Virtual Dream Device

At 5:49 PM, the spacious office was enveloped in silence.

Chen Xu leaned back in his chair, a pen wedged under his nose, his eyes fixed on the computer screen as if pondering some difficult problem.

In reality, he was just zoning out; with work about to end, he was wondering where to go for dinner.

Old Tang, sitting behind him, leaned over and whispered, "Old Wang said he's treating the new colleague to dinner. Don't forget."

Another group dinner? Chen Xu felt a slight headache. He hesitated for a second before saying, "Got it."

Old Wang was their supervisor. This boss was great in every way, except for one thing: he loved group dinners, insisting on them at least two or three times a month.

Chen Xu usually avoided them whenever he could, but since this was to welcome a new colleague, it wouldn't be right to skip it.

Besides, he had made excuses to skip the last two gatherings. If he didn't show up this time, Old Wang would likely add him to his "little black book."

The thought of wasting two hours after work on a tedious, boring dinner made him feel rather depressed.

It wasn't that he had any issues with his colleagues; he just preferred to be alone after clocking out.

Most importantly, after sending money home last week, he didn't have much of his living allowance left, and their dinners were always split evenly.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Work was already exhausting enough; having no control over his own time after hours was just too much.

When would he finally be able to cast aside these trivialities and live the life he wanted?

"Beep—"

"Language calibration complete. Virtual Dream Device activated. Initiating identity verification—"

Chen Xu was startled by the voice suddenly ringing in his ears. His hand jerked, and his pen fell to the floor.

What was that sound? A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind. As he bent down to pick up his pen, he glanced sideways at his colleagues, but saw nothing unusual.

It didn't seem like a prank orchestrated by his coworkers.

Could it be a hallucination?

Then, the voice sounded once more.

"Verification failed. Switching to guest mode."

"Welcome to our product. This product is manufactured by the Star Universe Virtual Device Manufacturing Group. It allows you to experience a one-hundred-percent virtual, realistic dream. With numerous scenarios to choose from, you can enjoy a magnificent dream life."

Chen Xu suddenly felt his mouth go dry. Beyond the voice, a page appeared before his eyes with an icon in the center, much like a virtual computer desktop.

To verify it, he closed his eyes, waiting a few seconds before opening them again.

The page was still there, the high-definition color icon in the center standing out prominently.

His heart hammered against his ribs.

Before long, it was time to clock out. Chen Xu remained immersed in shock until Old Tang tapped him, jolting him back to reality.

"Work's over. What are you staring at?" Old Tang asked curiously.

"It's nothing." He looked up to see that the other colleagues had already left. He hurriedly packed his things and said, "Let's go."

The department had chosen a nearby restaurant for this dinner.

There were eleven people in the Advertising Department, which fit perfectly at one table.

The new colleague was a young woman, and everyone was very enthusiastic—not because of how pretty she was, but because the end of the year was approaching and the Advertising Department was about to get very busy. Naturally, everyone was happy to have another person to share the workload.

Most of those present were young, and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

The only discordant note was Chen Xu; he hadn't said much and seemed completely distracted.

The others didn't mind. Chen Xu rarely spoke during past dinners, so everyone was already used to it.

After the meal, everyone dispersed. They had work tomorrow and couldn't stay out too late, lest it affect their performance.

After the dinner broke up, Chen Xu caught a ride back with Old Tang.

Once in the car, Old Tang suddenly asked, "Chen Xu, are you okay? Chen Xu? Chen Xu..."

He called out several times before Chen Xu, who had been zoning out, finally reacted. "Hmm?"

Old Tang grew more concerned. "You've been looking troubled ever since we left work. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing, just thinking about some things."

Chen Xu tapped his forehead lightly and rolled down the window a bit, letting the breeze clear his head.

Ever since he clocked out, he had been obsessing over that "Virtual Dream Device," which was why he seemed so distracted.

Old Tang looked at him and said, "Is there some difficulty at home? I have twenty thousand in secret savings; take it and use it first."

"No, it's not that..." Chen Xu hurriedly explained. "It's not that. I'm just thinking about something else."

"I see." Old Tang nodded. "If you really run into trouble, just say the word. Don't suffer just to save face."

Chen Xu felt a warmth in his heart. "Thank you."

Old Tang didn't say anything more and started the car.

Chen Xu felt quite lucky to have a friend like Old Tang. Old Tang had graduated from the same university as him, five years his senior. They only met after Chen Xu joined this company.

It was precisely because of this connection that Old Tang usually looked out for him.

He felt grateful toward Old Tang, but even in his direst straits, he did not want to ask him for help.

Old Tang had only recently married and had to pay off both a mortgage and a car loan every month; his pressure was not much less than his own.

Half an hour later, Chen Xu arrived at his Rented House. The location was quite remote, requiring a ten-minute walk to the nearest bus stop.

He rented a Private Room of about twenty square meters. It contained only a single bed and a computer desk. It was a bit small, but it had a private bathroom, which was enough for one person.

The key was that it was cheap. The cost of living in this city was quite high, and rent was often the largest expense. It was not easy to find a place close to the company with low rent. He had been lucky to find this spot.

He set down his Briefcase and lay on the bed, holding his phone and staring at the bank balance shown in the text message: 499.32 yuan. He felt a headache coming on. With more than half a month left until payday and so little money remaining, it seemed he would have to tighten his belt to get by.

Then, he thought of that "Virtual Dream Device" again, feeling hesitant. Should he enter it? He had searched for a long time, but this inexplicable product—which seemed like Black Technology or some sort of system—didn't even come with a manual.

Normally, this device would not appear on his retina; it only manifested after he "awakened" it. It displayed only one icon with the prompt: "Enter the dream 'Doomsday Survival'?"

When he focused his attention on this line of text, he received a brief prompt: he could choose one item or one companion to enter the dream with. It provided quite a few item and character templates.

Furthermore, he had carefully discovered a hidden option: he could choose not to use the items provided by the dream, but instead copy an item from reality or bring a person into the dream.