"It's time to log off..." Shiki glanced at the real-time clock and realized it was already eight in the morning of the next day. He had been gaming all night.
Even if he logged off the game, his character would still exist in the game world. So he needed to find a safe place to log off, to avoid losing his character or items when he logged back in.
Shiki lay down in his virtual palace and exited the game.
In reality, Shiki yawned loudly and prepared to sleep for two or three hours.
Meanwhile, the major forums and websites on the internet exploded.
This was a virtual reality game, and while some people were skeptical before, now...
"Buying new, unused gaming equipment, price negotiable!"
Some wealthy individuals kept raising their bids, and the amount had reached a staggering seven figures.
"Ah! I regret it so much! I deleted that push message thinking it was just an advertisement. I missed out on billions!"
Some people expressed their regret. The promotional method for this game was unique - they sent out MMS messages. Some people didn't download it and deleted it directly, missing out on the opportunity and now feeling remorse.
More people focused on the game development team and the game content leaked by beta testers.
What kind of team had developed this groundbreaking game?
According to the leaked information from beta testers, it was developed by San Shui Mu Game Studio and Mr. Xiao was the sender.
Everyone began searching, wanting to know what this was all about.
Meanwhile, more players eagerly watched the videos leaked by beta testers, impatiently waiting to play the game.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Shiki finally woke up from his slumber. He checked his phone and saw that his inbox was full of messages.
"World-shocking virtual reality game!"
"Exclusive reveal: The game studio behind 'The Second World'!"
...
Aside from a few clickbait articles, there were also messages from friends...
In a heavily guarded secret base...
In the office,
A black-haired man sat with his head propped up, muttering to himself while his hands danced on the keyboard.
"What's wrong with these damn players? Don't they want to play a game beyond this era?"
"They even submitted so many suggestions."
"Weren't you hardcore gamers? Why are you scared when it comes to a different world?"
"And you want me to give you a user-friendly system? You're afraid of pain? What happened to being hardcore gamers? The Fourth Cataclysm my ass!"
This man was the game's producer, and after reading the feedback from the beta testers, he had a headache.
"Alright, alright... I'll add achievements, exploration, and affection systems for you. And you want a level ranking system too? Fine, let's just use EX, S, A, B, C, D, E. If you want to deal with data, you might as well kill me. We'll implement other similar features as well..."
"You want me to simplify the controls? Fine, I'll simplify them. Modifying the world really drains my energy..."
...
After finishing all of this, the man couldn't help but slump in his seat and open the reading app on his phone.
"I'm so tired. Let's read a novel... Why is this author always inconsistent with updates and timing? It's always two chapters at once, then a scheduled release? Damn it, I'll donate to Yan Di. No more chapters until I get more biss..."
The 0.2 update log for "The Second World" went online, igniting another round of discussions.
This was a major update that incorporated most of the suggestions from beta testers, and now they could finally experience it online.
"What a fast fix!"
"Responsible game studio!"
"Enough talking, I'm going to buy it on the day of public beta!"
"It seems they've added a livestreaming feature, let's go to the cloud!"
"Cloud server activated!"
"Dream server activated!"
"Peach server activated!"
...
After waking up, Shiki immediately brushed his teeth and washed his face. Even if he didn't go out, these habits were engrained in his DNA.
He opened his phone and replied to his friend's message.
Ice Cream: Hey, what's up? Get me one of these [image].
The image showed the game device for "The Second World," which had been leaked by other beta testers.
Shiki Kanzaki: [image]. Don't envy the cloud players, just wait patiently for the public beta.Shiki took a picture of the device on his bed, and within a few seconds, his friend replied.
Ice Cream: ??? You actually have it too? Why don't I have one? This is so unfair!
Shiki Kyouran: Perhaps this is just how life is. jpg
Shiki knew that this gaming device had been scalped to ridiculously high prices and was nearly impossible to find on the market. The value it held, as a groundbreaking device, was enough to captivate the attention of even countries. Rumor has it that many countries have ordered the confiscation of qualified players' gaming devices, hoping to dismantle and research them. However, these devices would self-destruct, leaving some countries infuriated and accusing them of collecting personal DNA, fingerprints, and physical characteristics with malicious intent, urging people not to use them. But, who cares?
It is rumored that the game producer has been invited by the institution of the country where Shiki is from for protection, but no one knows the details. However, judging from the update released today, the game seems unaffected, so perhaps it was just fake news?
Shiki browsed through the update log.
"So many updates..." Shiki couldn't help but admire the dedication of the game producer.
After briefly understanding the content of the updates, Shiki couldn't wait and entered the game once again.
At this moment, he woke up from his dormitory, reached out his hand, and couldn't help but marvel at how realistic the game was.
Remembering something, he opened the system menu and looked at the pain level. This was a new feature added in the latest update.
Some players complained that the pain sensation was too realistic, and some weaker players even experienced the feeling of death...
Shiki saw that the pain level was already set to 0, which means he wouldn't feel any pain.
There was also a new option under the logout section, one that allows players to either disappear directly or keep their characters. The default was to disappear directly.
It seemed like a compromise for the players, after all, keeping the character in the game after logging out was too hardcore.
There were also mission rankings.
The origin of the Dragon Clan's calamity, the resurrection of the Dark Dragon King Visage, and the rise of the Black Dragon Clan were all SSS-class missions, second only to EX-class missions.
As for the exclusive mission of the Death Sovereign, the Undead Catastrophe, it was directly an EX-class mission. This was truly extraordinary, and Shiki felt that his perfectionism would be quite busy with this mission.
Closing the menu, Shiki planned to get up.
"Hu... hu..."
Whose breathing was that?
Shiki took a look and realized that Lilisa was sprawled next to him, sound asleep. She was currently wearing a blue and white maid outfit with lace trimmings, along with the necessary white stockings, and looked quite adorable.
"Lilisa!" The door to the dormitory was kicked open, and Rorosa, also wearing a maid outfit with lace trimmings in red and white, rushed in and grabbed Lilisa, who was sleeping on the bed.
"Ha
