by <unknown>
With the swell of the music, the images in the video began to flash rapidly. Each showed a scene — a farmer plowing the wheat fields, a thief walking in the crowded busy city, a few burly men in a brawl at a bar…
The screen flashed faster and faster, and more and more magnificent images began to appear. Some showed two warriors in iron armor fighting bloodily in the wilderness or black-robed rangers slaughtering soldiers in dark alleys or glistening yellow bullets spat out in the assembly line of a factory…
"When technology and divine power clash, when gunpowder and divine magic attack each other, when death and new life begin to chant…"
"Hum—!"
At this moment, the background music finally arrived at the end, and at the end, a resounding horn began to blare out, and then stopped abruptly!
"What can you do in this age of decline?
"All you can do is try to survive… That's all."
The man's voice gradually became softer and in the end, there was only a deep echo, like embers slowly dying out.
By now, this three-minute video had ended completely.
"I… F*ck…"
In a university dormitory, a fat man wearing a black T-shirt slowly took off the V.5 Haptic Shock Helmet on his head. He leaned back on the sofa and could not recover for a long while.
There was only shock in his eyes.
"How about it, Mike, this game trailer is truly awesome, right?"
The roommate on the side said excitedly, his eyes flashing like a hungry wolf's. "Can you believe it? Blackwatch claims that this video is a live demonstration, which means that when we enter the game, the scenes we see will be of this image quality!"
"Is this still a game? I'll even believe you if you told me it's a film production!"
Fat Mike jumped to his feet. "What are you waiting for, when will this game be released? How much will it cost? What kind of gaming helmet do I need? I'll get it ready now!"
"Hold on!"
The roommate immediately laughed dryly when he heard these words and he grabbed the eager little fat man. "How can it be on sale now? Today is just a game preview. There's still a month before it enters closed beta testing."
"What, a month before beta testing?"
The little fat man's face suddenly crumpled when he heard these words. He collapsed on his bottom onto the sofa, as dejected as if his parents had just passed away. "That's no good at all. It'll be three months at least between the closed beta and open beta, right?"
"Duh. I suspect that it won't even be just three months, more like at least half a year!"
As the roommate spoke, he suddenly raised his right hand and pressed gently on the watch-like device on his wrist. Then, a translucent web page popped up and hovered above the watch.
"Blackwatch's official website said that this game is called Ancient Civilization, which is an era-transcending 3S masterpiece. Closed beta testing begins on the 1st of next month. At that time, 100,000 accounts will be distributed randomly around the world. Matching game equipment will be included for free!"
"What?"
The little fat man's eyes bulged when he heard this. "100,000 sets of game equipment given out for free? The best game helmet on the market can reach 100,000 USD. This game is so realistic, how can the supporting game equipment cost any less than one hundred thousand dollars? In other words, they plan to give away ten billion dollars' worth of game helmets?"
"It's Blackwatch, after all, this bit of money is probably not a big deal to them…"
The roommate's focus was not on this. After he saw this promotional video, he notified Mike as soon as possible. Only now did he pay proper attention to the text description under the video. At this point, his eyes were also getting brighter.
According to the description, this game called Ancient Civilization would use the latest gaming equipment developed by Blackwatch. It was not a game helmet or a V-series haptic shock chair, but a piece of even more high-end equipment — a game chamber!
"It turned out to be the ultimate game device from web novels — a virtual reality game chamber?"
The little fat man beside also poked his head over. When he saw this explanation, the fat all over his body quivered suddenly as his face revealed an unbelieving expression. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"Sure enough, it's Blackwatch!"
The roommate on the side was also clutching his face excitedly. "When we were still in elementary school more than ten years ago, Blackwatch first introduced virtual reality helmets and haptic shock chairs. Many media were speculating that Blackwatch was probably about to invent the game chamber, but there has been no news for more than ten years. I thought that the company had used up all its tricks. To think that after more than ten years, the game chamber has appeared!"
"This is a big move!"
The little fat man looked up to the sky and laughed three times, then urged. "Go down quickly, quickly scroll and see what else is said below?"
At this, the roommate used his mind to control the screen to continue moving down. "The game chamber is currently equipped with constant temperature facilities, immersion facilities, and life support facilities, which can monitor the user's vital signs. After the user enters the game, they can be fully immersed in the game. Even if the user has an abnormal physiological reaction due to excitement after entering the game, the game chamber can maintain the vital signs of the user and automatically make an emergency call!"
"This technology…"
The little fat man exchanged a glance with his roommate, rather puzzled. Could a game really terrify a person to the point of causing real health issues?
Immediately, they continued to scroll down, only to see that the following paragraph turned out to be the background introduction of the game.
"What! The background of this game is set in the 24th century on Earth?"
"What! In this game, mankind encountered an ancient evil god in the 21st century? After a cataclysm, mankind was divided into two camps?"
