Welcome to Sky Island Paradise

"Hey guys, let's get off work early today and play a few rounds of Chenghai 3C tonight?"

"Sure, it's been a while since I played. Let's get Han Xing to join us."

In an office building in Xinyang City, two men were chatting.

Han Xing heard someone call his name, but he didn't respond immediately. Instead, he kept his head down.

He was playing a pixel-style survival adventure game on his phone called Sky Island Paradise. It had a fresh art style and upbeat music.

Players start on a floating block and explore other floating blocks, searching for supplies and expanding their territory.

But as Han Xing played, he realized that the game was far more complex than it seemed.

As players explore, they inadvertently trigger various side quests. These quests have different options, and each choice seems to determine the direction of the story.

These side quests, when linked together, seem to form a massive main storyline.

In addition to the rich side quests, the dialogue between the game characters is also very full.

When talking to the protagonist, the genuine emotions that these game characters unintentionally reveal made Han Xing wonder if he was communicating with a real person.

Following the quests, pieces of a long-sealed history are unearthed...

All of this made Han Xing wonder if this was really a pixel-style game that was less than 100MB.

Han Xing was hooked.

Just then, a message appeared on his phone screen.

[This game will undergo maintenance in ten minutes. New version content is coming soon, so stay tuned...]

Maintenance? Hasn't this game only been in closed beta for a few days?

Han Xing was a little confused, but he saw a burly man appear beside him.

Cheng Jianyong patted Han Xing on the shoulder, squinted his eyes, and smiled, "Watching videos of some pretty girl? Didn't even hear me talking to you."

Han Xing put away his phone and said, "I heard you."

"I'm just wondering, the department's performance hasn't met the standard this month, and Dog Chen is sitting in the office staring at us every day. How dare you not work overtime?"

Cheng Jianyong chuckled and said boldly, "Overtime? Overtime my ass!"

"With that little salary, he wants me to slave away for him every day? Even if a god comes today, I'm leaving early!"

Cheng Jianyong spoke decisively, but Han Xing looked at him suspiciously.

Next to them, a man in a suit laughed, "Han Xing, don't listen to this guy's bragging."

"This guy stepped into the grave of marriage right after graduation. Unlike us, we can feed ourselves and the whole family won't starve. If he doesn't work overtime, who will support his wife and kids?"

The man who spoke was called Shen Yun, and he, Han Xing, and Cheng Jianyong had graduated from the same university.

For four years, they were assigned to the same dorm. The three of them had similar interests, and after graduation, they joined the same company. They were Han Xing's only two friends.

Cheng Jianyong saw Shen Yun expose him and a slightly weathered look of embarrassment appeared on his face. He whispered, "O... occasionally, it's okay..."

Seeing him like this, Han Xing and Shen Yun smiled at each other.

"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since we played games together," Han Xing said.

A look of reminiscence appeared on Shen Yun's face as well. "Yeah, I really miss those days in college..."

Just then, a figure appeared behind the three of them.

"If you miss school so much, why don't you go back?"

Hearing this voice, the three of them had a bad feeling.

It was the department manager, Chen Huaibo.

In private, Han Xing and the others called him Dog Chen. This guy was the boss's loyal lackey.

Chen Huaibo had a dark face as he questioned, "What are you three plotting? You're thinking about playing games when you haven't even finished your performance targets?"

"A bunch of good-for-nothings, complaining about working a few extra days. Are you delicate young ladies?"

"Tell me, do you not want to work anymore? If you don't, get the hell out of here! Don't just sit there taking up space without doing anything."

"There are fresh graduates everywhere outside who don't have jobs. If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will! A bunch of undisciplined brats!"

Shen Yun took a step forward and said coldly, "Watch your mouth."

His voice wasn't loud, but it revealed an unquestionable firmness.

The office suddenly fell silent, and several other employees cautiously poked their heads out, seemingly unable to believe that someone dared to confront Chen Huaibo head-on.

"What did you say?" Chen Huaibo's face was ugly. "Do you believe that I'll call the boss right now and have you pack your things and get out of here immediately?"

Shen Yun was about to speak when Han Xing waved his hand and stopped him.

