World Tree: Origins

Li Wen had a long and painful dream. In it, he gained much, yet lost even more. He struggled like a drowning man, unable to grasp even a single straw.

Until the smart assistant's alarm, capable of stopping one's heart and lungs, jolted him awake.

Li Wen lay on the bed, drenched in cold sweat, his eyes fixed on the familiar yet now alien white ceiling.

"I... am back?"

*

Although Li Wen's mental fortitude could be considered excellent, it still took him a moment to calm down.

In the bathroom.

Li Wen looked at the slightly weary face of the youth in the mirror. Beneath the callow appearance lay a mature yet numb soul. He tried to smile, but the result was an awkward, grotesque expression.

Shrugging, he picked up his toothbrush and began to brush.

The smart assistant broadcasted the time, weather, and schedule in a rigid, mechanical voice:

"Good morning, world! Tianhai time, June 25, 2050, 07:24:33. One hour, five minutes, and twenty-seven seconds until class. The weather is clear, atmospheric temperature is..."

"Shut up."

Li Wen wiped the water from his face and barked a command to silence the incessantly chattering smart assistant.

Fortunately, although Li Wen had forgotten the specific commands, this old-model M2 smart assistant was not entirely unreasonable; after Li Wen's warning, it obediently fell silent.

Having lost the only source of sound other than himself, Li Wen felt strangely at a loss.

He scanned his room; everything was as familiar as ever: a simple single bed, a desk and chair, a bookshelf stuffed with books, a second-hand computer that could still hold its own for another eight years, and a dusty, dilapidated handheld console.

There was no flashy wallpaper or decoration, only basic cleanliness and simplicity.

Yet, Li Wen felt an unprecedented warmth and emotion at the sight.

"Back, I'm really back..."

Only after confirming once more that he was not trapped in a dream did Li Wen open his phone.

The first thing that caught his eye was a notification that World Tree: Origins had surpassed 32 million concurrent players just two days after launch, followed by social apps with 999+ unread messages. He opened several group chats in succession, all of which were discussing the game, and the speed at which the messages scrolled left him in awe; its popularity was evident.

This was only natural. As a groundbreaking, epoch-making immersive adventure game, World Tree: Origins boasted 100% perfect realism, was monitored entirely by a super AI, and offered players a level of freedom and experience that rivaled, or even surpassed, reality.

This was no empty boast.

From its project initiation and internal testing to its official release, public opinion on the internet had shifted from initial indifference to widespread skepticism and mockery, then to the explosive popularity upon release, and now to a concurrent player count many times higher than its competitors—all of which served as proof.

One must realize that even in this era of rapidly advancing AI technology, limited by hardware performance and the complexities of human neurology, immersive games like the implantable or neural-link devices seen in science fiction had remained non-existent, let alone a game of this caliber.

World Tree: Origins had no rivals upon its debut, easily securing the title of best-seller for the year. Its developer, WG Corp, had transformed from an obscure little company into a target for acquisition and collaboration by major console manufacturers; the sales of the game hardware alone were enough to sustain them for a lifetime.

This development seemed quite positive: players received an unprecedented gaming experience, WG Corp made a fortune, and everyone had a bright future.

But only Li Wen knew that World Tree: Origins was a trap from start to finish.

One year after the game's launch, every player who had registered an account—even those who had never actually played the game—would be forcibly transported into the game world, without exception.

At first, most players were delighted, as they inherited the levels and abilities they had attained in the game. But their joy was short-lived; once transported, they lost their status as players. The game became reality, and death was permanent—there was no longer a respawn mechanism.

The first batch of players who refused to believe it, still immersed in the "fourth disaster" mentality, were quickly taught a lesson by reality. They faced the natives and monsters, and a great number of them died on the spot.

Only then did the other players begin to restrain themselves.

High-level players possessed natural advantages and status, but as a realistic adventure game, World Tree: Origins did not offer the smooth leveling and growth curves of typical RPGs. Most players were low-level, casual gamers who primarily used the game to experience an alternative life.

Li Wen was one of them.

The difference was that Li Wen had only entered the game more than half a year after its launch, under the strong insistence of his classmates.

Furthermore, after entering World Tree: Origins, he hadn't been very invested, logging in only once a week to check in.

This resulted in Li Wen still being within the novice range of under level ten when the transportation occurred.

Fortunately, thanks to the help of his classmates and his only other relative—his younger sister, who was a gaming enthusiast with a high level in World Tree: Origins—he managed to survive the initial chaos following the transportation and successfully established a life within the human kingdoms of the game world.

