Xin Cheng's World

The azure sky was like a clear surface of water, yet it defied logic by lacking clouds, the Sun, or birds, lending it a beauty that felt like a fragile, illusory bubble.

Li Wei couldn't help but glance at this enchanting sky once more, clicking his tongue in admiration before turning his gaze back to the chaotic scene before him.

The garden was in an uproar as neighbors who had heard the commotion rushed over to help, pinning down the young, limping girl with silver, shoulder-length hair who was wearing a laboratory coat.

"626!"

The limping girl, who possessed delicate and beautiful features but an exceptionally thin and petite frame, was still struggling violently, shouting at Li Wei as if praying that these three numbers alone could awaken him.

On the grass of the courtyard lay an empty syringe; the liquid inside had been injected into Li Wei's body before he had officially taken over this vessel.

Based on the residual memories in his mind, Li Wei roughly understood what had happened.

His name in this world was "Liang Xincheng," and he had grown up in this small town, enjoying not only a happy, fulfilling family and eighteen years of a joyful, healthy life, but also a very handsome appearance.

Li Wei had no mirror to check his reflection, so he couldn't know exactly how good-looking he was, but the memories associated with this aspect in his mind were quite hyperbolic.

Yet, even such a perfect life had encountered a rather unpleasant accident today.

Having just celebrated his eighteenth birthday yesterday, "Liang Xincheng" had been planning to go out and play ball with friends this morning.

The limping girl before him had charged into his courtyard and, while "Liang Xincheng" was still in a daze, jabbed him with a needle.

Auntie Zhang, a neighbor who had been preparing to go out for groceries, happened to witness the scene. She let out a terrified scream, and within seconds, she had summoned a group of enthusiastic neighbors who rushed in to restrain the crazed girl.

It was at this very moment that Li Wei, a game tester, entered the game and became "Liang Xincheng."

That's right, Li Wei was actually testing a game.

Before entering the game pod, he had signed a mountain of liability waivers; after all, as the world's first virtual reality project, no one knew what kind of accidents might occur.

Yet, everything before him clearly told Li Wei that no accident had occurred!

The company's latest project was running perfectly; an experience more real than the actual world would surely shock all of humanity once it was released!

It was just that the surrounding environment differed slightly from the game background he had been told about.

Weren't there supposed to be magic, dragons, elves, and goblins?

He watched with great interest as the warm-hearted neighbors continued to help restrain the limping girl, seemingly intending to drag her off to the Police Department.

Auntie Zhang from next door stood by his side, looking nervous and fussing over him with a level of concern that surpassed how she treated her own son.

Li Wei, who had been inexplicably injected with a needle, felt nothing wrong with his body; he could run, jump, and even perform the third set of national broadcast gymnastics—he was as healthy as could be.

Soon, his parents in the game also received the news while at work and rushed back home in a hurry.

They looked grim, but strangely, his parents, who were usually so doting toward "Liang Xincheng," did not show much concern at this moment.

Once "Father" returned, he sat on the front steps, staring at the flowerbeds in the yard with furrowed brows, smoking one cigarette after another.

"Mother" looked very upset, but this sadness didn't seem to be out of pity for her son; she was wiping away tears while sitting to the side, though it was unclear what she was grieving for.

There was something strange about this family.

Li Wei was not "Liang Xincheng," and through a third-party perspective, he could clearly sense many things that were wrong.

The warm-hearted neighbors who had gathered around dispersed one by one after seeing the "parents" return.

At this moment, "Father" finally spoke to comfort Li Wei.

"It will be fine, Xincheng. I've already notified Doctor Fang; he'll be here shortly to give you an examination."

Doctor Fang was their family physician.

Sure enough, just as "Father" had said, within five minutes, a sweating Doctor Fang walked through the door with his medical kit and efficiently gave Li Wei a full physical.

Li Wei just felt, for some inexplicable reason, that his attitude was perfunctory, as if he were merely going through the motions of checking his blood pressure and heart rate.

"Go to your room and rest for a while. It will be fine; your mother and I are here for everything."

"Father" spoke to soothe him, but it sounded more like he wanted to send him away.

Although Li Wei was very interested in the direction the upcoming plot would take, his primary focus in the game was testing the various functionalities available to players.

Now that he had a quiet place to properly study the player panel, he was more than happy to comply, leaving the "parents" and the doctor to their private space.

After Li Wei left, "Father" gave "Mother" a look. "Mother" nodded with a gloomy expression and walked up the stairs, standing guard outside Li Wei's door to prevent him from overhearing anything he shouldn't.

