The page had a black-and-white layout, giving it a somewhat vintage feel.

On the homepage, a cute little crab was scuttling back and forth.

“Fingerprint authentication works, so that means it’s mine?” Ethan Foster curiously reached out and tapped the little crab—an instinctive reaction.

Such a cute thing, crawling around, just made you want to poke it.

After he poked it, the little crab waved its big pincers and danced energetically.

The page began to load and change.

A moment later, a pure white page popped up.

On the huge page, there was only a small avatar.

The avatar was quite small, and you could just barely make out that it was a girl with heavy smoky makeup.

Ethan Foster reached out again, curiously tapping on the little avatar.

A faint vibration was felt through his finger.

Immediately after, a line of text popped up below the avatar.

Name: Olivia Carter

Note: ‘May I please get a good night’s sleep again?’—After midnight every day, she gets depressed and suffers from insomnia.

“Olivia Carter?” After seeing the name, Ethan Foster softly read it out loud.

“Here!” A woman’s voice immediately responded from the e-reader. But the voice sounded a bit tired, a little hoarse from lack of sleep.

“Huh? That’s pretty interesting.” Ethan Foster said with delight.

It felt just like years ago, when the teacher would call roll in class and the students would answer.

It also reminded him of the ‘digital pet’ handheld games he played as a child.

However, aside from that one “here” response, there were no other options to interact with on the e-reader.

He searched for a while but couldn’t find any options for feeding, bathing, cleaning up, or playing games. A bit of a letdown—he hoped the game developers would add all sorts of new features in the future.

After poking around the homepage, Ethan Foster gave a gentle swipe.

The page changed.

Sure enough, a new avatar appeared.

This time, the avatar was a creature wrapped entirely in a blanket, looking a bit like a hamster.

Ethan Foster tapped the avatar skillfully, and the game’s name setting popped up.

Name: Mia

Note: Every channel must be opened.

“A little creature this time?” Ethan Foster tried calling out, “Mia?”

“Squeak~” a sound came from the game device.

[Voice control gameplay?]

Interesting.

Ethan Foster found himself entertained.

Honestly, sometimes a man’s joy is just this simple.

Chapter 6: That Wealthy Warmth

Even if it was just a simple roll call game, as long as no outsiders saw him and he didn’t have to worry about feeling embarrassed, he could have a blast.

After the girl and the animal both answered roll call, Ethan Foster scrolled to a character related to ‘plants’... It was a plant girl wearing a high-tech spacesuit.

Literally a plant person—the girl in the picture had plant-like shoots growing from her back and head, and she was sitting in front of a small fan, opening her mouth toward the breeze.

Ethan Foster had played around like that when he was a kid, too.

“The name is ‘Noah Wright’, and the note says: Lately, the soil on Blue Star is too polluted and doesn’t taste good.” Ethan Foster glanced over the character info.

Soil from Blue Star? Where is Blue Star? Is it a planet in the game’s setting?

Does this game have a huge backstory?

Interesting!

“Noah Wright.” Ethan Foster cleared his throat and called out.

“Present~” a childish voice sounded from the e-reader.

The voice was so cute and soft it could melt your bones.

“The roll call line changed, and so did the voice.” Ethan Foster stroked his chin. “Is it a different voice and line for each name?”

Although there weren’t many features, it seemed the game’s design had put in some real effort.

He kept swiping his finger, calling out one name after another.

The e-reader responded to each roll call, just like taking attendance.

—It was such a monotonous and boring game, yet Ethan Foster played for a long time without getting bored.

Until he was almost at the end, when another not-quite-a-name name appeared on the screen.

The avatar was a long-haired woman in a sci-fi outfit, wearing a helmet that covered half her face.

But the name field just had a number: 713.

Note: Likes petting dogs, dislikes questions about age, and has a goal—I want to develop superpowers~ If ordinary physical attacks can’t solve something, then superpowers will!

“This name, is it ‘qī yāo sān’?” Ethan Foster confidently read aloud.

But this time, there was no response.

“Not ‘qī yāo sān’?” Ethan Foster was puzzled.

“Then it must be ‘qī bǎi yī shí sān’!”

“Still not? How about ‘seven, one, three’?”

He tried several times, but none were correct.

He was stumped.

“Am I doing it wrong?”

Or maybe...

“Qī, yī, sān?” Ethan Foster pronounced each number slowly and clearly.

Saying it that way, it sounded a bit familiar?

“Codename 713, present.” At last, a long-awaited voice came from the e-reader.

“Perfect.” Ethan Foster was completely satisfied.

He continued swiping his finger across the screen.