The Forum Opens

"The previous life had never mentioned this character. Vortex... Names translated by meaning like this usually belong to extraordinary races—elves, demons, dragons, and the like."

Judging by the letter's contents, she was likely the person in charge of the Teleki Exhibition Hall, or at least the agent responsible for its marketing.

That card voucher capable of amplifying people's inner desires had most likely been her handiwork.

Just wait—Li Aoz clenched his fist. You dared scam me out of my money. Sooner or later, I'll dox you, drag you out, and teach you a harsh lesson.

"The sending date is ZGM.0238/1/13—the Abyssal Passage Calendar. The 238th civilizational restart era, first entropy extinction, Narrative Thirteen."

There was no concept of time in the universe. Differences in gravity affected how the passage of time was described.

Therefore, those important figures used a universal calendar, with each restart of an era serving as a time cycle.

They discarded years, months, and days, recording only destruction and rebirth.

It was an extremely complex and ancient calendar.

Li Aoz remembered that only extraordinary beings with lifespans exceeding 20K used this method of recordkeeping. Their memories stretched too long and grew too vast; it was never meant for short-lived species.

At this level, the other party was at least a Sigma-class extraordinary being—somewhat stronger than the levels in the game from his previous life.

"Still, Narrative Thirteen..."

As Li Aoz recalled, Narrative Thirteen referred both to a time period and a geographical location.

More specifically, it referred to the thirteenth overlord-class civilization to emerge. That meant Grina was currently within that period, located in the thirteenth overlord civilization.

As for the thirteenth overlord civilization, players usually called it the Heroes Empire (Lords Empire).

This calendar fundamentally did not fit a mortal's concept of time. Even Li Aoz did not know much about it.

Time seemed mysterious to planetary civilizations, but in the universe, it was hardly a big deal.

"What? There were dragon women like this in Narrative Thirteen? After version 12.0, people had descended at least two layers into the Star Abyss, and they were using Narrative Ten."

Li Aoz shook his head.

Her contacting him was probably just something like a mass message. It was impossible that she had actually paid attention to an ordinary person like him.

A dragon woman who was at least Sigma-rank had actually stayed in Narrative Thirteen—Li Aoz wondered whether the Heroes Empire had specifically invited her. Still, that had no meaning for him at present. A Sigma-class powerhouse was roughly equivalent to lv. 360–380. Powerhouses at that level had generally lived long enough and tended to be laid-back and mild-tempered.

Her tone and name alone suggested she had a good personality. Grina was probably the gentle, intelligent big-sister type.

That made it even less likely that she would care about a Minor Figure like him.

What truly interested Li Aoz was the opening of the official website and forum.

"The players are finally coming! No, though—the Alpha Test only has fourteen people. Probably only a few will be assigned somewhere near Frostplate."

Li Aoz checked the news on the official website. Qiqiao Network had announced that it had issued the first batch of testing slots. The primary purpose of this Alpha Test was to demonstrate the game's development completeness.

"So it really is that legendary Alpha Test. The point in time matches up."

The Alpha Test was a content-completeness test.

Put simply, it was meant to show the governments of the various countries that had invested in the project how complete the game was, proving that the company had spent the money where it mattered.

Unlike traditional immersion games, "Star Abyss" involved many real-world engineering projects, particularly those concerning human Neural Links and networks. Governments across the world attached great importance to it.

Beyond the game itself, "Star Abyss" carried immense social significance, encompassing the Metaverse, cloud-based Olympic competitions, Electronic Immigrants, virtual capital markets, and more.

The principle was simple. A game that could be developed as a second world could host tutoring classes, companies, schools, and simulated military training.

In version 9.0, players had even represented their home planets and countries in fighting a true war within "Star Abyss."

A game? Reality? To the players and the nations behind them, "Star Abyss" had always been an electronic colony.

The entirety of "Star Abyss" used chaotic-theory algorithms, allowing the optical brain to calculate, evolve, and develop on its own. Even Qiqiao Network, as the developer, had no authority to alter or manipulate its data.

Theoretically, a game developed using optical-brain technology that had prevented every war in reality could not possibly have errors. Otherwise, humanity's theories since the advent of quantum technology would all have been wrong.

But governments did not see it that way. Only by ensuring the players' personal safety, information confidentiality, and public property could they safely proceed with the series of projects that followed.

