Eastern University Research Institute, cafeteria.
Dong Hai had just gotten his food and sat down.
Ding Yanfeng leaned over with a mysterious look and whispered in his ear.
"Dong Hai, do you play games?"
Dong Hai widened his eyes and looked at Ding Yanfeng.
"Old Ding, what's this about?"
"A groundbreaking virtual reality game with a one-hundred-percent realistic experience! Reservations are insanely popular, and you can't get one at all, but I have a special invitation slot. Just say you want to play, and I'll reserve it for you right away."
"You haven't been roped into a pyramid scheme, have you?!"
Dong Hai immediately grew wary.
This obsessed—either a pyramid scheme or a cult.
"What pyramid scheme?! Have you read Three-Body?"
"I have. What does that have to do with pyramid schemes?"
"What the hell is with the pyramid schemes? Can you stop bringing them up?"
Ding Yanfeng was speechless.
"In the first Three-Body book, didn't that ETO organization develop a Three-Body game?"
"The game I'm introducing to you is even more realistic than ETO's."
Dong Hai looked skeptical. "Are aliens about to invade our world too?"
"There are no aliens. I'm just asking whether you want to play the game or not??"
Ding Yanfeng took out his phone and opened a webpage.
"You only need to tap reserve. You don't even need to fill in any information."
Dong Hai's eyes widened even further. What kind of new scam was this?
"Just tap it? I don't need to do anything else?"
"That's right, just tap it."
Still doubtful, Dong Hai reached out and tapped "Reserve."
Tapping "Reserve" indicated agreement to the terms and conditions. Full details could be expanded.
A line of text appeared, then vanished.
"All done. I helped you create an ID—Laughing at Tzeentch's Recklessness. Now just wait for your game helmet to arrive."
Ding Yanfeng put away his phone.
"This game will definitely blow your mind."
Dong Hai: "..."
That was it?!
Something felt seriously wrong.
Ding Yanfeng said nothing more. As he ate, he thought about the game.
He had already stockpiled quite a few Contribution Points.
He wondered what those Contribution Points could buy at the Cybernetic Prosthetics Shop that was about to open.
By evening.
Dong Hai had just been about to leave the research building when the front desk called out to him and said he had a package.
"I haven't bought anything online recently."
Confused, Dong Hai walked over and discovered that there really was a package with his name on it at the front desk.
After taking it back to his dorm and opening it, he found a strangely designed helmet inside.
"What is this thing?"
Dong Hai found it odd and picked it up for a closer look.
The helmet was exquisitely crafted, like a work of art.
Dong Hai ran his fingers over the patterns on its surface. The metallic texture felt cold and real.
He tried putting on the helmet. At first, everything before him was pitch-black, then a golden Double-Headed Eagle emerged.
Binary digits and runic code scrolled beneath it.
The game is loading. Please wait patiently.
Dong Hai took off the helmet, his face full of shock—this was actually a game helmet!
"Could this be the game Ding Yanfeng mentioned? But I clearly didn't fill in any information."
Frowning, Dong Hai picked up the helmet and hurried out of his dorm to find Ding Yanfeng.
Like him, Ding Yanfeng lived in one of the single dorms provided by the Eastern University Research Institute, and his room was not far away.
A few minutes later, Dong Hai arrived at Ding Yanfeng's dorm.
Ding Yanfeng was currently sitting at his desk, looking up information.
"What's going on?" Dong Hai set the helmet in front of Ding Yanfeng.
"What do you mean, what's going on?" Ding Yanfeng examined the helmet. Nothing seemed wrong.
Dong Hai walked to the door, looked around on both sides, then shut it and returned to stand before Ding Yanfeng.
"I mean, what's going on with that game?"
"Didn't you get the helmet? Is there some other problem?" Ding Yanfeng asked in confusion.
"Getting the helmet is the biggest problem! I didn't provide any information. How did they deliver it? Did you sell all my personal information?" Dong Hai demanded.
"I didn't." Ding Yanfeng raised a hand and swore, "When I first got my game helmet, I also thought my personal information had been stolen, but it hadn't."
"You won't believe any explanation right now. Why not wait until you enter the game? Then you'll understand everything."
Seeing how certain his friend was, Dong Hai could only suppress his doubts for the moment.
He wanted to see just what kind of game had captivated his friend so thoroughly!
Once the game had loaded, Ding Yanfeng told Dong Hai to put on the helmet and lie down on the sofa.
Seriously.
Was there really a virtual reality game more realistic than the Three-Body game?
The instant that thought arose in Dong Hai's mind, he saw a beam of light pierce through the darkness and shine directly into his pupils, even though his eyes were closed.
He hadn't even opened his eyes!!
Imperial Glory, Chapel of Prayers.
"Holy shit!!"
Dong Hai looked around him, and the suspicion in his eyes was replaced by shock.
This...
Was this really a fucking game world??
"Why are you making such a fuss?" Old Bird walked over to Dong Hai. "I told you it was a groundbreaking virtual reality game, but you insisted it was a pyramid scheme!! Do you believe me now??"
"It's this realistic?" Dong Hai examined his surroundings.
"This is nothing. Remember when I told you about repairing a reactor? That was from this game. The whole system was so complicated, it was just like the real thing."
Mentioning his achievement, Old Bird looked immensely proud.
"This is unbelievable. If such a realistic game were released to the public, heh, it would definitely revolutionize a lot of fields." Like a curious child, Dong Hai touched this and poked that.
"Come on. I'll show you around."
Old Bird showed Dong Hai the Chapel of Prayers, the Strategic Command, and the Command Hall, then took him to see the Reactor Chamber.
