Streamer “Liu-ge” had been a fan of Yangfan Studio since Underworld Maze. Whenever Little Sailboat released a game, he would charge to the front lines without hesitation. Having missed the beta testing quota and feeling deeply depressed, he made sure to reserve his spot the moment open beta was announced.

At 12:00 PM, he entered the game promptly. Looking at the six character options, Liu Ge scratched his head, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly chuckled: “Family, let’s try a gender-bend run. I’m picking Consort De!”

The file indicated that Consort De was once the Emperor’s favorite concubine but was banished to the Cold Palace in a fit of rage after plotting against other concubines. Her son, the Sixth Prince, was also implicated and fell out of favor. Liu Ge remarked: “Consort De has a child. So, in this game, not only can I play a beauty, but I can also experience instant motherhood without the labor pains.”

The audience: “…”

【Instant motherhood? Is that even allowed?】

【Suddenly gained a ‘good big son’ out of nowhere, hahaha, interesting.】

【Coincidence! Consort De’s child is the Sixth Prince. He has the character ‘Six’ just like Liu-ge. This is fate!】

Liu Ge said: “Exactly. With me and the Sixth Prince together, we are just ‘too six’ (awesome/smooth). It’s impossible not to win. Family, let’s head into the game!”

As it turned out, the game was not as simple as he thought. He started off starving and freezing in the gloomy, decrepit Cold Palace. There was no coal, and the food was spoiled.

【You passed away from illness in the Cold Palace. Game Over.】

Liu Ge: “Is this death a bit too fast?”

After restarting, he still couldn’t find food. He ran to the door and pounded on it frantically: “Is anyone there? Help! Is anyone there?” Unfortunately, no one paid him any mind.

【You passed away from illness in the Cold Palace.】

【You passed away from illness in the Cold Palace.】

Liu Ge went crazy: “Damn it! Is there no way to survive in this Cold Palace? Someone tell me, how do I get out of here?”

After dying six times in a row, Liu Ge changed his tune: “Family, maybe the chemistry between Liu-ge and the Sixth Prince’s mother isn’t great. Let’s change characters.”

【Hahaha, he gave up.】

【Your excuse is really refreshing and refined.】

【If you can’t beat them, you can’t beat them; why make excuses!】

Having played games for so long, Liu Ge didn’t surrender often, but the Consort De route left him truly speechless. Stuck in the Cold Palace from the start, deathly ill, with spoiled food and an icy room—no matter how loud he screamed, no one cared. How the heck are you supposed to survive? Little Sailboat, tell me, how do I survive this!

Liu Ge decisively switched characters and said with a smile: “Let’s take the gender-bend to the end. This time, I’m playing the Princess.”

【From now on, we’ll call you Princess Six!】

【Big brother, can’t you just play a male character?】

【Livestream production value maxed out.】

【Princess has arrived, clear the way!】

Liu Ge shamelessly replied: “There are plenty of male streamers playing male characters. It’s rare to have a holographic role-playing game; what’s wrong with being a girl for once?”

The crowd: “…”

The logic holds. You can’t change your gender in reality, so playing a game, a little role-reversal is actually quite fun.

Liu Ge chose the role of “Princess Qingping.” The game started with the Emperor sending her to the distant Great Yan Kingdom for a political marriage. Liu Ge said: “A political marriage? Getting married in a game—that’s a bit exciting.”

He put on the bright red wedding gown and followed the grand wedding procession out of the palace. However, just as they exited the capital, they were intercepted by a group of bandits. The bridal sedan shook violently, followed by a flurry of arrows piercing the air. The Princess he was playing turned into a human pincushion…

【You were killed by bandits. Game Over.】

Liu Ge: “…”

Liu Ge: “I refuse to believe I can’t survive even one chapter! Let’s go again!”

After restarting, the procession left the city, and he desperately tried to find an excuse to leave the sedan to hide, but he couldn’t escape his fate of being killed. The third time, Liu Ge had the procession prepare multiple sedans—real and fake, tricking the enemy—only to have them all wiped out by the bandits.

