In the influencer incubation base of Jiang City, Blue Star, amidst a group of beautiful young women swaying their waists and streamers lying in virtual pods, there was an anomaly.
His name was Wang Dana. His online alias, “Not Da Na,” was a small, not-so-popular streamer who was currently battling fiercely with his keyboard and mouse.
In this era dominated by virtual reality games, a streamer who insisted on playing games with a keyboard and mouse wasn't doing well.
To be more precise, he was doing very poorly. He didn't even dare to go home, ashamed to face his parents who had such high hopes for him.
With a burst of bullets, like a certain virtual brother, Wang Dana was once again casually eliminated, just like a roadside dog.
Looking at the string of headshots in the replay, Wang Dana didn't click report.
Because virtual pod players only needed to hold down the weapon trigger. But for those of them using a keyboard and mouse, there was a lot more to consider.
Listening to his traffic light teammates' curses through his headphones, Wang Dana sighed and took off his headset, returning to the game lobby.
He then solemnly looked at the few viewers in his live stream. These were his old fans, many of whom had been with him from the beginning.
The atmosphere in the live stream also solidified several times. Everyone knew it was time to say goodbye; this era was the end for keyboard and mouse players.
After completing the farewell ceremony, Wang Dana leaned back dejectedly in his well-worn gaming chair.
He had thought about transitioning, but virtual game streaming was already saturated. If he wanted a piece of the pie, it would be like a thousand soldiers trying to pass through a single strand of hair.
Perhaps he should just find a factory job…
“Buzz buzz~”
A vibrating sound came from his fan group. Although he wasn't planning to stream anymore, he didn't intend to disband the group chat. These were all old friends who had accompanied him for a long time.
Picking up his phone, he found everyone discussing a game, and some even @ Wang Dana, hoping he could ride the hype and perhaps revive his career!
“Shocking, the game ‘Yuān Shēn’ is simultaneously being pushed to all global electronic devices. Is it a distortion of human nature, or a decline in morality?”
“Self-contained promotion, its roots can be traced back to…”
“One in ten thousand, will you be the lucky one chosen by ‘Yuān Shēn’?”
“What kind of confidence does the virtual game ‘Yuān Shēn’ have to make such a bold claim…?”
After a quick read, Wang Dana finally understood what had happened.
A virtual game called ‘Yuān Shēn’ was being pushed globally, and the key was that there were only 5 closed beta slots.
He then remembered that the pop-up he had casually closed while playing the game earlier seemed to be an advertisement for Yuān Shēn.
“Isn't that a bit too overbearing?”
Wang Dana was very confused. To have a global push for just 5 closed beta slots, what kind of self-contained promotion was this?
Or did this company have too much money to spend? If they didn't want it, they could donate it to him!
Lost in thought, Wang Dana still clicked on the website in the advertisement, 【apsl.xx…xx.ysj】.
“What a strange URL, neither starting with www nor ending with the common .com or .cn.”
Page loading…
A cute Q-version Carbon cat rolled across the screen, and then the webpage appeared before Wang Dana.
“Loading so slowly, it's definitely a small private server. Did they spend all their money on promotion?”
The website only had two pages, top and bottom. The first page was a countdown and a reservation interface, with a photo of a Thunder Fortress as the background.
The second page was the player forum, with a blank background.
Not to mention demo videos and game settings, there wasn't even a single promotional image. The only background picture seemed to be a real photo.
“Damn it, do they really have money for promotion but not for making the game?”
Many people in the discussion area were also complaining.
11xx68 Marigold: “Give me an internal code, I can be a shill!”
11xx69 Autumn Killer Leaves: “Definitely a trash game, everyone retreat quickly, don't be fooled!”
11xx90 Anonymous: “Riding the hype, are we? The virtual version of ‘Yuān Shēn’ just launched, and you're releasing a Yuān Shēn here?”
11xx95 Don Quixote: “Pick me! Pick me!”
