“Holy cow.”
“Ho—ly cow!”
“Holy! Cow!”
“Oh my goodness!”
Blue Star, Kyushu, Yingtian City Sixth People’s Hospital, Emergency Department Ward Six.
A group of people surrounded Ward Six, intently watching the screen on a mobile phone.
It was a surveillance video shot from a top-down perspective.
In the video, it was raining lightly, occasionally accompanied by thunder. A deliveryman handed a package to the security guard at the community gate. Soon after, a man in casual clothes, holding an umbrella, jogged to the security booth at the community gate. After talking with the security guard, he took the package.
If the man in the video had simply taken the package and disappeared from the surveillance footage, it would have been a very ordinary video, incapable of garnering six million views within four hours of being uploaded.
The man in the video had just picked up his package, holding an umbrella in one hand and the package in the other. He had barely taken two steps when the surveillance screen suddenly flashed with a bright light. A bolt of lightning struck down directly, hitting the man holding the package. Immediately after, thunder rumbled through the surveillance footage.
The man struck by lightning fell straight to the ground, leaving a dark, charred mark on the pavement.
About ten seconds later, the man sat up, looking somewhat dazed, clutching his forehead. He was clearly stunned by the sudden lightning strike.
He struggled to pick up the package from the ground, abandoning his umbrella, and stumbled forward, still clutching his forehead.
Suddenly, a second bolt of lightning struck the man again. He fell to the ground once more. This time, it took him over twenty seconds to sit up.
The man, now sitting, did not stand up. Instead, he held the package, gazing blankly at the sky, lost in thought.
Another flash of lightning crossed the surveillance screen, and the man fell straight to the ground again, not getting back up.
At the same time, the community security guard ran out of the booth to check on the man. However, another lightning bolt struck, hitting the already unconscious man again, scaring the security guard, who dared not approach. He quickly returned to the security booth, shivering and making a phone call.
Two more minutes passed, and lightning struck again, this time a four-strike sequence, causing the unconscious man in the video to convulse directly.
The time bar of the surveillance video was rapidly increasing, indicating that the person who uploaded the video had sped up this segment.
The playback speed of the surveillance video returned to normal only when another woman with an umbrella entered the frame.
The woman with the umbrella saw a person lying at the community gate and seemed to want to approach to check on the situation but was called out by the security guard in the booth.
The woman and the security guard began talking. Just a few words into their conversation, another lightning bolt struck, startling both parties. The lightning struck the poor man, who had already been hit eight times and was still unconscious.
Then the video's time bar accelerated again until several medical personnel in white coats appeared in the video, carrying the unconscious man away on a stretcher, at which point the surveillance footage ended.
The comments section of the video was also unusually heated.
“Holy cow! Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation! Is he about to ascend to immortality?”
“Mysterious Man Undergoes Heavenly Tribulation Late at Night—Endures Nine Heavenly Tribulations with Sheer Physical Strength.”
“Fake, it’s obviously fake. If someone were really struck by lightning nine times, why call an ambulance? They could just be taken directly to the crematorium.”
“As everyone knows, surveillance footage cannot be Photoshopped, so I believe the video must be real.”
“Left zero, right fire, Thunder Lord, assist me! Thunder!”
“Sorry, I didn’t want to laugh, but seeing the man in the video, even while convulsing from the lightning, not forgetting to hug his package tightly, I really couldn’t help it. Forgive me... Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”
“Everyone, feel free to laugh. We’ll deduct the karma points from Zhongzhou—IP Guangzhou.”
“By the way, isn’t anyone curious what’s in his package? I suspect it’s a lightning rod…”
Some comments claimed the video was real, others that it was fake. Some worried if the man was still alive, others were curious about the valuable item in the package. There were even wealthy women who were attracted to the man’s slender figure and wanted to become his patron, highlighting a chaotic mix of opinions.
Chen Yu felt his condition was very poor. His head was heavy, and there was a constant ringing in his ears. He could vaguely hear the noisy discussions around him.
He also felt sharp pains in his chest and back.
