Xi Ye had set the return date for noon on the third day. He had given the newly hired employees enough time to say goodbye to their families, and himself enough time to catch up with his own family.
The gains from this procurement trip were pretty good as well: three billion credits' worth of orders and one billion credits' worth of raw materials. He probably wouldn't need to worry about a shortage of supplies for quite some time.
The only regret was that he hadn't managed to recruit a Controller or any higher-level psychic profession instructors.
But he wasn't in a hurry. He had registered with the Talent Network. As soon as they found suitable candidates, the headhunters would notify him immediately!
The Talent Network was an industry under the Federation First Lord. Its reputation was extremely good, and it had never leaked client information in all the years since its founding. Even if he connected to the Talent Network from Mars, he didn't need to worry about his coordinates being exposed.
Xi Ye had chosen the West Side Teleportation Station of the Market as the assembly point. After saying goodbye to his father and sister, he arrived early, only to discover that the players had gotten there even earlier.
When the players saw him arrive, they all seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Xi Ye found their expressions slightly strange. When these fellows had first arrived, they had played more wildly than anyone, and even after Xi Ye had scolded them into returning to the hotel to rest, they would sneak out again in the middle of the night.
He had been worried that their attachment to the game was so strong that they would be reluctant to leave. Yet every one of them now looked desperate to return home. What was going on?
In truth, the players had indeed had a great time on the first day. On the second day, however, they gradually realized that something was wrong, because they discovered... this place... didn't seem to have a logout point!!
Normally, when they got tired of playing a game, they would return to the base and fall asleep, then log out directly. After logging out, they would feel extremely exhausted. The Green Titan players in particular usually needed seven or eight hours of sleep before they could recover.
But here, when they discovered that there was no logout point, they were all dumbfounded. What were they supposed to do if they couldn't get back?
When they tried to find the lord, they couldn't find him. The people around them spoke a different language. In an instant, they became as anxious as ants on a hot pan. After receiving the return announcement, the players waited here anxiously, terrified that if they missed it, they would be forgotten and left behind!
This game really was only half-finished. How could it not even have a logout point during a mission? Who could stand being unable to log out for three whole days?!
Er... no... Actually, if they were being honest, they didn't feel all that tired...
It was freaking bizarre. After discovering that they couldn't log out, they were so exhausted from playing that they fell asleep in the hotel. Yet when they woke up the next day, they found themselves completely refreshed!!
All of them were regulars at virtual games, and they had never seen a game where resting inside the game could restore their energy!
This must be hypnosis, right?
The players thought so. The technology must have surpassed anything on the market, hypnotizing their nerves and making them feel energetic, right?
Otherwise, how could they explain lying in their Game Pods for forty-eight hours without feeling tired or hungry?
The players had privately discussed this issue at length over the past two days. Academic Overlord Yu Nv Wu Gua believed it was probably some high-end neural hypnosis technology, and that this mission was meant to showcase its results.
But they truly had no idea whether this technology was harmful to the human body. The D Planet Federation had never announced anything about such technology, which meant that the few of them might be test subjects.
The thought immediately made them uneasy.
After all, anyone locked inside a Game Pod for three days would be anxious.
They had no idea what their bodies in the real world looked like now. Had they wasted away from dehydration?
The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. Every one of them was desperate to go home, which was why they looked so relieved when they saw the lord arrive.
Fortunately, he hadn't left them here. Once this was over, they had to be more cautious about missions and the like. After returning, they would report this to the review company. How could such a huge bug not have been discovered? What was the review company even doing?
This was actually unfair to the review company. Over the past few days, countless major corporations had contacted Dawnlight Reviews about the development team behind this game, but no one had been able to reach them. The review company had no way of learning the game's background, and the information it possessed was about the same as what the players knew... Oh, no, it might have known even less than the players, because not a single person from the review company had participated in this procurement mission.
After seeing that the players had arrived, Xi Ye teleported straight to the entrance of the Celestial God School. Outside the school, the employees he had hired were already waiting there.
