WTYTIAAN Chapter 159

“Now, immediately send these game helmets down for inspection to see if there are any dangerous factors, and then send them to the advance team!”

“Yes!”

The action of the national departments is very strong. With an order from the leaders above, the clerks below began to act, each performing their duties.

Before long, those express boxes that suddenly appeared in front of the special event handling department were all cleaned up.

The official closed beta test time for the game is less than three days.

*

Cheng Tianyu, having obtained a game helmet, studied it over and over. To be honest, he didn’t have much education. His family’s financial situation wasn’t good, his father didn’t love him, and his mother didn’t care. He didn’t have the money to continue studying, so he dropped out of high school and barely supported himself with game boosting.

He knew nothing about high-end brain-computer interfaces, virtual reality, or the metaverse. At most, he saw them mentioned in the news and barely remembered a few fancy words. When the topic was discussed in the group, he could keep up with others and wouldn’t seem too outdated.

At this moment, Cheng Tianyu was playing with the game helmet in his hand, feeling the heavy touch. He couldn’t even come up with extra adjectives and could only sigh that it was really awesome.

[Today No Early Shift] in the group had already excitedly praised how cool the game helmet was and how much they were looking forward to experiencing the game.

However, there were still two days before the game’s official closed beta test. Even if they put on the game helmet, they couldn’t enter the game.

Cheng Tianyu glanced at it and saw [Today No Early Shift] say that there was text displayed in the game helmet, so he quickly put on the helmet.

In an instant, Cheng Tianyu felt himself plunge into a dark universe, where he couldn’t see his fingers. He was surrounded by twinkling lights, like stardust in the universe.

Cheng Tianyu was startled and quickly reached out to touch his head. Only after his fingertips touched a cold sensation did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He had indeed only put on the game helmet and had not suddenly transmigrated.

However, the sensory experience brought by this game was indeed very real and shocking. Otherwise, Cheng Tianyu wouldn’t have suspected for a moment that he had transmigrated.

He just wore the helmet and looked around. It was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything else except for those starlight.

Cheng Tianyu thought: The sensory experience is indeed very good, but if this all-holographic game that has been hyped for so long is just this, then it’s too much of a scam.

After all, some awesome 5D movies can also achieve this kind of sensory experience. If that’s the case, this game helmet is powerful, but it hasn’t reached the level of being epoch-making.

Just as he was thinking this, a white light suddenly appeared in front of him, and a line of text appeared in front of him.

[Time until closed beta launch: 59:35:21]

The countdown numbers kept jumping, and time flowed like sand through his fingers. Cheng Tianyu widened his eyes.

He turned his head, but the countdown seemed to be fixed on his retina. No matter how much he shook his head, the countdown was always in the center of his vision.

Cheng Tianyu subconsciously reached out to touch it and was surprised to find that the touch of quicksand appeared on his fingertips. He was shocked and tried to take off the helmet. The scene in front of him instantly became bright, and he was still in the cheap rented room he had rented for a few hundred yuan. He reached out and touched it, but there was nothing in front of him.

He put on the helmet, and the darkness returned. He reached out and touched the countdown, and the touch of quicksand appeared on his fingertips.

“This is really awesome.” Cheng Tianyu took off the helmet, his expression a little dazed, and muttered to himself, “Is this deceiving the five senses, or some other advanced technology?”

He glanced at the group. [Today No Early Shift] was still excitedly sharing their discoveries, and the group members were chatting happily. Even Big A, who hadn’t gotten a closed beta spot at first, had joined the discussion—he had actually spent 5,000 yuan to buy the other party’s closed beta spot from Ming Ge.

From the beginning, Ming Ge didn’t believe that Homecoming was a real holographic game and always questioned whether it was a scam. I wonder if he feels a bit regretful now that he sees the game helmet experience shared by the group members?

Cheng Tianyu speculated with malicious interest and also secretly rejoiced that he had not sold this closed beta spot.

