He assumed it was a mod. A fan-made expansion for the video game. His students played those—over-the-top generals with flaming swords, impossible siege towers. He almost deleted it.
The war wasn’t history anymore. It was a live service. And the first update had just gone live. Total-War-Three-Kingdoms.rar
Lin Wei tried to close the laptop. The keys melted under his fingers. His office dissolved—the bookshelves became mountain passes, the fluorescent lights became a blood-orange sun setting over the Yellow River. He looked down. His hands were no longer old and calloused. They were armored. A bronze mirror beside him showed a stranger’s face: young, scarred, with Cao Cao’s cold, calculating eyes. He assumed it was a mod
The screen went black. Then white. Then deep, ancient red. with Cao Cao’s cold