"Everything happened too suddenly. That young lady broke into the testing ground just like that and injected the Key into Xincheng's body!"

Doctor Fang grabbed at his thinning hair, looking exceptionally furious.

"The security failed miserably! That young lady should have been safely protected; she shouldn't have discovered this place! The company shouldn't have lied to her, saying we were going to erase Xincheng's consciousness and send him off to be a sex doll for the wealthy! That made her panic and lose all restraint!"

"Father" lit another cigarette, his hands trembling slightly; it was clear he was struggling to suppress the rage in his heart.

"I don't want to know whose fault it is! I just want to know what we should do now?"

"You're a researcher too; you should know that according to the treaty, if a biological human is granted the Key, they are classified as [Extremely Dangerous]. It's a taboo—a taboo no one could have predicted!"

Doctor Fang looked incredibly pained as he said this.

"Father's" hand, holding the cigarette, shook violently, and he glared fixedly at Doctor Fang.

"This isn't just our hard work! The seventeen-year lives of thousands of people in this entire testing ground are resting on him! And you saw his performance just now; he didn't show any signs of danger. He's as well-behaved and obedient as he always was!"

"You cannot judge whether he has changed based on appearances! Who knows if he is still the Xincheng we know? He could be faking it, he could be acting! Besides, before I came here, the company executives who learned of the situation already issued me an order."

Doctor Fang met the bloodshot eyes of "Dad" and took a deep breath, repeating the words.

"Forbidden items should have been confiscated by the Scientific Management Precept Bureau, but Xin Cheng is special. We cannot hand him over, nor can we keep him and risk everything! He must be burned to death! In front of everyone in the entire test site, not a single drop of blood can be left behind!"

The living room fell into a heavy silence.

After a long stillness, only when the cigarette butt in his hand had burned his fingers did "Dad" force a single word out through his teeth.

"Fine!"

Doctor Fang stood up from the sofa and picked up his suitcase.

"I will go find Xin Cheng and make the preparations."

He walked upstairs, knocked softly on Li Wei's door, and after hearing a response from within, pushed the door open and entered.

At this moment, only "Dad" and "Mom" remained in the living room.

The two were silent, merely exchanging a glance.

"Do you still remember our worst-case scenario?" "Dad's" voice had become inexplicably hoarse.

"Mom" wiped the tears from her face and nodded slowly.

"I will go make preparations as well."

After arriving in the room upstairs, Li Wei tried to summon his player panel from the game.

Whether due to a lag in the central system or some other reason, it took five or six seconds before a string of player information appeared in his mind.

[Class: Player]
[Attributes: Constitution 12, Intelligence 10]
[Class Trait 1. Great Blessing: You may designate a location as a blessing point. Each blessing point must be kept at a significant distance. Upon death, the player will respawn directly at the blessing point (Note: Death deducts 70% of experience points)]
[2. Transcendental Physique: Your physique is extraordinary, possessing the mind and body of a polymath (Note: Under reasonable circumstances, you may master the skills of other classes)]
[3. One for All: When receiving requests from others, there is a chance to unlock "Quests." Completing "Quests" grants corresponding rewards]
[Class Skills: None]
[Class Advancement: Joyful Player]
[Advancement Method: Your class advancement will be converted into experience points for leveling up. You may advance every 10 levels (Current experience acquisition method is accumulating money; legal channels 1:1, illegal channels 100,000:1)]
[Level: 1 (0/1000)]
[PS: You are just like a real player, acting recklessly in this world]

Staring at the four large characters following [Class Advancement], Li Wei genuinely suspected that the plot team had been sent by a rival company as undercover agents!

Damn it, what kind of nonsense is a class advancement called Joyful Player!

They aren't even trying to hide it anymore, are they!

Li Wei cursed the company's plot team in his heart; such a brain-dead game panel was a total waste of the technical team's astonishing technological achievements.

Furthermore, what kind of game has a class simply called [Player]?

And those so-called traits—weren't those just invisible functions that game players should have by default?

While complaining in his heart, Li Wei still attempted to use the only active ability among his player traits: [Great Blessing].

As he confirmed the action, a faint flame, visible only to him, ignited in the room. The very next second after he ignited the [Great Blessing], a knock sounded at the door, followed by the voice of Doctor Fang.

"Xin Cheng, is it convenient for me to come in? Just to be safe, I still need to give you an antibiotic injection."

New author, new book; thank you all for your support.