One day later, within the serene confines of an isolated villa, a beautiful, slender woman found herself deeply immersed in contemplation. Clutched in her delicate hand was a mysterious black semi-spherical hollow item, an enigma in itself. This woman, none other than Major Li Mei, was a picture of elegance lost in her thoughts.
Just three days prior, Li Mei's headquarters had reached out to her, and they informed her of a virtual game jointly developed by every country in the world. Moreover, Li Mei's name had been recommended, and she was being considered for participation. The catch? If deemed eligible, her contribution to playing the game will be counted as military merit.
However, yesterday's events had taken an unmistakably unusual turn. Without a shred of prior notice, Li Mei found herself whisked away to the presidential palace by a private plane, she was handed a confidentiality oath to sign. In the conference room, In a straightforward manner, the President emphasized the significance of the virtual game, The President emphasized the evaluation of each participant's in-game character would reverberate into reality. The better their virtual counterpart performed, the more favorable treatment they could expect in the tangible world. The President's message was clear: the players were to take the game seriously and compile detailed reports every three days.
Among the 15 people in the conference room, only five were women. After the President departed, Li Mei and the other four females were escorted to a villa, which would be their new residence for the time being.
Having settled into the villa, Li Mei decided to put on the headset. The moment she put it on her head, a soft, light blue glow suddenly pierced through the darkness, casting reflections onto her retinas.
[Waiting for game activation: 55 hours and 19 minutes]
'This... Is this a gaming helmet?!'
Li Mei was stunned.
No matter which way she turned his helmet, the countdown would always appear in the center of her field of vision.
Even if she closed her eyes.
When Li Mei took off his helmet, his face was filled with disbelief.
Among her four neighbors, Lin Wei was an old friend. They had met once during a special operation at the border a year ago. Curious, Mei borrowed Lin Wei's headset and tried it on, but all she encountered was pitch-black darkness. The same eerie void greeted Lin Wei when she attempted to use Mei's headset.
The situation seemed undeniably suspicious. In Terra, there was no precedent for technology that could directly project information into the mind. Coupled with the President's serious demeanor regarding this game.
Mei wasn't an ordinary soldier; she excelled in every special operation, earning commendations for her contributions to the country. Despite having the opportunity for a promotion and a desk job due to her achievements, Mei preferred the thrill of field operations. Her love for the adrenaline rush led her to decline promotions and continue working in the field. Now, confronted with this mystery, her heart pounded.
**********************
"...I am the administrator of Shelter 222."
While saying this to the mirror, Han Xiao took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and tried to make his image look majestic enough.
His face was expressionless.
In a few minutes, it would be time for players to log in to the game.
As he was the leader of the Han Clan, assuming the mantle of leadership in Shelter No. 222 was a role that came naturally to him.
************************
Under the ground, in an inconspicuous corridor, a hundred culture chambers were unlocked at the same time, the translucent hatches opening.
Sitting up in the open culture chamber, Li Mei was dumbfounded. Looking around, her face was full of shock.
'This is it, the game world? !'
Until a minute ago, when she was lying flat on the bed about to fall asleep while wearing a fully charged helmet, a light shot at her through the darkness.
When she opened her eyes again, she was already in a strange room.
Her body was wet.
It was as if she just got up from a pond.
The wind blew from the overhead air outlet to her shoulders, obviously evaporating the liquid bit by bit, taking away the heat from her body.
There was also a faint unpleasant smell in the wind.
Li Mei was shocked, her eyes widening.
Visual!
Smell!
Touch!
Taste!
All five senses!
Awesome!!!
'I didn't expect that in my lifetime, I would actually be able to see fully immersive virtual reality technology!'
This could no longer be described as awesome!
Not just her, but the other players who sat up from the culture chamber also showed unanimous shock on their faces.
"Are you fu**king kidding me? Are you fu**king kidding me!"
"...I thought it was a joke."
"Oh my god! It really is completely immersive!"
"Is technology so advanced now?? Are you serious? Why haven't I ever seen it in the news?!"
"Ow... Even the pain felt so real." A player pinched himself.