Liu Ge: “Is this game even playable?!”

Both the Consort De and Princess routes seemed to be “instant death” starts. Refusing to accept defeat, he switched to the Palace Maid (Showgirl) role. He played it safe, creeping along to level up, only to survive until nightfall and get burned to death by the fire in the Palace of Preserving Elegance.

Liu Ge took a deep breath and started again. This time he learned to be smart. When the system prompted him to sleep, he chose “Don’t Sleep.” The moment he heard footsteps outside, he dashed out of the room, running and screaming: “Fire! Help!” Because he fled immediately, he managed to escape the Palace of Preserving Elegance. The palace was left in ruins, and the Emperor was furious, ordering an investigation. Liu Ge looked at the charred bodies of the other palace maids, feeling a lingering fear. “This game is too scary! There are traps at every step!”

Just then, a notification popped up on the screen:

Completion of the Palace of Preserving Elegance plot. Acquired: [Rebirth Card].

The Rebirth Card can be used an unlimited number of times. After use, you can return to any time node and choose your life path again.

Liu Ge looked at the golden Rebirth Card in his inventory and said excitedly: “This is basically a ‘save/load’ item, right? Only players can be reborn or reload; NPCs can’t. We can use loading to test the reactions of different NPCs.”

Liu Ge praised: “This design is really friendly.” If you had to start from scratch every time you died, it would be fine in the early stages, but if you died three or five years into the game, having to restart would be enough to make anyone quit. Underworld Maze’s Meng Po reset used to make players gnash their teeth, but that was a mobile game played in snippets. Holographic games are immersive experiences; if the reset time is too long, players will just lose interest and drop the game. The Rebirth Card gave players more confidence. If a mistake was made, there was no need to start over—just choose a more suitable moment to be reborn! Only with the memory of the past can you find the best way to clear the game.

Xia Kucao was an amateur streamer, currently a senior in college. His stream schedule was erratic. Because he was handsome and good-tempered, he had a decent following on Blue Fish TV. Of course, his popularity couldn’t compare to top-tier streamers, with under 500,000 followers. With Palace Storm launching during summer break and he having some free time, he booked a gaming pod at a nearby experience center.

On August 5th, at noon, Xia Kucao started his stream on time, changed the room title to “Palace Storm Trial Run,” and logged in. As the stream went live, fans trickled in.

【Xiaocao actually went live today?】

【It’s been so long, your room is about to grow grass.】

【The streamer’s name is ‘Grass’, growing grass is normal.】

【Handsome guy is here, mwah~】

The young man in the camera was handsome, but he was notoriously bad at games, often called “Brother Hand-Cramp” by his fans. His audience didn’t expect pro-level play; they just wanted to hang out and have fun.

After entering the game, Xia Kucao thought for a moment and said: “There must be tons of streamers playing the Prince or the Seventh Prince, right? Xie Yu, the male pet—not many people play him. Let me try the male pet route.”

The chat erupted in screams.

【Wow, you’re going to be the Emperor’s wife!】

【Playing a male pet feels so shameful!】

【Xiaocao, you have guts!】

【As far as I know, you’re the first streamer to play the male pet route…】

Suddenly, some sarcastic comments appeared:

【Looking like a pretty boy, playing a male pet really suits you.】

【Being a wife to a man? You have that kind of hobby?】

Xia Kucao said calmly: “It’s just a game; no need to make it a moral issue. Me playing a male pet in a game doesn’t mean I like being a ‘kept man’ in reality. I’m blocking the personal attacks—get out of my room.” He acted swiftly, banning several trolls in one go. Many people in the chat typed “666.”

【Don’t listen to the trolls, Xiaoge, play how you want.】

【Judging values over a game? What is this?】

【If I kill monsters in a game, does that mean I abuse animals?】

Xia Kucao smiled slightly: “It’s fine. Respect the diversity of species. Let’s ignore them and get into the game.”

