Chapter 5: : Mining, farming, assembly line?

"Hello? Mom? Blind date? I can't make it. I have to work overtime on the weekend. Yeah, it's because of my coding job on Saturday and Sunday, remember? Where does a software developer find time for a blind date?"

"Sure, we can talk about it later. I'll call you back," the chubby guy in the game room casually chatted with his mother, unfazed.

It's not every day you get a weekend, and he wasn't about to let a blind date ruin his plans. Why go on a date when he could be gaming with his buddies?

After hanging up the call, the guy tapped the game icon in the game room, ready to pick a game to enjoy his weekend.

...

As he looked at the announcements, he couldn't help but let out a long, exasperated sigh. The posts were full of vulgar language and seemed like something the author couldn't have possibly written.

After ranting for half an hour, the chubby guy found himself lying in the game room, thinking about calling his mom and making an excuse to get out of the blind date. Who could blame him? With a physique like his and an unhealthy lifestyle, he couldn't possibly show up for a date.

But he soon realized that his appearance was far from suitable for a date. He had a chubby face, a less-than-ideal physique, and an overall appearance that left much to be desired. No, a blind date was out of the question. He sighed and decided to focus on picking a game to while away his weekend.

He looked at the list of games in the game room, titles that had once consumed his nights and made him forget about food. However, he couldn't muster up any enthusiasm to play them. Many of his gaming buddies had moved on, some getting married and starting families, leaving his friend list filled with greyed-out names. It was disheartening.

"Hmm, what's this? 'Xinghai'?" he mumbled as he came across a new game. Considering the popularity of the game Titan, it seemed rather audacious for another sci-fi game to hit the market.

Curious, he clicked on the game's description. The write-up was astonishing, claiming that it outshone all other games on the market. According to the description, it offered a 100% immersive gaming experience, as if players were transported to a different world. It was a must-play, and the review sang its praises, giving it five stars in every category, urging him not to miss out.

"I've got to check this out!" The chubby guy couldn't help but mutter. The game's description was over-the-top. Such hype, who did they think they were fooling? Even if they wanted to make money, was this too much? He rolled his eyes at the screen, skeptical of the exaggerated claims.

Just another unreliable game review site, he thought. He'd been fooled by such title party sites before, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

Tired of scrolling through, he noticed that there were over a thousand players ahead of him in the queue. This was another red flag. Could they be deliberately creating hype? He wasn't buying it.

He muttered, "What's this nonsense? Can't believe people are falling for it."

He clicked on a restaurant link he frequented, ordering a big meal. "Give me a pork chop lunch with three bottles of Warhorse energy drink. Make it the kind that keeps you awake for two nights. Yep, three bottles of that."

As he waited for his food to be delivered, he thought about checking out the game just to see what all the fuss was about. After all, he had lined up all night. He teased himself, "Is this game really worth it?"

A player next to him exclaimed, "Whoa, what's going on? Are they making us wait too long to fall asleep and dream? I knew it, the ten-night energy drink was just a rumor!"

The chubby guy, on the other hand, found himself bewildered by the game world. He was in awe as he looked around, "Isn't this a dream?"

Perhaps it was a dream, but he couldn't be certain. The game's visuals were astonishingly realistic.

"Hey there, new guy!" A burly green giant beside him called out. "What's the holdup? Hurry up and sign the surgery contract, make room for the players behind you. Don't keep the queue waiting!"

"Oh," the chubby guy nodded as he understood. It was a familiar situation. When a new game launched, and the novice area got too crowded, they had to restrict the number of players to keep the game world manageable. Long queues were the result, something he hadn't seen in years.

Intrigued, he looked at the contract form they had to fill out.

Impatiently, the Hulk beside him grumbled, "Are you reading them all one by one? We're not selling ourselves. Just sign it already and don't hold up the players behind!"

The chubby guy nodded and quickly signed the contract. But as he did, he felt something odd, as if he'd lost something important.

"Quick, get in line for surgery!"

"Surgery?" The chubby guy inquired. "What kind of surgery?"

As he learned more, he realized that players could choose their new race through a form of biological surgery. The concept was intriguing.

Exiting the bio area, he encountered a green light orb offering him a form with available bio-surgery options. These were the races he could choose from.

Studying the options, he noticed there were three existing races to choose from:

1. Green Titan: The massive, hulking beings that were like the ones he'd seen in the game room. Strong and powerful, they were known for their physical prowess. In the early game, they were relegated to mining, but who wanted to be a miner in a game?

2. Developer: The direction for this race was cerebral, with a focus on developing the brain area. This would grant the player immense computing power. Later on, players could take on roles such as managers, scientists, and precision instrument controllers. In the early stages, they would be stationed at the base, responsible for managing precision instruments and decomposing energy from fire ant mines.

3. Wood Elves: These beings had a complex evolution path. Initially, they would retain their brains, eventually transitioning to become pure spiritual entities. Next, they would evolve to have a perfect flesh, unique to elite families. With this new flesh, their evolution options would expand, allowing them to take on various roles, starting with crop maintenance and tracking of biological specimens, all done in a spiritual manner.

The chubby guy was dumbfounded after reading the options. Was he supposed to start with mining or farming? It was absurd to not have a leveling route to fight monsters and gain experience. What was the game's plan, exactly?

Could it be that the players were meant to build a base and venture into interstellar expansion? The game's ambition seemed grand.

He couldn't help but feel excited. Regardless of what happened later in the game, this initial concept was refreshing. Enthusiastic and inspired, he decided to buy a 10,000 Federal Coin public test key, eager to see where this unique game would take him.

"Wait, what's going on? Why is everyone waiting in line? Hurry up and choose your role. Are you going for mining

, farming, or pipeline work?"

"Mining, I'll go for mining!"

Turning into a Hulk seemed more exciting than being a floating orb.