Arknights: I became an NPC in the online game

Felix froze. He never expected the officials to actually feature Magic ZX's video, and not just anywhere, but saved for the closing lineup—front and center.

That was prestige on a whole other level.

In his past life's 2.0 PV, his presence hadn't existed at all. The spotlight had gone to the same figures as always—like the Kazdel royal siblings, the fledgling Reunion movement gathering strength in Ursus, Iberia's Inquisition, and of course, the Emperor. Nothing there had changed from what he remembered.

But this time was different. His existence—and the founding of Tomorrow's Development—had actually been written directly into the PV.

It was free publicity on a global stage.

On the surface Felix kept his composure, but inside his mind was reeling. Players of online games flocked to more than just wild memes and second-hand jokes; a whole chunk of the community lived for reliving story trailers and PV cutscenes. And every time they replayed it, his face would be right there.

Viewership numbers inside the country had already hit peak saturation. Felix wasn't sure about the overseas stats, but he knew this was the moment international players had been waiting for.

Who would've thought—the game's official devs had just handed him the perfect assist.

He no longer had to scheme for ways to appear in front of players or burn his energy carving out a lasting impression. The PV itself had cemented him into the story, and not at the margins—he was practically occupying the center slot.

Closing the video, Felix opened up the forums. Sure enough, most of the threads were ablaze with discussions about the 2.0 PV, Fortress of Civilization.

He clicked into a post by Dreamchaser of Paradise. The guy, now part of the BaTu pro team, had kept the same habits as before—still spamming guides on the forums. This one was titled: "2.0 PV Analysis."

As one of the first pro players to join Tomorrow's Development, Dreamchaser had always been one of the most active voices advertising for them. On video platforms, the promo work was handled mostly by Magic ZX and a circle of fellow content creators.

"From the trailer, it's clear that in 2.0 Fortress of Civilization, we'll be heading to a brand-new capital city—a Mobile City. There, we'll find more opportunities, more quests, and more rewards."

After a quick breakdown of the cities that had been named outright and speculative guesses about the rest, Dreamchaser shifted his analysis to the "main character NPCs" who appeared on screen.

"The Kazdel twin rulers showing up as the final reveal says it all. Everyone on the forums should already be familiar with them. Their civil war has been raging in Terra's timeline for years without pause. Originally, players were meant to enlist in one faction's army or the other. But thanks to following the Pioneer, a lot of us ended up striking out instead—claiming land on Kazdel's southern frontiers. That colony now has a permanent population of over three hundred thousand. While the commanders who led that group, like Ulšulah and her mercenaries, didn't appear, the fact that the royal twins did strongly suggests that 2.0 will mark the end of the civil war."

"Which side will emerge victorious, and how exactly it will end—that much remains uncertain. But if the war does conclude, Kazdel will be unified. And for players still living there, their future suddenly becomes anyone's guess."

At this point, many forum readers went silent. A number of Sarkaz players in particular were blindsided. They'd long since cut ties with the so-called "War of the Twin Kings," carving out their own little third-party niche within Kazdel. Their confidence rested on one assumption: that as long as the twins were locked in endless infighting, neither side would pay much attention to their small-scale maneuvering.

But once the war ended? If either twin won, what stopped them from turning right around to crush the smaller factions? Wouldn't that mean total annihilation?

The players had no answers.

But Felix did.

In his previous life, after Theresis claimed victory, he didn't spare the "Immortals" so much as a glance. He simply gathered his elite forces and marched straight into Londinium, sealing himself away to work on his grand designs. Roughly half the Sarkaz players joined his army at the time, but in the end only a tiny handful—the highest-level, most powerful among them—were deemed worthy to enter his ranks as mercenaries and follow him out.

"Some of the upcoming NPCs—I've asked a few strategy group friends about them. None of them had ever seen these characters either. The guess is that they'll debut in 2.0 as new NPCs. Judging from the setting and background where they first appear, it seems very likely they're tied to Ursus's northern frontier."

