138: Chapter 138 Deer Hunting Operation (End)

Emergency Department, First People's Hospital, Magic City.

The pungent smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils as Lin Lu slowly opened her heavy eyelids. What met her eyes was a stark white ceiling.

"Lu Lu! You're finally awake!"

A voice choked with tears rang out from the bedside.

Lin Lu turned her head with difficulty to see her roommate, Chen Jiajia, leaning against the edge of the bed with bloodshot eyes.

The most ridiculous part was that, even in this emergency ward where the heater was set to over twenty degrees, Chen Jiajia was still tightly wrapped in that down jacket as thick as body armor. She was sweating profusely from the heat but didn't dare take it off.

"Jiajia..."

Lin Lu's voice was incredibly raspy, as if her vocal cords had been sanded down with sandpaper.

Her brain still throbbed with a dull pain from insufficient blood supply—a lingering side effect of extreme emotional upheaval.

Hearing Lin Lu speak, Chen Jiajia was so startled she shrank back half a step. She shielded her chest with both hands, clutching the collar of her down jacket tightly, looking ready to weather a violent storm.

"Lu Lu, I was wrong! I was really wrong! I shouldn't have teamed up with all those old schemers on the internet to lie to you!"

"You can hit me or scold me, just don't keep it bottled up! Come on, scratch me however you want!"

Chen Jiajia squeezed her eyes shut, looking like she was facing certain death.

However, the expected "nice boat" moment and fury never came.

On the hospital bed, Lin Lu just stared blankly and silently at the ceiling.

After a long while, another trail of clear tears slid from the corner of her eye.

She didn't go crazy, nor did she interrogate anyone. She only murmured to herself in a hollow, almost relieved tone:

"He really... didn't leave a single trace behind."

"Even his data on the Throne of Heroes has been erased..."

"Just what kind of fool, so gentle it's cruel, would make such a choice?"

Chen Jiajia was stunned. She cautiously leaned in closer.

"Lu Lu, are... aren't you mad at me?"

Lin Lu shook her head weakly, her lips pulling into a bitter smile that looked worse than crying.

"I don't blame you. If it were me, I would have also chosen to keep this heavy burden hidden so the new Master could finish this journey with hope in their heart."

"Only to shatter that hope with my own hands at the very end."

Lin Lu took a deep breath, a complex light flickering in her eyes. "Using this method of breaking the fourth wall to complete the final narrative... Gu Yi, that Old Thief Gu, is truly a complete madman."

"But he's also a genius who has elevated video games to the peak of art."

Lin Lu rolled over and struggled to pick up her phone from the nightstand. The screen was still on the B-site backend.

By now, the internet had already been turned upside down because of her "streaming accident."

The hashtag #LinLuHospitalizedAfterCryingWhilePlayingFGO had surged ahead of everything else, firmly occupying the number one spot on the trending lists of every major social platform!

Along with it, the game FGO had also gone viral outside of its usual circles.

Countless people who didn't usually play games clicked on the trending topic. After understanding the context—especially after watching Lin Lu's edited ninth art video and the recording of her final breakdown on stream—they were all deeply shocked.

A game could actually torment a high-cold film critic with a million followers to the point of heart rate overload and immediate shock, sending her to the hospital?! How terrifyingly lethal was this game's impact?!

Lin Lu took a deep breath, opened her B-site dynamic feed, and typed a few lines with fingers that were still slightly trembling:

"Thank you everyone. I've had some oxygen; I'm still alive."

"A general reply here: Jiajia has already been pummeled by me in front of the hospital bed (though her defense wasn't broken because she's wearing two down jackets)."

"And now, I finally understand why all the veteran players around the world were acting like riddlers, and why they used a fairy tale about a 'hero going into retirement' to lie to me. (Crying-Laughing.jpg)"

"What a cruel, yet great blow... Thank you for your gentle deception, allowing me to fully experience this unforgettable farewell."

"The strawberry cake oven has been extinguished, but I will carry the weight of that ring and keep moving forward."

—From a Chaldea Master who no longer has a safe harbor."

As soon as this dynamic was posted, hundreds of replies flooded the comments section instantly.

"Hugs for Lu Lu! Welcome to the League of the Brokenhearted!"

"Waaaah, seeing Lu Lu say this makes me want to cry again. Old Thief Gu is truly heinous!"

