Chapter 1: How Real Can A 100% Immersive Game Be?!

Planet Earth, in a university computer room.

"...How realistic can a fully immersive game that is 100% realistic be?"

Although looking at the messages in the group chat, the images that popped into Ye Wei’s mind weren't related to the game they were discussing. Instead, all he could think of were slender white legs and endless

justice

[1]!

To be more specific, he was thinking about

Elder Scrolls 5

with over two hundred mods and his over a hundred waifus coming to life.

That was as specific as he could get. If he got into more details, his account would probably be banned for life.

His nickname in the group was Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night, but because it was too long and obscene, his buddies called him Night Ten for short.

- I mean realistic in the literal sense. Sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste... Everything is the same as the real world. The in-game time is 1:1 to the real world, with a time difference of about 12 hours. Because it runs by overwriting dreams, entering the game is no different from sleeping.

The person who sent that long message went by the username “Light.”

His serious, one-word nickname seemed incongruent with the group’s name, Bull and Horse Club. Hence, its members occasionally called him "Ultraman," "Gaia,” and even “Fucking Awesome.”

Level_8_Gale (Administrator): What kind of fantasy setting is this??

There_will_be_ample_time (Administrator): That sounds kinda outdated.... Reminds me of the setting of an early virtual reality game web novel.

White_horse_passing_a_crevice (Group Owner): Haha, you mean the ones where you have to wear a VR helmet? I used to like reading those when I was still in school.

Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night (Administrator): That design doesn’t make sense. Isn’t earning money the point of operating a game? Shouldn’t they make their players feel satisfied, then? If it’s 100% realistic, how can the RMB warriors show off their might? No one will be able to pull ahead!

Ye Wei didn't read those novels. Having received nine years of compulsory education, he pursued rationality more than wish fulfillment.

That was why he preferred to read Xuanhuan and Fantasy novels.

There_will_be_ample_time: Brother, you are too serious. It makes more sense to make readers feel satisfied rather than letting the publishers make money.

Level_8_Gale: Don’t change the subject.

The group quickly went off-topic.

Although the Bull and Horse Club was a gaming group, its members rarely discussed games as seriously as they were doing right now, even more so when it was about a game that did not exist, merely imagined out of thin air.

When the group completely went off the rails, the one who started the topic, stubbornly pulled them back.

Light: I mean if.

Light: If there is such a game, would you be willing to play it?

Looking at the group chat, Ye Wei smiled and shook his head.

Was there a need to ask?

Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night: Why wouldn’t I try a 100% realistic game? Iykwim (?° ?? ?°)

Level_8_Gale: +1. I still have some issues with the setting you mentioned, though. If game time is equal to sleep time... Wouldn’t it make more sense to apply this technology to work?

White_horse_passing_a_crevice: Damn, are you the devil??

There_will_be_ample_time: I would prefer to sleep ?

Quit_smoking: Discussing something so unrealistic with the group at night instead of sleeping...

- LMAO.

More and more people in the chat began to appear online. Some of them read through the messages with great interest but didn’t send a single one themselves.

In their group of two hundred, only about ten to twenty of its members were active. A couple of long-time lurkers who were part of the “he knows you but you don’t know him” gang occasionally popped up as well. Only after asking who they were would the others realize that they had been lurking in the group for years.

Ignoring them, Light, one of their older members, continued to immerse himself in his own world.

Light: To be honest, the company I just recently joined is developing a fully immersive virtual reality online game.

The lively group chat suddenly quieted down, but a series of new messages then simultaneously popped up as if they had choreographed it ahead of time.

- Holy shit!

- For real?!

- That’s awesome! I almost believed you! (?° ?? ?°)

Ye Wei thought that the guy had to be trolling.

A fully immersive virtual reality online game?

100% realistic?

Bullshit.

Just like Gale said, if this kind of technology really existed, why would it be used to make a game?

He didn’t agree with using it directly in the field of work either. If such an advanced technology existed, the military would’ve already used it before anyone else could get their hands on it. How awesome would it be to train special forces using that technology?

Light just sent a link in response.

Casually opening the link, Ye Wei was led to an official game website.

The webpage was so poorly made that it looked as if the company couldn't even afford to hire a proper designer to make it nicer. The empty page had no other content aside from three lines of text.

[Wasteland Online: 100% realistic virtual reality game]

[Current number of applications:

0

]

[Apply:

Yes/No

]

Ye Wei smiled.

So that’s what this is all about. It turns out to be an advertisement. Must be some kind of shady site.

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was if it was some sort of online lottery website or some other gambling page.

The number of applications was realistic enough, at least. There were no fake eight-figure downloads or claims that some celebrity was also playing it.

"Fine, I’ll check out what kind of game you are."

To his surprise, when he clicked yes, the registration page did not pop up. Aside from the number of applications increasing from 0 to 1, the site didn’t change at all.

"This shitty game doesn't even need an account to register?"

Ye Wei was at a loss. For a moment he was not sure whether this thing could even be considered an advertisement. Was it a virus? That was unlikely. These days, even antivirus software is about to become a thing of the past, so how can he get viruses just by clicking YES or NO on a website? Not to mention that he was using a school computer.

Even if he was using his own computer, he had no reason to be afraid of it...

...

[Number of applications: 11]

Wasteland, Resident Lobby of Shelter 404.

Sitting in a cramped room, Chu Guang stared at the number on the web page on his computer screen. He breathed a sigh of relief and released the mouse that he was holding in a vice grip.

"Is this enough?"

Two lines of text appeared in front of him.

[Mission Complete]

[Reward: 1x Carbon Nano Bulletproof Vest, +5 Bonus Points]

As the wall on one side of the room faintly vibrated, a curved alloy door panel opened, revealing a black vest on the platform behind it.

A conveyor belt sent out the vest. The alloy door closed right after, and the room regained its calm.

Chu Guang immediately got up from the computer, walked over, and picked up the vest.

Like cooled silk pajamas, the vest was very light, delicate, and soft. It was hard to imagine that the item in his hand could withstand bullets.

[Item:

Carbon Nano Bulletproof Vest

]

Description:

This bulletproof vest can effectively absorb the kinetic energy of a bullet, dispersing the impact force within the bearable range. It can also resist a certain degree of puncture and cuts.

[Durability:

100%

]

The rewards obtained from the Shelter System were registered in the inventory with product descriptions and instructions for use.

Chu Guang immediately took off his shirt and put the vest on. It was chilly at first, but his body soon adjusted to it.

A cylindrical metal bin-like object resting in the corner of the room suddenly made an electronic sound.

"Congratulations, Master. It seems you have completed your first mission."

"Can you not speak so suddenly?"

"Hmm... Yes, Master."

The robot that looked like a bin served as an assistant to the administrator of Shelter 404. It did not have a name, only a serial number, 777. Finding that troublesome, Chu Guang named it Little Seven.

As for who Chu Guang was and why he

was in Shelter 404...

1. Cute is justice, flat is justice, idk what justice you believe in but that’s probably what it means. ☜