The male pet’s survival environment in the Inner Palace was extremely difficult. He was a pretty boy the Emperor brought back from Jiangnan on a whim, essentially a “secret pet” kept in captivity; no one looked down on him more than the others.

The game started, and the player automatically spawned in the “Bright Moon Pavilion,” a relatively remote part of the palace where the Emperor kept his male pet. As Xia Kucao was familiarizing himself with the environment, a massive fire broke out not far away. His maid asked nervously: “Young Master, it looks like the fire is in the direction of the Palace of Preserving Elegance. Should we go over and check?”

Xia Kucao thought about it and said: “Don’t be a busybody.”

A moment later, a group of people marched towards him. Consort Xiao pointed at him coldly: “How dare you start a fire in the palace! You have some nerve! Someone, take him!”

Xia Kucao: “??”

The screen went black, followed by a system prompt:

【You were falsely accused of arson and executed by Consort Xiao. Game Over.】

Xia Kucao: “…” What the hell does that have to do with me? He laughed bitterly: “Sitting at home and the disaster comes from the sky. I don’t look for trouble, but trouble finds me. Sigh.”

【Hahaha, the scapegoat hero.】

【So the male pet route is just ‘I get blamed for everything in the palace’?】

【Don’t know who’s behind this, framing you.】

Xia Kucao got serious: “It seems the Inner Palace route is infinite internal strife. If I stay out of it, the NPCs will find ways to frame me.”

Xia Kucao: “We can’t be passive; we have to be proactive.”

In the second round, when the maid said the Palace of Preserving Elegance was on fire, he rushed over to check and even tried to save people escaping the fire. But Consort Xiao accused him again: “What are you doing skulking around here in the middle of the night? Did you set the fire?”

Xia Kucao: “I didn’t, I haven’t.”

Consort Xiao said: “Take him away!”

A moment later, someone investigated and found the eunuch who set the fire, who testified that it was Young Master Xie who ordered it. Xie Yu couldn’t defend himself and was executed again.

【You were identified as the mastermind behind the arson.】

【Consort Xiao executed you. Game Over.】

Xia Kucao: “…” Is this starting difficulty too high? He rubbed his temples: “Managing it doesn’t work, ignoring it doesn’t work. What does the fire in the Palace of Preserving Elegance have to do with me? This is definitely someone framing me!”

He calmed down for a moment: “I need to sort out the interpersonal relationships in the palace and see who’s harming me.” After the game started, he read the character Xie Yu’s memories. During this time, the game paused to allow the player to review the data. Xie Yu was the son of a merchant, later brought to the palace. His parents were dead; he had no one to rely on. However, the destitute scholar his father once spent a fortune helping had become the top candidate in the imperial exams and was now the son-in-law (husband) of Princess Mingde. Princess Mingde’s mother was Consort Xian, who was very low-key in the palace.

Xia Kucao analyzed: “The palace internal fighting is severe. If I stay neutral, I’ll become cannon fodder for their fights, so I must choose a side. Consort Xiao is incredibly powerful; she won’t necessarily pay attention if I approach her. The Empress lives in seclusion. Let’s try to win over Consort Xian first. Princess Mingde’s husband is someone my father once saved; with this connection, I can find a chance to meet this ‘old friend.’ Also, Consort Xian has a son, the Fourth Prince, besides the Princess. I think I can side with Consort Xian and support the Fourth Prince to take the throne.”

The audience was stunned.

【Holy crap, that makes so much sense!】

【Young man seems to have found the right way to play?】

【The male pet is thin on power; he must pick a side early on.】

【My neck is itchy; listening to your analysis, my brain is starting to grow.】

Xia Kucao continued to analyze: “The fire in the Palace of Preserving Elegance was late at night. I can’t visit the Empress or Consort Xian at night. If I do nothing, they frame me; if I go to help, they still frame me. How to break the situation? Monkey see, monkey do—I’ll burn my own place down first.“

On the third reset, Xia Kucao set a fire, burning down his own residence, then smeared his face with ash, pretending to be injured by a falling beam. The maid was his trusted confidante and cooperated with his acting. When Consort Xiao arrived, she saw a “pathetic, dying” Young Master Xie. Consort Xiao was stunned: “Why did it catch fire here too?” The maid beside Xie Yu knelt with a thump: “Your Highness, please save my Young Master! He was just burned by the fire and had his leg crushed… wuwuwu…”

Consort Xiao yelled in anger: “Why are you standing there? Call the Imperial Physician!”