"Old Thief Gu! Come out and reimburse the medical bills!"

"After this battle, FGO's reputation as a masterpiece is officially solidified. Who agrees, and who objects?"

Just as the heat of this post was rising like oil on a fire, a comment with the official "Gold V" verification badge suddenly dropped to the very top of the comments section!

[Chaldea Studio - Gu Yi (Official Verification)]:

"Congratulations on clearing Part 1 of FGO."

"Since you ended up in the emergency room because of our game, the studio should naturally reimburse your medical expenses. Please check your private messages."

"Also, your story analysis video was very well done. Get some good rest; the journey ahead is still very long."

As soon as this reply appeared, the already boiling comments section instantly triggered a magnitude twelve earthquake!

"Holy crap! A wild Old Thief Gu!"

"Talk about adding insult to injury! You stab someone and then run over to offer medical bills? You're literally a devil!"

"Wait, Old Thief Gu actually praises people? Did he really watch Lu Lu's entire ninety-minute analysis video?"

"'The journey ahead is still very long'—translation: This is just the beginning; there are even bigger knives waiting for you later!"

"Why does this feel a bit ship-worthy? The cold-blooded devil producer x the hardcore female player who still loves it after being tormented a thousand times? Lu Lu, you've caught the official's attention with this move!"

In the ward, looking at the reply from the official account on her phone screen and the netizens beneath it who were stirring up trouble just for the fun of it, a blush of shame and indignation rose to Lin Lu's originally pale cheeks.

"Who... who wants him to reimburse medical bills! And who told him to watch my video..."

Lin Lu gritted her teeth and muttered softly. However, having the producer she had cursed out personally come down to give her his seal of approval still caused a strange ripple in her heart.

As if possessed, Lin Lu's finger long-pressed the comment and then secretly clicked "Save."

Chen Jiajia, leaning by the bed, saw everything and couldn't help but widen her eyes as if she had discovered a new world.

"Ooh ooh ooh, just a moment ago you looked like you'd given up on the world, and now you're blushing? Our high-cold film critic Lin Lu couldn't have developed Stockholm Syndrome from Old Thief Gu's knife, could she?"

"Chen Jiajia! Believe it or not, I'll strip off your down jacket and feed it to the dogs in a minute!"

A long-awaited, lively sound of bickering finally echoed in the ward.

...

With the conclusion of Lin Lu's final "breakdown drama" and her interaction with Gu Yi himself, the emotional tsunami triggered by FGO Part 1 on Blue Star finally reached its peak.

However, Gu Yi clearly didn't intend to give this group of players, who were immersed in grief and unable to extricate themselves, much of a breathing room.

That night at 10:00 PM.

On the Shark Streaming Platform, in PD's stream.

As the server's number one whale, PD was currently puffing on an e-cigarette, his eyes red from watching clips of Lin Lu's stream from earlier that day.

"Brothers, I won't lie to you. Seeing Lu Lu cry like that makes my heart feel heavy too."

PD sniffled and scratched his head irritably. "This Old Thief Gu is truly damn ruthless. It's been almost two months since the Temple of Time, but every time I think about it, I still feel empty inside."

"But then again, when the hell is this content drought going to end? I've cleared all the endings in the Roguelike mode. I have a full warehouse of saint quartz and no idea where to dump them!"

Just as PD was raging impotently and the stream's chat was joining in to denounce Chaldea Studio...

"Ding—!"

An extremely crisp system notification sound, carrying a heavy echo of destiny, suddenly rang out simultaneously on the terminals of all online players.

Immediately after, the Chaldea hall before the players' eyes went dark.

In the very center of their vision, three blood-red magic circuits (Command Spells) suddenly lit up, intertwining into a complex seal.

Accompanied by a stirring and mysterious BGM, a system announcement burst open!

[The source of all karma—has now been officially unsealed!]

[The Origin Chapter, the massive prequel expansion 'Fate/stay night', is now live!]

[—"Seven Magi, seven Heroic Spirits. To fight for the miracle-granting vessel that can fulfill any wish, a cruel slaughter where only one can survive unfolds in this city called Fuyuki."]

[New immersive single-player story mode: Now open!]

[After clearing the prologue, the large-scale asymmetrical survival competitive PvP mode—[Holy Grail War]—will be unlocked!]