Ending 12 - Caged Beloved

For the umpteenth time, it was this cup of 52-degree tea!

Fang Qi's temples throbbed violently!

He was going to develop PTSD from this cup of tea!

The phantom pain of his leg being sliced off by the laser blade just now was still throbbing in his nerves...

It hurt...

It hurt so much...!

This woman was a complete lunatic!!

He had to escape!

He absolutely had to escape!!

This crazy woman was basically a walking torture device!

To hell with the yandere aesthetic!

To hell with eternal love!

Right now, he only wanted to get far away!

Looking at the silver-haired girl who was still smiling sweetly in front of him, and feeling the faint phantom pain still radiating from his leg, Fang Qi's mind raced!

How could he escape?

In the game, there were quite a few ways to temporarily get away from Liguang.

According to the game's setting... the male protagonist was a miserable corporate slave, and working overtime was the norm.

If he worked too much overtime, Liguang would get upset, which would trigger a bad ending.

But... as long as he didn't continuously court death, occasionally using working overtime as an excuse to go out was still very viable!

Right...

He would use this trick!

Escape first, think later!

Right now, in front of this crazy woman, he couldn't even calm his heartbeat!

He would only be subjected to her... again and again!

Fang Qi made up his mind and took a deep breath through his nose.

Looking at the gentle girl in front of him, he tried his best to squeeze out a perfectly measured look of exhaustion on his face:

"Liguang, even though it's the weekend, the company just sent out an emergency notice. I... have to go back to work overtime now."

The silver-haired girl's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

Fang Qi's heartbeat couldn't help but skip a beat. He held his breath, waiting for Liguang's response.

The next second, Liguang looked up, her face still bearing that impeccably docile expression.

She curved her eyes submissively: "You still have to work on the weekend? Master, please take care of your health."

...She agreed?

Fang Qi almost burst into tears right then and there!

As expected, his 312 hours of experience were useful after all!

He forcefully suppressed the urge to turn and run, striking while the iron was hot: "Yeah! This overtime is very important. I have to leave right now!"

As he spoke, he pretended to be in a hurry, quickly standing up and walking step by step toward the door, not daring to spare Liguang another glance.

"Master, please wait a moment."

A soft, airy sentence made Fang Qi's footsteps halt, instantly freezing him into a plaster statue.

He turned his head mechanically, seeing Liguang walking over with that cup of black tea.

"The tea is getting cold."

She offered the cup to him, her amber left eye so gentle it seemed as if water would drip from it: "Have some water before you go out. You look very thirsty."

Only then did Fang Qi realize his throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking.

From fear!

He didn't dare refuse. He took the cup and gulped it down loudly, wiping his mouth: "Tastes good. I'm leaving now!"

With that, he quickly pulled open the door and slipped out!

In the moment the door closed, he caught a glimpse of Liguang's heterochromatic eyes, gently watching him from behind the crack of the door.

Click.

The door closed.

Fang Qi's legs went so weak he almost dropped to his knees.

—He was out!

Run first!

Run first, think later!

He broke into a sprint!

In the hallway, only the sound of his panicked footsteps and racing heartbeat remained.

He dashed into the elevator! Frantically pressed the close button and the first floor! His eyes fixed dead on the descending elevator numbers!

The doors opened!

He charged out!

Crossed the lobby!

And plunged headlong into the somewhat dazzling sunlight!

Then he continued to sprint, sprinting for two whole blocks!

With the cool autumn breeze blowing and the warm sunlight shining on his body, Fang Qi finally calmed down a little.

His footsteps gradually slowed.

Then stopped.

Finally, he crouched by the roadside, clutching his head and groaning.

"What's the point of running...!!"

"I have to clear the perfect ending to leave...!!"

He was going crazy!

Passersby looked at him as if he were a lunatic, wondering what this guy who suddenly crouched down and hugged his head was doing.

Fang Qi couldn't care less!

He was in a state of frantic inner conflict.

To achieve the true ending, he had to interact with that crazy hag who had snapped his leg with a single kick!

Was he supposed to go back?

