[Chosen Group Chat]
(999+ new messages)
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Inference Day has started, right? You guys probably canāt see my messages. Iāll check again in about ten minutes." (Time: 00:00:00)
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Confirmed. You all canāt see my messages. This means you wonāt be able to see them until 0.01 seconds after midnight in the real world. So, my time is flowing, while yours is frozen. Very good, very powerful. Okay, Iāll start recording now."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "A day. I think a day has passed. I donāt know the time here, since Iām in darkness all day."
"The situation in the Great Tomb is getting worse. The whole bone pile is a free-for-all. Every now and then, Skeletons crawl out of the pile to join the brawl. I gotta go, need to seize this chance. I donāt have to fight directly. I can just sneakily lie on the ground and play dead, and while Iām at it, maybe snag the Soul Fire of one or two unlucky schmucks, hehe."
"..."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Has it been about thirty days? Not sure. Letās just say thirty. Iāve made a killing these days, haha! Iām at the Tier Two Peak! GA-GA! Snagging Soul Fires is just too easy!"
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Donāt know what time it is, but Iām in trouble. Iām being hunted by a Tier Four Skeleton Knight! Fuck, all I did was take advantage of the chaos and snatch a green-quality Soul Fire! Is it really necessary to chase me this relentlessly? Iām gonna die, Iām gonna die..."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "This is rough. Thank god for my insane luck. I saw a cliff and decisively jumped off. Now Iām just a head, but no worries. Watch me reassemble my body."
"...."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Is it day 200 or 300 now? Why does it feel like several years have passed? Iām already Tier Three? Why isnāt anyone replying to my messages?"
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "KILL!!! FUCK THEM UP!!! There isnāt a single normal creature in this damn place! Good thing Iāve gathered a group of Skeleton underlings now! Letās just do it! This hellhole has gone crazy, it never lets up. I feel like Iām being used for Cultivating Gu! But even if I am, Iāll definitely become the strongest Gu of them all."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "How much longer? Isnāt Inference Day over yet? Someone, please talk to me! My mind is a mess. So many random, fragmented memories are swirling around in my head. I feel like I canāt keep absorbing Soul Fires indiscriminately. Iām so scared Iām going to go insane, or even forget who I am."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Who am I? Where am I? And what is this thing in my mind?"
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Just kidding! Haha, Iām at the Tier Three Peak! Your Brother Cheng is really taking off now!!! HAHAHA!!! Iām practically invincible on the first level of the Great Tomb! Iām in a great mood today! Bro... Sif, where are you? I will definitely save you... Donāt kill me, Master Jean, I wonāt sneak food again, spare me..."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "GET OUT! ALL OF YOU, GET OUT OF MY HEAD! DAMN IT!!! YOU ALL DESERVE TO DIE!!! I am Li Chengli! My parents are still waiting for me to come home!!! I will definitely make it back!!!"
"..."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "I think Iām really going crazy... I canāt control myself... Eating Soul Fire is seriously like an addiction!"
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "I donāt know how much longer until Inference Day is over... De Man... I canāt keep acting recklessly... No!... I need to go back to my original bone coffin... Everyone, please reply when you see this... My head hurts so much. Whatās my name? I can barely remember. No, I have to sleep now..." (Time: 00:00:00)
āāāāāā
Lince scrolled through the chat history, reading all of Brother Cheng Takes Offās messages.
To be honest, seeing these messages made Lince break out in a cold sweat for the guy.
Fortunately, after Inference Day ended, the group members saw the messages right away. They immediately started @āing Brother Cheng Takes Off and calling out to him repeatedly.
In the end, they were more or less successful. The guy was woken up.
And after being awakened, the True Game actually settled his Inference Day rewards for him ahead of schedule.
But it made sense. After all, Brother Cheng Takes Off had been in the game the entire time, making him the first Player to actually start playing.
According to the rules of the True Game,
after Inference Day, the in-game time should synchronize with real-world time. By that calculation, including the day the Players entered the game, Brother Cheng Takes Off should now have a four-day buffer period.
As long as the guy talked more with the Players in the group, there probably wouldnāt be a major issue. Besides, judging from the chat logs, his settlement rewards were pretty good and had completely saved his life.
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Holy shit! I really thought I was a goner this time!!! That was close! Thank god I remembered Sister Yuās reminder and chose to fall asleep in the end. Otherwise, I probably would have actually gone insane."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "I got my settlement rewards, and they were pretty generous. They took me straight to Tier Four, and my progress bar is almost half full. And after leveling up, maybe because of the special nature of the Energy the system gave me, all those memory fragments in my head were washed away by the immense power."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Haha, right! Iām a Player! The system is bound to my consciousness as a Player. With this wave of promotional Power, all that negative memory crap from before is nothing! Our āGame Daddyā is the best! Thank you, Father, for saving your godsonās sorry ass!!!"
Not the Tea Monarch: "The painās gone and the lessonās forgotten. Go on, gloat all you want. Want me to screenshot your previous messages for you?"
Sweet Little Cookie: "Tea Monarch? Youāre really not very likable. Forget it, I canāt be bothered. Ah Cheng, you have to be careful from now on. You canāt touch those Soul Fires just for the sake of power. Even if you do, eat fewer of them."
