"Have you played Seeking the Dao yet? I'm telling you, I can't praise this game enough. The simulation is genuinely one hundred percent realistic! This is absolutely revolutionary black technology!"
A message flashed on his computer desktop. Fang Zelin clicked the avatar. The person messaging him was a friend he had met playing games online, someone he would game with in his spare time.
As Fang Zelin read the message in the chat window, a trace of doubt crossed his face. "Is it really that incredible?"
"Not a word of a lie! I'm recommending the hell out of it to you, so hurry up and play! Get in early and figure out how to level up. You'll definitely be able to make money later. Wouldn't that pay better than those flop novels you write? I'm telling you, this is the crest of the wave. Stand in the right wind, and even a pig can fly."
"Besides, it's a hundred percent realistic. Once you're inside, you can be an able-bodied person too, not disabled!"
Messages from his friend Jiuchuan kept pouring in, fervently urging Fang Zelin to play this game.
Looking at the chat window, Fang Zelin couldn't help lowering his head to look at his legs.
They had been friends for quite a few years, and Jiuchuan knew a little about his circumstances: a natural disaster had left him disabled, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
If not for the monthly government assistance, Fang Zelin's life would probably have been even harder.
Aside from those details, there was something else Fang Zelin had never told him: he actually came from another parallel world.
The histories of the two parallel worlds were astonishingly similar, yet there were some differences in their history and culture.
If there were other transmigrators, Fang Zelin reckoned he was the greatest failure among them.
After so many years since transmigrating, he still hadn't accomplished anything. He didn't remember many song lyrics, and although he had read plenty of novels, he couldn't copy out an entire book from memory.
In the end, he had only used the scattered fragments he remembered to write a few flop novels and earn a little toward his living expenses.
Most importantly, he would never be able to walk on his own legs again.
Jiuchuan: "Oh, right, whatever you do, don't die in the game. If you die once, you have to wait half a month before you can log in again!"
"Got it. I'll go into the game and take a look."
Fang Zelin typed a reply, then glanced at the thing sitting beside him that looked like a virtual reality helmet.
It had only just arrived, and his friend's messages had come before Fang Zelin had a chance to try it.
To be honest, Fang Zelin himself was a little surprised. He had never experienced anything like a virtual reality online game in the other world. Was he actually going to experience one in this world?
Somewhat surprised, Fang Zelin ended the conversation, picked up the helmet beside him, and followed the instructions to connect to the game.
An azure light flashed through the haze. When Fang Zelin opened his eyes again, he was immediately dumbstruck.
He found himself atop a mountain peak. A gentle breeze brushed over his surroundings, setting the green grass rustling. Swathes of grass bowed low, as though enjoying the caress of the breeze.
Fang Zelin could distinctly feel the breeze brushing gently across his face. He lightly squeezed his hand, and an utterly lifelike sensation immediately came through.
"Is this really a game?"
Astonished, Fang Zelin moved his feet. At that moment, he truly felt sensation in his soles!
Looking ahead, he could also see clouds and mist swirling below the peak, like an immortal realm.
Fang Zelin felt rather delighted now. Although transmigrating to this world had turned out quite differently from what he had imagined, having such a realistic game seemed to make up for some of its shortcomings.
Before entering, Fang Zelin had looked into this world on the official website, but the site offered very little information. It merely said the degree of freedom was extremely high and told everyone to explore for themselves.
There were also posts from other players, and Fang Zelin had read some of those too.
The players' posts covered all sorts of things. In short, starting locations were completely random. Some people appeared in commanderies or counties, which was all right.
Others, however, appeared in the wilderness. Apparently, some hadn't even lasted a few minutes before dying.
The ways they died were just as varied. Some didn't even know how they had died.
This made many people feel that the gameplay experience was terrible, but even so, they only grumbled about it and showed no intention of quitting the game.
By now, the first batch of players had already been playing for over half a month.
Fang Zelin had entered a little late, mainly because he hadn't been able to secure a virtual reality helmet when they went on sale. After finally getting one, he had to wait in the shipping queue, which delayed him considerably.
Only today had he finally been able to enter.
Recalling the posts he had read earlier and putting the information together, Fang Zelin immediately looked warily around him.
According to what the others had said, the wilderness was extremely dangerous, especially at night.
Dying once meant waiting another half a month. Having only just entered, Fang Zelin naturally couldn't bear to die here.
At once, Fang Zelin raised his guard to its utmost, then prepared to head down the mountain.
Once he got down, he could look for a nearby commandery or county town, then find a master and learn some skills.
He had heard some players say they had already successfully joined a master's school. Now that he had personally experienced how real everything around him was, a trace of envy naturally arose in Fang Zelin's heart.
Fang Zelin picked up a branch to probe the way ahead, which could also scare off insects and snakes in the nearby grass.
He walked down in fear and trembling the whole way. After spending most of the day on the descent, Fang Zelin finally reached the foot of the mountain.
Yet the next moment, Fang Zelin froze on the spot.
A river lay before him.
The river's placement was remarkably peculiar. It flowed past the front of the mountain, forming a shape like the character 回.
The river looked exceptionally turbulent, and even the rocks along its banks had been scoured into rounded pebbles.
"I'm done for. I can't even swim. What am I supposed to do?"
After finally making it down the mountain, he had actually found his path blocked by a river like this.
Judging by the raging current, Fang Zelin reckoned that even if he could swim, he would be swept away the instant he entered the water.
"What the hell is this?"
Fang Zelin grew a little anxious. He looked around but saw no boats nearby.
Seeing this, Fang Zelin took a deep breath.
"I've only just gotten here, and I'm already supposed to figure out how to build myself a raft?"
At that thought, Fang Zelin turned to look at the trees behind him, and his face immediately darkened.
There were trees behind him, certainly, but every one of them was far too tall and large.
With trees like these and no tools, Fang Zelin didn't think he could build a raft.
Failing that, could he find a tree trunk to use as a life jacket and float across?
This book is categorized as classical xianxia. Classical xianxia! There won't be things like steam engines or explosives in a xianxia world, nor can anyone climb the tech tree. That's the author's setting, because this is xianxia. Readers who can't accept that setting should click the × and leave. Don't accuse the author of force-feeding you poison!