Game and Reality, 5:1

By the year 2064, technology had advanced to the point where immersive equipment was already highly mature.

It could even blur people's perception of time, creating the sensory effect of "time dilation."

In other words, immersive equipment could effectively extend a person's lifespan.

Although human lifespans now generally approached one hundred years.

Who would mind living another one or two hundred years? Spending two or even three days inside immersive equipment meant only one day had passed in the real world.

Thus, a lifespan that had originally been one hundred years could hold two hundred or even three hundred years' worth of experiences.

However, such time dilation required a medium.

You couldn't just leave users sitting in a dark little room for two or three days.

That wasn't extending their lifespan.

That was prison!

To extend time, users had to experience things through their consciousness. Otherwise, it would simply be wasted time.

And games were undoubtedly the best choice!

Moreover, because game settings differed, many experiences were completely unlike reality.

If not for the steep prices of immersive equipment, the substantial maintenance costs, and the need to ensure proper nutrition for the body—

Most people would probably be willing to stay in virtual games forever.

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the pressure of making a living had been a mountain before every adult. Even now, that mountain still stood tall, and from time to time, it even grew a little higher, as though crustal collisions had squeezed it upward.

There was a psychology topic in college called "Why did adults forty years ago like staying up late?" The core reason was that they had too little time they could freely control.

Even knowing that staying up late harmed their health, they still had to scroll through short videos, look at pretty girls, and relieve some stress.

But after immersive equipment officially entered civilian use twenty years ago, things improved.

Working during the day to earn money and sleeping at night while playing games gradually became the main rhythm of human life.

Even old men in their seventies or eighties, after exercising and eating their fill, would put on a gaming helmet.

Then they would head to a tranquil lakeside that, though virtual, was no different from reality.

Holding a luxury fishing rod that cost hundreds of thousands in real life but could even be obtained for free in the game, they would pick a fishing spot, lay out bait, then elegantly cast a few lines.

The reason Tian Yao Company had crushed the major gaming giants and become the world's leading game empire was not merely because it made good games.

Its immersive technology was also a core advantage!

Games produced by other companies generally only achieved a game-time-to-real-time ratio of 3:1.

But Battle Through the Heavens was 5:1!

Given the same day, you could spend five days in Battle Through the Heavens. Even an idiot knew which one to choose.

It was worth mentioning that Tian Yao Company was now also responsible for supplying immersive equipment to schools across the country.

Yes, they had somehow squeezed four days' worth of classes into one day.

Learning efficiency had improved dramatically! Students everywhere said it was absolutely miserable!

They cursed Tian Yao Company bloody online.

This was oppression, this was torture!

Then, during vacation, they would hold Tian Yao Company's gaming helmets and shout, "Battle Through the Heavens, activate!"

Yang Shan's Game Pod had a healthy daily usage limit of twelve hours.

During that period, he could inject nutrient solution once in place of a meal.

Therefore, Yang Shan only needed to eat two meals a day to maintain his nutritional intake.

But this time, Yang Shan had spent seventeen hours online.

So when he stepped out of the Game Pod, he was somewhat short of breath.

His body also felt a little weak.

His stomach was already growling.

Yang Shan quickly went to the kitchen, cracked an egg, and made himself a bowl of simple homemade noodles.

After being hungry for too long, it was best not to eat anything too strongly flavored. It was easy on the stomach that way.

While eating his noodles, Yang Shan did not forget to take out his phone and browse the Game Forum.

Discussion threads related to the ID "Yang Shan" occupied half of the trending list.

After all, only two Global Announcements had been made across the entire National Server so far, and both had been triggered by Yang Shan.

But when he opened the threads, plenty of Players were still accusing Yang Shan of cheating or cursing Tian Yao Company for doing nothing.

Yet any Player who truly understood Tian Yao Company's technological capabilities and the relevant cyber laws would not believe Yang Shan had actually cheated.

It was nothing more than other game companies deliberately stirring up trouble.

After eating, Yang Shan rested for half an hour, changed into sportswear, and went out for a run.

Playing games was not something accomplished overnight. To fight a prolonged battle, he needed a healthy body.

Thus, Yang Shan placed great importance on his physical health.

This was also why he desperately wanted to upgrade his equipment.

A top-tier Game Pod priced at 1.88 million had a healthy single-session usage limit of a full forty-eight hours.

It did not merely provide nutrient solution.

It even had a meticulous microcurrent program that could exercise the user's body to a certain extent.

After running for an hour, Yang Shan returned home, took a comfortable shower, then napped for another half hour.

Although immersive equipment could replace sleep, the brain was still slightly more active than it was during deep sleep.

Resting a little longer and clearing his mind helped him adjust his condition.

Of course, before logging in, Yang Shan did not forget to take out his notebook and continue writing down his memories of the game from his previous life.

The first five words he wrote were: Alchemist Qin Wu! This was a "fortuitous encounter" triggered by Players during the early days of the previous life's server launch.

