Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

Comparable to Artificial Intelligence

Wu Shun was not the latest victim. Many other players who had bought the DLC as soon as it was released had also encountered this beautiful blindfolded girl. In a game that killed you this frequently, it was only a matter of time. She was a girl of few words, and always let her sword do the talking for her. Most importantly, she took the initiative to save the players when they were on the brink of death, which brought a new, warm twist to this otherwise dark, dark game!

This game was special. It was special in how the better you were at it, the more likely you would die. This was especially so during raids[1]. As you rolled about, causing a scene, you would inevitably get swarmed up by hordes of low-level urchins. The best players would attract the most attention. If you got the attention of more than three of them, your life would basically be forfeit…

This was very similar to the game called “Bloodborne.”The first main area of the game was the city of Yharnam, where the “villagers”[2] lived a simple life. The village housed a bonfire. A group of villagers would always be gathered there. Players had to patiently draw the attention of the villagers, one at a time. Otherwise, they would suffer the ramifications. Well, it could not be helped. The players were despicable strangers, after all…

Indeed, “Bloodborne” was also a game created with Hidetaka Miyazaki[3] being the producer. It was no less difficult than “Dark Souls III.” The worldview was as mysterious and dark as ever, and it basically screamed Cthulhu in your face.

Hardcore gamers would never let such a game get past them, it was perfect for masochists. In one hand, players could wield old-fashioned firearms, which could be loaded with magical silver bullets, allowing them to get rid of evil spirits. On the other hand, they could wield weapons like canes, axes, and swords. So cool!

If this world had a Hidetaka Miyazaki, he would certainly be a close confidante of Zha Feng. These two were of the same soul, overflowing with wickedness and conspiracy. However, sometimes, they would let a glimpse of compassion show

Many players had encountered the angelic nameless girl when they were about to die. “Merciful Zha Feng” was just too much for them to handle!

Almost immediately, a variety of favorable comments about the nameless girl had appeared on the internet —- —-

“I’m completely obsessed with the nameless lady; she’s got me headed for her dead end, whatever it is. Screw the main quests. Screw the story! I’m going to elope with My Lady, we’ll get out of this hell hole!”

“Is the Old Sly Zha Feng finally done messing with us? If any previous female character had been as charismatic as this nameless girl, it would have been possible for the company to advertise the game – based on the large-scale romance feature of the game ”

“Let me share a secret with you all. You can take a glimpse up at the nameless lady’s beautiful long legs by changing your camera view. Unfortunately, even if you get the perfect angle, you’ll never learn the color of her undies! But still, I wanna lick her long legs until her bones break!”

“What the f*ck, are there this many masochist hardcore otakus playing this game? Hardcore otakus are so disgusting! Anyway, somebody, tell me quick, how do I change my camera view settings?”

“This character is awesome. She’s exploding with charisma in every aspect. I’m not sure about this, and I might be wrong, but I think her VA sounds awfully familiar…”

“Her ethereal voice is simply eargasmic. It’s a pity that she hardly speaks. I’ll never get tired of listening to her all day!”

“Speaking of which, what is up with this character? Has anyone here managed to uncover anything? My questions only keep increasing everyday. Why the heck is she so goddamned reckless?”

“I think The Kind Guide Maker has made the most progress so far. He’s crazy about the game. He either sleeps of games. Even while eating, he would practically be on a lunch date with the nameless lady”

“Date? What do you mean date?”

“Do you even play the game? Are you just here to troll, useless pleb? Anyone who has triggered the scene in the game should know that this nameless lady’s reactions are powered by some advanced AI. You’ve seen the Apple iPhones at least, right? They’re equipped with Siri, and that allows you to date her. If you don’t know Siri, you should at least know QQ Xiaobing[4]. The nameless lady is just as sophisticated, but she doesn’t speak much unless you earn her approval.”

“So that’s what she’s like? That’s it, I’m buying the game. The producer is really something, making an NPC so intelligent. Is this female character the biological daughter of the Old Sly Zha Feng?”

…

On top of her beauty and mystery, her apparent intelligence had also piqued the interest of several players!

Of course, there was no actual AI involved. She had simply been extensively coded, much like those mobile applications centered solely on running virtual companions. She would respond to the players accordingly. Her scripted lines and actions had been so well-written that she was almost lifelike.

To many players, it was as if they had discovered the New World[5]. They had never expected to see a girlfriend nurturing function in a game of fighting and killing!

Undoubtedly, Zhao Youyue’s possession of the character had provided the inspiration that made it possible for her to appear so intelligent in the game. Players had even started second-guessing her nature.

Obviously many players had been deceived into thinking that she was a living, breathing entity. She was far livelier than all the prior female characters. On the surface she seemed silent and unapproachable, but there was so much depth to her character!

Wu Shun had been completely enslaved by the game. Whenever he was bored, he would try chatting with the nameless girl literally typing random lines. This was obviously a single-player game, but he actually made it seem like an online game

This made his live stream channel absurdly popular. No matter how you looked at it, the reactions of the nameless lady were incredibly cute! She could just stand in a spot and say nothing, but otakus around the world would be collectively clutching their hearts, trying not to keel over!

She was not only incredibly cute, she was also ridiculously strong. At the same time, she killed all the monsters ever so elegantly and beautifully. She was a walking difficulty reducer!

Wu Shun put in a great deal of effort to treat the wounds of the nameless lady. Of course, in the process of treating her, he and his viewers had been treated to several fanservice CGs. Unfortunately, all that could be seen was the jade-like, lustrous skin of her exposed back…

Even so, this was enough to make Wu Shun squeal with excitement. Furthermore, for a short time, he had switched off the live stream screen. Although there was no nudity, it threatened to start a war, thus it had to be censored.

Of course, as a result, the live stream channel went wild with anger. Everyone raged at the good-for-nothing Wu Shun, calling him a selfish bastard. How dare he keep all the good stuff to himself!

Such a move prompted many people to make plans to buy the game personally. Of course, their purchase would include this “The Law of Humane Justice” DLC. These people included those who have only heard of the game and those in the audience who originally only planned to ride along with the live streamer. It could not be helped. Who permitted the nameless, blindfolded swordswoman to be so shockingly cute?

Originally, many players had already believed that this game was a large-scale, love game. Due to the debut of the nameless girl and the side quests associated with her story, these players started popping up again with renewed vigor. If anyone still dared say that this game was no love game, may you never be able to trigger the nameless lady’s storyline! You have our best wishes!

Translation note :

[1] A raid is a type of mission in a video game in which some people would attempt to defeat another number of people at player-vs-player, a series of computer-controlled enemies in a player-vs-environment battlefield, or a very powerful boss.

[2] Central Yharnam is the first main area of the game Bloodborne, taking form as a large connection of Gothic-esque, Victorian buildings. The whole area is filled with Mad Villagers, and other dastardly creatures. The author is referring to the Mad Villagers here.

[3] Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Japanese video game director and designer who is the president of the game development company, FromSoftware.

[4] QQ Xiaobing – Xiaobing is a chatbot on QQ, developed by Microsoft. The bot launched in 2014 and became popular with young men who talked to it to alleviate their loneliness.

[5] The New World is one of the names used for the majority of Earth’s Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas (including nearby islands such as those of the Caribbean and Bermuda). It is called the New World because the Americas were not discovered until 1492, and no one in Europe, Asia, and Africa knew of this new landmass, so they called it the new world.