East Asia Research Institute, cafeteria.
Dong Hai had just gotten his food and sat down.
Ding Yanfeng mysteriously leaned over and whispered in his ear.
"Dong Hai, do you play games?"
Dong Hai's eyes widened as he looked at Ding Yanfeng.
"Old Ding, what is this?"
"A groundbreaking virtual reality game, 100% realistic experience! Reservations are booming, impossible to get, but I have a special invitation. As long as you say you want to play, I'll immediately help you make a reservation."
"You haven't been roped into a pyramid scheme, have you?!"
A sense of caution rose in Dong Hai's heart.
So obsessed, it's either a pyramid scheme or a cult.
"What pyramid scheme?! Have you read 'The Three-Body Problem'?"
"I have, but what does that have to do with a pyramid scheme?"
"What the hell is a pyramid scheme? Can you stop saying 'pyramid scheme'?"
Ding Yanfeng was a bit speechless.
"In the first book of The Three-Body Problem, didn't the ETO organization develop a Three-Body game?"
"This game I'm introducing to you is even more realistic than the ETO one."
Dong Hai showed a suspicious look, "Are aliens preparing to invade our world too?"
"No aliens, I'm just asking if you want to play the game??"
Ding Yanfeng took out his phone and opened a webpage.
"You just need to click 'Reserve,' you don't even have to fill out any information."
Dong Hai's eyes widened even more. What kind of new scam was this?
"Just click once? Do nothing else?"
"That's right, just click once."
Dong Hai, half-believing, reached out his finger and clicked on 'Reserve'.
[Clicking 'Reserve' is considered agreement to the terms and conditions. Detailed content can be expanded.]
A line of text appeared, then vanished.
"Alright, I've filled in an ID for you (I Laugh At That Tzeentch Wu Mou), you just wait to receive your game helmet."
Ding Yanfeng put away his phone.
"This game is guaranteed to astound you."
Dong Hai: "..."
That's it!!
He felt something was off.
Ding Yanfeng didn't say anything more, eating his food while thinking about the game.
He had accumulated quite a few Contribution Points.
He wondered what he could buy with these Contribution Points at the soon-to-open Prosthetic Shop.
In the evening.
Just as Dong Hai was about to leave the research building, he heard the front desk call him, saying he had a package.
"I haven't ordered anything online recently."
Dong Hai looked confused. When he walked over, he found there was indeed a package with his name on it at the front desk.
After taking it back to his dorm and opening it, he found a strangely shaped helmet.
"What is this thing?"
Dong Hai was a bit curious and picked it up to examine it.
The helmet was exquisitely crafted, like a work of art.
Dong Hai ran his hand over the patterns on the helmet's surface; the metallic touch was cold and real.
He tried putting on the helmet. His vision was initially dark, then a golden two-headed eagle appeared.
Below it, binary and runic code scrolled.
[Game is loading, please wait patiently]
Dong Hai took off the helmet, his face filled with shock—this was actually a game helmet!
"Could this be the game Ding Yanfeng mentioned? But I didn't fill out any information at all."
Dong Hai frowned. He picked up the helmet and quickly walked out of the dorm to find Ding Yanfeng.
He lived in a single dorm provided by the East Asia Research Institute, just like him, and not far away.
Within minutes, Dong Hai arrived at Ding Yanfeng's dorm.
At this moment, Ding Yanfeng was sitting at his desk, looking up information.
"What's going on?" Dong Hai placed the helmet in front of Ding Yanfeng.
"What's going on?" Ding Yanfeng examined the helmet. There was no problem.
Dong Hai walked to the door, looked around, then closed the door and walked back to Ding Yanfeng.
"I mean, what's going on with that game?"
"Didn't you get the helmet? Do you have any other questions?" Ding Yanfeng asked, puzzled.
"Getting the helmet is the biggest problem! I didn't fill out any information. How did it get sent here? Did you sell my information?" Dong Hai demanded.
"I didn't." Ding Yanfeng raised his hand to swear, "When I received the game helmet before, I also thought my personal information had been stolen, but in fact, it hadn't."
"You won't listen to my explanation now. Why don't you wait until you're in the game? Then you'll understand everything."
Seeing his friend's confident demeanor, Dong Hai could only suppress the confusion in his heart for now.
He wanted to see what this game was that so captivated his friend!
Once the game loaded, Ding Yanfeng told Dong Hai to put on the helmet and lie on the sofa.
Speaking of which,
Could there really be a virtual reality game more realistic than the Three-Body game?
The moment this thought arose in Dong Hai's mind, he, with his eyes closed, actually saw a beam of light pierce the darkness, shining directly into his pupils.
He hadn't even opened his eyes!!
Imperial Glory, Praying Sanctuary.
"Holy crap!!"
Dong Hai looked around, his surprised gaze replaced by awe.
This...
Is this a game world??
"Why are you yelling?" Old Bird walked up to Dong Hai, "I told you it was a groundbreaking virtual reality game, but you insisted it was a pyramid scheme!! Do you believe me now??"
"Is it really this realistic?" Dong Hai looked around.
"That's nothing. Remember when I told you about repairing the reactor last time? It was in this game. That system was as complex as the real thing."
Speaking of his achievements, Old Bird's face was full of pride.
"It's too shocking. If such a realistic game were released on the market, tsk tsk, it would definitely revolutionize many fields." Dong Hai was like a curious baby, touching here and there.
"Let's go, I'll show you around."
