Chapter 803: Chapter 762: Can it be taken home?
Players all around the world have realized that “Pokémon” will be the first mixed reality, or augmented reality game.
Players will eagerly chase after it, not only because it is a new game from Cloud Dream, but also because it is Cloud Dream’s first “non-virtual world” game.
— Players have always had a real need for reality-based games.
After all, no matter how wonderful the virtual world is, apart from a small number of people who cannot leave their hospital beds and have to make the virtual world their home, the vast majority of players are ultimately rooted in reality.
On the one hand, everyone has to work, study, and be busy with various things before they can move on to the virtual world.
On the other hand, “transforming reality” has its own infinite charm, which is completely different from the fun of the virtual world.
As long as one’s material conditions are not too tight and they can afford the [Eight Sides], who wouldn’t want to give it a try?
But the problem is: [Journey Prosthetics]’ expansion into the overseas market is far from reaching the exaggerated speed of Cloud Dream, and the markets they are entering are still quite limited.
This is not because they have encountered any difficulties.
Since the advent of brain-controlled prosthetics, partners from various countries have continuously approached to introduce the product to their own countries.
Once a partnership is established, there are no obstacles to exporting and selling the prosthetics, and sales go very smoothly.
At most, the price is higher than in Daxia, without any discounts or subsidies.
— In selling brain-controlled prosthetics in Daxia, Lincoln’s attitude is: “not making money, just making friends”, but when it comes to dealing with overseas customers, it becomes “business is business”.
On a per-unit profit basis, it is even higher than [Mirage 2.0], and the earning figures are quite impressive.
Initially, some netizens worried: if foreign disabled soldiers get good brain-controlled prosthetics, wouldn’t it be aiding the enemy in case there is a war in the future?
Kyle was even worried about this problem and specifically asked Lincoln about it.
Because [Journey Prosthetics] once declared that apart from the [Eight Sides] helm, all brain-controlled prosthetics are standalone units, not connected to the internet, and have no difference from traditional prosthetics.
As far as Kyle knows, this is indeed the case.
So he was worried, “weapons might be sold to the enemy.”
But Lincoln told him: you’re overthinking it.
Should that day come, the people to worry about are those who use brain-controlled prosthetics.
In reality, Lincoln could lock down all neural modulator-demodulators within an area with just a snap of his fingers.
Because of the power of “brain-controlled” and the very complex transmission components designed for it, once the neural modulator-demodulator is lost, it not only loses all its advantages but also becomes a burden and might not even be as useful as a wooden prosthetic leg.
If someone dared to wear the [Eight Sides] on the battlefield, they could even secretly transmit fake screens, making them unable to tell friend from foe and attack their own people.
Not to mention that their position coordinates are also important battlefield information.
In a beyond-visual-range combat mode, exposing one’s battlefield position means certain death.
Unless they are incredibly stupid, this kind of thing is impossible to happen.
So, it is no surprise that Henry, who truly represents the military, never asked about it.
Lincoln even suspects that the Military Research Institute has privately developed electromagnetic weapons specifically targeting brain control headbands.
— After all, brain control headbands are consumer devices, and compared to military products, they may be more sophisticated, but they can’t compare in their ability to withstand damage.
…
Now, for brain-controlled prosthetics to be sold all over the world (except for America), the only limitation is time.
And the emergence of “Pokémon” will undoubtedly greatly shorten this time.
Increased sales, overseas expansion, and benefiting the world are all just around the corner!
— As long as there is world peace, it will be 100% beneficial; while God can only save souls, Lincoln can save physical bodies, no worse than a saint.
*
Dinosaur Island is bustling once again.
The number of mirror instances is doubling, reaching eight times the usual amount before 6 PM.
Players are getting more wild and unrestrained in their tactics.
Before, “kiting” was the main strategy, driving all-terrain vehicles while fighting and running, trying to avoid dinosaur attacks, and completing the battle alive as much as possible.
But after the news of “Pokémon” leaked, anxious players transformed into dare-to-die squads, fearlessly charging head-on into behemoths eight stories high!
