Players of All Backgrounds

"We're being tracked."

On the highway, a man drives with a knife but no umbrella on a rainy night, while driving on the road.

Unfortunately, Baozi and Big Muscle Man were too busy staring wide-eyed at everything around them: the floating tracks in the sky, the maglev taxis on the ground, the super 3D giant statues that were hundreds of meters tall, and the security maintainers wearing exoskeletons.

Holy crap!

"That's an exaggeration!"

"This game is unbelievably realistic!"

"Did you see that pretty girl on the street? She's rolling her eyes at me!"

"The character interactions are so realistic."

On a rainy night, carrying a knife but no umbrella, he watched the two people who were about to squeeze their heads out of the car. After a moment of silence, he decisively accelerated, shifted gears, and started speeding on the highway.

"Awesome! Umbrella Bro, faster!"

"Open the roof, I need some fresh air!"

Half an hour later, in the restroom of a gas station, two figures were seen retching in front of the glass mirror.

"Ugh, Umbrella Bro, you're driving way too fast."

"Ugh, it's not a good thing for games to be too realistic."

On one side of the mirror, a man carrying a knife but no umbrella stared at his reflection in the rain, and his reflection bore a striking resemblance to his real face.

A strange game.

"Hey Umbrella Bro, what do you do in real life? How come you're so awesome? A professional race car driver?"

Baozi finally came over and asked with a grin.

"Yeah, Umbrella Bro, you're awesome," Big Muscle Man said in admiration. "How did you dare to go straight for him? After all, he's a slum version of 'Winter Soldier'."

"Judging by his health and skills, it's possible—" Rainy Night with a Knife but No Umbrella paused for a moment, then said, "Wait, don't you guys have the 'Insight' skill?"

"Should we have it?" the two newbies asked blankly.

The three compared their abilities and found that, apart from the two attribute points gained from leveling up, the only difference between them was that he had an additional passive skill called "Insight," which allowed him to see the attributes of NPCs up to level 10.

So, this game allows you to bring real-world experience into the game and turn it into skills?

Carrying a knife but no umbrella on a rainy night makes me realize this game is anything but simple.

All three of them now have a new mission: to be hunted down.

[Mission: The Little Claw Gang's Pursuit]

Difficulty: Normal

Mission Briefing: You have disrupted the Little Claw Gang's human trafficking plan. According to street rules, the Little Claw Gang must retaliate.

Mission objective: Escape a pursuit by the Little Claw Gang.

Quest Rewards: Experience +500, Street Reputation +100

"We have a mission!"

"It has that GTA vibe."

"Brother, here's your money."

The gas station owner came over and handed the man, who was carrying a knife but no umbrella, a few bills.

On a rainy night, carrying a knife but no umbrella, he took the tokens, divided them into three, and handed them to the two men.

"This is the money from selling the car."

The muscular burly man reached out, but Baozi stopped him, laughing, "Brother Umbrella, this is all your money, how could we possibly take it? By the way, why are you selling the car?"

"This car is too conspicuous; it's easy for people to spot it."

"Oh right, what about that robotic arm? That's also a trophy, and it looks quite valuable."

"It's equally conspicuous, and it comes with a built-in tracking system."

"Why doesn't this crappy game even have an inventory slot?" Big Muscle Man clicked on the panel for ages but couldn't get the inventory slot to appear, and said irritably.

Baozi chuckled and said, "Brother Umbrella, where are you planning to go next? Let's go together! There's strength in numbers, right? Playing a game alone is no fun."

Yu Ye initially intended to refuse, for the same reason: the three of them would be too conspicuous. But the last sentence touched him: Yes, after all, it was just a game.

"I'm going to the outer city area."

"Outer city district, what kind of place is that?"

"The gang district is a melting pot of all sorts of people, with many gangs, making it a good place to hide. Besides, I just found out that the gangs in the outer districts are the easiest to infiltrate."

The two perked up and exclaimed in unison, "Change jobs!!"

The gaming forum was bustling with activity.

Most players' discussions revolve around phrases like, "Holy crap, this game is so realistic!", "Is this for real? Am I dreaming?", and "Grandpa, your dream of virtual reality has finally come true! I can go clubbing on your grave now!"

The senior engineer directly opened the page of the machine-repairing star.

"Guess what I saw, guys?"

A player named "Gao Da" posted screenshots of the game, showing a three-story-tall mech engaged in live-fire shooting in a wasteland punk environment.

"Holy crap, a mech!"

"True manly romance!"

"Where am I, brother? I'm coming to find you!"

"Wait a minute, even though the screenshot is blurry, with my titanium alloy eyes, the person sitting in the mech's cockpit is a little girl, right?"

The player named "Gao Da" boasted smugly that he was born as the last version of a gene clone, with all five main attributes at 5 points, and he had three career options from birth: Mech Academy, Hunter Academy, and Equipment Academy, a standard main character template.

