Yang Jian (Please Follow)

"Although virtual reality technology had made breakthroughs, allowing people to enter the Virtual World..."

"The technological requirements were too high, though, and it couldn't yet be miniaturized into small devices."

"The production cost of each Virtual Cabin was extremely high. A single Virtual Cabin cost at least Tens of millions of Xia Guo Bi!"

Guo Heng calmly stated the price.

"Tens of millions?" Jiang Tao sucked in a sharp breath and exchanged a glance with Lin Qi.

Lin Qi was secretly shocked. Tens of millions of Xia Guo Bi—across both his past and present lives, he had never seen that much money.

"Ordinary families simply can't afford one. They can only come to a Martial Arts Hall to use them."

"And the Martial Arts Halls buy Virtual Cabins and charge fees to recover the cost."

"The stronger the Martial Arts Hall, the more Virtual Cabins it can have. Ordinary Martial Arts Halls can't buy them at all."

"As the number one force in the Xia Kingdom, Red Sky Martial Arts Hall alone has a full hundred Virtual Cabins here in Tianhai City."

"And every year, new Virtual Cabins are added."

Jiang Tao stroked the metal pillar, stunned.

"A hundred of them? That's at least a billion."

After hearing that string of numbers, Lin Qi had already gone numb.

"In all of Tianhai City, aside from Red Sky Martial Arts Hall, only Black Radiance Martial Arts Hall and Abyssal Martial Arts Hall can compare to us."

"The Xia Kingdom's three top Martial Arts Halls aren't far apart in strength." Guo Heng continued, rubbing the pillar.

"Oh, right. You two should try it out as well."

"Scan the QR code on the platform, download the app to register, then pay to activate it."

"Beep!"

"One hour costs 500 yuan!"

Jiang Tao was the first to scan and register. When he saw the price, his expression changed.

Looking at the rows of Virtual Cabins, Lin Qi felt as if he had returned to the internet cafés of his past life. Everything was so similar, except Virtual Cabins really were expensive.

"That's the current price."

"In the future, the technology may improve further. Virtual Cabins might evolve into virtual helmets or glasses, and the price will drop as well."

"You'd better hurry up and try it." Guo Heng reminded them.

The silvery-white egg-shaped shell opened, revealing a seat reclined at a 125-degree angle. A blue metal helmet was installed near the headrest, along with metal patches that reflected the light.

"Once you activate it, Intelligent AI will guide Newbies. That's it for now—I'm going to start today's match."

After saying that, Guo Heng skillfully opened a Virtual Cabin nearby and sat down inside.

"Qi Ge, I'm going in to try it first."

Jiang Tao could no longer wait. He climbed into a Virtual Cabin, and the hatch slowly closed.

Scan, register, pay, open the Virtual Cabin—all in one smooth motion.

After Lin Qi finished, he sat inside his own Virtual Cabin as well. His body reclined halfway, and he slipped his head into the helmet. The cabin was icy cold, and as the hatch closed, he was plunged into darkness.

He subconsciously closed his eyes too.

Boom!

It felt as though some time had passed. Suddenly, his body jolted, his scalp tingled, goosebumps rose across his skin, and his consciousness began to sink.

He abruptly opened his eyes.

As he looked around, everything in his field of vision had changed. He stood amid an illusory starry sky, with starlight flickering around him.

"Mr. Lin Qi, welcome to the Red Realm!"

A Beautiful Woman appeared before Lin Qi. She wore a tight red Combat Suit and had her hair tied in a ponytail.

"I am the Red Realm's Intelligent AI—Xiao Hong. I can help you understand all the Red Realm's functions."

"Intelligent AI—Xiao Hong?"

Lin Qi looked at the woman. Every smile and frown of hers felt incomparably real.

Then he looked down at himself. His clothes had changed into a black tight-fitting Combat Suit. When he clenched his fist, strength surged forth, exactly the same as in reality.

He lifted his foot and stepped on the ground, feeling the rebound that only came from standing on Earth.

