The New World Civilization

A week later.

In a certain group chat.

"Brothers, the person in charge said the closed beta slots are limited, first come, first served. You can invite people, but the IP address must be in Shancheng City. For now, it's only being tested in our city."

Only accessible in Shancheng City. The reason was simple.

Because Zhu Zhengwei's "Mobile Dream Network" currently barely covered this area.

"Could it be a company from our city that developed this? Then our city is on the rise! What kind of game is this, anyway?"

"A game about contemplating life, called 'Mortal World.' The content is about being a plant, very serene, a sightseeing game. Word is the company's main focus is aiding sleep."

"Huh? So on the game screen, you see the scenery from a plant's perspective, wearing a VR helmet and watching it as you sleep?"

"Damn! This game sounds like it has no gameplay. Can't even move, too lame!"

"No choice, it's not a big studio game. Probably going for an aesthetic VR scenery game, suitable for scenery fans and casual players."

"I work in the game industry myself. Hearing the intro, I can directly say it has no competitiveness. 'Elderly Sleep Aid 3D Desktop' is in the same category—aesthetic games, sightseeing. Their scenery simulation was a big production, ambitious, costing tens of millions. Movie-grade special effects in virtual reality, soothing sound effects, fairy-tale beauty. It targeted the elderly in cities, advertising 'A nature sleep journey in the city.' At the time, they thought about charging a monthly fee. How big is the elderly market? If every one of them bought it, wouldn't they rake it in? But most elderly people are frugal and don't have that habit. In the end, they lost everything."

Many people were pessimistic.

There was already a failure case before. This company sure had a thick skull.

And who were they looking down on?

Making another "Elderly Sleep Aid 3D Desktop" category, trying to get us into health maintenance?

Still, some people entered the game.

Ding!

"Welcome to 'Mortal World'"

"Closed Beta Version 0.2"

"Current Version Expansion: Leek's Descent."

"Current Online Players: 514."

"Leek?"

Many were stunned.

Good grief, really good grief!

This game sure is honest!

Soon, people started playing, and the reactions were just as Zhu Zhengwei had imagined.

The feedback was "shocking," yet so "mediocre."

Zhu Zhengwei casually clicked on a game review.

"Big production! Super big production, brothers, you won't regret jumping in! The graphics are insane! This is freaking amazing!"

"Damn, compared to other VR virtual games, it's like the difference between 480p and ultra HD!"

"Every frame is a wallpaper, burning through the budget! You can imagine how seriously this game company worked to make this elderly sleep game! (Crying with laughter)"

The moment they entered, countless people were stunned.

The graphics were simply outrageous.

Outrageously terrifying.

The previous dynamic aesthetic scene game had over a dozen dynamic scenes, costing tens of millions, claiming high graphics and a real-life wonderland, replicating real-world Huashan, Shushan, and Zhangjiajie. But this game's scenes had already completely blown it away. It must have cost several billion? Hiring the top domestic and international tech teams?

What kind of stupid company throws money away like this?

But setting the money aside, the game quality was still worth praising.

Handsome Man: "Ahem ahem, now for a proper quick review. First off, the expansion 'Leek's Descent' is pretty hilarious. The game content is: we're born as a plant—leek, dandelion, weed, wheat—randomly scattered everywhere. We live out the plant's life, then respawn randomly as another plant, starting reincarnation again."

"The gameplay is simple. I'm currently born on a plain, with some ruins of buildings in the distance."

"Wow! The scenery is super, super beautiful! The dynamic scenes are incredibly real! Sunsets and sunrises, like a fairy tale!"

"And what's more notable is that our scene isn't just one place. I briefly chatted with the group, and each of us has a different birth scene—coastlines, cliffs, hills, deserts!"

"There's even one lucky guy who said he was born as a weed by a stone path and occasionally saw travelers in unique clothes! Oh my god, there are even 'hidden aesthetic scenes' with characters! I don't know how many of these 'sleep scenes' the game company prepared, but they really put in the effort, loaded bastards!"

"Honestly, how detailed is it? When a breeze blows, we can see ourselves swaying with it. It's so beautiful! If we could move around in it, it would be a cross-century super game world, a true 'Elder Scrolls world.' But unfortunately, we know we can't. This is just a sightseeing game, a pure visual game that sacrifices gameplay, watching scenery as a plant."

