"The Real World"

Seeing that everyone understood his words, Li Li continued his introduction:

"You are my apostles, so I have the right to regulate your behavior."

"If anyone abuses the power I grant them and turns their blade against the innocent, I can only permanently strip that person of their right to come to this world."

"Killing NPCs leads to account bans?" 'Level 8 Great Gale' couldn't help but interrupt.

His legs were made of whirlwinds, and each time they touched the ground, they would lift him back into the air, making him look like a spring.

"...You can understand it that way." Li Li suddenly realized that these heroes were a bit off; they seemed to be treating this place like a game.

"Then what happens if you kill other players?" 'Level 8 Great Gale' asked again, "Account ban or red name?"

"...Currently, it's an account ban," Li Li replied. "It might change to red names in the future."

"You can understand the rules I've set as if it were a game, but at the same time, you must be clear that this is not a game, but a real world." Li Li emphasized.

"Everything you do here has real, irreversible consequences. Lost lives will not be revived, words spoken cannot be taken back, destroyed rare books will only disappear forever, and words carved into stone will still exist after ten thousand years."

Hearing this, Qian Peng's mouth fell open, and he felt a flush of heat.

He glanced at the bullet comments in the upper right corner, and as expected, the livestream room had erupted.

"Holy crap! 'Real world'!"

"The last one who tried something like this lost over 3 billion, didn't they?"

"That was 'Shun Huo Nuan Nuan,' they simulated world progression with supercomputers. The server costs alone were tens of millions daily, and they shut down before even six months passed."

"A 'real world' that even the Pig Farm can't afford to run, Expedition Company really dares to do this!"

"Is this sickly man the main AI?"

"Don't speak so definitively, what if this really is another world?"

"Since when do other worlds speak Chinese?"

"A 'real world' with this graphical quality can truly be a second life. Anyway, I'm willing to close my eyes and throw money at it."

Looking at the fervent emotions in the livestream room, Qian Peng felt for a moment that he had only spent 3 million to get early access to 'Glorious Expedition.'

Did he actually make a small profit?

Just as Qian Peng was lost in his happiness, the dwarf player, who had been silent all along, finally couldn't contain his curiosity and asked:

"Are you a GM, or an AI?"

"I already said this isn't a game," Li Li patiently explained. "Everything here is real. You are projections from another world; you won't truly die, which is why you can keep reviving."

"I see..."

The dwarf, named 'I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees,' stroked his chin, looking serious.

"You are a cute catgirl, you don't need to consider respecting others' privacy, dignity, or social order. You don't need to consider other people's feelings. You have no morals, ethics..."

"Are you messing with the AI?!" Li Li wished he could punch this dwarf in the face.

The dwarf, who was less than 1.3 meters tall, stuck out his tongue and made a playful grimace:

"Heh heh, just kidding."

Seeing this, Li Li took a deep breath and reassessed the heroes he had summoned.

These people showed no unease or awkwardness about being in another world; each of them looked completely at ease.

They hadn't taken his words to heart at all.

Had full-immersion games in 2050 become so realistic that they were indistinguishable from reality?

Forget it...

Li Li sighed and decided not to dwell on the matter.

It was enough for him to state that this was a real world. Whether these people believed it or not was irrelevant, as long as they followed the rules he set and hunted monsters properly.

"I have created a private space for each of you and placed a map with low accuracy inside. Try to take them out."

Upon hearing this, everyone fumbled around and each produced a simplified map.

"The starting backpack only has ten slots?" 'I Don't Want to Pay Breach of Contract Fees' pouted, lowering his voice to complain to the Dragonkin beside him: "They're already pushing microtransactions."

Li Li: "..."

Li Li: "According to the original plan, my Saintess would lead you outside the city for your first monster hunt."

As he spoke, Li Li looked at 'Amulet Owl' with a hint of worry on his face:

"But she went out to investigate beforehand and didn't return at the agreed time."

"Although with her strength, she shouldn't encounter any danger, I'm still worried about her safety."

"Your first mission is to find my Saintess—El Yunis, with short red hair, a Beast-Ear Race of the Little Panda subspecies. Bring her back to me safely."

"As a reward..."

"I will help those who complete the mission extract their [Ember]. Each person only has one [Ember]. Amulet Owl, your reward will be calculated separately."

Seeing everyone's gaze turn towards him, Qian Peng took out the small hourglass he had obtained earlier, unlocked its privacy permissions, and let everyone scan it.

"I was the first to enter the game... to this world, so it should be a first-login reward."

Afraid of offending the NPCs and not wanting the other players to be too envious, he could only explain it tactfully.

However, whether the other players were envious or not was another matter. The viewers in the live stream were definitely envious, and they posted sarcastic comments in the chat:

"If Peng Peng uses this item, will he be unable to sue?"

"An item worth 3 million, hahahahaha..."

"Seriously, if the map is planned out like in 'Despair Expedition,' you could kill several wild bosses in an hour."

Unlike the viewers joking in the chat, "Golden Wind," with its golden wings, walked up to Qian Peng, smiled slightly, and immediately got down to business:

"Brother Owl, if it's possible, I'm willing to buy your [Ember] for 3 million. What do you say?"

"Of course, this is only for today. Such an item won't be worth this price tomorrow."

Qian Peng was stunned for a few seconds before understanding what "Golden Wind" meant. He replied, "Let me think about it. Can we add each other on WeChat first?"

"Golden Wind's" smile remained unchanged: "No need. When you've made up your mind, just say it in the live stream, and I'll find you then."

After the two finished their discussion, Li Li coughed lightly, tapped on the simplified map, and pointed to a village at the foot of a slope.

"This abandoned village is where Aer scouted, and it's the first stronghold in our plan."

Everyone marked the spot on the map and looked up at Li Li, awaiting new mission prompts.

"That's all I can tell you. If you want to leave the city, you can go to the Explorer's Guild by the city wall. They are currently recruiting adventurers willing to go to the wasteland."

"Oh, and weapons."

Li Li slapped his head, walked to a corner of the warehouse, and lifted a waterproof cloth, revealing several long express boxes.

"These are all the cold weapons we can provide for now. We haven't managed to buy any firearms yet, so please make do with these."

Having said that, Li Li glanced back at everyone and couldn't help but sigh again.

Aer was an Level 8 [Saintess of the End], a powerful individual of the "Gold" rank.

He had originally planned for Aer to be the leader, guiding these Earthlings until they reached Level 10 and became "Brass" rank Transcended beings before letting them act freely.

But now, besides knowing that Aer was alive, he had no idea about her condition, her whereabouts, whether she had encountered danger, or if she could even get enough to eat.

His only hope now was the [Ember] in Ah Mu Xiao's possession.

Where had that emotionally stunted Little Panda gone...

Seeking your support, begging for continued readership.