The livestream playing on my phone was interrupted by a call, and after I answered, a familiar, husky voice broke through, "Is that you, Lu Bu'er? Still at school? Oh my God, there's a package here for you. Hurry and come get it; there's a massive storm coming, and I need to get home quickly!"
That was the voice of Old Li from the school's gate, and Lu Bu'er was taken aback.
He hadn't ordered anything online for a long time; there shouldn't have been a package for him.
With no choice, Lu Bu'er could only get dressed and head out into the gale. The cold January wind made him shiver as the guard booth at the school gate was nearly blown over. Old Li, wearing a military coat, handed him a tightly sealed package, then hopped on his electric scooter and departed.
The box was heavy and well sealed.
Lu Bu'er was startled; the sender's address was from Orola Technology.
As for the recipient's address, it was indeed his own.
Strange.
Rushing back to his dorm room and panting as he opened the package, he was clearly shocked.
Inside the box was Orola Technology's latest model of virtual reality helmet.
The thing wasn't cheap, and even those who had the buying qualifications had to shell out around ten thousand yuan for a standard edition. There had been a large-scale free giveaway before, where all you had to do was complete a survey and brain test to get one for free. Unfortunately, he wasn't lucky enough to win.
For this latest model, the starting price was over a hundred thousand yuan, and it was priceless in the market as you had to jostle to get one.
Once scalpers got involved, the price would double again.
He Sai had once wanted to use his saved-up New Year's money to buy him one, which had resulted in a scolding from Lu Bu'er.
"It couldn't be He Sai who bought this, right?"
A suspicion arose in Lu Bu'er's mind, but he immediately felt something was off.
If that guy were to buy him one, he wouldn't have gone for the latest model.
Unless he was willing to break the bank.
"A wrong delivery? That shouldn't be the case since the address is clearly mine... or could it be that Orola Technology still remembers an old employee's family?" Lu Bu'er opened his phone's contacts. Years ago, his parents had a colleague named Su who was close to them and took good care of him.
But over the years, he had disappeared without a trace.
With some hope, he dialed the number, only to be greeted by a busy tone.
"Really strange."
Lu Bu'er didn't know who sent him the virtual reality helmet, but it was hardly a bad thing.
He fiddled with the helmet, feeling no danger. After all, nobody would spend so much to harm someone with limited time left.
The countdown for the public beta launch showed five minutes and forty-two seconds remaining.
Lu Bu'er put on the virtual reality helmet, plugged the cable into the socket by the bed, made some adjustments to align the neural hub with his temples, and lay flat on the iron bed in his dorm.
The helmet's button had automatic internet connectivity, and the green light on top indicated it was online. A massive amount of data was downloading, the whole process going smoothly.
"Please put on your helmets to activate the consciousness data connection."
The voice of Orola Technology's excited CEO echoed through the city. Gamers around the world held their breath in anticipation of that unknown world, that mysterious adventure.
"Let's count down three, two, one, and welcome the beautiful new world!"
In an instant, the lights of the entire city went out, plunging the world into darkness.
The hands of the clock on the wall came to an abrupt halt.
Time froze at 6:43:54 PM.
In that moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
Politicians and socialites, executives and employees of well-known companies, professors and students of prestigious universities, scientific researchers, military personnel, office workers, orphanage children, homebound individuals—approximately eight hundred million people donned virtual reality helmets, silently waiting for the new world to unveil.
The world shattered into fragments before Lu Bu'er's eyes, his consciousness blurring.
What he did not see was that the city had been engulfed by a massive storm cloud, with endless torrents and lightning strikes that pierced through the world, shaking the ground.
A colossal shadow that connected heaven and earth flared like a torch.
It was a huge... Golden Ancient Tree.
"Tree of Life System activation successful, soul matrix commencing operation, vital signs entering stasis, body functions beginning to evolve, preparing to be encased within a chrysalis..."