"Zhang Rui! Why are you back so early today?"
"I've saved up enough for my holiday travel tickets, so I'm quitting the part-time job."
In a dormitory building at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhang Rui dragged his exhausted body back to his room. He had gone straight to work at the university town next to the campus after class. Because the school administration had failed to deliver on their promise, the dorm renovations pledged during their freshman year showed no signs of starting. Consequently, the dorms remained the standard eight-man rooms from the mid-20th century.
As he entered, his roommates poked their heads out from behind their bed curtains to greet him. Looking at this bunch of "sons" waiting at home for food, a smile of fatherly pride appeared on Zhang Rui's face.
"Alright, alright. Li Xiang, here's your Braised Chicken with Rice... Zhao Ming, here's your Family Feast bucket. Watch what you eat, and don't let Ah Wei get food poisoning from those budget group-buy meals again..."
After distributing the takeout and receiving a chorus of cheers from his "adopted sons," Zhang Rui lay on his bed. He had already eaten a cheap shredded pancake bought from a roadside stall on the way back. He started scrolling through game recommendation videos to find a new mobile game to kill time.
"Black Crusade?"
Opening Bilibili, he found the gaming section almost entirely flooded with review videos for a game called Black Crusade.
"Why is the promotional video for this game everywhere suddenly?" Zhang Rui asked his roommates in confusion.
"The first domestic 3A masterpiece! An all-Chinese development team! A revolutionary game engine! Simultaneous launch on mobile and PC! And it's a niche sci-fi theme!"
Li Xiang had the best family background in the dorm. His mother was a university teacher and his father was a real estate boss. He had plenty of time and money, spending his days immersed in forums and Bilibili, making him an expert on gaming trends. He sat before his computer, newly equipped with a 7090 graphics card, eating his chicken and rice while watching the download bar crawl.
"The hype is off the charts! How could the heat not be high?"
"Terra Studio? Never heard of them," Zhao Ming said, rolling out of his blankets on the bed opposite Zhang Rui. "The studio hasn't even been registered for six months. With this much aggressive marketing, are they about to drop a massive turd on us?"
"Just based on the quality of the promotional video, I'd take it even if it were a turd," Li Xiang shouted as he clicked the launch icon for the newly downloaded game. "Don't stop me! Serve it up! I'm ready to taste it!"
The others crowded around Li Xiang's computer. Thanks to his wired connection, his download speed was the fastest in the dorm. When the ancient warship streaking across the starscape, the endless sea of stars, and the exquisite, minimalist interface appeared, the entire room erupted in cheers.
"Holy crap! This graphics quality is insane!"
They watched as a warship bearing the emblem of a Pale Wolf dodged enemy lasers with incredible grace, returning fire to destroy two leading raider ships before successfully jumping into the Warp. The combat scenes were undeniably gorgeous.
"This space combat is top-tier. They actually modeled omni-directional fire projection?"
Liu Wei, the dorm's top student who was minoring in computer languages, immediately saw the sophistication of the gameplay. He pulled up a stool and stared through his thick glasses at the crimson "Warp Storm" warnings flashing on the screen. "And this is just the beginning? The plot hasn't even officially started!"
As a veteran forum user, Li Xiang had already learned the general plot from influencers who participated in the closed beta. "The first main story arc is the Siege of Cadia. We play as the commander of a Black Legion battle barge that has received the blessings of the Gods and is heading to Cadia as reinforcement. Along the way, we have to gather supplies and watch out for attacks from fleets controlled by the False Emperor."
Watching the ship narrowly escape a Warp Storm, Li Xiang wiped cold sweat from his forehead. He followed the tutorial and steered the vessel toward a nearby human world. "That was close. A second slower and I would have lost the starter benefits."
He let out a breath. "But as long as we successfully invade a planet under the False Emperor's jurisdiction, we can repair our ship by plundering resources."
But—
"Surrender your vessel, and I shall spare your life!"
Before Li Xiang's battered battle barge could enter the orbit of the planet Armageddon, two aggressive warships emerged from a nearby asteroid field, blocking his path.
"What? Is this a scripted event?" Li Xiang was stunned. "I didn't see this in any of the reviews."
"No, the opponents look like players too!" Liu Wei pointed at the decals on the enemy ships—they were Pale Wolf icons, just like Li Xiang's.
"This is an MMO?" Zhao Ming's mouth hung open. "A multiplayer game with this kind of graphics? I thought it was a private open-world game like G-shin with occasional co-op."
"What are we waiting for! Everyone, log in!" Zhang Rui pulled out his phone and tapped the icon.
"Wait, don't rush into the story," Liu Wei stopped them. "Check which star sector everyone is in. See if we can rendezvous quickly using the first Warp jump."
"Good point!" Li Xiang cursed as he watched his character forced into a drop pod a moment before the ship was blown apart. "I'm remembering these two IDs."
Li Xiang's character crawled out of the drop pod only to be surrounded by hostile natives. Fortunately, the protagonist he controlled was essentially a superman; he fought his way through the encirclement before reinforcements could arrive.
"Damn it!" Li Xiang slammed his keyboard, looking at a screen full of battle damage in his equipment tab. When he clicked the ship repair interface, the astronomical resource cost made his vision go dark. How long would it take to gather enough for revenge?
At that moment, a notification popped up on the system interface.
Launch Event! Top up $99 to get 648 Warp Blessings!Use Warp Blessings to instantly strengthen yourself! Skip the grind! Chance to obtain rare equipment and skills!Only $150! Choose your favorite Warp pet from over a hundred options!
Seeing his roommates already using their precious starting Warp jump points to move toward his location, Li Xiang opened the recharge interface without a second thought.
"It's just money! Forget it! Recharge! I'm taking them down!"
On the other side of the screen, watching the game's revenue climb steadily, David—who was currently using a max-level account to raid newbie players—wore a fatherly, benevolent smile.
This game... you've got to play it with a roar of laughter!
And Chaos warbands fighting each other? That's perfectly logical, isn't it?