At the same time, Blood Pigeon had also brought several classmates who had flown planes before into Warhammer Online.
He taught them how to fly Valkyries in the game.
The realistic controls thrilled the students beyond measure.
They all shouted that this game was absolutely amazing.
With these students as pilots, the many vehicles aboard the Imperial Glory finally had a purpose.
Over at the station.
Following Qin Yun's instructions, Hina had prepared a detailed inventory list and was getting the Cybernetic Prosthetics Shop ready to open.
Qin Yun checked the prices. They were not outrageously high.
It was just that most players were poor at this stage.
Only veteran players like Old Bird, Brother Zhong, and Ten-Timer had any real spending power.
"The players need to become stronger so they can complete missions more effectively, but I can't just hand out Contribution Points for free."
Qin Yun frowned.
The enhancement surgeries Hina provided could directly improve the players' combat abilities.
But most players were broke and simply could not afford them.
If he gave out Contribution Points, it would also be unfair to those players who had worked hard to earn them.
"The players have no money, but I do. I can lend them money."
"I can also introduce a reputation system. Players with high reputation can even receive discounts."
Qin Yun suddenly felt like a genius.
If players had no money to spend, he could just lend them money.
If he didn't saddle them with loans, how could he make them work themselves to the bone like beasts of burden?!
Qin Yun explained his idea to Hina and told her to create a Chosen One Reputation System.
Hina did not really understand Qin Yun's train of thought, but she did as instructed.
Once everything had been resolved, Hina's Cybernetic Prosthetics Shop officially opened for business.
Qin Yun even used a holographic projection to issue an opening announcement.
"God Chosen, Priest Hina's Cybernetic Prosthetics Shop is officially open. We are now holding a grand opening sale."
"All items are available at fifteen percent off for the next twenty-four hours. Supplies are limited, first come, first served."
Not long after the announcement went out, the players all gathered there.
Since there were too many people for Hina to attend to personally.
Hina deployed Servo-skulls and holographic screens so players could check product information themselves.
What happened next unfolded exactly as Qin Yun had expected.
The moment the players saw the prices on the list, they began howling.
"Holy shit! A basic cybernetic eye with only rangefinding, vision adjustment, and light-dark adaptation costs two hundred thousand! And it doesn't even come with a blessing. You'll lose it when you die!"
"A basic auxiliary core costs 1.6 million and provides memory caching, assisted computation, data routing, and other functions."
"A B-14 Mantis Blade made of monomolecular material, using neural interface technology, costs eight hundred and fifty thousand."
"Did this game's developers play too much Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord?"
"Are this game's bastard developers from Tencent?"
"These prices are highway robbery!" Old Bird shouted indignantly.
He had worked his ass off to save over a hundred thousand, making him one of the richest players.
Yet he could not even afford a cybernetic eye.
Seeing the furious God Chosen shouting about the black-hearted bastard developers.
Hina followed Qin Yun's instructions and introduced them to the reputation and loan systems.
"This shop provides loan services, with credit limits determined by reputation level."
"Reputation can be earned through trustworthy actions such as completing missions and repaying loans."
When they heard they could take out loans, the players' eyes widened.
"Can a game really be this realistic??" Warmaster silently gave a thumbs-up.
"This is the first time I've heard of being able to borrow money in a game to buy equipment."
Old Bird was also impressed by the developers of Warhammer Online. Their way of thinking was truly bizarre.
"Funding expeditions with loans—am I invincible in every battle?"
"I don't admire anyone, but I admire this game's developers."
"We're the Fourth Calamity, after all. Aren't they afraid we'll run off after taking loans to buy equipment?"
"The guy who ran off after taking out a loan last time got beaten so badly he's been bedridden for ten thousand years."
The players sneered and began complaining together.
Then Ten-Timer suddenly stepped forward.
"Fuck it! Even if I end up penniless, I'm using Huabei to get equipment. I want to take out a loan for a Psyker Amplifier and try it out."
After signing a lengthy agreement, Ten-Timer was led into the operating room by Hina.
The surgery was completed quickly. Ten-odd minutes later, Ten-Timer emerged.
More than a dozen neural amplification cables, each as thick as a little finger, now protruded from his head.
"How does it feel? Did it hurt?" Old Bird grabbed Ten-Timer's hand.
"I didn't feel anything. I was anesthetized as soon as I went in. The whole time, my Scalp just felt itchy, and then it was over," Ten-Timer said.
Warmaster also leaned closer. "Give us a look. Let's see what equipment bought with a nine-hundred-thousand loan can do."
Ten-Timer extended his hand, and icy crystal-like Aether Shards appeared, swirling around his body.
He looked exactly like a mage in a game, making the other players drool.
"The amplification is pretty significant, and the control is more precise too."
"You get what you pay for. I feel terrifyingly powerful right now."
"Can I keep taking out loans? I think I can improve even more."
Having tasted the benefits, Ten-Timer turned to look at Priest Hina.
He wanted to max out his loans and see where his limits lay.
Unfortunately, his reputation did not support such a large loan.
Seeing the enhancements Ten-Timer had gained after surgery.
The players still cursed the developers for being black-hearted, but their bodies were honest. One after another, they took out loans, selected their preferred cybernetics, and strengthened their combat abilities.
To ensure the players could earn enough Contribution Points to repay their debts.
Qin Yun split the operation to take over Lycade Station into individual missions.
He let the players earn Contribution Points through missions while honing themselves along the way.
The second chapter will be a little later, because it hasn't been finished revising yet.
Before you continue