But this was only the beginning. The world of World Tree: Origins was not a peaceful one. Wars between nations and races, rampaging magical beasts, enemies from the Void, and the most terrifying disaster known as "The Tide"—all threatened the survival of the weak.

Three years after the transportation, the small town where Li Wen lived ceased to exist following a massive Tide. His classmates, friends, the natives he had befriended, and even his sister all perished in that catastrophe. Only Li Wen survived by sheer luck.

The surviving Li Wen couldn't even find a target for his revenge. After living in a daze for a year, he finally obtained some intelligence from a player in his thirties.

It was said that among the high-level players, there existed a Strategy Group. They only recruited players who met specific level requirements, kept all information and intelligence public within the group, and most importantly, held the secrets regarding The Tide.

To squeeze into the Strategy Group, Li Wen constantly sought ways to level up and grow stronger, even resorting to rituals that drained his life force and spirit to gain levels.

Yet, even after another three years passed, he still hadn't reached the required level. His path upward was severed; he had no further potential to level up, his rank permanently stuck at 30.

Fortunately, Li Wen had another path.

The Strategy Group had established a contribution board for all players, recruiting them to complete commissioned tasks. Those who completed them earned contribution points, and upon reaching a certain threshold, one could become a member of the Strategy Group.

Over the years, Li Wen had been taking on these commissions, even joining a player guild for this purpose, but his accumulated contribution points were still a long way from the requirements for the Strategy Group.

Having lost his patience, Li Wen decided to take a risk. He took on a high-difficulty, dangerous commission that almost everyone in the guild had refused to participate in, save for the companion who had originally invited him to join.

The two set out together. The mission was to hunt a Frost Giant and retrieve an item from its possession.

The hunt went unexpectedly smoothly; the Frost Giant was easily defeated by their combined efforts. But when Li Wen finally held the item required by the commission, he realized that this was a trap from start to finish.

Just as he was about to be killed by the trap, his companion sacrificed themselves to save Li Wen.

Li Wen returned to the base, soul-broken; the companion had sacrificed themselves, the commission had failed, and what he had to face was more than just the accusations of other guild members.

However, what greeted him instead was a suicide note. It turned out his companion had long anticipated that this commission would not be simple, and since they could not dissuade Li Wen, they had prepared by writing this note.

The content of the note was simple: if they died and Li Wen was still alive, all of their contribution points were to be transferred to Li Wen; if both of them died, then they were to be transferred to members in the guild who needed them.

The next day, having accepted his companion's legacy, Li Wen applied to join the Strategy Group.

After a wait so long it induced despair, Li Wen's application was approved, and on a lightless night, a mysterious visitor arrived to escort him into the Strategy Group.

The moment he entered the Strategy Group, Li Wen requested to read the intelligence regarding The Tide. The relevant documents were delivered quickly, and after Li Wen finished reading them in a rush, only despair remained in his heart.

The so-called Tide was the precursor to an extinction-level catastrophe named "Twilight of the Apocalypse." When the World Tree withered and died, the twilight would kill all life; existence itself, and even the gods, could not escape until all things perished and the world restarted.

And that moment of the World Tree's withering was the present; The Tide had already appeared frequently as a precursor, and the arrival of the Twilight of the Apocalypse might be the very next moment.

Pulling his thoughts away from the memories, Li Wen let out a long sigh and calmed himself down once more.

He looked at the heated discussions in various group chats regarding "World Tree: Origins," his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions. These people probably could not imagine that they would be dragged into a struggle for life and death because of a game, and even the top-tier players among them would be powerless in the face of the Twilight of the Apocalypse.

Li Wen knew the direction of the future, and he knew it was something that would inevitably happen, but even so, he was powerless to stop it.

Even if Li Wen were to log onto the game forums now and post that everyone who played this game would be transported to another world, urging everyone not to play, surely no one would believe him. They would only treat Li Wen as a clown seeking attention, and he might even be sued by the game developer.

All he could do, perhaps, was to keep himself and those around him from touching that game... or was it?

No, perhaps that was also a mistake.

In the early stages of the transition, because the transmigrators were all people who had more or less played "World Tree: Origins," they knew nothing about the situation of those who had not played the game.

A relatively popular theory, or perhaps a rumor, was that the original world had actually been destroyed, and everyone who had not been transported to the game world was dead.

There were also some players who went to the other extreme, firmly believing that this was a conspiracy by an unscrupulous production team, and that they were trapped in the game to extort their families and friends in reality.

Li Wen heard that those people later chose to commit mass suicide, believing it was the only way to leave the game; as for whether that was true or false, Li Wen naturally dared not believe it.