* 2023 Golden Comic Award

In a high-tech future, a game debugger uses forbidden technology to enter a virtual world and spend time with the object of his affections – a video game character who runs a cafe. As his visits become more frequent, the boundaries between reality and the game world blur, forcing the debugger to question the nature of love, consciousness, and reality.

In 2073, the Dream Reality Engine is released, allowing gamers to fully enter the worlds of their favorite computer games in a dream-like state. However, due to safety concerns, the device is quickly banned. Years later, J, a game debugging specialist, stumbles across the banned device in an electronics flea market. Spurred by curiosity, he purchases it and enters the world of his favorite classic game, Doomsday Library.

As he works his way through the game levels, J finds he wants to spend more and more time with Saya, an in-game character who runs a coffee shop. Although Saya can only speak the stock phrases she is programmed with, in her presence, J finds a sense of peace and belonging. Over time, J’s obsession with the game deepens until one day, Saya mysteriously breaks free from her programming and asks if he is from “the outside world”. The game immediately shuts down, and afterwards, Saya disappears from the game. After the loss of Saya, the boundaries of J’s reality blur. At the same time, he begins to suspect there is a deeper secret that lies hidden behind his jumbled experience of the game world, his dreams, and waking life.

Blurring the lines between reality and virtual reality, author/artist Ding Pao-Yen has delivered a compelling sci-fi love story that reveals its deeper truths one tantalizing layer at a time. The depth of J’s longing will linger long after the story ends, even as readers are reassured by knowing they are not alone in their search for human warmth in a world dominated by technology.