, and now it's coming true!"
After recognizing where Byte was, the audience frantically flooded the screen with comments, venting their excitement.
This game scene, so real it was indistinguishable from reality, was already enough to surprise them.
"So, no more getting hit by trucks when transmigrating, just open a Virtual game, right?"
"Alright, I have material for my dreams tonight."
"This is the login page; these scenes in the background are fixed."
Even before the stream started, when Byte first entered the game, he was so shocked by the scenery, which felt like he had transmigrated, that his breathing quickened.
He then bounced around the login page, testing the flexibility of his limbs and muscles, and it took him a long time to calm his heart, which felt like it was about to leap out of his chest.
This was a Virtual game! Not a VR game that only tricked the eyes, but a truly Virtual, transmigratory Virtual game!
Although his heart was already wildly anticipating officially entering the game, Byte patiently shared his experiences with the audience.
"Right now, I can't interact with the scenes in the game.
Once I complete the pre-game settings, I can officially log in."
As he spoke, Byte wiggled his hand, which phased through the railing.
"By the way, for newcomers who haven't heard about the game, this game is called 'Dazai Osamu's Cross-Temporal Plea.' It's a fan-made derivative game of 'bungo stray dogs' and some other anime, and it's also the world's first Virtual game."
"According to the game's description and its title, our main quest as players should be to help Dazai Osamu become the leader of the Port Mafia."
"Dazai needs us to become a leader?"
"I have a condition where I can't see Dazai wearing a red scarf."
"Red scarf PTSD +1."
"I feel like the developers wouldn't make us work ourselves to death to help Dazai rise to power, only for him to commit suicide, right?"
Byte, who knew the 'if' route of Leader Dazai's storyline, scratched his head.
Would there really be a game where the main character dies?
"I think this might be related to players' choices in some side quests.
After all, this is an online game, so as long as we avoid situations that could lead to Dazai's suicide, we can get a happy ending."
"Indeed, the streamer makes a good point."
"Byte, go for it! Saving Dazai is up to you!"
"This game is a crossover with Detective Conan, right? Byte can go undercover at the Black Organization; his name sounds very much like it."
"No Toanosuke, no Toanosuke, we need to find a way to turn Toanosuke into Oda Sakunosuke!"
After clicking 'Enter Game,' a character creation page appeared before him.
The game was currently importing Byte's own body data.
Several dialogue boxes for adjusting body values popped up in front of him, along with options like skin whitening and smoothing.
After briefly browsing the range of character customization options, Byte's gaze settled on the hairstyle page.
He chose a sea urchin haircut and a rainbow gradient color.
The audience watched in disbelief as Byte effortlessly ruined his entire image with just one hairstyle.
Byte, who could have been considered handsome, now sporting a rainbow hair color he would never dye in real life, made a heart gesture to the audience: "Are you afraid to love me?"
"Help, I'd pay a fortune for a pair of eyes that haven't seen this."
"This wave is a renaissance."
"Is there no one left in this world you care about?"
"I've screenshotted it.
When the streamer's birthday comes, I'll print it out and give it to him."
"No more jokes, let me seriously study this character creation."
However, when Byte finished creating his character again, the bullet comments fell silent once more.
"Byte's aesthetic is a bit too avant-garde."
Byte, who had sculpted himself into a muscular tough guy, blinked innocently, "I think it's alright?"
The audience felt a sense of suffocation.
Not for any other reason, but for the combination of the seductive female face Byte created—a face that would make anyone exclaim 'wife'—and a body that could win a bodybuilding competition.
The two together had quite an impact.
"It's good, at least in reality, Byte can't grow a charming woman's face, nor can he possess such a perfect set of muscles."
"Is this where we should say, 'Double fandoms, double joy'?"
"Double fandoms, double joy, shut up—"
For the final clothing choice, Byte picked a black suit, as black suits are the standard attire for the Mafia.
As everyone knows, muscular men in shirts have a different effect.
Looking at the screen full of 'male moms,' Byte averted his gaze, choosing to ignore them.
After confirming his appearance, it was time for the most crucial step: choosing superpowers.
"Ability, Jujutsu Sorcerers, Stand User..."
Byte, suffering from decision paralysis, looked at the barrage of suggestions on the screen and simply clicked 'Random.'