[Ming Ge]: Tch, you guys be careful that this helmet has some mini microwave oven in it. Your brain will be kidnapped when you enter the game.

Naturally, everyone in the group laughed off Ming Ge’s sour remarks and ignored him.

Time passed quickly, and the closed beta countdown decreased bit by bit. When there were only ten minutes left, Cheng Tianyu made complete preparations and even went to the bathroom to avoid being too cramped in the game and wetting the bed.

Cheng Tianyu imitated the posture of the male protagonist in anime, lying straight on the bed and putting on the helmet.

Speaking of which, isn’t this a bit unlucky?

The thought flashed through his mind, and Cheng Tianyu once again fell into the pitch-black starry sky.

The countdown was only five minutes away.

Cheng Tianyu adjusted his sleeping position. He didn’t know how this game helmet was designed, but lying on the bed with the helmet on didn’t feel uncomfortable at all, just as comfortable as lying on his usual pillow.

Everything was ready, and Cheng Tianyu excitedly waited for the official launch of the game’s closed beta.

10, 9, 8…

3, 2, 1!

The countdown gradually decreased until it reached zero.

A prompt box suddenly appeared in front of him, and an ethereal voice sounded in his ears.

“Welcome to 《Homecoming》, a world of infinite possibilities is waiting for your exploration. Before starting your adventure, please create your character name. This will be your identity in this world.”

『Your name is _______』

Cheng Tianyu thought for a while and entered his most commonly used ID [He Kou Wang], and clicked Confirm.

“Please note that the name is an important identifier in this world. It cannot be changed during the game, so please consider it carefully.”

Cheng Tianyu clicked Confirm again.

“You have successfully entered the character name. Now, let’s set off together to the unknown world and uncover the mysterious veil of the Ermann Continent.”

“The adventure is about to begin. We wish you a pleasant journey in 《Homecoming》, and may the stars guide you forward.”

These white words turned into a white light that swept over him in the blink of an eye.

Cheng Tianyu’s heartbeat gradually accelerated.

Thump, thump…

He seemed to pass through a white space tunnel. He didn’t know how long it had been, but the white light in front of him gradually faded, turning into a blue sky, and a musty smell of freshly rained earth permeated his surroundings…

Blue sky?! Musty smell of earth???

Cheng Tianyu’s eyes widened, and he sprang up instantly, “Holy shit!”

He looked around and found that there were several ‘people’ like him crawling up from the ground, looking around with excitement and shock.

Cheng Tianyu sat on the ground blankly, reaching out to poke the muddy ground he had just been lying on. It was indeed in a state of just having rained, and his finger sank into the muddy ground with a touch that was exactly the same as in real life.

This, this…

Isn’t this really transmigration?

Cheng Tianyu rolled over and lay on the ground, sniffing the dirt close to his nose. The unique smell of dirt entered his nasal cavity, mixed with a grassy smell.

It was a very difficult smell to describe. In short, after entering the nasal cavity, after analysis by the brain, he could only conclude that it was the smell of dirt.

A guy next to him grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and spat it out: “Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! This is amazing. It really tastes like real dirt. Now I have to admit that this is really an epoch-making game.”

Cheng Tianyu stood up in a daze, heard the words of the guy next to him, and his eyes slowly widened. He looked around at the ‘people’ making all kinds of strange movements and his heart beat even faster.

Yes, this is an epoch-making game.

A brand-new, infinitely vast world was about to be displayed in front of him, and he would become the first participant in this brand-new era.

Perhaps in the future history books, there will be such a passage:

『Since the start of the Homecoming game’s closed beta, history has opened a new chapter in the holographic virtual world, and the three thousand first batch of closed beta players, led by Cheng Tianyu, Bai Ye, Lin…, embarked on the exploration of the new world at that moment.』

Cheng Tianyu imagined excitedly.

There were many players like Cheng Tianyu. With the appearance of white lights, one player after another appeared on this empty land.

