At 8:00 PM the next day, "Fate/Grand Order" launched on schedule.
On the Shark Streaming Platform, the popularity of PD's stream soared to number one across the entire site, with tens of thousands of viewers packed in front of their screens, waiting to see how this big spender would use money to shatter the bottom line of that "arrogant producer."
"Brothers, I've already pre-loaded one hundred thousand yuan onto the platform!"
In front of the camera, PD patted his round belly, his face full of disdain. "Today, we're going to teach this studio called Chaldea a lesson about what it really means to be able to do whatever you want when you have money!"
With that, he put on his VR headset and entered the game directly.
The moment he put on the headset, PD discovered that his vision wasn't filled with the crude menu interface of "first-time recharge" pop-ups, nor was he in a low-quality newbie village square as usual.
Before his eyes was complete darkness.
"Lagged out? What kind of crappy server is this? Did I waste one hundred thousand yuan?" PD muttered, preparing to take off the headset.
"Fou, Fou-wu—"
Suddenly, a moist, rough sensation brushed against his cheek.
PD opened his eyes groggily and found himself lying on the floor of a metal corridor filled with a sci-fi atmosphere.
A pure white, fluffy creature that looked like a cross between a squirrel and a small white dog was lying on his chest, licking his face with its pink tongue.
"Whoa, what the heck is this thing?"
PD reached out and picked up the furry creature. The VR haptic feedback was incredibly realistic; he could even feel the little guy's soft fur and warm body temperature, and could clearly distinguish the rise and fall of its breathing.
"Senpai, are you awake?"
A crisp, girl's voice filled with slight concern drifted over.
PD looked up and saw a girl with short pink hair and black-rimmed glasses, possessing a tranquil aura, bending slightly to look at him.
"Thank goodness, you're finally awake. This is the Organization for the Preservation of Human Order, Chaldea. I am a member here, Mash Kyrielight."
The girl offered a smile that felt like a gentle breeze and pointed to the little animal in his arms. "This little guy is called Fou; it was the one who led me to you."
PD was stunned.
In games from parallel worlds, NPCs were usually just wooden stakes that stood in place and repeated mission instructions like they were reciting a book.
When had he ever seen a beautiful girl NPC whose expressions were so vivid, and whose breathing and micro-expressions were rendered so realistically?
The chat in the stream exploded instantly:
"Holy crap, the character model for this pink-haired glasses girl is absolutely insane!"
"This smile, this voice, my heart can't take it!"
"Do we get a wife right off the bat? This game actually seems pretty good, huh?"
Just then, a slightly lazy male voice cut in from the side:
"Oh my, oh my, isn't this the newly arrived 48th Master candidate? Why are you sleeping in the hallway?"
A man with fluffy orange hair and a white lab coat walked over with a smile, holding a cup of coffee. "I am the head of the medical department, Romani Archaman. You can call me Dr. Roman."
The man's tone was extremely natural, his eyes carrying the listlessness and fatigue characteristic of a living person.
He even burned himself while drinking the coffee, sticking out his tongue with a hiss.
But PD was here on a mission to "trash the place." After recovering from his shock, he immediately waved his hand impatiently.
"Hey! What is this? I want to go fight monsters! I want to pull gacha! Where is your recharge portal?"
"And also, why can't this opening animation be skipped? Where is the'Skip' button?!"
PD grabbed randomly at the air, trying to find the "skip story" function that most games had.
"Hey! You slacking doctor over there, and that idiot sleeping on the floor!"
Accompanied by the crisp, urgent sound of high heels, a beautiful girl with long silver-white hair and sharp, ruby-like pupils marched over aggressively.
She crossed her arms, looking arrogant and stern.
"Di-Director?!" Dr. Roman was so startled he nearly spilled his coffee, and Mash immediately straightened her posture.
"As a Master candidate, you're actually late for the first day's meeting! Chaldea doesn't need trash like you who lacks any sense of discipline!"
The silver-haired girl—Olga Marie—was like a lit powder keg, launching into a fierce, head-on berating of PD.
This incredibly oppressive and realistic "tsundere scolding" caused the style of the stream's chat to shift once again:
"Holy crap, the way this white-haired girl is scolding him... it's kinda hitting the spot!"
"Is this NPC's AI too OP? It feels like I'm watching an interactive anime!"
"Hahahaha, Boss P dropped one hundred thousand yuan, and he hasn't even seen a monster yet, he just got scolded by a white-haired loli!"
Listening to the crisp scolding in his ears and watching the girl's cheeks flush slightly from anger, PD, who had been clamoring to find the "Skip" button, involuntarily stopped his movements.
"I gotta say... this modeling and voice acting, it's actually got something. Even if it's a bit long-winded, it's not a loss to watch it like an interactive movie."
PD muttered to himself. Surprisingly, for the first time, he didn't continue to be impatient; instead, he followed the plot and let the Director chase him and Mash to the Central Control Room.
However, this slightly comedic daily routine was merely a setup for the hell that was to follow.
The moment the three arrived at the Control Room, preparing to observe the so-called "Spiritron Transfer" experiment, the anomaly descended in an instant!
"BOOM—!!!"
Without any warning, a deafening explosion erupted from the center of the Control Room!
Blinding flames instantly engulfed the entire corridor!
"Enemy attack?! Save everyone!" The lazy expression Dr. Roman usually wore vanished completely as he roared with tearing heart and lungs, his voice filled with despair.
A massive shockwave sent PD flying, and the intense vibration caused his vision to go black.
In the second before he lost consciousness, he vaguely saw the pink-haired girl Mash, who had been smiling at him in the corridor just moments ago, lying in the ruins covered in blood.
Immediately after, the system's cold, mechanical broadcast sound rang out:
[A catastrophic explosion has occurred in the Control Room.]
[Vital signs severely compromised... Spiritron Transfer procedure forcibly initiated... Destination: Singularity F, Coordinates: Fuyuki.]
The unconscious PD did not see the traditional black-screen loading bar.
His vision was suddenly pulled upward, crossing over the burning base and arriving directly in the vast, boundless outer space!
A stunning, azure planet slowly rotated beneath his feet.
"Wooo—!!!"
The highest-level alarm, piercing and heart-pounding, instantly tore through the silence of the starry sky.
In PD's suddenly constricted pupils, the beautiful Earth beneath his feet ignited with thousands of scarlet flames on its surface without any warning!
In just a few short seconds, the brilliant lights symbolizing human civilization were completely swallowed, and the entire Earth turned into a silent, charred husk burning with black-red karmic fire!
A realistic sensation of burning and boundless despair rushed toward him.
Then, a deep, cold, yet epically tragic narrator's voice exploded in his ears.
[Anno Domini 2015.]
[Near-future observation lens, sheba, has observed that the radiance of human civilization has, at this moment... been completely severed.]
[Human history has been incinerated.]
[To reclaim the lost future, one must step onto the battlefield that goes against the river of time.]
[This ultimate plan to save human history is named—Grand Order!]