"What! Under the Joint Resistance Army's forces in the 24th century, in addition to the forces of the four continents, there's also a fifth force named Blacklight City?"
The small, fat Mike could not help yelling. "A self-insert… I'm losing it, Blackwatch has put itself into the game, and set itself as the fifth force of the Joint Resistance Army on the same level as the four continents…"
"But as the description says, there are two major camps among the human beings. The Joint Resistance Army is just one of them and the other is the Divine Fusion Empire that has joined the troops of the ancient evil god?"
The roommate wore a contemplative expression. "Blackwatch Corporation is something else. This 'fusion' is the 'fusion virus' epidemic from more than ten years ago, right? It was the epidemic that created countless psionicists in our human society. Now Blackwatch Corporation has put a diabolic spin to everything, demonizing the epidemic as a kind of evil god?"
"It would seem so…"
The little fat man nodded but did not have much of a response. "This isn't a big deal. I'm okay with it. After all, Blackwatch Corporation contributed greatly during the epidemic."
The two of them became increasingly engrossed in their discussion and could not wait to play this game right away. After all, based on the description, this game would have the world's first physics engine that fully replicated reality. Any man who harbored the dream of rushing gallantly into a battlefield would be tempted, especially in this era when the virtual reality industry was extremely developed.
The conversation between the two was just a microcosm of the ten billion people on the planet. At this time, on the Internet, with the release of the game trailer of Ancient Civilization, the entire world was plunged into a tsunami of astonished cries…
[What? A 3S-level virtual reality masterpiece? 100% immersive simulation? The world's first era-transcending online game?]
[Following the V-series virtual reality helmets and haptic shock chairs, has Blackwatch finally
begun working on the concept of gaming chambers?]
[Surely I'm not dreaming? I've been waiting for this kind of 100% immersive game chamber to appear, thank God, it came out in my lifetime. And it's already so complete the moment it appeared!]
[Blackwatch's developments cannot be missed!]
[Why do we have to wait for a month? Why is there a closed beta? I won't stand it! I want to play Ancient Civilization, I'm about to die of boredom otherwise!]
While countless people exclaimed in glee, there were naturally the same amount of voices opposing it, and most of these people opposed it because this game turned out to be an online game.
[It's an online game? Never mind then. Bye! I'm a cultured stand-alone game player!]
[Blackwatch Corporation isn't afraid of failing to deliver? They brag so much and I believe it if it's a stand-alone game, but this game is an online game? You can all forget about it. Online games are always about ten years behind stand-alone games, whether in terms of graphics quality or story.]
[OP, stop being ridiculous. You can assume so much just by watching a promotional video? What's wrong with online games, when has Blackwatch disappointed us?]
[Is this because they have no money to build the Dyson cloud? So, they come up with an online game to scam money from people? Blacklight: first they get you hooked, then they make you open your wallets!]
[Stop arguing, I believe in Blackwatch. If you don't believe that an online game can be a high-quality product, then judge the game when it comes out. Anyway, 100,000 devices will be given away in the first round of closed beta testing. We'll see how good it is then!]
In addition to the voices of support and opposition, there were many voices of doubt and the point brought up by these people was that the promo was too exaggerated. It did not look like a game at all, but more like it was shot directly with high-definition equipment.
Some people also questioned the safety of the game chamber, believing that this kind of immersion would endanger the player's mental health. In particular, the game was also set in a dark and bloody era, so that fighting and conflict were almost inevitable.
In accordance with Blackwatch's consistent style, the bloody images in the game must be extremely real. If minors were playing this game at that time, would it not harm their framework of values?
Countless people hold different opinions. During this period, the entire Internet became a battlefield…
Chapter 632: Male Player, Female Avatar? |
The public was naturally in an uproar regarding the actions of Blacklight Biotechnology, but the continents of the Earth Federation were in a dazed stupor.
This was because they knew about the existence of the Consciousness Stealer. Although they did not know what happened that year, they were a little confused about Blacklight Biotechnology's approach.
Why should the Consciousness Stealer be included in the game and what was Blackwatch's intention?
Did they run out of inspiration? They could have picked anything as a story, but they chose this of all things?
This game was rated PG18, right? The promo looked a bit too bloody. If the game was to be approved, it would have to go through some censors…
This was what the governments of various countries were thinking.
The next day, before everyone's eyes, Blacklight Biotechnology finally opened the registration entry for the closed beta game. Hundreds of millions of people came to sign up at once, almost shutting down the website's server.
The information needed to be filled in for registration was very simple, mainly personal information and contact information. Still, it was strange that in addition to asking the player's average daily login time, the applicant was also asked if they had military experience, whether they had trained in mixed martial arts and received military training, and so on.
Soon, in just three days, Blacklight Biotechnology officially announced the list of 100,000 closed beta personnel. It was just surprising that well-known professional gamers did not occupy a lot of these 100,000 slots. After all, during a game's closed beta, priority was typically given to those world-renowned professional players because these players were the cornerstone of the game's closed beta.