“Damn, it’s really a holographic game!” Someone looked around, trying to stand upside down.

“This is too real. Are they using the excuse of a game to make us transmigrate?” Someone tried to dig through the ground with their hands.

“No, is there no way to choose a gender in this game? You can’t even customize your face. Can’t it be completely random? I still want to play as a demon character!” Someone complained.

“No, where is the exit button? Can’t you really quit? If it’s really a brain microwave, then I’m really done for.” Someone was uneasy.

“You’re stupid. Didn’t you read the helmet’s instructions when you entered the game? You can exit by swiping right or opening the system operation interface with your consciousness. However, you only have one chance to enter the game per day, and there are anti-addiction restrictions. Any player can only be online for 8 hours a day, and they will be forcibly logged out when the limit is reached. The online time will be refreshed every morning at eight o’clock.”

“I’m already an adult. Why do I still need anti-addiction?” Someone wailed, “Don’t I know if this game is harmful?”

“Okay, but I saw in the game helmet’s instructions that the player’s body is in a dormant state while playing the game, which is equivalent to the body being in deep sleep. The consciousness enters the game. Office workers are in luck. Now you can really evolve away from sleep.”

“…”

The players who entered the game chattered and expressed their excitement, and some people had already begun to try various operations in the game.

Cheng Tianyu was also one of them. As a young man who made a living by game boosting, he was very quick to get started with any game. He was excited for a while, then he got up and began to study the game’s built-in system.

“General online games will issue initial weapons when the game character logs in, which are basically directly entered into the backpack. However, the realism of Homecoming is very high, so there should be other ways to get the initial weapon…” Cheng Tianyu muttered to himself and quickly figured out how to open the game backpack.

“As expected.” Cheng Tianyu figured out most of the basic game operations, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. He was full of a sense of accomplishment, and the way he looked at the people around him involuntarily carried a hint of superiority.

His gaze swept over a group of players who were still howling that the game was too real, and Cheng Tianyu was about to withdraw his gaze when he saw a discordant figure in the crowd.

Among a group of excited players, that person calmly turned his wrist and skillfully made several gestures. Cheng Tianyu, who had already figured out most of the game operations, recognized at a glance that the other person was checking the game’s personal panel.

Black hair and red eyes, exquisite face data—Cheng Tianyu remembered that the game helmet had instructions that all player character data came from data collected by the real game helmet. However, to protect player information security, all collected information would only be used as the basis for generating game character data.

To put it bluntly, the character image is established on the basis of the player’s real appearance. If you put the game character and yourself together, you can see that there is a bit of similarity, but it will never be recognized as the same person.

Cheng Tianyu was still skeptical that the helmet could collect player appearance data. He had never seen such a powerful technology before, but then he thought that since this holographic game had been made, any other unscientific technologies had also become scientific.

He was getting off topic. Cheng Tianyu carefully looked at the player in front of him. His features were very delicate, and his rough cloth clothes couldn’t hide his temperament. Obviously, he was also a good-looking person in reality. He didn’t have a bit of excitement after seeing such a real holographic game, and at the same time, his various operations were extremely skilled, completely unlike someone who was entering this game for the first time…

Based on the above speculations, Cheng Tianyu concluded that the other party was either a professional QA (game tester) or an official GM (game administrator).

Thinking of this, Cheng Tianyu’s eyes lit up. Whether it was a professional QA or an official GM, in this epoch-making game, the other party’s identity was not something that ordinary people like them could reach.

With almost no hesitation, Cheng Tianyu decided to go over and chat with the other party. It would be best to add each other as friends. If he could befriend such a big shot, his future would be limitless!

If the other party could reveal a little inside information about the game, it would be enough for him to earn a lot.

Of course, it was impossible for so many players to go online at once to all be idiots. Among them were also people who were as quick to react as Cheng Tianyu. Just as Cheng Tianyu approached the black-haired, red-eyed player, another figure had appeared beside him.