Insomnia and Rain: "I guessed there would be side effects, but I didnāt expect them to be this severe. It might be because Ah Chengās character is a Skeleton. The Soul Fire contains fragmented memories of its previous owner. Ah Cheng, you canāt be so reckless anymore, understand? If not for yourself, then at least think of your constantly worried parents."
"Your parents just saw your inference video and nearly fainted from shock. āUse your head a little,ā those were your fatherās exact words."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Ah! Sister Yu, is my mom okay? I wonāt do it again! I definitely wonāt, Iāll never be like that again! I promise!!!"
Insomnia and Rain: "Your mother is fine, just frightened. In any case, be more careful. Iāve informed my colleague about your situation and told him to be more considerate. Next time, he should at least confirm your condition before showing it to your parents. The elderly canāt handle shocks like that."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Thank you, Sister Yu! Really, I donāt know how I can ever thank you all."
Insomnia and Rain: "Alright, no need for thanks. Itās what we should do. Just focus on staying safe and donāt be so reckless again. Also, if you have anything you want to say to your parents, you can message me privately. I can arrange for them to communicate with you regularly."
Brother Cheng Takes Off: "Thank you!! Thank you!!!"
āāāāāā
Iām Just an Ordinary Person: "I didnāt want to interrupt earlier, but it should be fine now, right? So, if a Player dies in reality but their game character is still alive, there will be a game video for them too? Does this mean this whole thing canāt be kept secret much longer?"
Not the Tea Monarch: "Looks like it. I just saw some people on the forums already discussing it."
Logical Genius: "Itās good that this is known, but Iām worried some Players might start taking extreme measures~"
Sweet Little Cookie: "Iām worried too. Knowing you can still live in the game after dying in reality, and even get a higher evaluation score... I think those ambitious Players wonāt be able to sit still."
Wada Xiwa: "Isnāt that the truth? With a second life, those extreme Players definitely wonāt be as well-behaved as before."
Not the Tea Monarch: "Itās not that big a deal, actually. As long as theyāre not complete idiots, theyāll probably wait and see how things play out, right? After all, the average strength of Players at this stage is what it is. They canāt make any big waves yet."
Insomnia and Rain: "Donāt worry too much. With reality undergoing this so-called synchronization with the game, itās changing as well. I believe smart people will continue to observe the situation. There shouldnāt be any major disturbances. Besides, the Player population is still very small, so it would be a piece of cake for the Countermeasures Bureau to control the situation."
Insomnia and Rain: "I saw the notification. It seems Night Owl has joined the chat. Chief, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Lince was speechless. āYou were all chatting so intensely, but you still noticed the small, gray text announcing Iād joined the group?ā
But since heād been found out, Lince decided to stop lurking.
He typed out a teasing reply.
Night Owl: "What can I say? I actually have social anxiety, for real. So for now, I think things are fine just the way they are."
"But, if you insist on an answer, I definitely support our Human Alliance. With the Alliance shielding us from the storm, reality remains stable, and everyone can focus on playing the game and improving themselves. Whatās not to like about that? Itās clearly a win-win situation."
"In my opinion, ambitious Players are either just plain nuts, or theyāre driven by intense desires, or maybe theyāre people who have faced so-called injustices in the real world?"
"In any case, Iām in no position to judge right from wrong. But if I had to choose, I would definitely stand with the common people. World peace is my greatest wish!"
Lince almost made himself laugh. His first sentence was actually a hint that he had no interest in the Countermeasures Bureau at the momentāso donāt ask, and donāt try to persuade him.
Insomnia and Rain wasnāt an idiot; she would surely understand.
As for the rest of his words, they were, in all honesty, Linceās true feelingsāhe really wasnāt interested in the messy affairs of the real world.
If reality could remain this peaceful, thatās what he hoped to see. āAfter all, itās my home planet. Who wants to see their own people suffer?!ā
āWouldnāt it be better if things were quiet, with everyone focused on quickly gaining strength in the Game World?ā
āAre kings and nobles born to their station? Who is it that suffers in the end?ā
āYour parents? His parents? Friends and family? Or the hundreds of millions of ācuteā netizens watching the videos, making jokes and teasing comments?ā
Lince couldnāt be bothered dealing with people who lost sight of themselves after gaining a little Power.
If the situation forced his hand, that would be another matter.
He preferred to mind his own business. Anyone could say pretty words. In short, Lince really had no interest in these things right now.
Insomnia and Rain: "Understood. World peace, is it? Your words are truly profound, Chief. Peace is not easily won. How long has the Blue Star Alliance even been established? Just over a decade. Some people have truly grown accustomed to the good life!"
"They donāt realize that the Human Alliance is constantly working for the welfare of the entire world. The establishment of the Lunar Base City, and even the preliminary preparations for a base on Gray Saturnāwhich of these arenāt for the benefit of us all?"
"Iāve said too much. But I strongly agree with your words, Chief. I hope weāll have the chance to chat, both online and offline, in the future. Iām sure it would be a very pleasant experience. (Happy emoji)"
He had to admit, Insomnia and Rain was quite eloquent. Though her words sounded a bit official, they were watertight and didnāt arouse any aversion.
But Lince hadnāt forgotten the underlying reason for all of this.
āWhen youāre strong enough, everyone around you is ākindā.ā
Lince couldnāt help but sigh at the thought. āSince when did everyone around me become so ālovelyā?ā
āVery good. Looks like Iāll have to work even harder. Iāll strive to make the whole world a little more ālovelyā and ākindā.ā