Even if it cost them their lives, as long as they could scratch the dinosaur’s toenail, they wouldn’t hesitate.
Once a giant dinosaur falls, it will immediately be swarmed by dense crowds of players, never to stand up again.
In a short amount of time, there were countless posts hoping that the use of grappling hooks would be allowed in [Dinosaur Island·Jurassic Park].
Thus, giant dinosaurs with bodies ranging from ten to twenty meters long were confronted with devastating attacks.
One by one, the “Pokémon” invitation letters were activated, and more and more players went offline from the virtual world to search for magical creatures in reality.
Various descriptions of magical creatures and their “portraits” that looked like ghost drawings gradually increased in number.
However, there were no more clear and lifelike images like the ones drawn by Leo.
*
At evening, as soon as the school bell rang, Shuihua swiftly grabbed her already packed bag, waved goodbye to her friends, and quickly left the classroom.
Although it was New Year’s Day, her third-year high school class only had a half-day off in the morning, and Shuihua could not wait any longer.
Lance hurriedly packed up his school bag and followed her out.
Upon leaving the school, they decisively hailed a taxi and headed straight to the nearest Journey Prosthetics store to purchase an [Eight Sides] Helm.
But despite their rushing, there was already a long queue at the store.
If it wasn’t for Mavis giving a heads up and Kyle being prepared and stocking up supplies half a month in advance, there would be no stock left by now.
Shuihua and Lance anxiously queued up, all the while checking their phones.
It wasn’t until 45 minutes later that it was finally their turn.
This was only because the customers buying the [Eight Sides] Helm were all healthy, and after purchasing the headband and binding their accounts on the spot, they could simply wear it on their heads and leave, skipping the troublesome training process.
Otherwise, with such a long queue, they would have to wait until late at night.
Upon discovering that both Shuihua and Lance were [Honorary Players], the store offered them an exclusive discount—500 dollars off for each person.
Shuihua’s eyes sparkled as she felt she had scored a massive bargain and immediately stretched out her hand to Lance: “Give me your card!”
“Can’t I just pay for it directly?” Lance was puzzled.
Shuihua made her stance clear: “I want to use my own personal money!”
Most of the money Shuihua earned from selling virtual items like invitation letters and game currency was stored with Lance.
“I know, but if I pay for it, isn’t it the same? You can just keep a record of it, right?”
Thanks to her mother’s teachings, Shuihua had cultivated the habit of keeping track of her finances.
“Of course it’s not the same!” Shuihua argued righteously. “If other people saw, they’d think I was living off you!”
“…”
Lance handed over his card speechlessly.
Shuihua efficiently swiped the card and entered the password in one go.
The clerk watched the two of them, unable to determine whether they were a young couple or siblings.
As they left the store, neither of them removed the headband from their heads.
Lance’s headband was still a gift from “boss” Shuihua.
On the way home, even though Shuihua knew that no one had seen any magical creatures around the highway, she couldn’t help but constantly look out the car window.
Unfortunately, she didn’t see anything until they got out of the car.
Shuihua was somewhat disappointed.
But as soon as she entered her residential community, her disappointment vanished in an instant!
Because right in front of her was a magical creature she had never seen before: a lion with wings and bear ears?
Shuihua was a bit unsure, especially since this creature was not even as big as her backpack and was only about the same size as a milkshake.
Lance naturally saw it too and immediately pulled out his phone to search for keywords: [lion head], [bear ears], [wings], [hooves]. He quickly found the true identity of this magical creature—
“This is actually a Pixiu?!”
Lance looked at the creature, which had become a bit round and plump due to its young age and cartoonish appearance, and felt it was incredulous.
Meanwhile, Shuihua squatted next to the little thing and reached out to touch the horn on its head—naturally touching empty air.
Yet she was not disappointed and instead had a sudden idea: “Do you think we could take this little guy home?”
“Huh?” Lance was a bit lost as to Shuihua’s train of thought.