Junlin Club.
Zhao Mingwei had just finished his morning training and was receiving a scolding from the coach. It wasn't quite a scolding; it was more of a persuasive talk.
"Xiaoye, I know you've been in a slump lately, but your performance in the training matches is far below your standard."
The coach looked at Zhao Mingwei's data report with a mix of frustration and empathy.
Zhao Mingwei had already become like steel, a piece of steel that had been through many battles. But lately, this steel had grown soft, his mind completely out of the competition.
In the recent training match against another team, Zhao Mingwei had made several mistakes that an experienced professional player shouldn't have made.
"Yes." Zhao Mingwei didn't argue back. He knew his performance had been slipping recently. Although he no longer wanted to stay with the Junlin team, this was his livelihood.
"Even if you don't want to play in this circuit, you still have two more years on your contract with Junlin. You can't perform so poorly that you can't win a single match, right? Hold on for these two years, and you can retire peacefully," the coach understood Zhao Mingwei's plight.
Hold on?
When did playing games require endurance?
Zhao Mingwei smiled bitterly but said nothing. The coach misunderstood his smile as something else.
"Think about it, seven years in Confederation, you've dedicated seven years of your life to this game. If you retire, the most you can do is make a living playing Confederation on streaming. We're all professional players, but in the end, we're just internet addicts who can't do anything but play Confederation," the coach continued his psychological counseling.
"Only in the professional arena of Confederation are you Xiaoye, the grand hero admired by countless players, the God of Combat. In the real world, we're nothing, right?"
These words sounded especially harsh to Zhao Mingwei, but they were true.
In the real world, he was…nothing.
The coach's lecture lasted less than half an hour. Zhao Mingwei excused himself to the restroom, citing his poor condition. He splashed some cold water on his face at the sink.
The sensation of cold water on his face cleared his mind a bit. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and suddenly made a gesture with his right hand, pushing it forward forcefully.
This was the action he used to release a Qigong Wave in the game as a Mind Energy Master...
But his right hand produced nothing, no energy wave, no Qigong, only drops of water.
What am I doing?
Zhao Mingwei smiled bitterly and pulled back his hand. He looked at his palm. The powerful feeling of having energy in the game felt so real.
So real that even in the real world, Zhao Mingwei could clearly feel his strength had increased.
But this feeling seemed to be an illusion. In the real world, he was just an ordinary human being, not the Mind Energy Master protected by psychic beasts!
As Zhao Mingwei pondered these things, a message suddenly popped up on his phone. He opened it, finding that the app had updated a new feature.
Abyssal Hunt.
'A rift from the abyss will appear in your world. Monsters from the abyss will flood into your world. Warriors! Accept this invitation and join the hunt!'
'The Abyssal Hunt mode is now available. Please see the detailed instructions.'
Zhao Mingwei clicked on the Abyssal Hunt interface. The map of Jiangcheng instantly appeared on his phone screen. On the map, a dark vortex was slowly spinning near the food street of Jiangcheng.
AR gameplay?
Zhao Mingwei had played countless mobile games and guessed this type of gameplay linked with real-world maps. But these are mostly auxiliary features in mobile games.
How could this game, occupying possibly tens of thousands of G of his storage, still use such childish gameplay?
Wait…
Zhao Mingwei opened the Abyssal Hunt reward list. A string of dark orange equipment flashed, nearly blinding him.
Special Equipment? What on earth… Zhao Mingwei had never heard of it, but one piece of special equipment caught his attention.
Light Elf's Memory.
Quality: Special Equipment.
Level: 0.
Description: Fragments of the Light Elf's memory, with the effect of duplicating light attribute skills.
Equipment Attributes: When casting light attribute magic below level 30, there is a chance to cast it again.
Light Attribute Enhancement +10.
Zhao Mingwei didn't care much about the Light Attribute Enhancement +10. What he valued was the ability to cast magic twice!
The Qigong Cannon was a light attribute magic! This would definitely be a common output method for his Mind Energy Master in the future!
Having this equipment was like… gaining double the joy!
Zhao Mingwei began looking into how to participate in the Abyssal Hunt. Normally, in such 'mini-games,' a simple click would grant rewards.
But the only option on this interface, 'Spiritual Descension,' was grayed out.
Why was it gray? Did he need to go to Jiangcheng Food Street?
Zhao Mingwei checked the time on his phone. He had two hours before the afternoon training session. It was only two stops away from Junlin Club's headquarters to Jiangcheng Food Street.
He didn't hesitate any longer. He changed his clothes and took the bus to Jiangcheng Food Street.
This street was the busiest in Jiangcheng, a must-visit for tourists.
Zhao Mingwei wore a mask and stood on the crowded street, taking out his phone. The Spiritual Descension option was still grayed out.
Why? He had already come close to the dark vortex, didn't he need to get even closer?
With this thought, Zhao Mingwei followed the map's guidance to move closer to the dark vortex. But before he could take a few steps, a commotion broke out on the street.
A large group of people started running wildly toward Zhao Mingwei. They quickly brushed past him. Zhao Mingwei didn't understand what was happening at first.
But suddenly, the sky, which had been clear, was covered by dark clouds. He heard explosions and the roar of something bizarre coming from the end of the street.
Zhao Mingwei's eyes widened as he looked towards the end of the street. The space at the end of the street began to crack like a broken mirror. The cracks rapidly expanded and eventually shattered, revealing a pitch-black space behind them.
A massive monster slowly stepped out of the space. Countless smaller monsters swarmed through the cracks at its feet.
Goblins? Orcs? Goblins?
Zhao Mingwei's mind filled with these terms as he looked at the monsters, but aren't these creatures just from fantasies? Is this a movie set or an AR event?
But the piercing roars, the panicked crowd, and the sight of the three-meter-tall giant orc smashing a car into pieces with its wooden club reminded Zhao Mingwei that this seemed to be reality!