Hardcore Player

Hardcore Player

Half an hour later.

[Fan Zui Group Chat (21 online)]:

Wosinie Die: @Everyone,!!! Urgent announcement: this link lets you download the official version of Dark Land. We don't have to fight for purchase slots anymore!!!

Is This Okay: Uh... What's gotten into you, big sis? You're talking nonsense.

Shrimp Heart of Pork: I was about to go to sleep, and you scared me half to death. Did not getting a slot drive you crazy, big sis?

Wosinie Die: @Everyone, I'll say it again: this link lets you download a cracked version of Dark Land. Hurry up and download it so we can play together. I'm going to tell Grandpa first and have him download the game too.

Word Duck: Looks like it's real. She's even telling Iron Master. The strongest warrior in our group is finally coming out of retirement. I'm downloading it right now.

When the group members saw the group owner mention telling "Iron Master," they realized at once that this wasn't a joke.

Iron Master's in-game name was Da Tie, and his real name was Li Tie. He was the grandfather of the group owner, Li Siyu.

He had once been a genetically enhanced soldier in the Human Federation's Tribunal Army. In his youth, he'd gone on numerous missions to suppress the alien forces that had fled to Earth and caused unrest.

After retiring with a disability, Li Tie developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Memories of the battlefield often flooded back, leaving him unable to tell reality from the battlefield. He was an unstable time bomb, liable to go off at any moment.

Under the guidance of a psychologist, Li Tie had chosen to enter virtual games and continue being a soldier in them.

He was the Fan Zui Group's number-one fighter. He'd joined them in playing several games, and in every one, he'd become a renowned top player.

Unlike ordinary players, who played for fun, Li Tie played purely to vent the aggression in his heart.

So everyone in the group realized this wasn't a joke, and they hurriedly clicked the link to download the game.

Fog Lamp City, Postwar Rehabilitation Center.

Gym.

Huff... huff... huff...

Rapid breaths rang out one after another as a broad-shouldered, white-haired man performed a bench press. The barbell weighed an astonishing 800 kilograms, far beyond what an ordinary person could handle.

Clack!

The bar settled onto the bench rack. Li Tie slowly sat up, then picked up his prosthesis and attached it to his amputated left leg.

When he stood, he was two meters tall. He wore a tight training tank top, and sweat highlighted the definition of his muscles. Every one looked like a carefully sculpted work of art, concealing terrifying strength.

Just then, Li Tie began to tremble uncontrollably.

Images of the battlefield appeared in his mind.

He wore black armor. Before him stretched a mechanical army without end. With the roar of energy cannons behind him, he led his comrades in a charge against the alien mechanical forces.

"Kill!"

In that moment, Li Tie once again lost the ability to tell reality from illusion.

By the time he calmed down, the training room had been left in ruins, and his fists were stained with blood.

He sat dejectedly on the floor, gasping for breath, his chest heaving with every inhale.

Just then, the projector embedded in the ceiling powered on. Interweaving beams of light gathered before him into the image of a youthful, beautiful woman.

Seeing the state of the training room, the woman on screen looked worried.

"Grandpa, your condition has gotten worse again."

"I'm fine." Seeing that it was his granddaughter, Li Tie managed a rare smile. Then he continued, "Siyu, what do you need?"

"I found a new game that's perfect for you. The download link is in the group. Hurry up and download it, Grandpa."

"Okay, I'll download it now." Li Tie nodded at once.

After ending the call, he went into the bathroom to shower. Once he'd changed his clothes, he returned to his bedroom and downloaded the file as his granddaughter had instructed.

Li Tie didn't have high hopes for virtual reality games.

The virtual reality games he'd played over the years were very different from reality, and they were hardly immersive.

For him, the stress relief offered by virtual environments was secondary. What mattered more was being able to accompany his granddaughter and fight across the game world.

An hour later.

Li Tie's outlook had changed by the time he appeared at the Emperor's Tomb Village respawn point.

He held out his hand and felt the breeze brush his fingertips. A trace of surprise entered his usually impassive gaze.

Even more astonishing, his missing left leg felt real in the game.

He walked two laps around Emperor's Tomb Village's central square. The lifelike sensation in his left leg amazed him and made him realize that this game was completely different from the virtual games he'd tried before.

Just then, a game prompt rang out in his mind:

[Player "Wosinie Die" has added you as a friend. Accept?]

After accepting, a video call request appeared in the upper-right corner. Li Tie clicked confirm, and a translucent screen appeared before him. A little chick with bright red wings cried excitedly:

"Grandpa, we've left the village and are heading toward the Crimson Plains. Are you going to explore on your own, or come with us?"

"I'll explore on my own."

"Okay. I'll call you when we have an event."

"Good luck, Iron Master. You'll have to carry us then."

"Iron Master, long time no see...!"

Along with his granddaughter, the other members of Fan Zui Group could be heard greeting him through the call.

The members of Fan Zui Group weren't surprised that Li Tie had decided to go alone.

To them, Iron Master had always been a lone wolf. He only showed up for player-versus-player events like guild wars, where he led the team's charge with his formidable individual strength.

Li Tie left Emperor's Tomb Village along a flagstone path and headed east alone. As he went, he chatted with the Guidance that followed him about the game.

Five Minutes later.

Li Tie encountered his first monster since entering the game.

A foul-smelling Cursed Soldier slowly rose from the ground and raised a rusty, broken sword toward him.

Li Tie switched to Stone Gargoyle form.

Unlike the other monster forms, Stone Gargoyle form was the closest to human form. It was precisely because of this form that Li Tie had chosen Stone Gargoyle.

As the Cursed Soldier swung its broken sword at him, Li Tie stepped forward to meet it. He raised a hand and locked the Cursed Soldier's elbow joint, preventing it from bringing the weapon down. At the same time, he stepped forward with his right leg and planted it between the Cursed Soldier's legs, then hooked it outward. The Cursed Soldier lost its balance and crashed heavily to the ground.

Li Tie's powerful fists then rained down on the Cursed Soldier's head like a storm.

Before long, his blows had smashed apart the Cursed Soldier's skull, and the flames inside its head went out.

A mass of black energy emerged from the dead Cursed Soldier. After gathering briefly in the air, it flew toward Li Tie and seeped into his body.

A sensation of bliss unlike anything he'd ever felt burst through him from the inside out, like drinking a cold beverage on a scorching summer day. The energy swept through his dormant body, awakening it completely as every pore across his skin opened.

The wonderful sensation vanished in an instant.

The battle was over, but Li Tie couldn't help frowning. He'd noticed a problem.

Every sensation in this game—the touch, smell, sound, and everything else—was indistinguishable from reality. The sole exception was the pain feedback, which was severely lacking.

When his fists struck the Cursed Soldier's bones, he could feel the impact, but the pain was greatly reduced.

This left Li Tie feeling deeply frustrated. There was always something missing from the combat.

He immediately asked the Beginner's Guidance that followed him whether there was a way to fix it.

After learning that the pain feedback could be adjusted, Li Tie immediately summoned the function panel, opened the system settings, and dragged the pain feedback slider from its default 10% all the way to the end.

When he finished, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Now this is more like it."

[Hardcore!]

The Beginner's Guidance beside him gave him a thumbs-up, expressing its admiration for Li Tie's choice.