He shivered all over as he remembered Liguang's red eyes, shining with excitement when she slashed down with the laser blade.

No way...!

...Call the police?

Say my AI wife is trying to kill me, and report Liguang directly?

No.

That absolutely wouldn't work!

It wasn't that he couldn't bear to part with his wife of 312 hours... alright, he admitted, it was a little bit of that.

But mainly, he knew the consequences of reporting her!

Liguang was the heroine of the game. How could the game allow the player to successfully report Liguang? If the player chose to report Liguang, it would trigger a special bad ending with absolute certainty!

Liguang would forcefully bypass the security protocols and hide, making it impossible for the official retrieval team to find her.

Then, no matter where the player hid, she would find her beloved Master, paralyze him with an electric shock, and forcefully take him away!

She would find the basement of an abandoned factory, imprison him there, and then... break his limbs.

And not just break them once!

It was periodically, whenever the bones started to heal, she would break them again!

He remembered that CG all too clearly.

In a dimly lit room, the player was chained to a bed with their limbs wrapped in bandages, their pupils devoid of life, while Liguang sat by the bed holding a bowl of porridge, smiling with sweet happiness.

This ending could be considered the most tragic of all endings!

...Reporting her equated to seeking death!

"So, what should I do... Do I really have to go back..." he muttered to himself, pondering.

While still deep in thought, he suddenly felt...

Huh, why am I a little dizzy?

"...Hm?"

His head grew heavy, and he stumbled!

The glaring sunlight before his eyes began to twist and spin.

His limbs felt as heavy as lead.

"...What's going on...?"

He staggered and grabbed a streetlight pole for support, his vision becoming increasingly blurry.

Did he run too fast just now and get low blood sugar?

Or...

Suddenly, a terrifying thought flashed through his mind.

...Wait, that cup of tea?!

That cup of tea, Liguang had brought it over to him after he stood up. Did she... tamper with it then?

His consciousness began to blur, his legs gave way, and he slowly slid down the streetlight pole.

In his hazy consciousness, he saw a glimpse of a light blue skirt hem.

Then, he fell into a warm, soft embrace, a delicate strawberry scent lingering around his nose.

...

Consciousness returned.

This time, there was no white light of loading a save file.

Fang Qi felt himself curled up.

The hard sensation beneath him, and a kind of... oppressive feeling of confinement brought on by a cramped space.

He abruptly opened his eyes.

His field of vision was cut into small pieces by metal bars.

It was... an iron cage.

He was locked inside a square, fully welded alloy cage.

It wasn't large; he could only sit curled up inside, curled into a ball, unable to stretch his legs and arms.

Outside the cage was a dimly lit room, and... that sweetly smiling silver-haired girl.

Fang Qi's mind went blank.

...He was locked in a cage?!

He remembered that ending in the game:

[Ending 12 - Beloved in a Cage]

Liguang could not bear your escape.

She custom-ordered the sturdiest alloy cage.

The cage was completely welded shut, and you were placed in the center of the living room.

Every day, she would feed you on time, clean your body, give you toys, hum songs to coax you to sleep, and quietly gaze at you from outside the cage, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction and happiness.

At first, you raged, struggled, and screamed, but gradually, you grew accustomed to curling up.

You would tilt your head up to accept her touch when she reached out, and flash a fawning smile whenever she drew near.

"You will always be where Liguang can see you, and you will always belong to Liguang."

BAD ENDING

"Are you awake, Master?"

A soft voice drifted in from outside the cage.

Fang Qi turned his stiff neck to look at the silver-haired girl.

Liguang was currently sitting on a small stool beside the cage, resting her chin in her hands, her mismatched eyes sparkling as she stared at him.

Her left eye was a gentle amber, while her right eye was a slightly frightening crimson.

An undisguised smile of excitement was plastered across her face!

She even swayed her body gently, like a little girl who had just laid eyes on her favorite toy.

"You ran so fast," her voice was sickeningly sweet. "Liguang almost couldn't keep up."

Fang Qi's throat went dry.

Fuck... this crazy woman!