Chapter One: Forced Login at Midnight

At midnight, Gu Chen was about to sell his computer. Three years ago, one countdown from him could turn an arena final. Now his career as a disgraced esports shot-caller added only two hundred yuan to an old PC's value. The monitor went black. A silver ring appeared despite Gu Chen pulling the plug. 【Boundary Midnight Ranked is open. Player “Sinking Ark,” you have refused three summons. Login is now compulsory.】 White light swallowed the room. He woke on a metal platform suspended over a nocturnal city. The cold was too convincing for consumer hardware. Four strangers materialized: a short-haired girl in a delivery jacket holding a crossbow; a blind man with dark glasses and a cane; a tall woman in a bloodstained ER uniform; and a man in a