And after it was triggered, no one had successfully completed it.

According to the guide post shared by the Player who triggered it, the reward for this fortuitous encounter was a special Grade 2 pill formula—"Gathering Yuan Pill"! This item could increase the gains from a Player's AFK Cultivation!

Because that fortuitous encounter had failed, no other Player obtained the Gathering Yuan Pill formula until half a month later.

Even so, Gathering Yuan Pills remained highly sought-after during the early stage of the game.

They were perfect for earning his first pot of gold.

But before that, it would be best to raise his level a little more.

After all, the location of this fortuitous encounter was relatively deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, and the nearby magical beasts were rather troublesome!

Besides "Alchemist Qin Wu," Yang Shan also wrote down quite a few golden leveling spots from Version 1.0 after the server launch, as well as several fortuitous encounters from later versions that he remembered.

After logging in again, Yang Shan immediately received a system prompt:

Ding! Your AFK Cultivation time was 4 hours in the real world. You gained 100 base EXP. Because you consumed Spirit Stones to accelerate cultivation, EXP gained increased by 20%. 20 Spirit Stones consumed.

During the early stage of the game, using Spirit Stones to increase AFK Cultivation EXP was an extremely extravagant thing to do.

But to Yang Shan, time was money.

The sooner he leveled up and triggered the Alchemist Qin Wu fortuitous encounter, the more Spirit Stones he could earn.

Before that, Yang Shan needed to raise his level to at least Eight-Star Fighter, preferably advance to Dou Master, so he could ensure his own safety.

After all, once Players left the Novice Realm, dying would deduct a certain amount of EXP based on their current level.

Yang Shan decided to first try his luck at the Mittel Yunshuang Branch.

The Mittel Yunshuang Branch was actually built quite luxuriously.

But compared to the overcrowded Pang Family and Chai Family, it was still far too quiet.

Just like the Yunshuang Branch's current status.

Both the Pang Family and the Chai Family had Dou Ling experts stationed there.

But the Yunshuang Branch did not! This was also why, in the later Version 1.1, the Yunshuang Branch lacked the confidence to compete with the Pang Family and Chai Family for resources.

The moment Yang Shan reached the branch entrance, he heard someone say:

"Then, Master, this servant will go book a room at the inn first."

Then Yang Shan saw a fairly pretty Maidservant appear at the entrance.

The Maidservant glanced at Yang Shan, lowered her head shyly, and hurried away.

The next moment, Master Yao waddled out with his fat belly, his legs splayed outward. "Xiao Cui, you haven't told me which inn yet! Oh, you... that..."

Last time, Master Yao had been so eager to practice his spear technique that he had forgotten to ask Yang Shan's name.

"Master Yao, this junior is Yang Shan. I've come to trouble you again."

Master Yao immediately replied, "Oh, Little Friend Yang Shan, how could you possibly be troubling me? Have you come to consign something for auction at my branch this time?"

Yang Shan said, "No. I came to see whether your branch has any tasks available."

Master Yao suddenly understood.

"In that case, I do have a job here. I wonder whether Little Friend Yang Shan would be interested?"

Yang Shan said, "Please tell me, Master Yao."

Master Yao said, "My body has been recovering quite well, but if I want to recover faster, I still need something extra. If you can find me a Man Bull Root, I can make the decision to let you purchase a Yellow-Rank Intermediate Dou Technique of your choice at thirty percent of its price!"

Ding! Master Yao has issued a quest: Man Bull Root.

Quest Requirement: The Player must obtain one Man Bull Root from a Tier 2 Elite magical beast, the Man Bull, and hand it to Master Yao.

Quest Reward: The right to purchase a Yellow-Rank Intermediate (Purple) Dou Technique at thirty percent of its price.

Man Bulls!

Yang Shan remembered that these magical beasts could be found on the Great Prairie, more than ten kilometers east of Cloud Frost City.

As Tier 2 Elite magical beasts, Fighter-level Players could receive extremely generous bonus EXP for defeating them above their level!

At the same time, Tier 2 Earth Attribute Magic Cores, Bull Bones, and Bull Roots that Man Bulls might drop could all be sold to NPCs for a good price.

They were definitely one of the golden leveling spots of the early game.

Even if it were not a golden leveling spot, this quest was one he had to accept.

Questing and leveling combined into one—things could not be going more smoothly.

Yang Shan nodded.

"Then I'll help Master Yao look for it. Wait for my good news."

Master Yao reminded him, "Man Bulls are Second-Order Magical Beasts, after all. Little Friend, do not force yourself."

Master Yao did not continue chatting. After all, Xiao Cui was still waiting for him!

Yang Shan also turned around and made a trip to the Marketplace.

Man Bulls were Tier 2 Elite magical beasts, not something Players at this stage could easily provoke.

Using a few small tools could reduce the difficulty of farming them.

The tools were simple—five large red cloths big enough to cover a table, costing only two Spirit Stones in total.

Time to set off!