Since he wanted them all, he'd leave it to fate.
Darn it, why couldn't this game let him have everything?
The next step was pain settings.
For a more realistic gaming experience, Byte casually chose 100%, but the system quickly popped up a window.
"Warning: Death in-game with 100% pain will feel the same as real death.
To avoid psychological trauma for players, we do not recommend choosing 100% pain.
Are you sure you want to choose 100% pain? Yes/No"
Byte, who had no desire to genuinely experience death, quickly clicked 'No' and changed the pain setting to 70%.
The last step was setting his name; the game required the surname and given name to be entered separately.
So... Edogawa Conan! After clicking 'Confirm,' the system popped up a 'Name creation failed' window.
"Is it because the other four players took it? Or can't I use NPC names?"
So Byte tried other anime names like Kurosawa Jin, Kujo Jotaro, Mikazuki Munechika, and Emiya Kiritsugu, but without exception, all attempts failed.
"Streamer, just come up with your own name honestly."
"Can't he just be surnamed Lao and named Baigan?"
"Hahaha, Byte is too fake, be a little more serious!"
Finally, when Byte tried Chubby Zaemon, the system indicated success.
Byte, who had just wanted to try it: ... Unfortunately, Byte had no more chances to change his name.
After clicking 'Confirm Name,' his surroundings quickly darkened.
A system prompt popped up.
"Friendly Reminder: Everything in the game is an ultra-realistic scene simulation.
All our NPCs have independent programs, so please think carefully when making your choices.
The only blue faction in the game is under Mr. Dazai.
Please pay attention to your faction choice to avoid unknowingly choosing an enemy faction and becoming a red-named player hunted by other players.
This game offers extremely high freedom; players are encouraged to explore the specific gameplay on their own.
PS: All storylines, dungeons, and achievement quests in the game are unique and will not be replicated."
After reading this system prompt, he officially entered the game.
"This is the friendly and united Novice Village , a place where players help each other.
Here you can experience Yokohama's most primitive, pure, and passionate emotions.
Yokohama welcomes you—"
"PS: A slight dizziness upon first entering the game is normal."
Then, everything went black, and an unprecedented sense of weightlessness surged over him, making Byte's entire body go soft.
Fortunately, before he fell, he quickly grabbed a nearby wall, then uncontrollably began to dry heave.
The official called this 'slight'?
While dry heaving, a strong, sour smell, mixed with other disgusting odors he had never encountered, assailed his nostrils.
Byte, who had dry heaved for a long time without throwing anything up, rubbed his still subtly twitching stomach.
It was too real; even the stomach ache was simulated perfectly by the game.
Feeling better and less dizzy, he finally stood up straight to observe the 'friendly and united newbie village' the system had mentioned.
The ground was piled with trash, and he could see some long-dried, reddish stains, possibly blood.
Countless shipping containers were scattered around, and only then did he realize that what he was leaning against was not a wall, but a rusty, mottled shipping container.
He released his hand from the container, his hand already covered in rust.
The word 'slum' quickly popped into his head.
Looking up, his gaze met an endless expanse of stacked shipping containers and dilapidated buildings that could barely be called houses.
These structures, which would never appear in reality, stretched upwards, reaching towards the horizon.
Bullet comments were scrolling densely, but at this moment, Byte was no longer in the mood to read what people were saying.
He pinched himself hard, and the not-so-sensitive pain nerves reminded him that everything before his eyes was an illusion.
Yes, in reality, how could such an absurd place exist?
He understood that this was a giant crater, and he was at its very bottom.
People had built houses within this huge crater and lived there.
Savage, desolate, decadent, dilapidated—the overly realistic scene made Byte take a deep breath, and in that instant, he lost the power of speech.
A strange shiver ran through the depths of his soul, a powerful impact that anime could not provide.
He shifted his gaze to the bullet comments.
"Run—this is Rattle Bowl Street!!!"
"Ahead lies hell!!!"
Byte, who had seen 'bungo stray dogs' and knew what this place was, fell silent for a moment.
Clutching onto a last shred of hope, he opened the map.
The moment the map popped up, the dense red dots on it made his pupils constrict.
Help, what is this?!
Why are all the names red within a few miles radius?!!
Is this really a place where a newbie like him should be?
Save me, save me, save me!