He wanted to sit up, but he had no strength in his entire body.
He wanted to lift his hand, but it felt numb and unresponsive.
His throat was extremely dry, and his lungs had a burning sensation.
“Cough… cough… cough…”
The faint dry coughs brought the audience, who were engrossed in watching the video and gossiping, back to reality.
“He’s awake! He’s awake! Xiao Yu / Chen Yu / Brother Yu is awake!”
Chen Yu laboriously opened his eyes to find a group of people surrounding him.
There were his leaders, his leaders' leaders, his colleagues, and the interns he was supervising.
Seeing Chen Yu wake up, after a few pleasantries, the leaders and colleagues, after going through the motions, left more than a dozen boxes of gifts and a few words of comfort before leaving, leaving only the two interns he got along well with.
“Brother Yu! Brother Yu! You’re famous! Look! The video of you being struck by lightning is on the news headlines! It already has six million views!”
The speaker was Xie Cheng, who had been at the unit for six months. He was a straightforward and attention-seeking young man. His voice was a little excited as he thrust his phone in front of Chen Yu, showing him the video’s views and likes, seemingly happy that Chen Yu had become famous.
Chen Yu was speechless at Xie Cheng’s words. He would rather not have this kind of video popularity.
This was popularity Chen Yu had almost paid for with his life.
Someone not directly involved simply couldn't empathize.
Each time he was struck by lightning, Chen Yu thought he was surely dead, even vaguely seeing his great-grandmother waving to him.
“Brother Yu, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? The doctor just told us that you suffered second-degree burns on your back, arms, and thighs, but no abnormalities like arrhythmia or acute renal failure were found. Although there’s no immediate danger to your life, it’s still recommended to stay in the hospital for observation.”
“Oh, by the way, the leader just said that the unit isn’t busy recently, so they approved three months of leave for you, and the medical expenses will be reimbursed by the unit. Just focus on recovering.”
Tang Yingying was an intern who joined at the same time as Xie Cheng. Compared to the straightforward and attention-seeking Xie Cheng, her personality was much more refined and quiet. She directly addressed Chen Yu’s most pressing concerns.
Hearing Tang Yingying’s words, Chen Yu felt much more at ease.
At this moment, Xie Cheng pointed to the express delivery box on the hospital bedside table.
“Brother Yu, what treasure did you buy? I heard the doctor say that when you were brought to the hospital, you were still clutching the package tightly. The emergency room doctors had a hard time getting it out of your arms.”
Chen Yu turned his head to look at the express box sealed in a black plastic bag on the bedside table, then at his blue and white hospital gown and his right hand with an IV drip. Chen Yu felt a mix of emotions.
If he hadn't picked up the package, or if he had just missed that time by a little, would he have avoided this suffering?
“Inside… is a VR holographic helmet I bought for over 20,000 yuan.”
Upon hearing that Chen Yu spent over 20,000 yuan on a VR helmet, Tang Yingying and Xie Cheng were both very surprised.
Although they all worked in public institutions, their salaries were not high, only about three thousand yuan a month. Even with various benefits, it was at most four thousand yuan, which was even less than what a waiter in a big city could earn.
“A 20,000+ yuan VR helmet? Brother Yu, did you buy the one that’s been very popular recently, the cross-generational VR holographic helmet first launched by Mi Ho Yo that allows users to enter a dream state and play virtual reality games in their dreams?”
“Yes, that one.”
“That’s a bit of a shame…”
It was indeed a bit of a shame. The holographic helmet had been struck by lightning so many times; it was unknown if it could still be used.
After all, it was a globally launched limited edition product. Once damaged, whether Mi Ho Yo had inventory or could arrange for a replacement was a problem.
“Brother Yu, please rest well. We have things to do this afternoon. Your wallet, ID card, and phone were put into this plastic bag by the doctor when they changed your clothes. I put it on your bedside table. Check if anything is missing. If everything is fine, we’ll head back first.”
After Xie Cheng and Tang Yingying left, Chen Yu lay on the hospital bed. Once he regained a little strength, he called a nurse and asked if using the holographic helmet would cause any additional harm to his current body. After confirming it wouldn't, he asked the nurse to help him open the package.