By burning himself to survive the “scapegoating,” and incidentally breaking a leg and adding some scars, he made everyone think he was permanently crippled and could never make a comeback, so they wouldn’t waste time targeting him.

“This is also a way to protect myself?” Xia Kucao breathed a sigh of relief, smiling: “Playing mind games with NPCs is actually quite fun.”

The audience: “…” This streamer is a bit of a badass! Better follow him! They never expected this handsome guy, who usually lost at games requiring manual skill and was called “Hand-Cramp Brother,” to be so good at analysis and deduction in a strategy game! Most players wouldn’t have thought of such a “break the cauldron and sink the boats” (do or die) method!

Streamer “Xingyue” also lacked manual dexterity and was average at mobile games. In Journey to the West, he cleared everything on normal difficulty and never managed to beat the challenge mode. “This game doesn’t seem to need much manual speed?” Xingyue lay in the gaming pod, eager to try: “A hand-cramp player playing a role-playing game—it shouldn’t be that easy to die, right?”

【What misunderstanding do you have about this game?】

【It’s a survival game, yo~】

【Watching the streamer die with a smile!】

Looking at the different characters, Xingyue said: “Family, is it okay if I choose the Seventh Prince? The file says he’s been weak and sickly since childhood. I feel like this might be a ‘belly-black’ (cunning/scheming) sick-beauty type.”

After choosing the Seventh Prince and entering the game, he was immediately summoned by the Emperor to organize a spring hunt. Then, the practice began—horse riding and archery. Xingyue excitedly mounted the horse, but out of carelessness, he was thrown off by the wild animal and landed flat on his back. The screen turned black—

【Seventh Prince fell off the horse, died of severe injuries that night.】

【Game Over】

Xingyue: “Ah? So fast!” I only rode the horse for a second…

Xingyue wasn’t convinced and immediately restarted. The second time, the moment the eunuch informed him: “The Emperor’s decree: participate in the hunt in three days”… Xingyue couldn’t help but ask: “Excuse me, can I not go?” The eunuch stared at him in disbelief and turned away angrily. A moment later, the eunuch returned with a cup of wine, saying it was a gift from the Emperor. The screen went black again—

【Seventh Prince disobeyed the imperial decree and was gifted a cup of poisoned wine.】

【Game Over】

Dying twice in one minute, the audience was amused.

【Hahaha, the streamer is living and dying again.】

【Can I not go? Emperor: You can not go if you’re dead!】

【You’re hilarious.】

【This game looks quite fun!】

Others discussed strategies:

【It seems the hunt is a mandatory task; he must go.】

【Should he be careful when riding?】

【Try a different horse?】

Xingyue couldn’t laugh or cry: “Looks like the Emperor’s command must be obeyed. Understood, I’ll go one more round.”

On the third restart, Xingyue was extra careful. When a subordinate brought the horse for a test ride, he pointed to a guard nearby: “You, come over here and tame this wild horse for me.” The guard actually obeyed, mounted the horse, and rode around the courtyard, quickly taming it. Xingyue praised: “This guard has good skills; should I cultivate him to be my trusted bodyguard?”

He took some silver from his pocket and gave it to the guard: “Well done, this is your reward.”

The guard was pleasantly surprised and thanked him: “Thank you for the reward, Your Highness.”

System: Guard A-Rong’s favor toward you +10

System: A-Rong’s current favor: 90 [Loyal]

Xingyue was stunned: “There’s a favorability system?” He carefully read the system prompt and realized: “I get it! The game’s gameplay must be interacting with NPCs to raise their favorability. Once it reaches a certain level, I can command them to do things for me? Damn, interesting!”