That much was true. At this stage, players hadn't even encountered Reunion yet. In the previous timeline, players fought scattered and uncoordinated in the frozen wastelands of Ursus, leaving the land in ruins. Aside from the Chinese and Russian communities, a handful of other countries had also joined in, but naturally, players from different regions didn't share common ground. They tore into one another over scraps of supplies in the tundra. It wasn't until Reunion showed up that the players finally united.

This time, however, with Felix present, the situation was different. Players were working together, fighting with one heart. Would that change the course of the story itself? Felix didn't know.

"As for the next group of NPCs, no familiar faces either. Credit goes to several strategy teams in Iberia and the uploader, Mahayu. According to him, these NPCs belong to Iberia's faction—the Inquisition. It's possible they'll get their own dedicated storyline in 2.0."

Felix had no clear memory of that. In his past life, he hadn't spent much time in Iberia, and the Tribunal or Inquisition had left him neither strong impressions nor strong feelings—neither fondness nor dislike.

"This penguin, though, is a bit unusual… Up until now, the characters appearing before us players were all beast-eared girls. But this one—this time—it's a penguin. A real penguin. Probably because it looks so different from other Terrans, it stands out as something special."

The footage continued, flashing briefly over Wei Yanwu and members of the Lungmen Guard Department, then shifting to Columbia, Blacksteel International, and others—all carefully analyzed by Dreamchaser, his commentary sharp and convincing.

And then came the part that pulled Felix's full attention.

"Pioneer. Felix Shawn Lanshem. These are all the names tied to this man. Who would've thought that after appearing in 1.0 just to hand out rewards to players, he'd show up again in 2.0—this time not alone, but representing an entire faction?"

"Back in 1.0, some strategy groups predicted he'd return in 2.0. Now we know they were right. The Pioneer and his faction, Tomorrow's Development, recruited a batch of players at the end of 1.0 as their first employees. I once tried probing Pioneer myself. He admitted that a few months later, once 2.0 began, the company would expand on a large scale—recruiting 'adventurers'… in other words, us."

"For players, joining different factions opens different main storylines. And clearly, joining Tomorrow's Development is one of those choices."

"As a member of Tomorrow's Development myself, I've already shared the faction's interface, shop, and more in earlier posts. Whether or not to join is each player's decision."

"But one thing is beyond debate: Pioneer, Felix, has indeed appeared in the PV as one of the headline figures. Does this mean Tomorrow's Development has been officially recognized by the developers, elevated to a fully scripted, main-character faction?"

Reading this, Felix couldn't help but be stunned. Had he really been… chosen? It seemed so. Damn. As one of the closing highlights, his entrance—his very presence—radiated power. The way the developers cut the footage and framed his words amplified his charisma to the extreme. To any player watching, he came across as larger than life, inspiring, the natural leader of a faction meant to be seen as the protagonist's camp.

And in truth, he had been moving in that direction. He just hadn't expected such an official stamp of approval. Still, this didn't mean he could relax. Other NPC factions had also been given climactic spotlight at the end of the trailer. He was just one among several. That was no reason to grow arrogant.

If anything, the real task ahead was figuring out how to compete with those other factions.

Felix didn't bother scrolling through all the comments below. For him, Dreamchaser's summary captured what most players were already thinking.

The equipment originally commissioned from Qianmen Factory needed to be re-estimated, and at the same time the company's internal management and the handling of task commissions demanded more hands on deck. Felix couldn't keep all the players confined to Lungmen—besides, the city simply didn't have enough missions to accommodate them all.

In truth, the plan he envisioned was no different from what Rhodes Island had once done in his previous life. Players wouldn't be permanently stationed on the landship—aside from a handful of production specialists, the majority would leave Rhodes Island and roam Terra under its name, taking on missions and earning their own rewards and experience.

Of course, missions obtained through Rhodes Island, or those entrusted directly to the organization, would have part of the payout and experience siphoned back to Rhodes Island.