“Bro, are you a GM?” A man with a somewhat cheeky voice approached the other person and asked in a lowered voice.

Yan Yunqing, who was confirming his panel, paused his movements and raised his eyes to look at the player who approached him. The other party had the game ID [Big A], and although his tone was cheeky, the game character looked very upright, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, carrying an aura of righteousness.

[Big A] saw Yan Yunqing looking at him and didn’t mean to speak, and immediately made a knowing expression, nodding while making an OK gesture: “I understand, I understand. You’re hiding your identity to test, right?”

Yan Yunqing blinked his eyes and then realized what [Big A] had imagined. He had been mistaken for a hidden game administrator.

“I’m not.”

[Big A] nodded repeatedly: “I understand, I understand. You’re not, you’re not. I was wrong.”

Yan Yunqing: …

Forget it, it’s not a big deal.

He glanced imperceptibly at the still excited players around him and frowned. Did this game just throw the players into this world without even a guiding NPC?

Were they just planning to let the players explore and mess around on their own?

Yan Yunqing sighed in his heart. Fortunately, he already had a plan for this possibility. If the game’s guiding NPC hadn’t appeared after waiting a while, the person he had arranged would appear and act as the game’s guiding NPC.

“Big shot, how about adding a friend?” [Big A] was very enthusiastic. “If you need anything from me in the future, just tell me. Don’t look at me like this, but I’m actually a somewhat famous game streamer on D station. I can help you promote the game for free.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but Yan Yunqing could hear it very clearly, “As long as you can give me a little advance warning of any game benefits or inside information, it would be enough.”

Yan Yunqing was silent. He paused for a moment and brought up the game friend list, “Okay.”

Anyway, that Homecoming studio hadn’t even gotten his permission before recording him and sending it out to the players to see as in-game footage. What was wrong with him impersonating a game GM and ruining the reputation of the Homecoming studio?

Maybe he would need this identity in the future.

After successfully adding the other party as a friend, Yan Yunqing saw that a [Big A] had been added to the friend list on his player panel. He could initiate private chats, form teams, trade, mail, etc.

This was what Yan Yunqing discovered when the game’s closed beta was about to launch. His game system had been split into two panels, an NPC panel and a player panel. At the same time, the game system also reminded him to create a new player identity.

It was as if it had finally discovered that he, the poor child who had been thrown into the game in advance, didn’t have an official player identity yet.

Yan Yunqing didn’t hesitate at all and directly entered the ID [Rian], and also created a new face for himself, only keeping the black hair and red eyes features, and adjusting all the remaining details.

It was just that after creating a new player identity, his two panels were locked. It wasn’t until ten minutes before the player went online that the player panel showed that it had been unlocked.

After Yan Yunqing clicked on the [Rian] identity card, his eyes went dark, and when he opened them again, he was at one of the ‘newbie village’ addresses that he had previously guessed that the players might land on, becoming one of the many players who had gone online.

Just now, he was checking his game panel. After confirming that his personal panel had completely inherited his previous panel data and that the points he had worked so hard to grind hadn’t been cleared, Yan Yunqing was relieved.

At the same time, he also discovered that after the player identity was split out, he was equivalent to having an extra avatar that he could control. His consciousness could freely shuttle between the two bodies of ‘player’ and ‘NPC’, but he couldn’t control the two bodies at the same time. Otherwise, he could even let himself meet himself.

This was truly a strange thing.

With an extra clone, he could do a lot of things. Many things that were not suitable for his main body to do could be handed over to the player’s body, which was much more convenient.

Thinking of this, Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

[Big A] added the big shot as a friend and originally wanted to say a few words to the big shot, but when he saw that the big shot had inexplicably started to think, his words got stuck in his throat, and he didn’t know whether to say them or not.

Why hasn’t this GM taken any action yet? Shouldn’t they be conducting game testing now? Could it be that there is still some game content here that hasn’t been opened? Will new players get an achievement or hidden mission for staying at the game’s starting point for a certain amount of time?