Old Bird took Dong Hai and introduced him to the Praying Sanctuary, the Strategic Room, and the Command Hall, and also took him to see the reactor compartment.
At the same time, Blood Pigeon also pulled several classmates who had flown planes before to log into Warhammer OL.
He taught them how to pilot Valkyries in the game.
The realistic controls excited these students immensely.
They all shouted that this game was truly amazing.
With these students as pilots, the numerous vehicles of the Imperial Glory also found their use.
At the Lykard Space Station,
Father Tina, following Alex's instructions, drew up a detailed list, preparing for the bionic shop to open.
Alex reviewed the price list; the pricing wasn't outrageous.
It was just that most of the Players were poor at this stage.
Only Old Bird, Zigman, and Tenjiro, these older Players, had some spending power.
"I need to make the Players stronger so they can complete missions better, but I can't just give them contribution points for no reason."
Alex frowned.
The enhancement surgeries Father Tina provided could directly boost the Players' combat power.
However, most Players were short on cash and couldn't afford them at all.
If he distributed contribution points, it would be unfair to those Players who worked hard to earn them.
"Players don't have money, but I do! I can lend them money!"
"And while I'm at it, I can introduce a credit system, where Players with high credit can also enjoy discounts."
Alex suddenly felt like a genius.
If Players didn't have money to spend, wouldn't lending it to them solve the problem?
If he didn't burden them with some loans, how could he make them work like oxen and horses?!
Alex explained his idea to Father Tina and asked her to program a God Chosen credit system.
Father Tina didn't quite understand Alex's thought process, but she followed through nonetheless.
After resolving all issues, Father Tina's bionic shop officially announced its grand opening.
Alex even specially issued an opening announcement using a holographic projection.
"Greetings, God Chosen! Father Tina's Bionic Shop is officially open, and we are having a grand opening sale now."
"All items are 15% off for the next twenty-four hours. Limited quantities, first come, first served."
Shortly after the announcement was made, the Players all gathered.
Considering the large crowd and the difficulty of attending to everyone,
Father Tina deployed servo skulls and holographic screens, allowing Players to check product information themselves.
The subsequent developments were exactly as Alex had expected.
Upon seeing the prices on the list, the Players immediately started howling.
"Holy cow! A basic bionic eye with only long-range targeting, field of vision adjustment, and light-dark adaptation costs two hundred thousand! And it doesn't even come with blessings; it just drops upon death!"
"A primary auxiliary core costs one million six hundred thousand, providing memory caching, auxiliary computing, data offloading, and other functions."
"The B-14 Mantis Blades, made of monomolecular material and using neural interface technology, cost eight hundred fifty thousand."
"Did the game's designer play too much Mount & Blade II?"
"Is this game's dog designer from Tencent?"
"These prices are too outrageous!" Old Bird shouted indignantly.
He had painstakingly saved over one hundred thousand, making him the richest among the Players.
Yet, he couldn't even afford a bionic eye.
Seeing the agitated God Chosen, who were loudly cursing the heartless dog designer,
Father Tina, as instructed by Alex, introduced them to the credit and loan system.
"This shop offers lending services, providing corresponding credit limits based on your credit level."
"Credit can be obtained through credit-worthy actions such as completing missions and repaying loans."
Hearing that they could get loans, the Players' eyes widened.
"Can a game really be played like this?!" Warmaster silently gave a thumbs up.
"This is the first time I've heard of a game where you can get a loan to buy equipment."
Old Bird also admired the game designer of Warhammer OL; their thought process was truly unique.
"Taking out loans for expeditions, am I really undefeated?"
"I don't even respect walls, but I respect this game's designer."
"We're the Fourth Scourge, after all. If you let us take out loans for equipment, aren't you afraid we'll run away?"
"The last guy who took out a loan and ran away was beaten so badly he's been paralyzed at home for ten thousand years."
The Players expressed disdain and collectively complained.
Suddenly, Tenjiro stepped forward.
"I'm going all out! I'd rather have no money on me than not use Huabei to get equipment. I'm going to take out a loan for a psionic amplifier and try it out."
After signing a lengthy agreement, Tenjiro was led into the operating room by Father Tina.
The surgery was completed quickly; a dozen minutes later, Tenjiro walked out.
His head was now adorned with a dozen neural amplification cables, each about the thickness of a small finger.
"How do you feel? Does it hurt?" Old Bird grabbed Tenjiro's hand.
"No feeling. I was anesthetized as soon as I went in. The whole process just felt like my Scalp was itchy, and then it was over," Tenjiro said.
Warmaster also leaned in, "Show us, everyone! Let's see what a nine hundred thousand loan bought you!"
Tenjiro extended his hand, and ice-crystal-like Ethereal Shards appeared, dancing around his body.
He looked exactly like a mage in a game, making the other Players drool.
"The amplification is significant, and the control is more precise."
"You get what you pay for. I feel incredibly strong right now."
"Can I continue to take out loans? I think I can improve even further."
Having tasted the benefits, Tenjiro turned to Father Tina.
He wanted to maximize his loan to see where his limit was.
Unfortunately, his credit didn't support that much of a loan.
Seeing the enhancements Tenjiro gained after the surgery,
the Players still cursed the designer's heartlessness, but their bodies were honest, and they all took out loans, choosing their desired bionic limbs to enhance their combat power.
To ensure the Players earned enough contribution points to repay their debts,
Alex broke down the operation to conquer Lykard Space Station into individual missions.
This allowed Players to earn contribution points through missions and, incidentally, hone themselves.