Elegy from Another World

The simulator's curved hatch slid open slowly with a slight hiss of air pressure, releasing a slightly astringent smell of coolant. A man dressed in a high-end silk robe abruptly sat up from his reclining position, his face ashen, ripped off the neural connection electrode attached to his temple, and slammed it to the ground.

"Hold!"

He stormed out of the simulator, kicking over the metal stand holding an antique vase. The sound of the precious porcelain shattering on the floor only fueled his rage. For the next five minutes, the luxurious, high-tech room echoed with a torrent of vulgar curses, all directed at the "damn, illogical, cheat-like NPC."

"...I spent so many resources training my elite template 'Demon Slayer,' and it was actually worn down and killed by a monster that just wouldn't die no matter what I did?! What kind of fucking plot kill is this?! There's no monster with this kind of setting in the database! Investigate! Investigate it thoroughly!"

He was panting heavily, roaring at the air. In a corner of the room, an elegantly designed, metallic-looking bionic mechanical secretary glided silently toward him, its optical lens calmly pointed at him.

"Sir, please calm down." The secretary's electronic voice was completely flat. "According to preliminary log analysis, there has been a major deviation in the [Border Bandit Lair Cleanup Incident]. The data stream of the target unit 'Lisma' showed inexplicable abnormal fluctuations at the event node 'Breaking of the Anti-Magic Chains,' and its 'Immortality' and 'Pain Conversion' attributes were activated and far exceeded the preset thresholds."

"I don't want to hear this technical nonsense!" the man waved his hand irritably. "Tell me why! Why would a normal story NPC turn into this? Is it the work of those persistent 'Awakeners'?"

"There is a high probability, sir," the secretary replied. "Recently, the underlying narrative framework did detect unauthorized data disturbances, and some NPC units exhibited behavioral patterns that exceeded their core commands, resembling 'signs of awakening.' This incident may be related to this. They may have attempted to implant or activate an extraordinary group to test system boundaries or to interfere with it."

"Damn it, it's them again!" The man's eyes were sinister. "These parasites, can't they just stay put and be my background? Why do they have to cause me trouble! Investigate! Use the highest privileges, trace the data flow, and pinpoint the source of the abnormal signal! I want to see which fearless 'ghost' dares to run rampant in my world!"

"The instruction has been confirmed. Execute the deep data source tracing analysis procedure. However, sir, we must remind you that such operations may trigger underlying protocol firewalls and raise system alerts."

"I don't care about alarms! Investigate! Investigate until you find out! I need to know what this 'Lisma' is, and also, find out all the 'Awakened' suspects who might be connected to her!" The man walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, outside which was a dazzling, layered futuristic cityscape, but his eyes were filled with only cold anger. "In my world, such a powerful existence is not allowed."

"Received, instruction recorded. Deep source analysis initiated, expected to take some time." The mechanical secretary nodded slightly, the optical lens flickered a few times, and then silently slid back into the shadows, blending into the room's gloom.