The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

"You're right, but 'Child of Stardust' is a brand-new open-world adventure game jointly developed by Stars Network and Spark Technology. The game takes place in a fantasy world called 'Endless Star Sea,' where ordinary people also have the chance to ascend to godhood. You will play a mysterious role known as the 'Pioneer,' meeting companions with different personalities and unique abilities during your free adventures, defeating formidable enemies together, exploring the stars, and ascending to godhood—while gradually uncovering the truth about the 'Stars.'"

Pasting was done in one go, and today's online trolling task was perfectly completed.

In the security room, Zhou Yuan put down his phone and glanced up at the time on the monitoring screen—it was 22:58.

"Sun, I'm going to patrol." Zhou Yuan picked up the flashlight on the desk and called out to the inner room.

"Oh oh, go ahead." Sun, the security team leader who was busy gifting things to a streamer, replied perfunctorily.

Zhou Yuan hummed a little tune as he left the security room and walked towards the brightly lit office building.

The company's name was displayed on the rooftop—Stars Network.

As of now, the most globally renowned game company without any rival.

Six years ago, Stars Network released a teaser for a new online game "Child of Stardust," claiming it would be an unprecedented immersive holographic game, where the visuals, sounds, tactile sensations, tastes, and smells in the game world were identical to reality and touted as 100% real.

The teaser sparked overwhelming skepticism among players, as such technology seemed too advanced, and creating a game out of it was nothing short of a fantasy. People suspected Stars Network was just out for money.

As time passed, the discussion around this topic heated up, until a bombshell was dropped, and the players' doubts slowly dissipated—Spark Technology and Stars Network announced a collaboration!

Spark Technology—a tech giant that rose after the Third World War, responsible for creating countless miracles.

Mechanical prosthetics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, genetic editing, controlled nuclear fusion... Many epoch-making creations were their masterpieces. With their involvement, perhaps the immersive holographic game might actually become a reality.

In recent years, as in-game teasers for 'Child of Stardust' were released successively, the stunning achievements drove players worldwide mad; Stars Network actually did it!

Now, there's only one month left until the game's release, and players are going crazy on the internet every day, wishing they could knock themselves out and wake up when the game launches.

Meanwhile, the game developers were working day and night to finalize everything, with overtime till the early hours being the norm during this period.

Beep!

Zhou Yuan swiped his card to open the door, greeted the front desk staff, and walked straight into the elevator, swiped his card again, and pressed 33.

As the elevator slowly ascended, Zhou Yuan stared ahead in a daze, recalling his experiences over the years, letting out a sigh.

As a low-educated person who lost both parents and only had a middle school education, being able to join Stars Network seemed like a miracle, and it could be said he relied entirely on his looks.

Five years ago, during his intense preparation for examinations, his parents were brutally murdered, and the perpetrators were never caught.

Even worse, his parents were gamblers; there were no savings at home, only a huge debt to the bank.

Fortunately, his classmates and teachers were kind and supported him with some living expenses, allowing him to finish middle school. After that, he started working to pay off the debt—if he didn't pay, the house would be repossessed by the bank, and he would have nowhere to live, forced to become an urban explorer, scavenging for treasures everywhere.

Zhou Yuan had worked in factories, cleaned cars, been a customer service representative, delivered food... Until one day, luck unexpectedly came his way.

It was a bright and sunny noon when he was delivering meals on a nine-hand electric bike he bought at the seafood market. The destination was a high-end community, where he happened to see the security team being trained at the entrance.

Perhaps it was fate, as the supervisor suddenly turned back and met his eyes, looked him over a few times, and exclaimed: "Young man, you're quite handsome, want to be a security guard? Eight-hour shifts, six thousand a month, five social insurances, and one housing fund, off five days every two weeks."

So, he started that evening as a community security guard; with his youth, vigor, height, and good looks, he soon became the face of the community and even went a little viral online, making some easy money.

Unfortunately, his eyes lacked purity, making him unqualified to become an internet phenomenon, and he cooled down after two or three months.

Two years passed like this, until one night, while patrolling, Zhou Yuan saw someone lying on the ground and hurriedly called an ambulance. He later found out that the person was a high-ranking official at Stars Network, who collapsed due to exhaustion from continuous overtime and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on his way home. If not for the timely medical attention, his life wouldn't have been saved.

After the executive recovered, he directly approached Zhou Yuan, expressing his gratitude by offering him a job at Stars Network, also as a security guard.

Zhou Yuan agreed without thinking twice—Stars Network was among the world's top 100 companies, and the benefits for guards weren't low.

Now, Zhou Yuan had been a security guard at Stars Network for two and a half years, paying down his parents' debt to only eighty thousand left, which he could clear in another half year or so.

By then...

He would be free.

Ding.

The elevator door opened to the rooftop leisure area, set with some parasols and tables; no one was there.

Zhou Yuan patrolled as usual and then turned to head back to the elevator.

"Caw—"

In the silence, a hoarse bird call suddenly sounded nearby, startling Zhou Yuan. He quickly shone his flashlight over.