"The Red Realm is a virtual space jointly developed by Red Sky Martial Arts Hall and the Xia Kingdom's top scientists."

"It scans your physical body to achieve over 90% simulation of reality," the Red Robe woman continued introducing.

"In the Red Realm, there are games, Arena battles, social functions... and more!"

"If you are dissatisfied with the clothes you're wearing, you can change them."

"You are currently in your own Personal Space. You can use the Panel to check information, add friends, or enter the combat functions!"

"Can I view my own information?"

Lin Qi asked.

"Of course!"

With a wave of the Red Robe woman's hand, a blue Panel appeared before Lin Qi, quite similar to his own Panel.

[Name: Lin Qi]

[Age: 17]

[Phone Number: ...]

[...]

They were all details Lin Qi had filled in during registration. There was also a clothing-change function below. He was quite satisfied with his current outfit, so he did not change it.

"Can I change my nickname?"

"Yes!" Xiao Hong replied with a smile.

Lin Qi nodded. Out of habit, he never used his real name when using software, always choosing a nickname instead.

He immediately changed his real name, and he already had an idea for his nickname.

[Lin Qi] → [Yang Jian]

[Modify nickname: Yes/No?]

Lin Qi clicked "Yes." It displayed that the name change had succeeded, and there was no duplicate. Thus, his online nickname officially became "Yang Jian."

"Hello, could you give me a detailed introduction to the Arena function?"

"No problem!" the Red Robe woman explained with a smile.

"The Arena is divided into man-machine and matchmaking modes."

"Every martial artist who enters the Arena must pass the Man-Machine Test before unlocking the matchmaking system and being matched against other martial artists."

"Understood!"

Lin Qi nodded. It felt much like the games he had played in his past life.

"Alright, Mr. Yang Jian. If you have any questions, you can summon me at any time for answers."

"Okay!"

The Red Robe woman vanished into nothingness. Only Lin Qi remained in the Personal Space.

He tapped the Arena function on the Panel and selected [Man-Machine Test].

"Beep!"

The next second, the space shifted. It was as if an invisible hand had moved Lin Qi into another area.

Lin Qi's figure changed, and he appeared in a massive circular Arena spanning well over a thousand square meters. The Earth beneath his feet was hard and white.

Audience Seats filled the surroundings, but they were all empty for now.

"You have entered the Man-Machine Test. Since this is your first time activating the Man-Machine Test..."

"You have ten minutes to move freely!"

"Please select a weapon!"

The Panel switched, and all kinds of weapons appeared before him.

Lin Qi chose a Black Long Spear. Its tip gleamed with cold light; it had already been sharpened, a weapon capable of drawing blood.

"Bzz~"

Lin Qi reached out and flicked the Long Spear. Its shaft trembled slightly, producing a buzzing sound.

It was a Steel Spear, hard in texture and resilient as well. It was not cheap.

"Swish, swish~~"

In an instant, Lin Qi began wielding the Long Spear, executing the Mountain Shattering Spear Technique.

"Collapse Thrust, Whirlwind Break, Soaring Leap, Horizontal Block~"

The Long Spear tore through the air, bringing forth a burst of whooshing wind. It was completely identical to reality.

"I'm not tired?"

After executing the Spear Technique several times in succession, Lin Qi discovered in surprise that he did not feel tired at all.

"Because it's virtual, it doesn't consume physical strength?"

[Time is up. Test begins!]

"Whoosh~"

An electronic female voice rang through the air. The next moment, a tall Man wearing a mask and a white Combat Suit appeared not far from Lin Qi.

He held a Silver Spear, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

[Man-Machine Test: Kill the test subject!]

[3, 2, 1...]

[Officially begin!]

The electronic female voice in the air announced the start of the test.

"Whoosh~"

The next instant, the test subject swung his Long Spear and charged forward with rapid strides.

"It's started!"

"My first real battle!"

Lin Qi also swung his Long Spear. He stomped the ground, drove force through his legs, and shot forward in an instant.

His first battle was about to begin.