"Hello everyone in the livestream! I'm your favourite, Link—welcome to my stream!"
In a college dorm room, a short but strikingly handsome guy sat in front of a computer, speaking into his mic.
His name was Link. Just an ordinary university student in real life, but online, he had another identity—a well-known gaming content creator.
Right now, he was livestreaming Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 on a video platform.
Flying a plane is a dream shared by many aviation enthusiasts, and Link was no exception. Since childhood, he had been fascinated with aircraft. He could rattle off models, classifications, specs—you name it.
"Today we'll be flying the Airbus A320 by Asobo Studio, a newly added aircraft model in the game. I'm guessing many of you aren't too familiar with how it operates."
"So, I'll be guiding you through a tutorial flight today—how to complete a full flight route using the A320 in the game. Hopefully it'll be helpful!"
"Here we go, here we go! Our superstar is live again!" Link's roommate, Li Kai, pulled up a chair and sat behind him. "Getting that zero-lag first-person view every time you stream—this is the life, man!"
Link glanced back and gave him a grin, then returned to his gameplay. His roommates were all super supportive of his streaming, and his very first "supporter" viewer was none other than the guy right behind him—Li Kai.
"Switching to cockpit view now. First, we need to check the overhead panel and connect ground power..."
The game replicated real-world aircraft procedures with impressive accuracy. So even though he was only going through a standard cold-and-dark startup, by the time Link finished inputting the navigation data into the MCDU system, more than half an hour had passed.
"Our flight today is from Kyoto International Airport to Hongqiao Airport—one of the most popular real-world routes too. When you're entering the flight plan, make sure to input the correct four-letter ICAO codes—ZBAA to ZSSS. Don't mess it up! Otherwise, the plane won't know where to go!" Link explained while typing the departure and arrival codes into the plane's CDU interface.
"Oh no, I've already lost track of what's happening. Someone explain!"
"Looks fine to me! I'm following along in-game, and there's no discontinuity in the flight plan after inputting the route!"
"I don't get it... Why is a game this realistic? Games are supposed to be fun, and this is already not fun anymore!"
The chat was buzzing with commentary. Meanwhile, Link had already set the route and called for pushback in the game menu. The plane was now on the taxiway, ready for engine start.
"Here we go! Streamer's using reverse thrust to back up!"
"Bro above, the game actually includes pushback services. He's clearly called for ground handling!"
"Can't believe the game's this accurate! Paradise for flight sim lovers!"
…
Just then, a notification for the Wuthering Waves update popped up in a small window. Link quickly moved his mouse to close it, but accidentally shifted the camera angle down. From this new angle, the CDU panel's last line of input was clearly visible.
One sharp-eyed fan noticed something strange. Just a moment ago, the last line said "ZSSS"—the code for Hongqiao Airport. But now, it had changed to "YNZG"—some random code no one recognized.
"Streamer! I think your arrival procedure might be off! You just said Hongqiao's code starts with ZS, right?"
But there were too many chat messages flying by, and Link didn't notice the warning. He rolled the plane onto the runway.
The in-game ATC quickly gave clearance. Throttle to 40%, flight control surfaces checked, brakes off, TO/GA—takeoff power!
The plane roared, rapidly accelerating down the runway.
Moments later, V1 speed reached. Nose up. The aircraft soared into the sky.
"Let's gooo! Liftoff, wahoo!"
"I can't believe it—my first time flying (virtually) and it's with the legend Link himself!"
The chat was full of cheers and celebration.
Just then, Li Kai noticed something odd—Link's computer was making an unusually loud noise, something it didn't normally do.
"Link, your PC sounds weird," Li Kai whispered. Link shot him a glance, signaling for him to check it out. Li Kai quietly opened the side panel of the PC case and traced the noise to the graphics card.
"It's the GPU... That's weird. It's supposed to be high-quality. Why's the fan so loud…" Li Kai muttered, then turned to Link. "I think your GPU fan's acting up. Once you finish streaming, better take it in for a check."
Link nodded, still focused on flying the plane. It had just reached radio altitude, meaning autopilot could be engaged. He clicked the AP1 button on-screen, switching to automatic flight.
"Beep beep." The two chimes confirmed autopilot was active. "Now we can relax a bit—just manage the systems…" Link started to say, when he suddenly noticed something bizarre—the CDU panel's data was changing on its own!
The departure was still ZBAA, the SID (Standard Instrument Departure) was unchanged, and the climb waypoints were intact. But the enroute and arrival procedures had completely shifted!
The destination had also changed—from ZSSS to an unfamiliar "YNZG."
Link frowned, confused. Just as he was about to investigate, the master warning light on the overhead panel lit up—and the plane began to nosedive out of control!
"LOL! Look how smooth he was a second ago—and now he's in full panic mode!"
"This is Link's first ever crash on stream! History in the making!"
"Man! What can I say!"
The stream chat exploded—some cracking jokes, others more interested in the aviation mystery at hand.
Staying calm, Link checked every parameter. Nothing was abnormal. And yet, the plane's altitude was rapidly dropping, and the master warning wouldn't shut off.
With no apparent reason left, there was only one possibility.
"Alright folks, I just double-checked everything and there's no issue with the systems. It's probably a bug—thankfully, it's just a game. If this happened in real life, we'd be in serious trouble. I'll just restart the flight in a bit…"
Before he could finish, a jolt of electricity surged through his body.
He didn't even have time to react before collapsing in his chair, paralyzed. The last thing he heard was Li Kai shouting frantically.
"Link! What's wrong?! Shit—cut the power! Somebody help—call an ambulance!"