Beta Phase

  The death of a human is of two forms: first comes the physical demise, followed by the spiritual one.

  In my case, my physical being was rendered into a tragic car accident, undoubtedly fitting into the former category.

  Yet, oddly enough, my soul did not expire; it found itself transported to an peculiar gaming realm. This game was still in its beta phase, and I, a seemingly insignificant NPC within...

  ...

  A violent sandstorm swept up, and amidst the swirling dust, a tall, gaunt figure emerged. His skin was weathered and cracked from the relentless sun, and he gripped a composite bow tightly in his hand.

  "Damn this weather," Siren croaked, his voice hoarse.

  It had been his first month since he was reborn into this virtual game, and after enduring a period of fear and despair, much like any ordinary person would, he had slowly adapted to his new surroundings and begun to strategize for survival.

  In order to survive in this harsh environment, he took a tremendous risk by stealthily acquiring a composite bow from a nearby trade caravan, and as of now, it appears that his actions have gone unnoticed.

  He tapped his fingers in the air a few times, and suddently there materialized a hovering transparent screen, a screen visible only to him.

  **GameMaker System**

  Name: Siren 

  Level : 9

  Race: Human

  Profession: Unlocked at Level 20

  Inventory: composite bow, water bag.

  **Beta Phase 1.0**

  Countdown: 28hr : 40min

  Maximum Gamers: 10000

  Content: In the 22nd century, as the human survival environment becomes increasingly harsh, players will lead the survivors in the wasteland to establish a gathering place.

  "It feels like something bad might happen when the countdown reaches zero..."

  Siren is now in this game world, which means that real-world players will probably enter this game in the future. And as an NPC, he seems to have his own tasks to complete.

  His  fingers slid downward.

  **Mission**

  1. The game has received a remarkably high approval rating of 90%

  Award: None

  Failure: Death

  "Huh, just say it if you want me to die."

  Siren sighed, but before he could make any comments, a sudden tremor emanated from the ground beneath. The earth cracked, and a giant maw filled with sharp teeth opened beneath him.

  People commonly refer to these worms that shuttle beneath the desert and wastelands as "desert buses." That's a fitting name because if he falls down there, it's like being taken on a bus ride to heaven.

  ...

  Earth,

  Old York State.

  Midnight.

  In an appartment, a blonde-haired young girl was sitting in a gaming chair, playing the most popular MOBA game of the moment. The keyboard was making horrendous noises. Her eyes were brown, and both her voice and appearance were somewhat reminiscent of a squirrel.

  "Return to the turret, don't chase him you idiot!" she shouted into the microphone.

  Her name was Mira, a professional couch potato and streamer on Metuber.

  Mira believed that if she continued to livestream, one day she could become a mega-streamer with millions of fans. However, reality was harsh; her current number of fans could be counted on one hand, and she hardly had any viewers most of the time.

  She heard a knocking sound from behind, and in annoyance, she took off her headphones and rushed over to check.

  As she reached the door, her footsteps came to a halt. Who could be coming to see her at this time? The thought made her heart beat faster and her hands and feet seemed to be frozen.

  "Who's out there?"

  There was no response.

  Through the peephole, she noticed that the person outside seemed to have left and left a package on the ground. She cautiously pushed open the door slightly and brought the package inside the room.

  "A package in the midnight... and it's so heavy!" She looked at the sender's name on the package and found it was from someone named SIREN.

  Siren?

  A werid name.

  Wait...

  It says this is the name of a gaming company.

  She searched online for this company and couldn't find any records. Well, with such a strange name, the company must have gone out of business, she thought.

  "Let's seeeee what is inside! A bomb? Limbs and body parts? Or maybe a million dollars in cash? But with this weight, it's at least ten kilograms of gold, if not more." She said to the audience...which was herself.

  "Ummm,what on earth, just a pitch-black helmet? Wait a minute, there's a cable attached to it. Could this be a gaming headset?"

  Underneath the gaming headset, a beautifully crafted note that read:

  "Dear Mira,

  You are undoubtedly fortunate.

  Our company is about to launch an immersive virtual reality game called 'Wasteland Survival,' and as part of the beta testing phase, we are distributing a limited number of free gaming headsets to the chosen players, and you have been chosen as one of them. Below is the link to our company's web platform.

  https..."

  ...

  "...some kind of scam?" She felt a bit hesitant to put on the headset, but driven by curiosity, she eventually connected it to the power and placed it on her head.

  As she thought about it, the midnight delivery, the gaming headset, it all seemed like something out of a novel. If she didn't give it a try, she might never get a good night's sleep again.

  "But it's probably just a gimmick for some poorly-made trash game, she thought.

  They're using this strategy to grab attention, and once you get into the game, you'll probably find it's as amateurish as something you'd create after just two days of learning C++ and game engines.

  Her skepticism mainly stemmed from her lack of faith in the current state of VR technology to deliver good games.

  After putting on the headset, everything was enveloped in profound darkness.

  Huh? Did she forget to turn it on? She reached for the power button located at the back of her head, and suddenly, her vision became blurry until a faint beam of light pierced the darkness.

  She initially thought it was a rendering glitch in the game, but then she felt a wave of dizziness and disorientation wash over her.

  A strong, putrid odor of decay wafted over her as she opened her eyes, only to find herself in the midst of a prison.

  In the next moment, she was utterly stunned by the scene before her. The textures, the play of light and shadow, and even her five senses were identical to reality!

  She involuntarily reached out to touch her own body, which now belonged to that of an adult woman, different from her own, yet the rough texture of the coarse clothing and the tiny floating dust in the beam of light felt astonishingly real!

  To the extent that, for a moment, she completely disregarded the fact that she was in a prison.