After opening the express box, inside was an exquisitely packaged gift box. Opening the gift box, it contained a folded, highly futuristic black helmet, an instruction manual, a charging cable, and a replaceable ultra-long-lasting battery.
Everything was perfectly preserved, and there was no smell of burning.
Chen Yu carefully read the instruction manual. After the nurse left, he laboriously lifted his head and placed the holographic helmet on his head.
Reality was already like this; he might as well play a game to forget the pain of reality.
Playing virtual holographic games—this was his dream during his school days.
“God bless, I hope this helmet isn’t broken.”
He pressed the power button, and the Mi Ho Yo company logo appeared before his eyes.
“Looks like it works.”
Next, he filled in his personal information for data binding. When Chen Yu finished, the screen darkened, and numerous light points rapidly lit up on the black screen. Looking closely, those light points were all stars. Immediately after, all the stars quickly receded, turning into lines of light of various colors, as if traversing a time-space tunnel.
Chen Yu felt a little excited. After all, being able to play immersive games controlled by brainwaves was a lifelong dream of his since childhood.
The screen flashed, and Chen Yu found himself on a bridge made of starlight.
Above and below the bridge were countless stars, an exceptionally spectacular sight that made one marvel at the vastness of the universe and one's own insignificance.
The Starry Sky Bridge stretched endlessly, with no end in sight.
Chen Yu stepped on the bridge made of starlight and actually felt a sense of solidity under his feet.
“I must be dreaming now. Indeed, I don’t feel any physical pain.”
“The magnificent starry sky outside and the Starry Sky Bridge beneath my feet are all products of my dream subconscious. Mi Ho Yo is awesome!”
According to the instruction manual, the device utilized dream interference technology and thought acceleration technology.
Through dream interference technology, players maintain conscious awareness in a sleep state. In this lucid dream state, dreamers can possess the ability to think and recall memories as if they were awake.
Thought acceleration technology puts players in a 'Nanke Yimeng' (a dream of fleeting glory) state while dreaming. In this state, ten minutes pass in the dream for every one minute in reality.
Chen Yu had experienced lucid dreams before. In his dreams, he was like Superman, leaping three feet high, light as a swallow, and even able to fly at low altitudes like a bird.
Chen Yu also remembered that when he was in a lucid dream state, he dared not fly too high, always feeling that if he flew too high, he would never return to the ground. He also dared not look up at the dream sky for too long; he always felt that a terrifying, unseen monster lurked at the highest point of the dream sky.
Chen Yu was sure he was dreaming now.
In the dream, there was no physical pain, no pressure from superiors, no need to be responsible to others, and no need to bear the trivialities of life.
Chen Yu ran, spun, and jumped freely on this endless Starry Sky Bridge, reveling in the unrestrained feeling of freedom in his body.
Until a system prompt suddenly appeared before Chen Yu's eyes.
Only then did Chen Yu stop his wild, frolicking run.
【New game world detected, connecting...】
He watched as a branch suddenly emerged from the starlight bridge, forming a vortex-like doorway at its end.
It was like a portal in traditional RPG games.
Chen Yu ran to the starlight doorway and saw a prompt panel pop up in front of it.
【Welcome to The Magical World of Hogwarts!】
【Step through this door, and you will play as a Little Wizards about to enroll, experiencing and learning amazing magic at Hogwarts School.】
【Yes / No】
“Harry Potter? Hogwarts? Isn’t Mi Ho Yo afraid of a lawyer’s letter with this? Or has Mi Ho Yo obtained authorization?”
Chen Yu was quite curious why Mi Ho Yo’s first holographic game wasn’t their own super popular game “Abyss” but rather a rehash of “Harry Potter.”
Chen Yu still clicked on the 'Yes' button.
For the first dream-immersive game, let alone a role-playing game, Chen Yu would even want to play mahjong in a dream.
The starlight door slowly seemed to activate, and a huge suction force came from within, pulling Chen Yu directly inside.