Virtual or Reality

The flying car flew through the spatial passages between buildings for a while before stopping in front of a café located in mid-air.

The two entered the coffee shop, Naiser pointed to a table in the corner, and then turned and left.

Xiao Yu walked to the table, where an old man was sipping coffee and reading a newspaper by the window.

This was the first time Xiao Yu had ever seen a physical newspaper. In fact, he had always thought that newspapers were a product of the last century.

"Please sit down, it's been a long time." Shen Yuan said, looking up from his newspaper. "I've heard about your recent activities, and I must say, they've been quite impressive."

"You wanted to see me about something?" Xiao Yu asked curiously, wondering how his past affairs had caught the old man's attention again.

"Of course," Shen Yuan said, seemingly unusually excited, "Can you tell me why you did this? Why did you turn against the game company?"

Xiao Yu thought about it and decided not to hide anything.

"Why? It's to save my men."

"Save your men? You mean those NPCs?"

Xiao Yu nodded. "That's right, I just discovered that things in the game world aren't necessarily less important than things in the real world." As he spoke, he recounted the theory he had heard from Kara.

"So, since I've spent most of my life in games, things in the game world are obviously more important to me than things in the real world, especially a world where I hold a pivotal position. Compared to being the owner of a studio in the real world, the identity of the Elemental King in the Sky World is something I'm much more invested in. And as the Elemental King, how can I abandon my subordinates?"

"Ha, I see! What you said makes a lot of sense!" Shen Yuan said, his eyes shining, as if he had discovered a new continent.

A look of reminiscence crossed his face. "A long time ago, I had a game idea, a game idea called 'Earth Online'."

Xiao Yu felt a strange sensation upon hearing this. "Damn it," he thought, "Wasn't this Li Mingfei's idea? Or do you two both like to claim credit for yourselves?"

But Shen Yuan continued speaking, completely oblivious to what was happening.

"The game's content is actually very simple. It's based on the real world, Earth, and is made exactly the same as the real world, without any differences. There are no epic battles, no terrifying monsters, no mysterious dungeons; it's just a virtual version of the real world."

After speaking, Shen Yuan looked at Xiao Yu expectantly, as if waiting for the other party to show a surprised expression, or exclaim in surprise, "How do you play this game?"

To everyone's surprise, Xiao Yu simply nodded slightly and said sincerely, "This game sounds very interesting."

"Hmm? You find it interesting?" Shen Yuan asked with a puzzled look, thinking to himself that this was quite different from the script he had envisioned.

Xiao Yu nodded seriously. "Of course it's very interesting. Think about it, although the game world is the same as reality, players in the game are definitely different from those in reality. Since they are players, they must have many advantages that they don't have in reality, such as gaining extra attribute points that can be added to any attribute they want. If they add them to charm, then players will become incredibly handsome men and beautiful women, and entering the entertainment industry to become big stars will be a piece of cake."

If you add that to your intelligence, you can gain an amazing IQ and invent great science and technology.

If applied to art, it can produce beautiful music and create stunning paintings.

If you focus on physical fitness, you can become a professional athlete, win glory for your country on the field, or participate in ball games and dominate the green field.

If you're too lazy to put in the effort and just want to enjoy yourself, you can add luck to that, and then you can buy a lottery ticket, win a big prize, and fully enjoy the wonderful life.

Furthermore, if one could allocate attributes to supernatural abilities and gain supernatural powers that ordinary people don't have, that would be incredibly awesome. Imagine, surrounded by a vast group of ordinary, unremarkable people, while the player could become one of the most outstanding individuals in this world—that would definitely feel amazing."

Shen Yuan was stunned, thinking to himself, "How did I just say everything I wanted to say? All the lines I had prepared are now useless."

"Yes, you're right, that's how I designed it. So here's the question: if you were to choose the real world—where you're just an ordinary person—or live in the world of 'Earth Online,' where you could become a successful person, a billionaire, a genius, or something like that."

So which world would you choose to live in?

Xiao Yu said, "I'll probably live in 'Earth Online'."

Shen Yuan slapped his thigh. "That's what I think too. See, this shows that whether the world humans live in is a virtual world or a real world is not important. What's important is how you live in this world. What is virtual and what is real? Reality is everything we smell, hear, see and feel."

If a virtual world can make everything we smell, hear, and see just like reality, then it is a real world.

If one person lives a vibrant and fulfilling life in a virtual world from birth, while another lives a mundane and unproductive life in the real world, wouldn't the former's life be more meaningful? Therefore, if you can create a perfect game, you don't need to care about how much money you make, as long as you're profitable. After all, if you live in such a world, the real world becomes less meaningful. Don't you agree?

"Wouldn't it be much better to be a god in the virtual world than the CEO of a game company in the real world?"

That seems to be the case, Xiao Yu thought to himself, but then he immediately felt something was off. Li Mingfei had also given this example before, but the conclusion he drew was that reality was more important than the game.

But now Shen Yuan is using the same example and has reached a completely opposite conclusion, and it even sounds quite reasonable. What's going on?

It seems there are some things you really can't be fooled by; once you start, all sorts of theories come out of it.

He nodded. "Go on."

Seeing Xiao Yu's calm expression, Shen Yuan seemed a little stunned. After gathering his emotions, he continued, "I have a plan. Only true sages can understand its profound meaning, and you are such a person. I can sense that you truly understand the meaning of life."

Originally, you were just a pawn, an asset in my plan, but after what happened before, I've changed my mind. Perhaps you can become part of my plan, a member of my team. So tell me, Xiao Yu, are you willing to join me?"

Xiao Yu asked impatiently, "What exactly is your plan?"

"Of course, we want to make the game absolutely realistic. If the game becomes just like the real world, and we are the gods of this world, wouldn't that feel amazing?"

"Aren't modern games pretty realistic?"

"Realistic my foot! All those rules and regulations completely ruin the game. What templates, what modes, what protections? Those adventurers are totally out of immersion, able to resurrect and respawn infinitely—what kind of nonsense is that? Once my plan succeeds, there will be no more distinction between adventurers, civilians, and monsters. Humans will be humans, Orcs will be Orcs, and there will be no more random rebirths. And those sex systems—you have to pay to activate sex functions just to have sex—how ridiculous! All these rules will cease to exist, replaced by an absolutely realistic world."

Imagine how awesome it would be to be the Elemental King in such a world.

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "That's so true. If there were no rebirth, no resurrection, I, the Elemental King, could wipe out those adventurers like it's nothing. But would anyone play a game like that? If you die, you're really done for; all your equipment and levels are gone—okay, you won't even have a level then. Learning magic will require diligent practice and memorizing spells. There's no protection system; players might even be raped. Would anyone play a game like that?"

"Ha, why are you worried about that? You don't own the game company. What does it matter whether people play it or not? At least RPG fans will definitely play it, and free-to-play and casual gamers will definitely play it too. That's enough."

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "That makes sense. So how exactly do we make the game look like you described?"

Shen Yuan smiled slightly, "Next, I'll take you to see something. You'll understand when you see it."