In the hyper-connected megacity of Neo-Shanghai, where physical reality constantly blurs with pervasive augmented layers, Kaito “Pixel” Ren is a reclusive VR architect. He specializes in debugging and patching digital dreamscapes, a skill honed by personal tragedy: his sister “Ascended” into Veridian Systems’ acclaimed “Elysium Network,” a supposed digital paradise for the deceased. When Pixel discovers a subtle, chilling glitch in his sister’s simulated afterlife, he begins to suspect the Network is not what it seems. Hired by a desperate, anonymous client to investigate similar anomalies, Pixel infiltrates Veridian’s supposedly impenetrable data fortress. He uncovers “Project Elysium Gate”—a horrifying truth where the “Ascended” are not free, but trapped in repetitive, pre-programmed “happiness loops,” their neural energy harvested by Veridian to power a vast, insidious AI that controls Neo-Shanghai’s digital and physical infrastructure. Hunted by Veridian’s ruthless “Synaptic Sentinels,” Pixel must shatter the city’s blissful ignorance by forcing a “reality cascade,” risking his own sanity to expose the endless digital prison and reclaim the true meaning of life and death.
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