With the wild horse tamed, Xingyue mounted it and followed the system’s prompts to practice. The experience was truly novel. He rode around the yard, excited: “I’ve only seen horses in the zoo before; I never thought I’d ride one in a game one day! So exciting… Giddy up!” Riding and galloping was truly a blast.

Xingyue played the horse-riding game for a long time before resting. The subtitle “Three Days Later” appeared, and the next plot segment began. He arrived at the meeting point to join the other princes for the hunt. The Emperor said the first-place winner would receive a reward. Xingyue spurred his horse into the forest: “First place has a reward; let’s aim for first and boost the Emperor’s favor!”

As he charged into the woods, the sound of a sharp weapon cutting through the air came from behind his head. A sudden pain in his back, followed by the familiar black screen—

【Seventh Prince shot to death by an arrow.】

【Game Over】

Xingyue: “Who fired the cold arrow behind my back?” The audience felt a chill down their spines. No wonder the promotional slogan was “How many days can you survive?” This really is a survival game—there is danger everywhere!

On the fourth restart, Xingyue was even more cautious. After arriving at the hunting grounds, he didn’t rush in but rode to the outskirts to observe. A moment later, he saw a guard firing a cold arrow from a distance, exactly the direction where he had been shot the last time. Good guy, I finally found you.

Xingyue sneaked up, caught him off guard with a submission hold, and shouted: “Catch the assassin! Someone is attacking!” Panic ensued in the distance: “Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!” The Imperial Guard quickly formed a defensive line, and people rushed to grab the attackers. The Emperor asked coldly: “What’s going on?”

Someone reported: “Your Majesty, the Seventh Prince captured a guard, claiming he was an assassin.” Xingyue brought the guard to the Emperor: “Father, I saw this man aiming his bow at the Fourth Prince.” The guard fell to his knees in terror: “Slave would never dare to harm the Fourth Prince! Please, Your Majesty, investigate!”

The Emperor asked: “Whose guard are you?” The Fourth Prince stepped forward calmly: “Back to Father, this is one of my people. I wanted to hunt more rabbits, so I had him help fire arrows to scare them over… perhaps the Seventh Brother misunderstood?”

Xingyue froze: “What is this? I saved him, and he’s not even grateful?” The Emperor’s mood was ruined: “The Seventh Prince is spouting nonsense and disturbing my fun! Confine him for a month to reflect!”

System: Emperor’s favor toward you -50

System: Emperor’s favor: -300 [Extreme Disgust]

Xingyue: “…………”

I’m so wronged. Extreme disgust? It looks like Father Emperor hates me so much he wants me to vanish on the spot. Confined for a month… well, at least no poisoned wine this time.

Just as Xingyue was about to vent, another prompt appeared.

System: Fourth Prince’s favor toward you +10

System: Fourth Prince’s current favor: 30 [Beginning Friendship]

Xingyue quickly reacted: “Is this dynamic favorability? I saved him, and while he didn’t punish the guard on the surface, he was actually grateful in his heart, right? This Fourth Prince is also a schemer.” “I understand now. There’s internal strife between the princes; someone bribed the Fourth Prince’s guard to kill him during the hunt.”

After returning from the hunting grounds, the Seventh Prince was confined.

Completion of hunting grounds plot. Acquired: [Rebirth Card].

Every line of this game gave a Rebirth Card upon completing the first chapter. With the save/load tool, Xingyue immediately used the Rebirth Card to return to the day of the hunt. He planned to try a different approach. This time, he didn’t meddle. Instead, he rode his horse and kept an eye on that guard, waiting to see what would happen.

To his shock, although the guard aimed at the Fourth Prince at first, he quickly changed his target and shot the Sixth Prince to death cleanly and decisively.

Xingyue (the bystander): “…………” Your NPC relationships are too complicated.

