This Game Is Too Real

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"...How real is a 100 percent immersive game?"

Earth, a computer lab at a university.

Ye Wei's first thought upon seeing the chat message wasn't the game itself, but blinding righteousness.

Or to be more precise, the sight of his modded-to-the-max "Maiden Scrolls V" and over 100 personally customized wives springing to life from saved game files.

If we went into any more detail, he might lose his account.

His chat nickname was "Gets up a dozen times a night," but due to its length and lack of decorum, the group bros just called him Night Ten.

"It's exactly as real as it sounds."

"Visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory senses... all are as real as in the real world, the flow of time in the game world is 1:1 with the real world, with about a 12-hour time difference, and because the underlying technology interferes with dreams, playing the game is essentially equivalent to sleeping."

The bro who tapped out these lines went by the simple and serious nickname "Light."

This earnest single-character nickname clashed with the group's name "Cattle and Horses Club," so group mates occasionally called him "Ultraman," "Gaia," or even started referring to him with respect or as awesome.

Level Eight Great Gale (Manager): "Is this some kind of fantasy setting? (laugh)"

Long Days Ahead (Manager): "And it sounds kind of dated, like something from early web novels about virtual reality games."

White Horse Passing a Gap (Group Owner): "Haha, you mean like wearing a virtual reality headset? I used to love reading that stuff when I was at school."

Gets up a dozen times a night (Manager): "Let's be real, that kind of setting doesn't make sense. Are operators not looking to make money, just wanting players to have a blast? If it's 100 percent real, how would you show off the prestige of RMB warriors? Everyone would be freeloading!"

Ye Wei didn't read such novels, but he believed that his nine years of compulsory education set him apart from others. He thought rationality should be sought after more than just thrill.

So he preferred reading fantasy and supernatural stories instead.

Long Days Ahead: "Bro, you're taking it too seriously. If we're talking about rationality, isn't it more logical to give the readers outside the novels a thrilling experience rather than making money for the fictional operators inside the novels?"

Level Eight Great Gale: "No matryoshka dolls allowed."

The conversation quickly went off the rails.

Even though the Cattle and Horses Club was a gaming group, they seldom discussed games seriously as they did today.

Especially a game that didn't exist at all, conjured up entirely from imagination.

However, even as the topic drifted far away, Light, the guy who had started the topic, stubbornly steered the conversation back.

Light: "I mean, if such a game existed."

Light: "Would you guys be willing to play it?"

Ye Wei chuckled and shook his head as he looked at the chat.

Is that even a question?

Gets up a dozen times a night: "Of course, why not? A 100 percent real game, why wouldn't I give it a shot? You know what I'm saying. (funny emoticon)"

Level Eight Great Gale: "+1, but I still have some doubts about what you described. If game time is equivalent to sleep time... wouldn't this technology be more appropriate for work?"

White Horse Passing a Gap: "Holy shit, are you the devil???"

Long Days Ahead: "Then I'd rather just sleep honestly. (bitter smile)"

Quit smoking: "You guys aren't sleeping this late at night, just daydreaming in the chat."

"LMAO."

More and more people started bubbling up in the chat.

Some didn't send messages but were peeking at the screen with great interest.

In a gaming group of 200 people, there are usually about ten to twenty active members. Occasionally, a couple of new faces pop up, "He knows you, but you don't know him," kind of people, and you find out they've been lurking for over two years.

But Light, the guy in question, didn't take any of it into account and continued to immerse himself in his own world.

"The fact is, the company I recently joined is developing a fully immersive virtual reality online game."

The boisterous chat went quiet for a moment.

But soon, as if on cue, a flurry of messages popped up.

"Holy crap?"

"For real?!"

"Bro, you're the man! I almost believed you. (funny emoticon)"

Ye Wei thought this guy was really laying it on thick.

A fully immersive virtual reality online game?

100 percent realistic?

Bullshit.

As Brother Gale said, if such a thing really existed, would it be used just for games???

Of course, he disagreed with applying it directly to the office. In his mind, if such amazing technology really existed, it would definitely be used in the military first.

Imagine how incredible it would be for training special forces!

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The fellow named "Light" didn't say anything else, he just threw over a website address.

Ye Wei casually clicked on it, only to find that it was actually a game's official website.

The website's design was nothing impressive, seeming as if they couldn't afford to hire a designer, the empty page lacked any content with just three stark lines of text.

[One hundred percent real-life Virtual Reality Game—Wasteland OL]

[Current number of pre-registrations: 0]

[Pre-register: yes/no]

Ye Wei laughed.

Well, pal, after such a long buildup, it turns out this is an advertisement.

Not sure if it's for gambling or online betting.

But the pre-registration number is refreshingly honest, no made-up eight-digit online count, no claim that even the likes of minor celebrities are playing it.

"Alright then, let's see what kind of beast you are."

He clicked yes with the mouse.

Surprisingly, instead of the expected registration page popping up, there was no change other than the number of pre-registrations going from 0 to 1.

"This crappy game doesn't even require an account to register???"

Ye Wei was baffled by this sly maneuver, unable for a moment to decide whether this even counted as an advertisement.

Could it be some kind of virus?

That seemed unlikely.

What age was this, when antivirus software was nearly history, that a virus could be contracted just by clicking yes or no on a website?

Not to mention this was on a school computer.

Even using his own computer, he wasn't worried about this thing.

...

[Number of pre-registrations: 11]

Wasteland, Residents of Shelter No. 404's main hall.

Chu Guang, sitting in his cramped room, let out a sigh of relief and loosened the grip on his mouse as he watched the number change in the computer screen's backend.

"Is this enough?"

The response to his question appeared before his eyes in two lines of text.

[Mission complete.]

[Reward: One set of Carbon Nanotube Bulletproof Vest, +5 reward points.]

The wall on one side of the room vibrated faintly, and as the curved metal door slid open, a black vest lay on the platform behind the door.

A conveyor belt rolled the vest out.

The metal door closed again, and the room returned to its previous calm.

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

It was very light, and felt much like silk pajamas—smooth and soft to the touch, making it hard to believe it could withstand bullets.

[

Name: Carbon Nanotube Bulletproof Vest

Description: Capable of effectively absorbing bullet kinetic energy, dispersing impact force within the range of durability, resistant to a certain degree of piercing and cutting damage.

Durability: 100%

]

Rewards obtained from the shelter system would be recorded in the inventory, complete with product descriptions and instructions for use.

Chu Guang immediately took off his shirt and put it on close to his body.

It was chilly at first, but he quickly got used to it.

At that moment, a cylindrical metal object in the corner of the room emitted a monotone electronic sound.

"Congratulations, Master, it seems you have completed your first task."

"Could you not just start talking out of the blue?"

"Understood, Master."

That trashcan-looking robot was called Xiao Qi.

As the assistant to the Manager of Shelter No. 404, it technically didn't have a name, only the number 777.

But Chu Guang, who couldn't be bothered, gave it a name anyway.

Who Chu Guang really was, and why he was in Shelter No. 404, starts with a tale from a dark and stormy night...

```