Han Xing looked at Chen Huaibo, "Stop barking. You just want to get rid of us and arrange for your relatives to come in, right?"

"Chen Huaibo, it's not like we don't know what you're up to," Han Xing said disdainfully.

"You..."

"You what? If you have the guts, go complain to the boss and see if he'll fire us."

Han Xing felt no fear, knowing that even if the department's performance was terrible, they were still among the top three contributors.

Chen Huaibo was trembling with anger. He seemed not to have expected that Han Xing, who was usually so low-key, would stand up and confront him.

He was about to step forward and grab Han Xing's collar when Cheng Jianyong suddenly blocked his way.

"Dog Chen, you want to start a fight here?" Cheng Jianyong narrowed his eyes, his tone revealing a hint of threat, his tall frame giving off a strong sense of intimidation.

Chen Huaibo retracted his outstretched hand, his face looking as if it was about to drip water as he looked at the three standing on the same side.

Han Xing tugged at Cheng Jianyong from behind, just about to advise him not to start a fight here, but before he could speak, everything went black.

At that moment, a system notification appeared in everyone's ears.

"The new game version update is complete. In three minutes, all humans on Earth will be immersed in this game."

"Game Notice: This is a world without land. Countless islands, large and small, float in the sky. Each island hides opportunities and dangers, but first, you must find a way to survive."

"Shortly, a piece of suspended land will be generated for all players. This is your core territory and the foundation for building your Sky Island in the future. Once destroyed, you will lose everything."

"You can control your territory to move forward in the sky, contact those islands shrouded in clouds, go up to explore, obtain survival resources, and occupy these islands to expand your territory."

"Islands contain opportunities, but also may harbor terrible dangers. Each of you has only one chance to survive. The consequence of failure is death. Please choose carefully..."

"The elderly, children, and other vulnerable groups will be placed with their relatives one month after the game starts..."

"So, welcome to Sky Island Paradise."

When Han Xing regained his sight, he found himself floating in the sky at an unknown altitude. Looking down, it was empty, and he couldn't see any land.

Ten thousand miles high in the sky, a gentle breeze blew, and clouds floated.

A huge fear filled his heart.

At this time, a personal panel appeared before Han Xing.

[Name: Han Xing]

[Race: Human Race]

[Class: None]

[Level: LV0]

[Strength: 3, Agility: 2, Spirit: 4, Constitution: 5]

[Skills: None]

[Talent: None]

Then, the system prompt came again.

"Please choose your class system as soon as possible."

"Currently, there are five major systems: Warrior, Mage, Cleric, Hunter, Rogue. When players reach a certain level, they can complete class advancement through class scrolls."

Han Xing was stunned for a moment, the panic in his heart gradually disappearing, then turning into ecstasy.

He could actually choose a class!

Not only that, these five major class systems were exactly the same as the game he had played on his phone!

Although he hadn't played that mobile game for more than a few days, Han Xing had a deeper understanding of these classes compared to others.

The names of these five classes made it clear what they were good at. Warriors were inclined towards melee combat, and after reaching a certain level, they could advance to Swordsman or Berserker. The advanced classes were Swordmaster and War God...

Mages controlled elements through magic to deal damage to enemies. Later, they could advance to Elementalist and Illusionist. The advanced classes were Elemental Master and Weaver...

The other three classes were the same, with two advancement directions and advanced paths.

If there were no accidents, most people could only choose these ten classes.

"I used to play Hunter, so I should continue to choose Hunter to take advantage of my strengths."

"And the most important thing is that when I was playing that mobile game, I heard a message about a Hunter hidden class from the NPC's dialogue..."

That hidden class was called Wild Ranger!

If the early game process was still the same as he had played on his phone, then he could seize the opportunity and take this hidden class one step ahead!

Thinking of this, Han Xing had already made a decision. Just as he was about to choose the Hunter class, a solemn prompt appeared in his mind.

[Detected that player 'Han Xing's' fate is compatible with this world. Personal talent God-Tier Craftsman has been activated.]

[God-Tier Craftsman (SSS-grade, Hidden Unique): You will not fail when crafting any items, and the probability of producing high-quality items during crafting is greatly increased.]

Han Xing was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in shock, "Holy crap???"