Chapter 3 The First Closed Beta Testing 1

Brennan was up late last night. Big Daddy's unexpected remarks caused a stir in the group chat.

Most of the people in the Gamer Club have never met each other in real life, but games were the only thing that bound them together, so they felt somewhat connected.

Big Daddy used to be a vibrant guy, and many people played games with him, even though he was so bad that everyone begged him to stop.

The consensus reached in the group chat was that Big Daddy's Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp had been hacked, or that he had fallen into a dirty gaming company and tricked everyone into helping him.

Big Daddy's silence seemed to corroborate this speculation.

Brennan was concerned about Big Daddy. While chatting with members of the group, he sent messages to Big Daddy. But by the time he went to bed in the early hours of the morning, he hadn't heard back from him.

He had no class the next morning and was going to sleep in, but when he turned on his phone to check the time, the Gamer Club chat was still buzzing. When he clicked on it, he saw a string of emojis Alfred Loves Chicken sent.

Alfred (Administrator): "I actually got the delivery! /Astonished face/"

Richard 123: "What?"

Lama Glama: "Whoops, Alfred has turned, too. How much has Big Daddy given you? /Naughty face/"

Alfred (Administrator): "I mean it. I just came back from my morning run and found it in the mailbox downstairs. [Picture]"

Brennan clicked on the picture. Attached to the box was a delivery order, and inside the cardboard box was a biker-style helmet but tightly enclosed device, reflecting steely sheen.

Brennan pulled down the notification bar. He saw a text message reminding him that he had an express package stored at a delivery point to pick up as soon as possible.

The text wasn't surprising, but Brennan was pretty sure he hadn't done any online shopping recently.

"Fuck!"

Brennan got as wide awake as he could be, put on a coat, grabbed his student ID card and raced to the delivery point. Then, with a pounding heart, he carried the package back to his dorm room, and opened it. A helmet, identical to the one in Alfred's picture, lay in the box.

Brennan snapped a picture and posted it in the group chat.

Super Brennan: "I got it, too. Fuck, Big Daddy's for real?"

Richard 123 (Administrator): "???"

Lama Glama: "???"

Alfred Loves Chicken: "Fuck, now do you guys believe me?"

Lady Killer: "I went downstairs to check. I got it, too. /Dumbfounded face/ I thought it was a joke."

On A Diet (Administrator): "??? Did you guys really make the reservation?"

Dragon's Toenail: "Huh? You didn't? I never thought Big Daddy would frame me. Anyone who sucks in games like that must be a good-hearted one! And I got it, too. /Smiling face/ [picture]"

On A Diet: "/Astonished face/"

As the messages kept popping up, it was found that at least six people had received helmets.

Richard 123 and Lama Glama did not speak again. They probably went to check the mailbox, too. Only the administrator, On A Diet was still there.

On A Diet (Administrator): "Try it since you got it. Is it true like he said?"

His remarks shed blinding light on his envy.

Brennan swallowed his excitement, picked up his helmet, followed the instructions in the included manual, and flipped the switch. And then the display on the visor on the front of the helmet immediately lit up.

The battery-shaped icon was full. Brennan buckled his helmet lightly over his head. The tight helmet blocked out the light, leaving him in complete darkness. His voice trembled as he commanded, "Log on to Crimson!"

Brennan felt only a slight twinge of vertigo, and a cold, robotic female voice was heard in his ears.

"Command received."

"Logging in..."

"Login failed. No authorization was obtained. Please contact an Administrator."

"Fuck! What the hell!"

Brennan's frustration at this moment was like when he took his pants off, and his date told him that she was on her period. Brennan angrily took off the helmet and turned on his phone to see that Alfred was messaging @Big Daddy.

Alfred Loves Chicken (Administrator): "@Big Daddy, bro, what's going on? Why can't I get into the game? It tells me I'm not authorized."

Super Brennan: "Me too."

Lady Killer: "Me too, Ahh! It's driving me crazy!"

Dragon's Toenail: "I'm going crazy, too! I can't log in. @Big Daddy, why?"

Lama Glama: "Hahaha, you idiots. It's a prank that he sent you motorcycle helmets. Did you really believe it? I knew when he stopped showing up yesterday. He must be fooling around. Naive! Will he dare come out again? Don't you guys usually call him Daddy? Call him, and perhaps he will answer you."

Dragon's Toenail: "You didn't get one so you don't understand, the helmet does voice recognition. I believe him. @Big Daddy, please come out!"

Lama Glama: "?? So cruel?"

The group chat heated up again. Lama Glama and Richard 123 insisted that Big Daddy was bluffing, and Dragon's Toenail quarreled with them.

Brennan had been sending messages to Big Daddy. He also thought Big Daddy wouldn't make a prank out of a voice-recognition helmet. It would cost too much.

After some time, Big Daddy finally showed up in the group.

Big Daddy: "Sorry guys, I just woke up. Looks like you've got the device /smiling face/. You don't have to text me anymore. I'll solve all your problems here. You're not authorized because the tests haven't been launched yet. Now 6 of you have obtained the quota of closed test. Since you were recommended by me, I'll be the one to arrange the test time. If that's okay with you, I'll go to the background in a minute to launch the test and post notifications here."

Dragon's Toenail: "You finally showed up. /Crying face/ I'm okay with that!"

Alfred Loves Chicken: "Me, too."

Super Brennan: "No problem, I'll skip class today!"

Lady Killer: "Well, I'm not working at the moment anyway."

Cool Ass: "/Curious face/ I've got nothing else to do."

Carsick Car: "My pleasure, waiting for you! /Funny face/"

On A Diet (Administrator): "Carsick Car doesn't seem to trust you very much, @Big Daddy, only 6 places? I want one, too."

Big Daddy: "There were more than six places yesterday, but you didn't put your real address for the reservation. Some even wrote down Atlantis. How am I supposed to send you a device and recommend you to my boss? Six people received the device because they actually filled in their shipping address. And, by the way, since we're working with the government, we can judge the authenticity of the address you fill in and whether it is consistent with your online shopping records. I hope you will take it seriously when you apply, or the reservation will be automatically cancelled."

Big Daddy: "Also, one device can only be bound to one player. These devices don't cost you anything, but you only have the right to use it, but not to dispose of it. So, you'd better not destroy it or disassemble it. During the closed beta phase, the company won't require players to compensate for losses caused by equipment damage, but it has the right to cancel players' closed beta qualification."

Carsick Car: "/Scared face/ Big Daddy seems classy now. /Funny face/"

Richard 123 (Administrator): "Hahaha, working with the government and automatically judging the authenticity of the address? Is your company really that good?"

Lady Killer: "Shut up if you don't believe it. @Big Daddy, let's start this!"

Super Brennan: "Can't wait!"

Big Daddy went quiet for a while. At 9 a.m., he showed up again.

"OK, guys, you may log in now!"