During this period, Felix became busier than ever. The company's upper management was still thin, and the only one who could really help him was Loughshinny. Every day she accompanied him, driving from one corporate tower or factory to another for business negotiations. Despite the grind, she never once complained. To her, all of this was her teacher's way of guiding her, and no matter how exhausting it became, she endured it without a word. Often, after long days, she would step into his office during their downtime, gently massaging his temples and shoulders to ease his fatigue.

Amid this endless routine, the World Championship finally roared to life.

From across the globe's eleven regions, forty-four teams had been selected and divided into four groups for a week-long group stage. There, Felix watched a squad of pro players clad head to toe in Tomorrow's Development gear, grinning ear to ear as they cut through their opponents like wolves among sheep.

Their opposition wore only the graduation set of the "Type-Zero Night Knight," plus a scattering of expensive auction house gear.

He watched the Warrior Squad push a Brazilian team to the brink, driving them mad until they cracked under the pressure and started dropping pearls in frustration. While Felix marveled at Cabus' terrifying strength, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Brazilian brothers. Truth be told, the gear gap wasn't that large—nothing like the difference between level 90 and level 100. The advantage was in marginal stat boosts. But what truly tipped the scales was that Warrior Squad had actually brought Degenbrecher in as their trainer.

Even the organizers—the U.S. agency authorized by Ark Company to host the tournament—were left dumbstruck. They'd expected the group stage to be a nail-biting bloodbath, but instead it turned out to be brutally one-sided.

"Oh my God! The BaTu Squad from CN just demolished Southeast Asia's Talon representatives. Counting the clash and the time on the field, the entire match only lasted five minutes and thirty seconds! These young men from CN are nothing short of astonishing!"

"No, my friend, it's not just them. All four CN teams, plus squads from Europe, the CIS, and even right here in the U.S. Alliance, are performing at this level. The experience and execution they've displayed are beyond what other teams can hope to imitate. Facing them feels like going up against the final boss squad in a Souls-like game."

The two casters gushed endlessly after the match. Then, as part of the broadcast, they invited on the Evil Geniuses squad, who had also just cruised through their opponents. Their captain, known in global community as "Brother Universe," sat down for the interview.

"Welcome, Universe! Congratulations—you just set another record, beating Japan's Demon Kings in four minutes and forty-eight seconds."

"Thank you."

"What's your secret?"

"Teamwork. And we have an incredibly reliable coach."

As Universe spoke, he smiled, but his body betrayed a faint shiver, as if from a conditioned reflex.

"She helped us a lot."

"She?"

"That's right."

Backstage, the recently eliminated Demon King Squad stared blankly at the screen.

A female coach?

Nani? Uso darou?!

What's going on here?!

The commentators quickly shifted the topic.

"Alright, let's talk about equipment. We can see that your characters are all outfitted in gear with a consistent, modern design. Whether it's the style or the color palette, everything looks very sleek and fashionable."

The commentator stopped short of asking the obvious question. In an online game, pressing a pro player to reveal where they got their equipment would be rude. For players, gear details are private—things like acquisition methods or stat values aren't casually shared.

Universe chuckled, fully aware of the reason behind the commentator's restraint.

"As for our equipment—yeah, we think it looks pretty cool too. As for how to get it… well, you'll probably find out soon enough."

The commentator froze for a moment at that cryptic reply, then moved on, exchanging a few words with Universe about the team's future before smoothly transitioning into the next round of the group stage.

The matches so far had been brutal. Either teams were locked in neck-and-neck battles, biting down on each other with no room to breathe, or there were crushing, one-sided blowouts.

The coaches of Korea's Seven Stars and T1 teams sat with stormy faces. They had drilled map control and team coordination for nearly a year—yet somehow, they were still losing in a 60–40 split to the very North American squad the scene usually mocked as "coin farming."

They'd already lose a match to CN, scraped by with a single win against the CIS region, and then got stomped twice by Europe.

What's next? Lose to Vietnam and Indonesia?