Wu Hen didn't know whether this body still belonged to him. Pain and madness could no longer describe what he felt. It was a transformation and intensification beyond human sensation. At the same time, only one thought remained in his mind: This definitely isn't a virtual world. My senses are beyond reality!!
"Gaaah!!!!!!"
Wu Hen let out a furious roar and tried to wrest control of his body back. His right hand was clenched rigidly and wouldn't loosen, so he tried to lower it instead!!
But from raising his hand to lowering it, Wu Hen felt as if he were fighting an infinite force of heaven!
"Gaaah!!!!!"
Wu Hen roared again. He had to take back control of his right hand!!
As his right hand lowered, dense black lightning burst across his body. At last, Wu Hen felt his arm move. Still holding the sky-grasping pose, it began to lower slowly!
At the same time, high above in the firmament, the Death Sword-like Substance, pulled by the Crimson Umbilical Stamen, began to shift!
The Death Sword-like Substance seemed to be dragged out of an abyss in the sky. The surrounding space shattered, and the white and black lightning it unleashed became a thunderstorm tsunami, crashing violently into each other!
"Rumble!!!!!!!!!"
The sky seemed to collapse. Countless patterns appeared across the boundless rainforest and gloomy heavens, as if a vast digital empire had been invaded. Colorful code spilled into the lower world within the Heaven and Earth Screen!
Demon River in the distance, Divine Kingdom at the border, Mirage City above the layers of fog, Mirage Pavilion reflecting the heavenly mirror... none were spared.
The roar of destruction swept across the land. Thousands of demons and monsters appeared in this desolate place, but none dared take to the skies or flee underground. They all trembled where they stood, and some even knelt strangely to pray to the heavens, like people of ancient times!
Wu Hen, at the center of it all, had no idea what was happening.
All he knew was that he was pulling something out!
At last, he pulled it free!
The next moment, a gigantic Death Sword-like object appeared amid the trembling world. It crushed all the "code" in the surrounding area, turning Jue Town and a hundred miles around it into the Black Void!
Finally, the enormous Death Sword-like object fell like a meteor from heaven and struck Jue Town, which had been flattened to the ground!
It stood there like a black divine monument.
Wu Hen stood at the cliff's edge, staring at the unbelievable sight before him. But even a single glance brought on an overwhelming sense of annihilation. He felt an urge to destroy his own consciousness, and in that fleeting moment, realized that he, so insignificant, had desecrated some colossal heavenly wonder!
At last, Wu Hen's consciousness shattered.
No matter how magnificent or miraculous the scene before him had been, everything turned pitch-black.
Wu Hen crumpled to the ground beneath the black divine monument.
Licheng.
At last, the morning sky showed a hint of blue, and a long-awaited shaft of clear light fell upon the city.
The city was sharply divided into distinct districts.
At one end stood Silver City, made up of buildings with perfectly curved, disk-like shapes. Their outer walls were pure silver. Beyond their beautiful designs, they were clearly sturdy.
The other end was entirely different: an old, run-down district, shabby and chaotic, with buildings of mismatched colors and mostly aged concrete and steel. Under the brutal climate, they looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"Woooooo!!!!!!!!"
Suddenly, sirens blared across both the new and old districts.
In the past, they had always warned of massive disasters. Whenever torrential rain, prolonged cold waves, deadly heat, or endless pollution struck, the sirens would sound!
After the warning, a middle-aged man with white hair would usually appear and tell the world what disaster was coming and how to prepare for it, urging everyone to stay indoors as much as possible!
The last warning had been about thunderstorms.
"Hopefully it's not a flood..."
In the basement, Wu Hen was only half conscious, but he could hear the sirens.
He knew he had "logged out" of that damned virtual world.
His body was limp and his mind only half awake. He couldn't get up right away.
Fortunately, his mind was gradually clearing, and sensation was returning to his body.
"Woooooo!!!"
This time, the alarm blared for an especially long time, as though everyone in the world, whatever they were doing, had to hear this warning bell!
Across the city and beyond, people stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, a huge holographic image appeared overhead, like an enormous cloud, visible to everyone no matter where they were.
It was the same white-haired middle-aged man, his face stern and his eyes cold.
"Greetings, everyone. I'm Li Feng. My heart is heavy as I tell you that we have no choice but to announce something to the public..." the white-haired man said.
"Compared to the global climate disasters we've faced in the past, this disaster may overturn everything you know!"
Street vendors preparing breakfast, workers heading to early shifts, students just arriving at school, and office workers in high-rises... all looked bewildered.
"People have joked that the odds of our world being real are less than one in ten thousand."
"Today, on behalf of the world's foremost scientific community, I'm here to announce that the world we live in is indeed virtual!"
