A little past nine in the evening, Natsuyu finally finished the work her boss had assigned her overtime and prepared to head home.
On the subway ride back, it was already quite late. There were only a handful of passengers in the carriage, most of them wearing the same exhausted expressions. At a glance, it was easy to tell—they were just like Natsuyu, people who had worked overtime until now.
The subway's air-conditioning was on, carrying a gentle warmth. In this comfortable environment, listening to the steady rumble of the train rushing through the tunnels, Natsuyu began to feel drowsy.
She forced herself to glance at the time. Seeing that it would still be a while before she got home, she relaxed, closed her eyes, and planned to rest for a bit.
But before long, she slipped into a deep sleep.
Natsuyu felt as though she was having a very long dream.
In it, scenes from her life—from childhood to adulthood—unfolded one after another, vivid and unmistakable.
She had grown up in an orphanage. She never had any particularly close friends. Usually, only the head caretaker would show her some occasional concern. But there were many children in the orphanage, and even younger ones who needed more attention, so the care Natsuyu received was always limited.
After growing up and starting work, her relationships with colleagues weren't much better. They often talked about things Natsuyu wasn't familiar with, so their interactions rarely went beyond what was strictly necessary for work.
In the dream, Natsuyu watched herself grow up slowly—alone. Living alone, studying alone, playing alone. Quiet, solitary. Sometimes she wanted to change, yet didn't know how. Other times, she felt that being alone wasn't so bad after all.
Just as Natsuyu began to wonder why she was dreaming about all this, an electronic voice suddenly echoed.
"Natsuyu, are you okay… Natsuyu, wake up…"
Startled by the voice, Natsuyu snapped her eyes open.
The light before her was harsh. She raised a hand to shield her eyes, squinting as she adjusted to the sudden brightness. Only after a moment did she lower her hand and look around.
This was not the subway car she had been in before.
Instead, she found herself in what looked like an amusement park. She was sitting on a roadside bench meant for resting. In the distance, she could see a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and a roller coaster. Visitors moved back and forth all around her in an endless stream, and from time to time, screams and cheers drifted into her ears.
Just as Natsuyu was feeling utterly confused by the abrupt change in scenery, the same voice sounded again inside her head:
"Natsuyu, how is it? Are you awake now?"
Natsuyu was startled. The voice had appeared directly in her mind. Almost immediately, she thought of the systems she had read about in novels before.
She was about to speak out loud when the electronic voice interrupted her.
"Natsuyu, you can communicate with me directly in your mind. There's no need to speak aloud."
Hearing this, Natsuyu tried it out.
Hello… may I ask who you are?
"Natsuyu, hello. I am System No. 111. Here's the situation," 111 began to explain.
"In your original world, you have actually already passed away. The system detected your data and found that you met the requirements for system binding, so you were brought here and given a second chance at life. The condition is that you must complete the system's task."
A task… what kind of task? And where is this place?
Learning that she had already died in her previous world, Natsuyu felt no overwhelming sadness.
She had lived this long without any truly close friends. Even if she died, there probably wouldn't be anyone too heartbroken over it. Maybe that was fine. There wasn't much money in her bank account either—what little remained could be donated to the orphanage to improve living conditions. That wouldn't be bad at all.
"There's no need to rush. There's still time—I'll explain everything slowly," 111 said.
"Actually, you haven't bound with the system yet. Our systems cannot bind with a host unilaterally. After I explain the general situation, you can decide whether or not you want to bind."
111 first explained the world Natsuyu was currently in.
"This is the world of Detective Conan. You should be somewhat familiar with it, right?"
Mm… yes.
Natsuyu replied. It was one of the few anime she had watched as a child, so she still remembered it vaguely. But because it had so many episodes, she hadn't kept up later on and didn't know much about the subsequent plot.
"That's enough. Right now, this world has run into some trouble—trouble that requires a host to resolve in order to maintain world stability."
Trouble? What kind of trouble?
"This world mainly revolves around the confrontation between the Red Faction—centered around Conan—and the Black Faction, the Black Organization. Therefore, the power gap between the two sides cannot be too large. At the very least, before the ending, the disparity cannot become excessive."
"However, right now, the imbalance between red and black has grown too great. The Black Organization's displayed strength is clearly far inferior to that of the Red Faction. If this continues, logical flaws will appear in the story, gradually destabilizing the world itself."
"Your task, after binding with the system, is to restore balance between the Red and Black factions."
111 asked, "Do you have anything else you'd like to know?"
Yes. Will I be doing this task alone?
Natsuyu felt lost. How could she possibly accomplish something like this by herself? Wasn't that just asking her to become cannon fodder for the Black Organization?
111, doesn't your system provide any kind of assistance?
"Of course we do," 111 said reassuringly.
"In fact, once you choose to bind with the system, a personalized system will be drawn based on your individual profile. That system will provide various functions—what you'd usually call a 'cheat'—and it will definitely ensure your safety."
Ah… so it's not you, 111, who'll be binding with me?
"That's right. You'll have your own exclusive system. So, Natsuyu—have you decided whether you want to bind with the system?"
Let's bind, Natsuyu decided.
Any extra time alive is a bonus anyway. Having something to do isn't bad.
At that moment, 111's electronic voice sounded again in her mind:
[Natsuyu has confirmed system binding. Now drawing exclusive system—]
[Drawing complete. Natsuyu's exclusive system: Genshin Impact Role-Play System. Binding in progress…]
[Binding 1%… 2%… 50%… 100%. Binding complete.]
[From this point on, your exclusive system will take over. Wishing you success in completing your mission.]
After that, 111's voice disappeared.
Natsuyu called out in her mind a few times, but there was no response.
He left pretty fast…
"Hello there, Traveler."
Suddenly, another familiar voice echoed in her mind.
You're… Paimon?
Natsuyu was stunned. Although she had been mentally prepared after hearing that she'd drawn the Genshin Impact role-play system, actually hearing Paimon's familiar voice still filled her with surprise—and delight.
Genshin Impact was a game Natsuyu had been playing frequently lately. Maybe that was why she'd drawn this system. After work, whenever she had free time, she would play for a bit.
She had started because Genshin Impact was essentially a single-player game—she didn't need to deal with social interaction. But the longer she played, the more she felt as if the continent of Teyvat truly existed, along with a group of friends living their lives there.
In that world, Natsuyu had gained a great deal of happiness.