"Don't Σ(△|||)︴!"
Ke Qing screamed in horror, flailing the mouse in her hand, desperately trying to grab onto something with the hammer.
But the bald-headed man had already slipped from the platform on the left. The hammer couldn't catch anything on the smooth rock face.
Down he went—smack—right onto the Stone.
Panicking, the engraver (that's Ke Qing) tried to push the stone again with her hammer, but instead ended up helping bald man fall even further left.
Crack—a pot shattered on the ground. Boom. Back to Happy Hometown.
And just then, the narrator chimed in:
"There is no feeling more unforgettable than starting over."
Shrimp and pig heart, that line stung. Like, bro. Salt on the wound.
Back to Happy Hometown means starting from square one.
And the further you've climbed, the more it hurts when you get yeeted back.
Ke Qing had just made decent progress. Now, in the blink of an eye—back to start. She froze, blinked a few times, then clenched her teeth.
"Happy Hometown? Fine. Starting over? No problem." Ke Qing hyped herself up.
From the old tree at the starting line, the determined engraver clawed her way back under the building ruins.
This time, she mentally reminded herself: "Easy. No rushing."
She hooked the hammer onto the junction box—launched—then hooked onto the triangular steel frame.
Almost. It caught for a second, then slipped off the edge. Down again.
She tried again—finally landed it solid—and used it to climb higher.
Now she needed to hook onto a tiny metal ledge. First attempt? Fail. Second? Also nope.
But the third try finally did the trick—she flung herself up and managed to hook onto a guardrail above.
"Phew... seriously, this game is evil."
Ke Qing wiped sweat off her forehead, her heart pounding from all the tension.
Moving on, she had to go left now—hooking a horizontally-placed ladder mid-jump.
One flick of the mouse—bam! Bald man grabbed the ladder in midair.
Tough for some folks, but Ke Qing handled it like a champ.
She carefully scaled the ladder, exited the little shack, and had to leap onto its roof next.
Once she landed there, she used her hammer to peek above.
Her face dropped.
The terrain up top? It was wild. Stairs hanging upside-down, like someone decided gravity was optional.
This section? Pain.
But she wasn't giving up now.
Her vertical jump wasn't enough, so she had to retreat, using the shack's eaves as a launch point.
First attempt—missed. Fell.
Luckily, there was a long platform on the left to catch her. No need to return to Happy Hometown. Yet.
Retry.
Eventually, she made it to the upside-down stairs—but couldn't move up.
Desks, chairs, random junk all over. The footholds were tiny and annoying. Pure nightmare fuel.
After getting stuck there for over half an hour, she finally cleared it—only to run into the next anxiety-inducing spot.
At the far left, a barbecue grill sat on the cliff's edge.
Above it? A jutting rock. The only way forward.
You had to perch on the grill, then hook the rock perfectly. No room for mistakes. One slip, and boom—Happy Hometown.
Ke Qing took a breath and slowly nudged bald man onto the grill.
Hammer reached up—hooked the stone.
She pulled hard, sending bald man flying toward the upper cliff.
The next jump needed a launch off a smooth stone. Yeah, you can guess what happened.
The hammer slipped—bald man fell.
Ke Qing panicked, trying to save him, but the hammer just shoved him further left.
She could only watch in horror.
Boom. Back to Happy Hometown.
The narrator, like always, had something to say:
"It feels like… the day before your assignment is due, and you accidentally delete the whole thing."
"Yeah. Been there," the narrator added.
Ke Qing just froze.
After grinding for over an hour—back to square one—and this broken game had the audacity to mock her?
Too cruel. (*｀д′)!
She slammed her tiny white fist on the desk. The mouse jumped in fright.
So mad. Ke Qing is so mad (?`~′?)!
She'd never been humiliated like this before—not by a game, not ever.
Even though Ke Qing had eaten a ton of Rui Shen's little snacks, she was still his precious catgirl.
Seeing her like that, Rui Shen gently patted her cat-eared head and handed her a can of Cola.
"Take a break, Ke Qing. You can't beat this game without the right mindset."
Ke Qing accepted it, said thanks, drank a few sips, and collapsed on the couch to cool off.
Then she realized… Rui Shen patted her head.
That kind of gentle, close gesture was something only family used to do.
She lowered her head, face quietly flushing red.
After downing the ice-cold coke, Ke Qing's fire came back.
But when her three-hour daily play limit ran out, she was slumped on the couch like a gray little statue.
Hehe. Destroy everything. No love left.
It was still that cursed spot above the grill. She just couldn't get past it.
Slip once—back to square one.
Eventually, her mental state crumbled so bad she couldn't even get up the starting cliff. Even the home tree was bullying her.
Again and again—up and down. Up, then back to Happy Hometown.
And the narrator just kept talking, hitting her shrimp and pig heart again and again:
"It's like heading out for a trip, an hour in, and realizing your wallet's still at home."
"Or winning big at the casino, betting it all on red, and black wins."
"Or spilling sauce on your freshly dry-cleaned shirt before your wedding."
"Or finally convincing your friend in a heated debate… only for them to change their mind five minutes later."
...
Silence. Then, Ke Qing shed a few tears.
She cried. (╥﹏╥)
Never in her life had she been this wronged.
How could one dumb hammer game break her like this ヽ(#`Д′)ノ!?
Seeing her on the verge of total breakdown, Rui Shen tried to comfort her—barely holding back a grin.
"It's just a little setback. Falling back to Happy Hometown is basically a rite of passage in this game."
"Once you've done it a hundred times, it gets easy."
That only made Ke Qing feel worse.
A hundred times back to Happy Hometown? How is that supposed to be comforting (?`~′?)!?
"Hmph. I'm done for today. Rui Shen, don't forget—you've got a dinner reservation at the Jade Chamber tonight."
Ke Qing stormed out of the café, still fuming.
So. Angry. Seriously, so mad. (▼皮▼#)!
She probably went home and chopped like, a hundred logs to vent.
The onlookers who watched Ke Qing suffer felt weirdly satisfied—and also kinda scared of what's coming next in the game.
Meow meow, this game's literally built to torture players.
And the narrator? Saltier than the sea when you mess up.
But that's exactly what makes people want to beat it and flex.
After watching Ke Qing struggle for three hours, it was already way past lunchtime.
Rui Shen, who had no idea how to cook, grabbed a kid hanging around the internet café, gave him some Mora, and sent him off to Wanmin Restaurant to get takeaway.
As for kids playing games?
Rui Shen didn't mind if they paid.
But if anything not kid-friendly shows up later, they'll be banned from playing. Even from watching.
Soon after lunch, another person showed up.
No, not an casual person—it's that Fatui Harbinger.
Childe. Tartaglia. The infamous harbinger himself.
Even though he was mentally prepared, Childe still looked shook when he stepped into the café.
No Vision response. Physical strength suppressed.
Originally, he wanted to challenge this visitor from another world—get some friendly sparring in.
But clearly, Rui Shen wasn't about that life.
Childe strolled up to the counter with a big ol' smile: "Yo, Boss Rui Shen, good to meet you. Name's Tartaglia."
Rui Shen gave a deadpan reply: "Mm, hey. Childe."
Yeah… he didn't like this guy. Not even a little.