Controlling Ning Rongrong

"The modeling and gameplay of Douluo: World are a massive improvement over previous Douluo IP games. Although it still has that browser-game vibe, it's easily the best Douluo IP game of the last five years. Overall, I'd rate it a solid large-cup-plus."

[666, the streamer is showing off his game knowledge again.]

[Tbh, the streamer is really good at yapping.]

[How long has the streamer been live?]

[You've worked hard, streamer. Get some rest soon (sleeping emoji).]

Jinghua City, Apartment 325.

Lu Ma watched the interaction in the live stream chat and let out a long sigh.

He had been grinding in the game for seven days straight. Aside from necessary breaks for food and hygiene, he had basically been glued to his computer desk pushing the main storyline.

Looking at the 19 real viewers left in his stream, he offered a helpless smile.

The low count wasn't because it was the middle of the night; on the contrary, it was high noon, the peak time for traffic.

The reason for the lack of viewers was simple—

He, Lu Ma, was a small-time streamer, and his content wasn't exactly top-tier.

Closing the stream, Lu Ma began checking his fan DMs in the background.

His gaze was immediately drawn to a message from a user with an old-school dolphin avatar named "Dark Douluo Official."

[Mr. Lu, are you interested in testing our new Douluo IP game? We can pay a deposit of 30,000, with a remaining balance of 270,000 after the test is complete. If interested, please add WeChat: xxxxx...]

"A scam?"

Lu Ma frowned and clicked on the user's profile. It was completely empty, with the only post being a notification about passing a probation exam.

He became even more suspicious of their identity, but then he reasoned that he didn't have enough money to be worth scamming, so he added them anyway.

The other party was incredibly straightforward, dropping several files right onto Lu Ma's lap.

[Dark Douluo alpha0.1.zip, 25.7GB]

[Dark Douluo Basic Game Manual.txt, 1KB]

[Transfer: 30,000 Yuan]

They actually paid. Well, what else is there to say? I'll test it.

An hour later.

After taking a sip of water, Lu Ma watched the installation finish, extracted the files, and successfully launched the game.

Accompanied by a soothing white noise, the main menu appeared before him.

[Start New Game]

[Load Save]

[Settings]

[Exit Game]

"Single-player?"

Staring at the words "Load Save," he found it hard to believe this was a Douluo IP game.

"How does a single-player game make money?"

Lu Ma muttered, put on his headphones, and selected Start New Game.

The camera zoomed in from a natural landscape to a figure in a black robe, with several characters gradually appearing before them.

"Shrek Seven Devils? Are these all selectable? Or do I choose the corresponding Martial Soul?"

"Holy crap, the precision of this modeling is on par with new-gen AAA titles. Is this really a Douluo IP? How are they making money off this?"

Looking at the dazzling array of options, Lu Ma's hands couldn't help but tremble.

However, just then, the production company threw a bucket of cold water in his face.

Except for Ning Rongrong, every character had the words [Character Locked] floating in front of them.

"Tsk, I knew this game company wouldn't be that generous."

He made his selection and created his character.

The camera pulled back, arriving in a room filled with a girlish aesthetic.

A young girl sat on the bed, wearing a standard cyan-blue lace skirt, her tea-brown hair draped behind her.

Though her light blue eyes appeared lively, they currently held a hint of dullness.

At the same time, the character's name flashed at the bottom of the screen.

[Ning Rongrong (12 years old)]

Ning Rongrong.

As the sole direct disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had been guarded personally by the two Titled Douluo, Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong, since she was a child, gathering thousands of favors upon herself. She was gifted with innate soul power at level nine, the only genius in the sect in hundreds of years with the potential to break through the shackles of her martial soul, and now she had reached level 26 soul power, far surpassing other soul masters of her generation!

When she heard her father, Ning Fengzhi, and her two grandfathers discussing sending her to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy not long ago, she felt dissatisfied for the umpteenth time.

That place is full of hypocritical nobles; I'm not going. Anyway, they all spoil me. As long as I act a little spoiled, Father and the others will definitely not make me go!

Heehee, I'm going to have a happy day playing today too!

Having just woken up, Ning Rongrong gave herself a reassuring thought.

"Eh? Why won't my body listen to me?"

Just as she was preparing to get dressed as usual, Ning Rongrong suddenly realized something was wrong. She immediately wanted to call for her two grandfathers, but she couldn't even open her mouth.

Directly controlling Ning Rongrong instead of creating a new disciple for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

"Interesting. Given how exquisite the character modeling is, I'll forgive the lack of other playable characters. Let me check the key bindings..."

What voice is that?

Ning Rongrong was immediately terrified. She wanted to find the source of the voice, but she couldn't move.

Then, she watched in horror as she stood up, walked forward two steps, turned twice, crab-walked two steps to the left, two steps to the right, stepped back twice, sat down, and then lay down.

And in her ears, she heard words she couldn't understand.

"Standard WASD movement, and items can be interacted with naturally without pressing F. A very aggressive design."

She stood up again, jumped once, ran a few steps, paused to throw a punch, and then charged toward the wall.

No, don't!!!

Even though Ning Rongrong was unwilling a hundred times over, she couldn't change the outcome of hitting the wall.

Bang.

She hit it.

And in front of the computer, Lu Ma frowned, looking at the status bar at the bottom.

HP: 259/260

"The behavior control is all fine, but why does she take damage just from hitting a wall? What kind of game on the market is like this?"

If you run into a wall like that, of course my body can't take it! I am the apple of the eye of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Once I get out, I will definitely make Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa torture you until you wish you were dead!

Bastard, let this young lady go!

Ning Rongrong cursed inwardly, feeling the pain radiating from her forehead.

"But the environmental interaction is indeed well done; there's no clipping, the animations are smooth, and I'm quite satisfied even before changing the game settings... Now, how to use soul skills? Let me see—oh, the number pad."

Before long, Ning Rongrong, who was standing in place, raised her hand. A Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda appeared in her palm, emitting a brilliant glow, and in an instant, she felt her body feel much better.

At the same time, she completely understood one thing.

She was now at the mercy of someone else, and the other party was ignoring her—she didn't even know if they could hear her thoughts.

Damn it, once I regain control of my body, I will definitely take revenge.

"I'm familiar with the basic controls, so what's next? The main story of this game... Ning Rongrong is 12 years old, which is the age to join Shrek Academy, so the main story must trigger after deciding to head to Shrek Academy. I wonder how long until she runs away from home."

He knows I'm 12? And what is Shrek Academy? Why have I been hearing that name so much lately?

As for running away from home, she had indeed considered it when her father and the others were discussing her enrollment procedures for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy not long ago.

But she had never told anyone!

Hearing the terrifying words coming from the unknown voice, Ning Rongrong couldn't help but shiver.

Before she could recover from the shock, she saw her body leave the room, her hand resting on a tree not far outside the door.

She watched helplessly as her delicate hand touched the tree and then began to climb up...

A moment later, she finally came down and heard a dissatisfied voice.

"Why does she lose health just from climbing a tree? This is bad game design; it needs to be changed."

Yes, yes, although I don't understand what you're saying, I'm so sorry that I can't hit walls or climb trees.

Ning Rongrong felt the pain in her hands and was speechless.