Chapter 14: I Became a Flower
1010words
【System Notification: Multiple critical plot holes have been detected in the game narrative, return protocol has been forcibly interrupted. Please continue to complete the main quest line with your new form.】
Darkness.
Endless, cold, pure darkness.
I feel as if I've slept for an eternity, like an entire century. In this sleep, there were no dreams, no light, nothing at all, only boundless silence. My consciousness, like an insignificant speck of dust, floated and sank in this void, almost completely dissipating.
I thought this was death, the final stop after "Game Over."
However, after an unknown period of time, a faint, cold sensation transmitted from my "consciousness core." Then came a second strand, a third strand... More and more cold energy, like a gentle trickle, began to slowly and tenderly flow into my nearly dried-up sea of consciousness.
My consciousness was awakened.
When I "opened my eyes" again, I found myself still trapped in this godforsaken game world. And this time, the situation seemed even worse, even more absurd than before.
I had become a flower.
Yes, you read that correctly, a flower.
I have no hands, no feet, no body, and not even a mouth to express the overwhelming sarcasm in my heart that could overturn the entire Kingdom of Arcadia. My true form is a flower, rooted in an icy, snow-covered land, at the peak of an unnamed mountain range, quietly blooming against the howling cold wind and the dancing snowflakes... a semi-transparent flower that looks noble and aloof, out of place with its surroundings, emitting a soft, moon-white radiance.
My roots are deeply embedded in soil that's frozen harder than steel, struggling to absorb the negligible water and nutrients. My stem is slender yet resilient, swaying in the biting cold wind, but never bending. My petals are layered, as if carved from the purest moonlight crystal, adorned with naturally formed, profound and beautiful silver patterns.
I have consciousness, thoughts, and I can "see" the scenery around me. I just can't move. I'm firmly fixed at the top of this desolate snowy mountain where not even birds would shit.
Meanwhile, a semi-transparent thing like a game strategy guide with a blank cover silently appeared in my mind. It's like a program written directly into my soul—I don't need to use my eyes to clearly "read" its contents.
Many parts of the book are incomplete and blank, filled with numerous "???" and "To Be Unlocked" labels. But as time passes, I can feel that new information is being filled in bit by bit, as if written by an invisible pen. I see the "Death of the White Moonlight" event that I just experienced has been clearly recorded on the pages, even the psychological activities of the Academy Head and Arthur at that time are annotated in detail.
Using my mind, I turned this "Strategy Guide" to the last page. On that blank page, slowly, character by character, a line of golden words appeared, the font arrogant and domineering, as if carrying a merciless mockery directed at me:
【Final Mission: Congratulations, lucky player! You have become the agent of this world's "Heavenly Way." Please complete all the missing gaps in this "Aria of Light and Darkness" plot book. When the last page of this book is perfectly written, you will obtain the final permission to leave the current world. Good luck.】
So, did I just die in vain? Not only couldn't I return home, but I've been downgraded from a "tragic supporting female character" with hands and feet directly to a "rare plant" rooted in the snow? And on top of that, I've been forcibly bound to a "gap-filling" labor task?
I angrily wanted to raise my middle finger at the sky, but sadly discovered that I don't even have a single finger. I could only control my delicate moonlight petals, trembling violently in the cold wind, to express the towering rage in my heart.
"Once again, on my honor, I strongly condemn that irresponsible game designer who digs holes and doesn't fill them! Come out! I promise not to beat you to death!"
After the anger came endless despair and bewilderment. What else could I do? I couldn't even commit suicide.
In the end, I could only be forced to accept this cruel reality.
I began to carefully study all the known content in the strategy guide in my mind, trying to find a glimmer of hope. The guide mentioned that my current form, known as "Moonlight Flower," is a magical plant that was born from absorbing Winifred's dissipated soul imprint and vast resentment, possessing unparalleled advantages for cultivation. As long as I can continuously absorb the magical essence of heaven and earth and the radiance of the sun, moon, and stars, someday I would be able to accumulate enough energy to cultivate again and transform into human form.
Otherwise, how would I fix this situation? Did they expect me to uproot myself, covered in dirt with a complex network of roots, and progress through the storyline in my true Moonlight Flower form? That image is too beautiful; I simply dare not imagine it.
And so, on this eternally unchanged and silent mountaintop accompanied only by wind and snow, I—a flower who was once a corporate slave, then a mentor, and now a plant—began my arduous path of self-cultivation that seemed almost endless.
My goals were clear: First step, transform into human form! Second step, find Frederick, whom I had pushed into the abyss with my own hands, and figure out what happened to him. Third step, fill in every single plot hole in this damned book! Then, go home!
The snowstorm grew stronger. I silently spread my petals, striving to absorb every faint trace of starlight that filtered through the gaps in the blizzard. Come on, Huajin! You can do it!