She quickly picked up the uniform hanging by the culture chamber, put it on, and came out of the small room to the corridor.
As soon as she came out she saw a shameless guy staring at his crotch, contemplating, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"The role is set by default to be a male role? There is no way of creating your own character? I mean… Can we create a female role?"
"Damn, this guy is so horny! "
"Mhm, I just logged in... How do we play this game? Is there no novice tutorial?"
"I don't know, we just logged in as well."
As soon as the voice fell, the door of the room opened.
A man in a blue jacket walked in from outside.
Behind him was a paper bin-shaped robot. The tube-like body looked a bit naive, but the streamlined shell and polished silver paint were full of science fiction.
The eyes of the four players all widened in shock.
"NPC!"
"It's exactly like a real person!"
"Is this really the game world?"
"This is too real!"
Observing the players chatting and laughing joyfully, Han Xiao couldn't help but feel a twinge of disdain. "These individuals seem to have forgotten the art of showing respect to their emperor after years in a free world. Regardless, it doesn't concern me, for I shall instil that respect into their very bones from this moment onward."
"Enough," he interrupted the chattering noise with a deep, majestic tone. He glanced around at the players in the room and slowly uttered, "Welcome to Shelter 222."
"I am the ruler here."
"Known as 'THE ONE'."
The room turned silent. As they were asked to take this game very seriously, players were unexpectedly honest, staring at him while holding their breath, fearing that they might miss any plot details.
"First of all, I have good news for you—the war is over."
"The bad news is, our world has changed beyond recognition."
"This year marks the 200th anniversary after doomsday. Fortunately, we have successfully survived the most difficult years. To be able to stand here today, you are already more fortunate than 12 billion people. I now need you to recognize the status quo as soon as possible and then fulfil your declaration under the banner of the Kingdom of Order: Rebuild our homeland!"
"The one next to me is my assistant, named Tian. You can ask it any questions about the shelter or other things you don't understand."
As for Tian, Han had already given it clear instructions on what could and couldn't be disclosed, so there was no need to worry about exposing himself.
In fact, even if he were to be exposed, it wouldn't be a problem.
Anything that couldn't be explained could be brushed off with the phrase "This is the game setting." After all, there was no perfect setting these days.
He continued, "All shelter tasks will be issued through the black bracelet provided in your room."
"It is player-bound, so keep it close," he emphasized.
Players returned to their respective rooms and eagerly put on the bracelet. Instantly, a blue screen popped up, displaying their identity and basic attributes. Each player examined their screen intently, absorbing the information provided. After some time, a murmur of voices and commotion began to fill the corridor.
"I am an Intelligence type, but aren't 3 points of strength a bit too low? 7 points of intelligence... I don't feel smarter either."
"I am a Perception type. What's the use of perceptual attributes? Can I predict the future?"
In the midst of the commotion, a notification popped up on the blue screen:
[ Player's Rulebook V.1
1. The King's orders are above all else, and all residents of the shelter must obey them unconditionally.
2. For residents who violate the regulations, the administrator will execute the final means of "forced dormancy" and "confinement". (Note: Forced sleep is equivalent to being kicked out of the game, and confinement means banning login permissions.)
3. The King has the final right to interpret all the terms.
4. Any kind of sexual relationship is forbidden.
5. Killing of own people without justification or prior permission from the king is forbidden.
6. Any work that can influence culture, psychology, society, and philosophy can not be carried out without the permission of the king. ]
"Wow! We can have sex too."
"Do you want to be kicked out?"
"Brother I am just joking"
"Don't treat this as a game, treat this as a mission. " Alex said sternly.
The corridor, with the players on board, ascended smoothly, bringing them into a spacious hall. One side of the hall was open, allowing a radiant beam of sunlight to pour in, illuminating the space with a warm glow.
Looking at the sunlight shining the players again exclaimed.
"Wow..."
"The way the sunlight seeps through the cracks, illuminating the fresh grass... It's like a work of art, every moment a masterpiece!"
"The details, the ambience... It's breathtaking!"
"This level of detail must have taken so much effort and resources!"