Eight days later, at the headquarters of the Jiangcheng Royal Battalion.
Today's daily team training was like usual, and during the lunch break after the training, Zhao Mingwei was browsing the latest news on various game forums and tieba on his phone in the dining room.
Whether it was in chat groups or on tieba, and even on Weibo, Zhao Mingwei couldn't find any news related to "Zero Sanctity."
There were one or two posts in the forums saying, "Played a game that rivals the real world!"
But the replies to the posts were all dismissive.
One hundred percent real experience, except for the lack of pain, all other sensations are complete, with clothing details intricate to the finest silk.
The current level of VR games couldn't reach such precision. This post was treated as bragging by forum players at the time and soon buried.
If Zhao Mingwei hadn't played this game, he definitely would have thought the post was nonsense.
After all, it was truly strange, almost eerie.
You didn't need a VR headset to log into the game, you just clicked on your phone, and the gaming process could replace sleep.
He tried it; he stayed up all night playing the game, and the next day he wasn't just not tired, he was unusually energetic.
The login method alone convinced Zhao Mingwei that this probably wasn't something humans could have created.
Could it be a game made by aliens?
Moreover, there were very few players on the server. Zhao Mingwei played for eight days and only met two friends, named "No Updates Today" and "No Extra Charge For Healing."
So far, there was no advertising for this game on the market. Zhao Mingwei didn't even know how to download it, as if the game chose him rather than him choosing it.
"Xiang Ye, do you think the game he mentioned is real or fake?"
Lin Xi appeared out of nowhere with a lunch box, he sat down beside Zhao Mingwei and asked mysteriously.
"Definitely fake." Zhao Mingwei answered Lin Xi without even thinking.
The Royal Battalion's management was very strict with him. Playing mobile and computer games was okay, but if he played other large-scale VR games, the club would verbally warn him.
This was also the reason why Zhao Mingwei didn't have a good relationship with the Royal Battalion's management. Unfortunately, he was young and naive back then and signed an exploitative contract. For two years, he could only appear as the Royal Battalion's star player "Laughing."
"I think it's real." Lin Xi said while taking a bite of his meal, "The posts on the game forum have special discussions, and the game is indeed fun."
"Fun? You… have played it?"
Zhao Mingwei realized at this point that Lin Xi was not here to gossip about games but to show off that he also had a game account or login rights!
"Of course, I played it. But the game doesn't allow live streaming or taking screenshots, so there's no evidence." Lin Xi, who had a looser contract with the club, didn't mind these things.
"Wanna team up tonight?" Zhao Mingwei lowered his voice and asked softly.
"No way? Laughing Ye, you... fine! See you in Lionheart City."
Lin Xi and Zhao Mingwei had been friends for many years and knew each other's thoughts. Lin Xi hurriedly finished his meal and returned to his place.
...
Around three in the morning, the time when professional players should be resting, in Lionheart City.
Jiang Qiao was stretching in front of the Resurrector's Temple in Lionheart City. The growth of his in-game character would be reflected in his real body.
Most noticeably, Jiang Qiao's neck and back didn't ache when staying up late, so to maintain his good physique, he had to exercise in the game.
"Sorry to be late, master."
"Happy Game," controlled by Zhao Mingwei, appeared beside Jiang Qiao. In eight days, he had reached level twenty-five, while Jiang Qiao was at level twenty-six.
Jiang Qiao had already received the Summoner's transfer quest yesterday. The base transfer for a level twenty-five Summoner had three choices: Undead Summoner, Elemental Summoner, and Beast Summoner.
Because of his fondness for water spirits, Jiang Qiao chose the Elemental Summoner's transfer quest.
He was a bit disappointed that the transfer didn't trigger a job change when he took the quest, but the job change could still be triggered during the transfer quest.
"Have you received your transfer quest?" Jiang Qiao finished his stretch and looked at Zhao Mingwei approaching him.
"I received a quest at the Fighter's Guild, deciding to transfer to Boxer." Zhao Mingwei was glad that there was a profession in the game very similar to his fighting skills.
The Fighter's basic transfer had three branches: Boxer, which focused on strengthening boxing skills; Qi Refiner, which used "qi" to fight; and Judo, which specialized in grappling.
Jiang Qiao found this setting familiar, thinking that as the creator, he must have referenced some game. He even wondered where the streetfighter profession that used underhanded methods like poison, bricks, and sand had gone.
It turned out that the streetfighter was a hidden job change for Fighters. The requirement was a negative ten charm value and certain relations with Lionheart City's underground thug organization.
"What's your charm value?" Jiang Qiao thought of this and wondered if he could get Zhao Mingwei a hidden job change.
"Fifteen points, any new strategies?"
During the two days they teamed up, Zhao Mingwei also shared many hidden NPC quest triggers with Jiang Qiao.
Charm value was the most important index for triggering hidden quests. The higher the charm, the easier it was to talk to NPCs. A low charm might attract special NPC appreciation.
In players' lifestyle professions, there was also oratory as a skill influencing NPC relations.
"Too high, are you interested in throwing energy balls?" Jiang Qiao posed in a way indicating a qigong wave.
"You want me to go as a Qi Refiner?" Zhao Mingwei had asked an NPC at the Fighter's Guild about professions. Only Qi Refiner could cast "waves."
"A more extreme hidden profession called Mind Energy Master. I heard from an NPC master in Qi they specialize in throwing energy balls."
Jiang Qiao's suggestion was a bit selfish. The day after tomorrow was the time when the invading dimension would arrive, and Zhao Mingwei was one of the players closest to the invading dimension.
The monsters in the invading dimension were mostly dark attribute, and the mind energy of a Mind Energy Master had some restraining effect on dark elements.
"Mind Energy Master? How did you know about this hidden profession?" Zhao Mingwei remembered that Jiang Qiao was a Summoner.
"Because my intelligence is over 250, and my charm is above fifteen. Yesterday, when I passed by the Fighter's Guild, a master in Qi asked if I wanted to 'work' for them," Jiang Qiao said.
"Really? The way these NPCs act in this game is strange. Sometimes, I thought they were real people."
During the past eight days, Zhao Mingwei had encountered many strange NPCs. Sometimes they were like preset programs, standing there just issuing quests, but other times they would make comments that didn't fit their character.
"The transfer requirement for Mind Energy Master is two hundred fifty intelligence and fifteen charm. I recall you got a bottle of forgetting potion in the Deep Dark Swamp instance; I also have one. Wanna try it?"
Jiang Qiao took out the blue forgetting potion and waved it. Zhao Mingwei relied mainly on strength stats for his Fighter, but if he reset his stats to focus on intelligence and added some intelligence gear, he could get over two hundred fifty intelligence.
"It… can be tried…" Zhao Mingwei thought for a moment and decided to agree. He specialized in fighting roles in "Conflicts," which was why he chose Fighter.
But playing games meant trying everything. He didn't want to be confined to the glory of "Laughing" all his life, and Zhao Mingwei was quite interested in the job change system in this game.
As for Lin Xi, who hadn't logged in yet, he was still being scolded by the coach. Zhao Mingwei could first take a trip to the Fighter's Guild.