She also posted a selfie.

What follows is a string of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Holy crap, such fair skin, is it albinism?"

"Hey bro, why don't you have any hair on your head?"

"Is this the price of the strong?"

This character, who appears to have been born in the Flame Pass, became the last version of the Flame Boy.

The senior engineer stroked his chin. This is the advantage of having a faction. As long as the benefits are good, players will spontaneously promote the team.

In addition, some players were reincarnated into the "Corporate Security Department" and became a glorious corporate security guard; some became members of the android family; some became amputees who returned from the battlefield with cyber-psychosis; and some were natives of the colony.

Most players had a good experience, but some players complained.

"Brothers, these NPCs have no sportsmanship! I was killed right after I was born!" - Red Flower Demon.

"Hey bro, did you get a mechanical arm after you killed your NPC?" I love Baozi.

"Holy crap, how did you know?"

"I'll be right behind you when you're dried up and killed."

"By the way, the NPC who tried to kill you got beaten to death by our Umbrella Bro."

Who is "Umbrella Brother"?

"Carry a knife but no umbrella on a rainy night."

"The legendary literary mentor? He plays this game too? Looking for inspiration?"

"Is this still an eroge game?! [Excited emoji]" Crossdressing man.

"This is utter rubbish, hen's teeth! Help! Someone save me! I'm hopelessly addicted to porn!!!"

A post quickly went viral.

This post is from a female player named "Sister Ji". According to her, she excitedly entered the game, intending to dominate and make a name for herself, only to discover that she was born in an underground nightclub and became a glorious and noble spouse-type android, professionally known as a sex doll.

To prove her authenticity, "Sister Ji" also uploaded several clear, uncensored photos, including a row of bare, white legs, scantily clad strippers, and hostesses whose hair and skin could change color at any time.

Holy crap!!!

"Is this something I can see?!"

"What are you all standing there for? Call the police! By the way, what's the emergency number in this game?"

"By the way, what's that computer-like thing? Nightclubs even have online gaming?"

"What is this place? Is it called the Red Dream Club?"

Although the players are mostly shameless, they still have some integrity. In a short time, some offered suggestions, while others tagged the administrator.

Sister Ji continues to post.

"This 28-year-old woman, a virgin who'd never even owned a young male dog, had her first client turn out to be a robot."

[Robot Photo][Robot Photo 2][Robot Photo 3]

'...'

'...'

"By the way, do robots have this function?"

"No, you should ask, does this game even have that feature?"

For a long time, "Sister Ji" did not reply to the post.

Just as a group of silly players started to worry again, "Sister Ji" replied to the post.

"My sister bravely sacrificed her life."

'...'

So fierce!?

Is it suicide, or mutual destruction?

"The Story of a Heroine – A Sequel to Sister Ji!"

Sister Ji rolled her eyes.

"Don't talk nonsense, you scared the hell out of me! I thought I was really going to lose my virginity. The moment that yellow robot touched me, the game's anti-harassment protection mechanism activated, and I was kicked offline."

According to the system, logging off like this doesn't change my player level or skill level; they even gave me an experience compensation pack.

"Wow, that's great! What about the characters?"

The system said it would randomly assign me a new character locally, but the three-day death cooldown period cannot be changed.

'...'

"It's alright, I even made a small profit."

"That makes sense. A game developer capable of creating this kind of game couldn't possibly be unaware of this."

"I suddenly had a bold idea."

"Wake up, friend, you're the male character."

"What's wrong with male characters? This game definitely has female bots; I don't believe people don't have that need."

"The system detects indecent assault regardless of gender; be careful not to get your account banned if you try to stage an accident."

Gradually, the topic veered to an odd angle.

Strictly speaking, from a legal perspective, does having sex with a robot count as... well, you know?

"I don't believe any of you haven't used your computers in bed."

"Holy crap, how can you even drive on this crappy road?"

Sister Ji: [Furious][Furious] I need to log on to play the game, don't log off to collect experience points!!!

"By the way, will my XP change after playing this game for a long time?"

The senior engineer calmly shut down the forum.

Isn't this the style of silly gamers?

However, he highlighted a few players who were particularly lucky, having a perfect start.

"Big Brother Hui" is a male player whose identity is the adopted son of a gangster godfather, created through cloning technology.

"Tick-Tock," a female player, was born in the cyber network and became a low-level AI.

"World Prince," a male player, is a visitor from the past who was frozen for fifty years before emerging from a cryo-chamber.

"Move aside, I'll deliver first," a male player, a collateral descendant of a Cloud Noble.

These all come with their own backstories and backstories; it just depends on whether the players are capable enough to uncover them.

"Boss, do you do arm trimming here?"

The senior engineer looked up and saw three guys who looked like gamers peeking around at the shop entrance.

"What should I call you?"

"Carry a knife but not an umbrella on a rainy night."