Chapter 1

Year 2050, 9:00 a.m.

The sky was a dusky yellow. The blue sky and white clouds were nowhere to be seen. Even the sun, covered by the thick clouds, only emanated a dim light. Passers-by had long gotten used to this kind of weather. Their expressions were calm, and they merely looked up occasionally with a lost, disappointed air.

It felt like they had not seen the blue sky and white clouds for a long time, so long in the past that it felt like something from their previous lives.

As the environment deteriorated, the global climate grew warmer, and resources were overexploited, human beings inflicted irreparable damage on nature. At the same time, they suffered from nature's frenzied retaliation.

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, ice disasters, and all kinds of meteorological disasters were happening one after another. It was simply unbearable for humans. Even though technology had reached a decent level of advancement, humans were still helpless against these disasters.

If this continued, it was only a matter of time before Planet Blue collapsed. Improving the environment and restoring resources had become an urgent matter for the entire human race.

10:00

A bright light suddenly appeared in the originally dark sky. It was so blinding that people could barely open their eyes. When everyone saw the scene in front of them clearly, their jaws dropped abruptly.

It suddenly appeared in front of everyone, like an online game they usually played. It was actually a login interface! The citizens thought they must be hallucinating.

The scene on it was vivid and lifelike. It was a huge image of a desert. For a moment, everyone felt as if time and space had been distorted.

"What is this? I heard that Country M is researching holographic games. Could this be something they created?"

"That can't be right, it would take at least ten years for Country M's technology to produce it. Could it be a mirage?"

"Could it be a projection from aliens?"

Everyone began to discuss amongst themselves. Comments erupted like a tsunami, engulfing reality and the internet.

10:30

Leaders from all over the world gathered together. The conference hall was filled with people, who looked at the center of the conference hall with serious expressions. The login interface of the game was playing on the screen.

"This is not a mirage, but a real game login interface. There is no knowing what exactly this game is for, and at the moment, there is no knowing if it's harmless to humans."

"It's similar to some kind of survival game, but the location is in the desert."

"Its source cannot be found unless someone goes deeper into the game. This login interface is appearing in all corners of the world."

"We tried disconnecting all the networks, but it still exists. It probably isn't a prank."

"The latest technology was used in an attempt to track its signals and IP address, but nothing turned up."

"The particle laser blast had no effect."

…

The various countries exchanged information, only to realize incredulously that they were helpless against this thing. Just as everyone was baffled, the interface changed again.

A countdown timer appeared out of thin air. The bright red text inexplicably made people somewhat unsettled.

At the same time, a few lines of small text appeared on the login interface.

[1. Players are selected randomly.]

[2. Every action of the players will affect the real world.]

[3. The first phase of the game has officially begun. Subsequent upgrades are in progress.]

These three simple sentences caused huge turmoils in everyone.

The first and third sentences were fine, but the second sentence… What did it mean by the players' actions would affect the real world?!

The leaders of various countries frowned almost hard enough to kill a mosquito.

"What is going on?"

Humans always had an inexplicable sense of fear towards unknown things beyond their control. Even they were no exception.

At this moment, many people had already lost their footing. The quiet parliament hall was as noisy as a market.

In the end, it was Country Hua's supreme leader and Country M's president who stepped forward to take charge.

"Everyone, calm down. Arguing the way we are doing now wouldn't help. We might as well go back and prepare. In case someone is really chosen to participate in the game, at least we won't be taken by surprise."

"When the game starts, everything will be revealed."

Everyone seemed to have found a mainstay. They quickly began deployments.

When they saw the official website announcing that they wanted everyone to learn about a multitude of knowledge on wilderness survival, the people were a bit in disbelief. They almost thought that the account had been stolen or the website had been hacked.

But who would have the guts to mess around with the nation?

For a time, all sorts of trending headlines appeared on social media accounts. The related topics all had over 10 billion traffic, and this number was still increasing at a terrifying rate.

Among them, trending searches like #game influences the real world, #Mom the game I played became reality, #what if I become the chosen one and participate in the survival game etc. even had an explosive label at the end.

It got to the point that the website of a certain social media platform almost broke down, and the staff were working overtime to do urgent repairs.

7:00 a.m.

A day had already passed and there were only three seconds left until the countdown!

Many people did not sleep for the entire night as they watched with their eyes wide open.

3, 2, 1!

As the countdown ended, huge air currents blasted out.

At the same time, people from all over the world who were chosen to participate in the game turned into a ray of white light and disappeared into the light screen. The light screen then dimmed as if it had never appeared there.

In its place was a sentence: The global live stream begins simultaneously!

Everyone who saw this scene felt that their worldview was about to be overturned.

At the same time, players from various countries appeared in the game.

Shen Fei opened his eyes suddenly. He couldn't believe that he was chosen. In his previous life, Shen Fei was a professional wilderness enthusiast. He never expected to transmigrate to this world. Originally, he had thought that he would have to bid farewell to his past profession.

Now, he was participating in a large-scale real version of desert survival.

Soon, an interface appeared in front of him. It was similar to the system interface for online games. Everyone could make their initial selection.

1. Two camels. Ships of the desert.

2. A spring. An infinite water source.

3. Saxaul forest. Place a forest where you are to shelter you from sandstorms.

4. Eternal geomantic compass. Helps you to identify directions in the vast desert.

5. Miniature pyramid. The pyramid will be your home.

6. Pharaoh Scepter. Can control sandstorms and summon mysterious creatures.

7. Sheepskin parchment map. It guides you in the direction of the treasure.

8. Golden seeds. They can bear magical fruits.

9. Wild kangaroo. I wonder what's in its pouch?

10. Handspun flying carpet. It appears to be really capable of flying.

11. The Serpent of Curse. Maybe it will curse others; maybe it will curse yourself.

12. Desert eagle. Your loyal sentinel and your eyes above the firmament.

13. Twin fairies. Two fairy sisters with perfect appearances. Their function is unknown.

14. Crystal beetles. They probably crawled out from the Pharaoh's grave.

15. A tattered cloth. Perhaps it was once wrapped around the Pharaoh's corpse. It can communicate with souls.

16. Soil from a burial chamber. You can bury yourself in it if you encounter danger, probably.

17. Malfunctioning compass. It leads you to special items.

18. Magical scorpion stinger. It can produce an infinite stream of toxins and poison anything that crosses you.

19. An unremarkable little worm. Have you ever heard the legend of death worms? Perhaps it is no legend.

20. A lamp without oil. It needs special oil to be lit. Shh! Be careful not to be seen by the undead.

…