His words sent shockwaves across the globe!!!
Countless cities, countless people, countless institutions and regions—including Licheng—fell into an unprecedented silence!
Fictional???
The world they lived in was fictional???
What an absurd joke!
And this had come from the world's most esteemed scientists!!!
"Ridiculous!! Absolutely ridiculous!! You scientists failed at interstellar exploration, and now you're spouting this absurd nonsense!"
"This idea has been proposed before, but how can you prove it? Without evidence, how can you make such a crazy claim—and announce it to the whole world?"
"Hahahaha, that's hilarious. You're saying we live in a virtual world, like a video game. Then why doesn't the player controlling me give me money? I'm still a wage slave!"
"Exactly! What about our culture, our families, our art? What's the point of chasing fame and fortune???"
For a time, people everywhere erupted in outrage and doubt.
In the past, whenever global disasters were announced, everyone had listened carefully and prepared according to the advice.
But this time, the claim was so outrageous that more than half the world found it laughable and absurd!
"If you're saying that all of humanity lives in a virtual world, then tell me: what's the real world like?" some high-ranking officials from various countries asked.
In the sky, Li Feng's cloud-sized projection maintained its stern expression.
Li Feng began:
"Based on our limited exploration and understanding, over ninety percent of the global population would be unable to survive in the real world!"
"Besides those who volunteered to explore the real world, we also used a well-intentioned lie to send some quick-minded people there. They were the ones who applied to enter 'Otherworld Desolate Dust.'"
Otherworld Desolate Dust??
Otherworld Desolate Dust???
That virtual game????
The game had been around for years. It was always mysterious, but those who didn't play it hadn't paid much attention.
"Chief Li, isn't Otherworld Desolate Dust a virtual game your organization created?" the official asked.
"No. That is the real world."
"You mean you discovered the truth while exploring the virtual world?" the official asked.
"Yes!" Li Feng replied firmly.
"Could you explain in more detail?" the official asked.
"For a long time, humanity has been like a chosen species. We've had no natural enemies and have stood at the top of the food chain for ages. But I regret to tell you..."
"When a forest contains only one bird, you can be sure it's fake. Someone put that bird there..."
"When a fish swims and never meets another of its kind, it can only mean it's being kept in a fish tank..."
"That's right. We are the birds in the forest and the fish in the tank."
"Originally, our world organization didn't want to shatter humanity's shared dream. After all, if our souls can find peace, why distinguish between virtual and real? But the Nuwa Divine Terminal that sustains our shared dream is already badly damaged in the real world. If we can't find enough Yuan You to replenish it, our civilization will eventually fall."
"Everyone, the day we face reality has arrived."
"We will be released into the true wilderness, where the laws of survival are brutally cruel and the strong prey on the weak."
"We will be cast into dark, turbulent seas, where we will witness the vast food chain above humanity!"
These words echoed across tens of thousands of cities around the world!
Face reality!
What a fine way to put it: face reality!
They didn't even have to set foot in that bizarre, terrifying otherworld. Just accepting this global catastrophe was enough to break many people's spirits!
How were they supposed to face it??
Unease, panic, despair, anger... emotions spread through cities everywhere and swept across all of humanity!!
A basement in a dilapidated public housing apartment.
Having woken up, Wu Hen abruptly tore off his Otherworld Helmet!
He had heard every word of the global announcement coming from outside.
He hurried to his family's home.
As soon as he arrived, a young girl with red-rimmed eyes threw herself helplessly into Wu Hen's arms!
The girl couldn't speak; only soft sobs came from her.
With trembling hands, she signed to Wu Hen: "Brother, this isn't real. This isn't real. I must be dreaming!"
Wu Hen stroked her head, unsure how to comfort her.
In truth, even without that global announcement, Wu Hen had already suspected as much.
Only by entering Otherworld Desolate Dust could you understand that it was definitely not virtual...
But even Wu Hen hadn't expected the city where he and his family lived—and the world they lived in—to be virtual, simulated by something called the Nuwa Divine Terminal!
Humanity were fish in a tank!!
The instant he heard the news, Wu Hen had indeed felt a powerful wave of dizziness and nausea. The shock had triggered a strong physical reaction!
But with his younger sister Yu Yu in his arms, feeling her real warmth and genuine emotions, Wu Hen felt less oppressed.
When he had faced the despair of the Symbiotic Ghost, it was his family in his heart who had given him the will to go on.
So whether this world was virtual or real, his most sincere feelings would always matter more than any of it!
"No matter where our world is exiled, I'll always be by your side, and our family will stay together forever!" Wu Hen said earnestly.
I recommend Old Shi's new urban fantasy novel:
Before you continue