The quotas issued by Blacklight Biotechnology were more for veterans with military experience or instructors who had retired from special forces. On the contrary, there were not many quotas for professional gamers.
In addition, Blacklight Biotechnology also ordered the DNA samples of these people, so that the closed beta testers on the list would send their DNA samples to the local Blacklight Biotechnology branch. To justify this, it was announced that the DNA would be used to bind the player's identity.
Although the need for DNA sampling had caused dissatisfaction among a small number of people, most people still had no objection. Before many envious, resentful eyes, the products were shipped out after the DNA samples were obtained. Since Backlight Biotechnology had informed the world of this in advance, the efficiency of the clearance process was extremely high and within seven days, all the game chambers had been sent to the closed beta players around the world.
Moreover, the issue of scalpers had long been considered by Blacklight Biotechnology. When the closed beta test name list was verified, everyone was reminded that the game chamber had a special DNA authentication system that only allowed the beta test player to use it. Even if it was resold or sold in other ways, others could not use it.
This would enable the game chamber to be accurately distributed to the hands of each designated target without being resold or used for other purposes.
…
Shi Yangyu was a fifty-year-old young man.
Hmm, well, based on his physical fitness, he could still be considered a young man.
Born in 1994, he served the country and worked as a volunteer soldier in China. After retiring from the army, he settled down in his hometown and became an armed police instructor with a monthly salary of 5,000 RMB.
However, when he was young, with the increasing housing prices and frequent occurrences of strange incidents in the capital and entertainment circles such as "Daily salary of 2.04 million!" and "Selling OEM products isn't worth it"… Internet users generally began to awaken. After realizing that they were just sitting ducks waiting to lose their money, the new trend of "no marriage, no kids" gradually began to sweep across China.
Shi Yangyu was one of the people who followed this trend, so even though he was now fifty years old, he was still single and glad about it.
With the powerful rise of Blacklight Biotechnology in recent years, the technology for extending life and delaying aging continued to be innovated and made cheaper. Nowadays, except for the citizens of some remote and poor small countries that could not afford these costs, the entire Earth Federation had popularized Blacklight Biotechnology's products. There were no real elderly people in the world. At most, they were middle-aged people whose physical ability was akin to a 50-year-old.
Shi Yangyu received the age-reversal treatment five years ago. Although he was now fifty years old, his appearance and physical functions were still maintained at about thirty years old and this state could be maintained for about fifteen years. This meant that when he was sixty-five years old, he could get this treatment again and continue to extend his life.
Therefore, he still worked in the armed police detachment. Although he had no wives or children, he enjoyed it because, in the 2D world, he had plenty of waifus.
Shi Yangyu's usual hobby was to read comics, binge on dramas, and occasionally watch some hentai. At the same time, he was also a noble stand-alone game player, having played games such as GTA 8, The Elder Scrolls 8, Red Dead Redemption 4, and Cyberpunk 2099.
Although he was not a professional player, his skills were not inferior to those professionals because he was proficient in fighting and firearms. In today's mainstream games that relied on brainwave control, his profession gave him a great advantage.
Therefore, when he le
arned about the closed beta of the new game, Ancient Civilization, of Blacklight Biotechnology a week ago, he signed up for the closed beta with the idea of trying it since he had nothing to lose.
What he did not expect was that he won the bid!
When he heard the news, he was overjoyed. Every day he would count on his fingers to estimate the arrival date of the game chamber. Today, he finally received a call from the courier when he was at work.
He asked his android to receive the courier, then he simply asked his leader for a half-day off and returned home delightedly.
When he got home, the courier boy who was a part-time installer had already installed the game chamber in his bedroom. This was a streamlined game chamber. The shape looked like a carrot with a round head and a pointed tail. Its upper part was covered with a black translucent plexiglass cover through which he could faintly see the inside.
Next to the game chamber was something much more extravagant. It was as tall as him and looked like a server case. It was completely sealed as well, with fine print on its surface spelling out what to take note of.
"Master."
A charming-looking android with a big chest and a perky butt came over. She smiled and said, "Earlier, the courier said that disassembly of either the game chamber or the supporting console isn't allowed. Once disassembled, any warranty will be invalidated immediately. Blacklight Biotechnology will not repair it and will cut off your right to log in to the game through the game chamber."
"Oh."
Shi Yangyu just kept observing the game chamber in front of him and nodded absently at the words of the android. He circled the game chamber several times, then seemed to think of something and quickly commanded, "Hurry up, Tsunade, make me some noodles now. After I've eaten, I'll enter the game!"
"Yes, Master."
The android bowed slightly, turned, and walked out of the room.
Shi Yangyu could not help but rub his hands in excitement. He walked to the cover of the game compartment and pressed a red button on it. Suddenly, the cover opened directly on both sides, revealing the black padding made of waterproof material inside the game compartment.