Before [Big A] could figure out why this big shot had stopped here, another player came over and asked with an uncertain tone, “Big A? Is that you?”

[Big A] instantly put on a refreshing business smile and faced the player [He Kou Wang], “That’s right, that’s me. Are you my fan? Haha, it’s really a coincidence. I didn’t expect that among the players who grabbed the three thousand closed beta spots, there would be my fan.”

[He Kou Wang] choked, but he did indeed recognize [Big A], “It’s me, Chengzi.”

[Big A] originally wanted to say something, but he was stunned when he heard [He Kou Wang]’s words. He sized up [He Kou Wang] and suddenly realized, “So it’s you, Chengzi. I almost couldn’t recognize you after you changed your ID.”

Cheng Tianyu was speechless, “Please, my ID is basically this for all games. You’re the one who remembered it wrong!”

[Big A] scratched his head, “Ah? Is that so haha… I really can’t remember clearly, mainly because you’ve played so many accounts, so it’s a bit chaotic.”

Cheng Tianyu: “…That’s because I’m a game booster.”

Forget it, there’s no point in dwelling on this. He quietly glanced at the black-haired youth standing next to him and was shocked by the other party’s bright appearance at close range, and quickly withdrew his gaze.

“Big A, let’s add each other as friends. We’re quite lucky to have been assigned to the same starting point. I don’t know which starting point Xiao Ba and Lao Wang were assigned to.”

[Big A] agreed readily, “No problem, no problem.”

With the previous experience, [Big A]’s operation to add friends was more skilled. Cheng Tianyu looked at [Big A] added to his friend list and then cautiously glanced at Yan Yunqing, who had no ID above his head.

“Big A, is this also someone you know?” Cheng Tianyu’s gaze fell on Yan Yunqing.

[Big A] looked at Yan Yunqing and then at Cheng Tianyu, and immediately showed a warm smile, “Yes, my brother, he’s a big shot. We just happened to meet at the starting point.”

The way he said it, it was as if Yan Yunqing was really a brother he had known for a long time.

Yan Yunqing couldn’t help but glance at him when he heard this, marveling that people who could make a living as self-media in this day and age were all super extroverts, and they had to be quick-witted and active-minded. Look at this rhetoric. If Yan Yunqing himself wasn’t involved, he would have believed this guy’s nonsense.

But that was fine. Being able to befriend a well-known small game streamer also made it easier for him to subtly control the information inside the player through this person.

Yan Yunqing defaulted to the other party’s brotherly reason. [Big A] was even more confident when he saw that Yan Yunqing didn’t deny it. He spoke smoothly and fabricated a whole set of experiences of him and Yan Yunqing knowing each other for ten years, and Cheng Tianyu was almost swayed by him.

Cheng Tianyu looked at Yan Yunqing suspiciously. Could it really just be a rich young master with a little money who bought a spot to experience it? This temperament did seem like it was the case.

Cheng Tianyu hesitated for a moment and still decided to build a good relationship with the other party, “Then An Ge, let’s add each other as friends too. I usually make money by boosting games. I’m quick to get started with any game. If you need anything, you can tell me at any time. I can go and study things like dungeons and quests.”

Cheng Tianyu did have an excellent talent in games. In terms of game operation, even [Big A] couldn’t compare to him.

[Big A] originally wanted to refuse for Yan Yunqing, but after seeing the interested expression on Yan Yunqing’s face, he very consciously closed his mouth.

“This holographic game might be a little different from the games you’ve played before.” Yan Yunqing sized up the [He Kou Wang] in front of him, “While the game has a high degree of freedom, it also means that the game’s difficulty of operation increases exponentially.”

“For example, the release of game skills. In other games, you can just press a key on the keyboard to successfully release it, but in this game, you need complex spells.”

Yan Yunqing casually summoned a fist-sized fireball and waved it in front of the two of them, “Like this.”