…
Wang Dana looked, and wow, how long had it been? It was already ten thousand replies? He quickly returned to the reservation interface, and wow, the number of reservations was even higher, a full 13 million!
“You all curse so fiercely with your mouths, but your bodies are very honest!”
Thirteen million people choosing five, this was indeed like a thousand soldiers trying to pass through a single strand of hair.
But Wang Dana was equally honest and quickly clicked the reservation button.
He was afraid that if he was a second late, thousands more competitors would appear!
After all, moving his fingers wouldn't cost him a limb.
…
The night was deep, and the city's neon lights blurred on the misty glass window. A drowsy Wang Dana was abruptly awakened by his alarm.
“Hmm… what's wrong? What's wrong? Oh! Reservation!” After a brief moment of confusion, Wang Dana instantly sobered up.
The webpage on his screen had remained open, and there were only 5 minutes left until the countdown ended. Wang Dana tidied his clothes; whether he could continue his streaming career depended on these five minutes.
At the same time, in a hospital in Old Jing, in the special pathology department, the man on the bed was also awakened by a message.
He endured the intense pain, struggling to pick up the phone by his bed.
After seeing the message, it was as if a clear spring flowed through his mind, and he felt a sense of relief…
…
After a world-shaking experience, Wang Dana suddenly opened his eyes.
“Excellent, you are the fastest among this batch of newcomers!”
In the auditorium of Thunder Fortress, a villager resembling a European serf, with the nickname 【I Am Not Da Na】 above his head, was looking at the kitten on the podium with an expression of disbelief.
He first wiped his face twice, then picked up his feet to smell them, and then lifted his clothes to look.
If he couldn't untie his belt, Mikelson believed, this person would definitely take off his pants too.
“Holy crap! Did I transmigrate?”
【Name: I Am Not Da Na】 (Human)
【Level: 1 (0/100)】
【Health: 100/100 (100%)】
【Attributes: Strength (5), Speed (5), Intelligence (5)】
【Origin Points: 0】
“This is a bit too real, isn't it? If it weren't for the panel in front of him, Wang Dana would have thought he had directly transmigrated to another world.”
Everything he saw, heard, and felt was so real, he could even feel his heart beating.
Wang Dana tried moving his limbs; they were as flexible as if he was born with them.
He quickly looked at the game panel again. Thankfully, the logout button was still there, confirming it wasn't a brain-burning game.
Successive green lights descended, and four distinctive East Asian faces appeared in the auditorium.
One handsome, somewhat eccentric young man immediately focused on Wang Dana because he was so recognizable.
【Don Quixote】 loudly called out, approaching him, “Oh my god, there's a foreigner too. How are you?”
The others, hearing this, also turned to look.
For a moment, Wang Dana felt so embarrassed he wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
After all, among the five, he was the only one who hadn't customized his face. The others had all customized their faces before entering the game; each had unique features, but generally, none were ugly.
Only he, Wang Dana, looked like a European serf.
“Fine, thank you, and you?” Wang Dana was flushed, his brain on the verge of crashing, but his mouth moved faster than his mind.
As soon as he said this, everyone understood. This wasn't a foreigner; this was one of their own!
So they became boisterous again, marveling at the game's realism. They made all sorts of strange movements, pulling their hair, lifting their collars, or rubbing their expansive chests?
In short, they tried every means to experience the game's realism, a veritable exhibition of bizarre human behavior.
“Cough cough!”
Mikelson, possessing Carbon, couldn't stand it anymore, so he coughed a few times to emphasize his presence.
“Wow~ What a cute little kitten, come to mama's arms~” The only female player among the five, upon noticing Carbon, was instantly melted by its cuteness.
She brazenly lunged forward, wanting to embrace the little kitten in her expansive chest.
Mikelson couldn't avoid her and had to dematerialize on the spot.
“Enough! Respect your guide! Your quests have been issued. I wish you a pleasant game!”
With that, Mikelson controlled Carbon and vanished on the spot.
Leaving behind five bewildered players.
They looked at each other, and finally, their gaze settled on the female player.