Thus, before the official launch, Qiqiao Network had to conduct a content-completeness test and confirm that there were no issues before opening the first non-wipe closed beta, warming things up for corporations and professional player groups.

Only then would come the open beta: universal Neural Linking, with citizen players from every country descending into Star Abyss.

"Come to think of it, 'Star Abyss' has never had GMs or decision-makers. Players had always felt that this world was far too real, while the optical brain and Qiqiao Network interfered with the game far too little... Things are getting interesting."

Li Aoz did not know much about these policies or the secrets behind them.

Conspiracy theories about "Star Abyss" had always been endless online. Some claimed, "The game is just a cover; players are here to colonize a two-dimensional world," while others said, "The reality we live in is actually virtual, and the game is the real world."

Li Aoz had never been interested in conspiracy theories.

But now, he was somewhat curious about his own transmigration and the world of "Star Abyss."

After all, this was not his profession. As a streamer, he was better at designing scripts and creating entertaining moments to showcase his skills and execution.

Put bluntly, he was more like a variety-show performer, except most of his performances were improvised.

"The Alpha Test won't help me. The official staff probably won't notice me, so it won't affect anything. Most likely, I won't run into them either."

Li Aoz was a little disappointed, but that only made him look forward to the future even more.

Qiqiao Network had no authority to alter the game's numerical values.

These internal testers could only start over leveling with blank-slate accounts, and they did not really have any special privileges either.

In his previous life, players had been disgruntled with the developers and the pay-to-win system, taking out their anger on internal testers. If they had not beaten a thousand of them to death, there had at least been more than three hundred.

Sigh, they were all working stiffs. Why bother...

Li Aoz could not squeeze any good equipment or skills out of them.

Still, since these people had internal data and reference materials, they should not have been bad at making money.

After the alpha test came the professional players from the closed beta, along with major companies and organizations, plus some highly popular media creators and streamers.

They were Li Aoz's real prey.

"When the time comes, they'll definitely be won over by the charm of the Mutants."

Speaking of which...

Li Aoz glanced at the Game Store in the final patch version and could not help laughing.

If he really ran into official testers, he would definitely sell these goods to them.

Damn official devs, just watch how I fleece you!

Li Aoz opened the Game Forum. Although it was only the alpha testing phase and there were no trailers or preview images yet, quite a few people had already gathered on the player forum to discuss it.

Walnut Leads the Funeral: Reply 1 for a free Little Pudding—IP Location: A-Yang Convenience Store, Chuyun Province: I feel like Little Pudding... isn't as good as Three-Delicacy Instant Noodles—IP Location: Antarctica

Ultimate Hunter Cat Thunder: 1111, big sis, are you really giving it away? I really need it—IP Location: Oburi Desert Outlaw Liu Huangshu: Why is it only in alpha testing now? Is a game made by an optical brain really that mysterious?—IP Address: Hastings Star Pure Ding Ichiro: Didn't the person above read the news? This game was jointly developed by the governments of various countries to transfer part of the market and population into it. To put it bluntly, it's electronic immigration. For people who can't afford housing, the government pays to upload their consciousness to the cloud, preventing them from turning to crime because they can't find work—IP Address: Litang

Electric Baton toot: You could put that more plainly. In ancient times, this was called exile—IP Address: Frozen Animal Park River Little Sun 258: Yes, it was all at my instigation.—Jinxin

Just as he had expected, there was basically no useful information on the forum at the moment. People were not especially enthusiastic about "Star Abyss" yet, though some had already noticed the issue of electronic immigration and begun expressing concern.

Li Aoz had no particular opinion on electronic immigration.

In his previous life, Li Aoz had wanted to continue experiencing real life and had not uploaded his consciousness into the game. Unexpectedly, his entire body had ended up transmigrating into the game instead.

"Life is unpredictable. Anything can happen."

Li Aoz closed the forum and sighed.

The players might be resistant to electronic immigration now, but perhaps marketing accounts had already begun making things up and blowing the issue out of proportion, condemning it as inhumane.

After two more versions, their attitudes would make a complete one-eighty.

"Why did you suddenly start sounding like a philosopher?"

Qiu Ran held the steering wheel and glanced curiously at Li Aoz.

He shook his head.

"Nothing. I just remembered some mistakes I made when I was young, blindly following the crowd."