"At first, I thought it would be boring, but actually, being patient is pretty interesting. It let me experience a plant's life, very calming, like meditation, cleansing the mind and body. It's a super healing game!"

"Currently, the official word is that it's still in testing, but it's already polished to an astonishing degree. The scenery in every aspect is flawless. I haven't found a single bug yet."

"Above is my simple initial review."

"Summary: The single gameplay was destined from the start. It's just an aesthetic niche scenery game, for sleep, targeting 'those with retirement needs' and 'scenery-loving girls.' The main focus is still sleep. Imagine putting on a VR helmet, listening to the wind and rain, watching the sun and moon alternate. Beautiful, isn't it? Relieving modern people's stress, helping them fall asleep. The scenery is incredibly beautiful, but I can already foresee getting bored after watching it for a while."

"Recommendation: Five stars, a niche cult classic! (I've already recommended this sleep desktop scenery to my grandma and grandpa. They love it, saying it's so beautiful it doesn't look like the mortal world.)"

Zhu Zhengwei scrolled down.

The comments were overwhelmingly positive.

Someone commented: "Ah, I absolutely love it! It's really great for sleep—I've been having insomnia lately, and I fell asleep right away."

How could they not fall asleep?

It's a new type of second-generation remote hypnosis technology.

Though the hypnotic force isn't strong enough, it's sufficient for aiding sleep, and it can pull them into the Mobile Dream Network.

Someone commented: "Nice! It's a total sleep aid, super nourishing. I've been using it these past few days, and it really feels calming, like meditation. Even my mind feels clearer, and my study efficiency has gone up! I'm going to recommend it to my girlfriends!"

Every night, it exercises your brain.

How could this kind of brain-training device not work well?

Zhu Zhengwei watched the feedback with growing satisfaction:

"Not bad at all, exactly as I predicted. A very niche hypnosis-based scenery game, same nature as Minesweeper—simple, practical, and unlikely to raise suspicion. Nothing bizarre about it. The only thing game developers will think is: which idiot burned money to make a sightseeing game? And they call it Leek's Descent? I think that developer is the real leek."

That's the beauty of it.

Everyone thinks I'm a philanthropist, and I'm perfectly hidden.

Even if someone catches a hint, I can slip away cleanly, because no one can trace my origins or whereabouts.

Zhu Zhengwei checked the login count. Including the previous four hundred servers, it had already hit the cap: 1,000.

Even though it's a niche game, with such a large population base, this number was easily reached.

And his "Mobile Dream Network's" carrying capacity was gradually strengthening, but beyond 1,000, Zhu Zhengwei felt he couldn't sustain it anymore.

So he stopped letting people in.

There were quite a few complaints:

"Hey, why can't I get in?"

"It's full? What about my afternoon nap? I'm addicted! I want to hear the sounds of nature! Begging for a spot!"

"Ah, I get it. The graphics are too insane—even for a scenery game, it can't fit that many people. The servers can't handle it."

"You're young. You are the servers." Zhu Zhengwei glanced at it and ignored them.

His main goal was to pull people in; nothing else mattered.

This method was indeed feasible!

With six hundred more servers, the world's computing power had surged again. Now his plan could officially begin.

"Computing power has spiked. Time to go to some kingdoms and scatter seeds of civilization." Zhu Zhengwei lightly stepped forward and entered the world.

In a stretch of desert.

Zhu Zhengwei trod on withered leaves. After over a hundred years, he had truly entered this world again.

"The old era has finally passed. The entire world is now unrecognizable." A refined-looking man with a tear mole and a mysterious aura stood in the desert, lifting his head to gaze at a massive stone city formed by towering upright megaliths arranged in a circle, as yellow sand gently blew past.

Thump, thump, thump.

Elephants carrying travelers moved along the yellow stone road.

Along the desert path, windblown sand and broken stones carried a heavy sense of desolation.

Zhu Zhengwei recalled the great city mentioned countless times in the Longevity Diary, and couldn't help but murmur softly: "That is the City of a Hundred Stones of the Slave Dynasty. Every single stone is stained with elephant blood and human tears."