Earth, July 11, 2222.
In a tidy room, a rugged middle-aged man was wearing a gaming headset, immersed in a 65% realistic virtual game called "Warcraft Alliance."
He had just opened the "Equipment Lottery" interface.
The display showed "Storm Battlehammer - Equipment Lottery - Success Rate 5%."
This was the equipment he had been yearning for, waiting for ten years!
"I finally got the Storm Battlehammer! With this lottery, there's no way I can fail!"
The middle-aged man clicked on the ten consecutive draws, which triggered a sequence of a hundred draws due to the guaranteed mechanism.
The screen flickered with golden light, and an illustration of a unique piece of equipment appeared before him.
But it wasn't the Storm Battlehammer he desired. Instead, it was... a colorful magical wand with a large bow on it.
"Obtained a new equipment - Magical Girl - Fairy Wand."
Seeing the draw result, the middle-aged man was almost breathless.
"Damn it..."
"I'm quitting! If I continue playing Warcraft Alliance, I'm a loser!!!"
Muttering curses, he exited Warcraft Alliance and selected "Uninstall" on the platform.
He had performed this action at least twenty times before.
In the end, he would always click on "Download" and reinstall the game.
After uninstalling Warcraft Alliance, the middle-aged man skillfully opened the platform's recommended new games.
In times of emotional breakdown, he usually looked for some new games to play as substitutes.
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"Myth - Black Thor"
Introduction: Set in the background of "Norse Mythology," centered around the dark Thunder God Thor, it tells a different story of the Norse mythology world.
Realism: 80%
Media Test Rating: ★★★★★
Game Pre-order Available...
Estimated Public Beta Launch: December 1, 2222
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"An 80% realism rating for a game made by a major company! Even though game technology has become quite mature in virtual headsets, finding a game with such high realism is still rare!"
"Unfortunately... the game won't be released for another six months. But it's only these highly anticipated games that stay at the top of the new game recommendations."
The middle-aged man attempted to click on the game's interface to pre-order but found it already grayed out.
In fact, when he first browsed the new game recommendations, he had already clicked on pre-order, and he had forgotten about it after multiple clicks on that module.
Closing Goku's interface, the middle-aged man continued browsing new games.
After flipping through several pages, he realized that most of the games he wanted to play required a long wait before release.
Now... he entered a gaming drought.
"Even if I don't have any games to play, I won't reinstall Warcraft Alliance!"
The middle-aged man stuck to his stubbornness and continued browsing the new game recommendations.
He kept scrolling... until he reached the end of the new game recommendations.
Suddenly, a game with an extremely bizarre cover, an incomprehensible name, caught his attention.
"The cover features exquisitely drawn anime-style characters and realistic-looking hideous creatures."
"This mixture of styles... is quite rare."
"The background seems to be three factions in conflict. Is it a MOBA game?"
"Isn't that similar to Warcraft Alliance?"
"No, it also mentions a completely open world, so it shouldn't be a MOBA game."
Game Features Introduction...
["Undead Race," "Star Wars," "Three-way Conflict," "Armory," "Equipment Enhancement"?]
The middle-aged man was completely bewildered by this game, "League of Warcraft: StarCraft."
Undead race, Star Wars... Can these be considered game features?!
Moreover, this game seemed to include too many elements.
Honestly, this was the most bizarre game he had come across in all his flips through the new game recommendations.
The cover, the game title, the game description—everything felt like a joke!
If the game had been slightly more normal... he would have skipped it altogether.
The middle-aged man's curiosity was piqued.
Without hesitation, he clicked on the game's recommendation interface for "League of Warcraft: StarCraft."
It displayed:
"League of Warcraft: StarCraft"
Introduction: This game draws on the strengths of many popular games, making it an outstanding collection of great elements. It has a brand-new world background and a significant improvement in gameplay.
Realism: 100%
Media Test Rating: Not available.
First Testing Period: July 1, 2222 - December 31, 2222
"A collection of great elements? Isn't it just a mishmash of cloning and stitching?"
"But this game company is quite honest. They don't shy away from admitting their game is a stitched-up monster."
"Not like some game companies that blatantly copy and claim it's just taking inspiration."
The middle-aged man rubbed his chin, surprised. "Wait a minute, game setting realism... 100%?!"
"Aren't your game accounts supposed to be banned? How dare you make false claims on the platform?"
Nowadays, game companies face the risk of being removed from the platform for even slightly exaggerating their advertisements.
In serious cases, they could end up on the platform's blacklist.
And yet, they dare to claim 100% realism?
The middle-aged man was surprised, but a thought appeared in his mind.
That is...
If he doesn't play this game now, it won't be available for long!
False advertising claiming 100% realism; as soon as one player provides feedback after the game is released, it will be shut down!
There's no way it can escape!
"I want to see how long this game can last!"
The middle-aged man immediately clicked on "Pre-order Game."
The number of pre-orders jumped from "0" to "1."
And there were a total of 99 spots for the first test!
He didn't believe that such a bizarre game wouldn't grant him a spot in the first test.
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Another world, Respawn Point ①.
With daylight breaking, Ember Wilde, who had survived another night, opened his eyes and cautiously observed the ruins outside through a dilapidated window.
As with the previous few days, there was nothing unusual except for a few scattered bones on the ground.
Ember Wilde opened the window, and sunlight shone upon him.
Whether due to the environment or his state of mind, he couldn't feel any warmth from the sunlight. In fact, he felt a bit cold.
Rubbing his arms, Ember Wilde murmured to himself, "There isn't much food left at home. I need to find some and store it during the daytime."
After giving himself a quick wash with the slightly muddy water, Ember Wilde left the respawn point.
Under the sunlight, the activity of undead creatures outside was significantly reduced.
It was rare to see any undead creatures moving about in the sunlight.
Ember Wilde had been here for a month and had only encountered a lost little skeleton, and even that skeleton suffered from the "Crippling" debuff due to the sunlight, greatly reducing its combat power.
If he had encountered that little skeleton on his first day, during the night, Ember Wilde would have been the one pressed to the ground.
Ember Wilde had become accustomed to the rhythm of the post-apocalyptic world, and during the daytime, he was able to activate the game system with a single kick.
Therefore, daylight hours were extremely valuable
.
Valuable enough that Ember Wilde didn't even want to check the results of his game going online during the daytime.
After leaving the respawn point, Ember Wilde headed straight for the Blackwater River, 500 meters away.
He skillfully took out his makeshift fishing gear and cast it into the Blackwater River, patiently waiting for a catch.