Chapter One: Hat Gone, Man Nearly Gone

He had assumed it was a launch-day Easter egg. Apparently, this egg intended to hatch him out of reality. His phone rang. His manager, Chen, had sent a voice message. “Night King, qualifiers at nine tomorrow. Also, why is there another money tree beside your desk?” Zhaoye stared at the leaves inches from his face and replied with perfect calm. “That’s me.” The chat displayed *typing* for three full minutes. Finally, Chen sent him a link to book a psychiatric appointment. He slipped through the gate behind a delivery robot and went straight to the immersion pod. When he logged back in, his avatar’s head was bare and three names had vanished from his friends list. Stranger still, the wardrobe icon for the Star-Mist Top Hat had not turned gray.