633 - A Cute Girl?

Naturally, Black Light Technology's actions caused an uproar among the public, while the various regions of the Earth Federation were left utterly bewildered.

They knew that the Consciousness Thieves existed. Although they had no idea what had happened back then, they were confused by Black Light Technology's actions.

Why put the Consciousness Thieves in a game? What was the Blackwatch Company's goal?

Had they run out of inspiration? Of all the things they could use as a game theme, why pick this?

Was this game rated eighteen-plus? The trailer looked a little too bloody. They'd probably have to tone it down to get a license...

Those were the thoughts of governments around the world.

The next day, amid intense anticipation, Black Light Technology finally opened registration for the game's closed beta. Several hundred million people flooded the site as soon as it went live, nearly crashing its servers.

The application was simple, requiring mostly personal details and contact information. Strangely, though, the form asked not only how many hours a day the applicant played games on average, but also whether they had served in the military, practiced mixed martial arts, or undergone military training.

In just three days, Black Light Technology officially announced the list of one hundred thousand beta testers. To everyone's surprise, well-known professional gamers made up only a small portion of the selected applicants. Usually, during a game's closed beta, globally renowned professional players were among the first to receive invitations, since they were the backbone of any testing phase.

Black Light Technology, however, had given most of its spots to veterans and former special forces instructors. Professional gamers had received relatively few.

The company also requested DNA samples from the selected applicants, asking them to mail their samples to the local Black Light Technology branch. Its