Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.
Virtual Reality Technology Research Center.
Having just finished the day's experiment, Duan Siqi took off his helmet and let out a long breath.
One second, he had been weaving through the hail of bullets in The Matrix; the next, he was back in the slow-paced peaceful world. The illusory sensation of crossing through time and space was wonderfully indescribable, yet the boundary between it and reality remained clear. Because his work required him to participate in experiments frequently, he had always been careful to distinguish that boundary.
Only in the real world could he feel the flow of air, gain satisfaction beyond mere fullness from food, and sense that this world was whole—that people were alive rather than mere tools.
However, as the Phantom System had continued to upgrade recently, this aspect seemed to have become increasingly refined as well. They could now taste the four basic flavors—sweet, bitter, salty, and spicy—in food from the virtual reality world. Though the sensation was only obvious for the first two bites, the boundary between illusion and reality seemed to be growing blurrier and blurrier.
His score was displayed on the screen beside him.
Points!
An undisputed first place.
"Points! All side objectives completed... Impressive, bro."
Sitting on the bed beside him, a slightly older-looking white-collar worker who appeared to work for some IT company stared at the number on the screen with an astonished expression.
That score was already twice his own.
No wonder this guy had stood out in the previous experiment and won the hundred-thousand-yuan bonus.
At that thought, the man revealed an envious expression.
"Not bad." Duan Siqi smiled and tossed the helmet aside. "Come on. Let's eat at the cafeteria."
Scores were actually useless.
So far, Starry Sky Technology had only rewarded them