Seeing that everyone had arrived several hours ahead of the agreed time, Xi Ye nodded inwardly in satisfaction. As expected of respectable young people, they had maintained a good attitude after taking up their positions. This was the result of having been raised in families with good values from a young age.
"Whoa, who are these people?" the players asked curiously.
"Oh, are these the lord's subjects?" Titan Warrior Zanda sized up the two Green Titans, his eyes lighting up. What high-quality Green Titans!
These Green Titans had clearly used second-level genes to form Level One Lifeforms. Although their levels were very low, their outstanding features and muscular physiques far exceeded his expectations!
They had probably been cultivated at great expense in the lord's base to display its strength, right?
Zanda thought so.
While Zanda marveled at the players' quality, several players were also marveling at his powerful physique!
"Damn!" Liver King circled him several times and said, "Is this what we'll look like after we level up? That's freaking awesome!!"
It wasn't just the Green Titan players. Even the developer, Yu Nv Wu Gua, swallowed hard. His six- or seven-meter height, explosive muscles, and powerful aura were simply too captivating.
The two Hulk players were visibly excited. At the thought that they could also become this mighty, their regret at failing to become Mecha Warriors was instantly swept away.
A pure-strength warrior was what men truly pursued. What use was a mech? Even Iron Man, as outstanding as he was, had still been beaten down by Hulk.
"These are the instructors I hired to train you. This Titan Warrior is the Chief Instructor of combat training I found for you!" Xi Ye introduced them.
"Ohhh!!" The players immediately grew excited. Were they finally going to come into contact with the combat system?
Damn, they had been mining for several months. This game's pace was seriously slow!
Xi Ye said, "I'll announce the instructors' information on the data board after we return. It's getting late, so let's head back first!"
"Sure, sure!" The players nodded repeatedly. Although they wanted to learn about the game's new content, they were even more concerned about whether they were still alive and well in the real world...
Inside a women's dormitory at a school in D Planet C City, it was noon. A sudden flash of light swept through the room, and a bespectacled, expressionless woman slowly sat up inside a Game Pod.
The woman was easy to recognize. She was none other than Yu Nv Wu Gua from the game.
After returning to the base, she had immediately hurried to the node and selected logout!
The girl slowly sat up and took a deep breath, sensing her entire body. Yet she discovered that things weren't as bad as she had imagined.
She wasn't hungry, nor did she feel dizzy or foggy from having gone without rest for so long. On the contrary, she even felt incredibly energetic...
Could this be a side effect of hypnosis?
With that thought, she climbed out of the Game Pod and walked to the mirror on the wardrobe, hoping to judge how badly her body had deteriorated from her complexion.
After all, her nerves could be hypnotized, but her body couldn't. Its physical condition would clearly reflect her actual state.
But when the girl looked into the mirror, she froze again.
Her reflection was radiant, and her complexion looked even better than usual. Her eyes were exceptionally bright, even after she removed her glasses.
What was going on?
The girl rubbed her eyes as she stared at the mirror, then patted her face. Could she still be dreaming?
That must be it. The game's hypnosis had been so intense that her brain hadn't fully awakened yet, which was why this was happening...
But how could she wake up from a dream? Pinch her thigh?
"Ouch... that hurts!"
"I say, where have you been these past two days?" Just as she was shocked that pain could feel so real in a dream, a familiar voice came from nearby.
"You didn't even bring your phone. Your family has called several times!"
The girl looked over. The speaker was her roommate. At their school, university dorm rooms were now single-occupancy, and after hearing the commotion and coming over to confirm that she was really there, her roommate immediately spoke in a reproachful tone.
"I... I lost track of time playing a game..." The girl paused. After confirming that this was reality, she answered somewhat awkwardly. As she spoke, she pointed at the Game Pod. "I just got out..."
But her roommate looked at her strangely. "Are you serious? The school has been without power for two days. What did you use to play a game?"
The girl: "..."
Before you continue