Lost Protocol: The Forgotten Game
LitRPGawe mixed with existential wonder3 audio scenes
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1 chapter • 3 scenes
Summary
When college dropout Maya Chen reconstructs the lost rules of Liubo—an ancient Chinese board game forgotten for 1,500 years—using AI and archaeological fragments, the game goes viral overnight. But as players climb the leaderboards, they discover impossible truths: ancient names already occupy the top ranks, strategies that predate the reconstruction emerge from nowhere, and the #1 player has been waiting fifteen centuries for someone to finally log back in.
Characters
Dr. Yuki Tanaka
Ethan Park
Qin Shihuang (known in-game as "EmperorZero")
Maya Chen
Settings
Dr. Tanaka's University Office
A pristine academic fortress with diplomas covering one wall like armor, shelves arranged by publication date and citation count. Every book aligned perfectly, her desk bare except for a single pen and notepad positioned at exact right angles—a space that weaponizes order against uncertainty.
Maya's Studio Apartment
A converted Oakland warehouse loft where archaeological fragments cover every surface—3D-printed game pieces, open laptops displaying ancient texts, takeout containers forming sedimentary layers. The main room centers on a massive whiteboard mapping Liubo's possible rule variations, surrounded by walls papered with failed reconstructions crossed out in red.
The Liubo Game Space
A digital realm that exists between interface and imagination—the board appears as both ancient jade and glowing code, pieces casting shadows that shouldn't exist in virtual space. The geometry shifts subtly based on player emotion, walls breathing like living architecture, distances warping when strategies align across centuries.
Story Structure
1
The Hero's Journey
Maya's complete transformation from isolated academic rebel seeking validation through intellectual conquest, through trials that force her to surrender control and accept mentorship, to becoming a humble guardian of eternal knowledge who understands that true mastery means joining rather than conquering.
1
The Hero's Journey - Complete
Maya Chen's complete transformation begins when ancient leaderboards shatter her intellectual certainty, deepens through Qin's mentorship as she chooses mystery over reputation, and culminates in her acceptance as a guardian of eternal knowledge rather than its conqueror.
1
The Impossible Leaderboard
Maya watches Liubo go viral from her cluttered apartment, only to discover the leaderboards populated with ancient Chinese names—EmperorZero challenges her to a match, shattering her belief that she reconstructed the game.
2
The Choice
- Story ID
- story_myskAXQVAIHd1AGM
- Created
- December 28, 2025
- Art Style
- digital-art (digital)
- Status
- published
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