Living in the bubble economy of Tokyo, I became a literary giant through lotteries.

Friday, April 21st, 9:00 AM.

Akihabara, Ishimaru Electric.

The rain started in the early morning, and even though it was a weekday, there was still a long queue at the entrance.

Many people looked down at the leaflets in their hands, which were already wet from the rain, and checked them repeatedly.

The flyer was sent out by Nintendo last week. The front shows a gray game console with black buttons, and next to it is a line of bold text:

"Game Boy, play anytime, anywhere."

The back features the launch games: Super Mario Land, Tennis, Breakout, and Mahjong.

If it were just about stuffing FC-level games into a palm-sized box to carry around, it wouldn't be enough to make people queue up in the rain.

However, there was another line of text in bold red on the flyer.

"The first 20000 units are Sword Art Online collaboration editions, featuring limited edition cases and unique serial numbers from 00001 to 20000. This is a one-time offer; subsequent collaborations will not offer cases or serial numbers."

A boy in a school uniform in the queue was looking at the promotional leaflet over and over again. He said to his companion, "Twenty thousand units. Twenty thousand units in all of Japan. How many will Akihabara get?"

His companion adjusted his glasses. "Akihabara is Tokyo's largest electronics district. We probably get several thousand units here."

"What's a few thousand units enough? Look how many people are in front of us."

My companion glanced ahead and saw a line of umbrellas; the people at the very front of the line must have arrived before dawn.

"It's nine o'clock." The bespectacled companion glanced at his watch. "We'll open in half an hour."

The other person took a deep breath and clenched his fist in front of the rain.

"We have to get our hands on it today."

"I missed out on the special edition of the first volume, and everyone at school has been bragging about it for two months now. If I can't get my hands on this collaboration, I'll be ashamed for the rest of the semester."

Did you consider how you would feel if you failed all your exams when you said that?

"That's different. Failing a test is a problem with the exam paper, but a limited edition is a matter of dignity."

The shoulders of several middle-aged men in front of the two men twitched, and the sound of them trying to suppress their laughter escaped their lips.

711-Eleven convenience store in Shinjuku Ward.

The morning rush hour had just ended, and the store was briefly quiet.

The morning customer flow had left the shelves in disarray, and the store manager, wearing a green apron, was squatting in front of the shelves restocking.

He rearranged the entire shelf, arranging the rice ball wrappers in a gradient color.

This is a habit he developed over many years working in convenience stores: when he's not in a rush, he makes sure the shelves look nice and pleasing to the eye.

Doorbell rang.

"Welcome! How can I help you?"

With his back to the door, he habitually spoke, still putting the last rice ball back in its place.

There was no sound behind him. He turned around in confusion and froze.

"Long time no see, manager."

Guan Gu Feng smiled and waved his left hand, while carrying a large shopping bag in his right hand.

"Teacher Guan Gu!" The manager shoved the rice ball onto the shelf, strode over, quickly wiped his hands on his apron, unsure where to put it, and finally clasped his hands together in front of him.

"You've arrived! What brings you here? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I'll go make you some tea in the back right away..."

"No need, no need." Guan Gufeng quickly waved his hand, his voice carrying a deliberately soft familiarity.

He placed his shopping bag on the counter and his gaze fell on the display shelf on the wall, where his four books were placed.

"Manager, how's business lately? Is there anyone to take over after I leave?"

"There's a young man just like you." The store manager opened the glass door of the beverage cabinet, took out a can of sugar-free cola, handed it to Guan Gufeng, and opened a can for himself.

"But he was recently switched to the day shift, he should be here in a little while."

The two of them leaned against the counter, drinking and chatting.

"As for business, it's much better during the day, but it's still the same at night." The store manager took a sip of cola. "Revenue has almost tripled, and it's hard to hire people for the night shift. Actually, I've been thinking about stopping the night shift for a while now."

"But the young man we hired is down-to-earth, capable, and hardworking, just like you. However, you write novels during your breaks, while he draws comics."

"It's not easy for him either. He's so young but works so hard. I wanted to help him out, but he's been switched to the day shift, so I can stop working the night shift and rest at home during the day."

"By the way, how are things between you and Sachiko?" The shop manager handed Guan Gufeng a plum rice ball.

"How did you know, store manager?"

"I've been through this before," the shop manager said with certainty. "I could tell from your interactions with Sachiko several times. How is she doing?"

"It's good." Guan Gufeng blushed slightly as he took the plum rice ball that the shop manager had brought from home and took a bite.

It tastes just like before.

After taking a couple of bites, he pointed to the shopping bag on the counter and changed the subject: "There are my books in the bag. Except for the special edition of the first volume of Sword Art Online, I signed them all."

He took out a box and handed it to the store manager. The box was a little bigger than the book and had Nintendo's red logo printed on it.

The store manager took the box, unpacked it, and paused for a moment when his hand touched the edge of the cardboard box.

Inside was a gray-white Game Boy, with a number engraved directly below the Nintendo logo.

NO.00000

"The game console was custom-made by Nintendo. It's the '0'th game console, the only one of its kind in the world. It comes with four game cartridges, all of which are inside."

The store manager looked at Guan Gufeng eating rice balls in front of him, somewhat dazed.

I remember when he first came to the shop, he was so pale that he looked like a gust of wind could blow him over. That day, he was eating rice balls that I had made myself.

"Then I thank you on behalf of Yinggao. That child has been talking about you a lot," the shop manager said with relief.

Guan Gu Feng, who was drinking cola and eating rice balls, froze, his eyes filled with uncertainty, and his voice suddenly became cautious.

"Manager, by the way, what is your son's full name?"

"Miyagi Hidetaka."

"puff--!!!"

Guan Gu Feng suddenly choked, spraying out a little cola, which startled the store manager.

"Mr. Guan Gu! What's wrong?"

"Cough cough, it's nothing." Guan Gufeng coughed and took the tissue handed to him by the store manager to wipe his mouth.

"Manager, could you please write down your son's full name so I can see it?"

The store manager was a little confused, but he still wrote it down.

Guan Gufeng glanced at it and, realizing it wasn't the Miyazaki Hidetaka he had imagined, breathed a sigh of relief.

For example, he remembered that in the story of Hidetaka Miyazaki when he was a child, his parents were very strict with him and didn't allow him to play games before college.

"It's nothing." Guan Gu Fengwei, relieved that he hadn't become the protagonist of some future little story, said, "There's nothing else, I'll head back now..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open, followed by a male voice.

"I'm so sorry, manager! I'm late!" The person bowed, shaking off the raindrops from their raincoat, and apologized breathlessly. "It was raining today, and the traffic was a bit congested. I had to walk two stops to get here..."

He took off the hood of his raincoat, looked up, and saw that there was another person standing in front of the cashier.

The man slowly turned around, and what came into view was a face that he could see in newspapers every day.

He froze on the spot, his mouth agape.

"Kan...Kanya-sensei!"