In front of a computer, a man named Pei Guang was chatting with a friend online.
"Did you hear? MiHoYo's game called Genshin Impact just started its open beta."
Friend: "Yeah, what do you think of the game?"
Pei Guang: "I'll watch it with my eyes and play it with my hands."
Friend: "True, but how do you feel about the pacing?"
Pei Guang: "Pacing, huh? I don't really care much. If the game is fun, I'll play it. If it's not, I won't. Or if I get tired of it, I'll stop playing. It's just a game; no need to take it so seriously."
The two continued their casual chat for a while, until the other person suddenly sent a message: "Brother! We've known each other for a while now, and I know your character well. I work for MiHoYo, and we have an internal game that needs testing. Are you interested?"
Pei Guang: "Not interested. You know me: my lips aren't sealed, so I might accidentally leak some of your data. Hahaha, I can't afford to pay any compensation. You know how I am—if I end up owing tens of thousands, I might be stuck paying it off for life~"
Friend: "No worries. We're talking about a fully immersive game. Are you really not interested?"
Pei Guang: "Tch! Is it safe? It's not like Sword Art Online, is it?"
Friend: "No, it's not. I know your current address; I'll send the equipment to you. It's just a pair of glasses. Put them on, and you can experience an absolutely realistic game world."
Pei Guang: "Just so you know, I might leak information."
Friend: "It's fine. No need to sign a non-disclosure agreement."
As they were chatting, there was a knock at Pei Guang's door. When he opened it, a deliveryman handed him a small package.
"Here's your package, sir."
"Thank you!"
Pei Guang opened the package and found a pair of glasses that looked just like regular ones.
Back to chatting:
Pei Guang: "Wow, you really did it without asking first, huh?"
Friend: "Of course. We've known each other for years, and I trust you. Give it a try, okay?"
Pei Guang: "How do I play it?"
Friend: "Put them on, think about entering the game, and you'll be able to play. The game is highly realistic, and you can do anything in it. But be careful—if you get hurt, there will be some feedback. Don't worry about dying; if you do, you'll automatically exit the game. Just remember, don't mess around too much, or you'll ruin the experience."
Pei Guang: "So, if I kiss someone in the game, is that okay?"
There was a brief pause on the other end: "In theory, it's fine, but as I said, if you anger someone and get killed, don't blame me."
Pei Guang: "Can I respawn?"
Friend: "Yes, your body can regenerate after a fatal attack, but remember, you only get one chance to start over. Oh, and I've patched together some game mechanics; you'll have to explore them on your own."
Pei Guang: "Alright then, let me see if this game is any good. But if you ask me, this game you've created is definitely groundbreaking—it's going to be a huge hit!"
At that moment, Pei Guang looked at the seemingly ordinary glasses in front of him. When he put them on, his consciousness went black, and his body disappeared from this world. From beginning to end, Pei Guang thought this thing was just an AR or VR game like others he'd tried before. But if only he knew the reality…
"There's someone here… and someone over there? Let me check this out."
"Hurry up! Do CPR on him! This person is fine—breathing and heartbeat are stable. Wake up! Wake up!"
Pei Guang heard someone calling out to him in a daze and felt someone approaching. Instinctively, he opened his eyes and saw a cute, pretty girl with pink hair in front of him. Without thinking, he quickly kissed her.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing? Just because you're good-looking, you think you can do whatever you want?"
Seeing the flustered, blushing girl in front of him, Pei Guang got excited: "This feedback is too real. This must be an NPC for beginners? But come to think of it, I forgot to ask if this is online or single-player. Oh well, it doesn't matter! It's easy to tell who the players are."
"What are you talking about? And what have you done???"
The girl, who introduced herself as March 7th, was furious, staring at Pei Guang, while on the other side, a man named Dan Heng was waking up a mysterious girl named Stelle.
"What happened?"
March 7th: "He…! He…!"
March 7th was furious. She had just kindly saved this stranger, and the first thing he did after waking up was kiss her? This…this?!
Just as she was about to punch him, Dan Heng shook his head slightly, signaling her to look to the side.
Pei Guang was now jumping around, a wooden sword in his hand that had appeared out of nowhere.
"So you just have to think of your inventory, and it pops up? Let me see how many slots there are… A hundred? Are you playing Inventory Crisis with me? Hmm… 'The Village's Best Sword'? Infinite durability? Can't be discarded? Wow, now there are only ninety-nine slots left."
March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle all watched this young man's bizarre behavior. Especially March 7th—her expression was already frozen.
"Is he… crazy?"
Dan Heng: "I'm not sure, but it looks like he sees you as someone important. From what I can tell, his situation might be worse than yours was."
March 7th rubbed her forehead: "Fine, fine. I'll take the loss. Just don't tell anyone about this."
Dan Heng: "We won't tell anyone, but time is tight. Let's move quickly."
As Dan Heng said, they needed to act. Pei Guang, hearing this and thinking the plot was about to start, quickly shouted, "Wait! Is the plot starting? Take me with you! Let's go, let's go! Dual storylines? I've got to follow the cute girls!"
March 7th and Dan Heng had just finished their exchange. Hearing Pei Guang's words, March 7th showed a helpless smile, while Dan Heng looked at Pei Guang, thought for a moment, and then said, "This person is quite mysterious. With his help, battles will be much easier."
In other words, now wasn't the time for conflict—it was better to play along with the obviously crazy person.
Hearing this, March 7th sighed: "Alright, alright! You take care of the one you woke up, and I'll take care of the one I woke up. Darn it! I should've let you wake this guy up. I even thought that girl needed CPR, and since I don't know how to do it, I asked you to help. Hey, you over there! I'm warning you—if you mess around, I'll get really mad."
Pei Guang muttered while continuing to explore: "Seems like messing around lowers affection points. Follow the plot! Follow the plot."
"This place is pretty high-tech. Is it a sci-fi setting?"
"Hmm? There are plants. Let's see if I can chop down a tree."
Pei Guang bounced along, jumping and skipping forward. Why was he jumping around? Because he noticed that when he did, a stamina increase icon would appear. Even though his stamina was low, the more he used it, the more exhausted he felt. The panting and increased heart rate felt so real that Pei Guang almost believed he was really exercising. But he quickly got used to it. For him, these sensations just added to the game's experience. As a player, it was only natural to grind for such important attributes. As for the negative sensations? As long as he wasn't losing health, it didn't matter. So, with March 7th watching, Pei Guang jumped and skipped around, swinging his wooden sword at the room's objects.
March 7th sighed: "He really is crazy."
She muttered under her breath and then shouted at Pei Guang: "Hey! Yes, you, the one with the wooden sword. Stop swinging it around and follow me. There are enemies up ahead for you to slash."
At this point, March 7th wasn't sure if bringing him along was the right choice. With his mindset and actions, she couldn't shake the feeling that he might end up getting himself killed.