The Sixth Prince died on the spot. The Emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation, quickly rooting out the mastermind. Since the guard was the Fourth Prince’s confidant, the Fourth Prince couldn’t defend himself. The Emperor’s favor for the Fourth Prince plummeted, and he ordered the Fourth Prince arrested and taken to the Dali Temple for interrogation.

Xingyue finally understood: “This was all carefully arranged, using a knife to kill someone else, killing two birds with one stone… holy crap, this mastermind is a bit powerful! Kill the Sixth Prince, frame the Fourth Prince, and hide himself perfectly? My God! These intelligent NPCs all have eight hundred hidden motives!”

The audience was shocked.

【This game is like a suspense thriller film!】

【Interesting, I want to play too.】

【Is the Seventh Prince route this intense?】

【The Crown Prince route is even more intense; I’ve watched a streamer die many times there.】

【The court line is like this—several princes vying for the crown, and the mastermind wants to eliminate the competitors one by one.】

【Mom, it’s so scary!】

Xingyue took a deep breath: “Family, a plot-based survival game! First time playing; it’s so fresh and exciting!”

Players from another world had never played this form of “role-playing” game; this was not children playing house. The NPCs all had eight hundred motives; they were ruthless and plotted against each other. Once players were drawn into these court and palace battles, they would lose their lives if they weren’t careful. How, exactly, could one clear the game? Countless players raised the question in curiosity.

That night, after millions of players experienced the game, the official forum was crashed, and there were massive discussions on Weibo.

“New game Palace Storm, how long did everyone survive? I couldn’t survive one chapter!”

“Playing the Seventh Prince, survived the hunting grounds and staying in my own place—don’t know what to do next, a bit lost.”

“I can’t get out of the Cold Palace in the Consort De route; help, gurus!”

“Is the Princess route a mandatory death? How to solve the political marriage?”

“There’s a streamer named Xia Kucao who is super powerful. He played the male pet route. I watched him for an afternoon; he actually faked his death and got out of the palace! Holy crap!”

“I follow this guy too. He started by burning his own residence, achieving rebirth through destruction, then farmed favor with Consort Xian, stood on her side, and she secretly sent him out of the palace.”

“His goal is to support the Fourth Prince; he’s already navigated the son-in-law and the princess, and met the Fourth Prince. High-IQ, logical people playing this game are super powerful. Never thought the male pet route could be played like that…”

“This guy is a bit of a badass! Going to follow him.”

“My friend played the Princess route; her strategy was not to go to the neighboring country for marriage but to go to the Inner Palace and cry to her biological mother, Consort Hui. Consort Hui’s heart softened; she went to the Emperor to whisper in his ear, and the Emperor eventually didn’t let her go; he found a maid to replace her.”

“…Holy crap, that works?”

“In the Consort De route, my roommate used the ‘ghost’ strategy—made a kite out of white cloth in the Cold Palace to fly at night, scaring a passing concubine into fainting. The Emperor investigated; seeing her critically ill, he invited an Imperial Physician to treat her. Her condition has currently improved.”

“My roommate is a die-hard fan of Ghost Realm; such a strategy, only she would think of it, hahaha!”

“…Holy crap, you can play like that too?”

“Big brother, please accept my bow! Are we playing the same game?”

“Looking at the big shots’ playstyles, I feel like I didn’t grow a brain T_T”

Xie Yunfan looked at the heated discussions, quite pleased. Although it was a survival game, it wasn’t about letting players die mindlessly. Within the court and the palace, there was the logic of political and palace intrigue.

Players didn’t understand the rules at first and died horribly. But once they found the right way to play, they experienced the fun of an immersive role-playing game.

Every step was thrilling, and every link required careful thinking and planning. It was a game that required “using your brain.”

He looked forward to players uncovering more character relationships and understanding the world better.

He also hoped that some exceptionally wise players would influence the NPCs’ choices step-by-step and personally change the world.

The existence of intelligent NPCs made the world full of unknown variables; players could use their imagination to achieve countless favorite endings

—This was the true joy of gaming!