Chapter 50 一 After vacation, Bai Ruogu started playing games.
Of course, the fans were not blind either. Among the massive number of followers, some had a thorough understanding of Bai Ruogu’s appearance.
Those people were surprised and doubtful as they tremblingly typed a line of words.
[Oh my! Is it just my illusion? Why does this hand look a bit like Brother Bai’s?]
[Oh my god, don’t scare me.] The fans were terrified. Somehow, the more they looked at it, the more the hand resembled their Brother Bai.
Fans: …
Damn! They didn’t believe it! Humans are naturally inclined to find excuses for certain things. They wished they could take a magnifying glass and analyze the screen, and finally, after nitpicking and some psychological comfort, they spoke up earnestly using statistics.
[This isn’t Brother’s hand. With so many people in the interstellar, who knows how many people look similar, let alone their hands?]
[Exactly, exactly, Gu Du just got lucky and found a man whose hand happens to resemble Brother’s.]
Thinking this way, everyone felt much more at ease.
So what if the hand looked similar? If they were really capable, let them make Brother their man! Hmph, it was impossible even to think about it, it was less realistic than the sun rising from the west.
In a few days, it would be the anniversary of the founding of the Interstellar Federation. The empire decreed that except for certain professions, everyone else would get half a month off.
Coincidentally, filming was not included in those “certain professions.” Therefore, after Bai Ruogu finished filming the last scene today, he could enjoy a short vacation!
On set.
Wei Huan spent his days flattering Wei Yang, despite being seen as the emperor’s most beloved son and having no need to be so humble.
However, Wei Huan ignored others’ advice and followed Wei Yang around like a little tail. No matter how Wei Yang tried to drive him away, Wei Huan still looked up at him with innocent eyes and smiled.
Over time, the way Wei Yang looked at Wei Huan changed slightly.
Though the cold palace walls stood everywhere in the imperial palace, the gradually growing brotherly affection brought a touch of warmth to the deep palace.
The filming finally finished! The director was kind today and wrapped up by four in the afternoon.
Bai Ruogu walked out of the set, stretched under the blue sky and white clouds, and looked very pleased.
Since arriving in this world, he had been busy every day and rarely had such a long break.
Now the company’s business was also paused, the employees and artists were on vacation at home, leaving only a small group monitoring the data at the company to prevent any incidents.
This was the first time Bai Ruogu and Su Mou had such a long private time together. Neither the man nor the AI would miss this opportunity.
Coincidentally, a new game was released by the Empire in these two days, allowing players to operate in real-time while lying in a game pod.
Bai Ruogu hadn’t played games much before, but now that he had been reborn, he had to experience it.
The vacation was neither too long nor too short. Bai Ruogu made a plan for the time: he decided to spend the first week playing games and the second week going on a space tour with Su Mou.
After making up his mind, Bai Ruogu bought a high-quality game pod on the StarNet as soon as he got home, following the operation instructions.
The blue ball blinked its eyes around the game pod, its head swaying rhythmically.
According to the information, the game was specially made by the Empire and open to all citizens. Its background was a magical world built by replacing elements within the interstellar framework.
Meanwhile, secret intelligence indicated that the Interstellar Federation was at war with the outside. To prevent the flames of war from spreading to the planet and leaving the masses helpless, the empire developed this game to train the people’s adaptability.
All this information was top secret of the Empire. In the eyes of the masses, it was just a popular game at the moment.
The blue ball’s head swayed mechanically, information bouncing out…
The game’s establishment required strong technical support, and the Empire wasn’t prepared in advance, so they had to seek help from the StarNet.
As a result, only 30% of the game’s control was in the hands of the Empire’s upper echelons. The remaining 70% was controlled by the “god” that the game itself generated.
God…
The blue ball tilted its head, its round eyes wide open.
The next day, the game pod arrived.
The pod was about two meters high, with a milky white heavy shell. Inside, it was pitch black with a comfortable black leather chair in the middle.
Bai Ruogu followed the instructions, connecting one end to the power supply and the other to the smart brain.
Once the game pod had a signal, he put on the experience suit and hugged the blue ball, giving it a kiss before entering.
The blue ball instantly became soft and pink, its eyes narrowing into slits.
Bai Ruogu happily rubbed the blue ball and said in a clear voice, “Wait for me to come out, and I’ll kiss you a few more times.”
This time, the blue ball completely turned into a pink ball.
Bai Ruogu connected the experience suit with data cables and put the helmet on his head.
The pod door slowly closed, and everything before his eyes turned pitch black.
In the silence, all sounds faded away. Bai Ruogu first felt a bout of dizziness, followed by numerous light and shadow streaks rapidly shifting before his eyes.
An electronic voice followed, making him lift his eyelids slightly.
“Dear player, welcome to the Aurora World. Since you have connected to the experience system, you will feel the same as the character in this game.”
The familiar voice made Bai Ruogu feel at ease. Although the voice was emotionless, he could still tell that it was his own voice.
The voice continued to echo, “Next, you will become a member of the Aurora Continent with a new identity, which will be randomly assigned. Each player’s identity is different.”
Different identities would arouse players’ curiosity and desire to explore. However, for the game to achieve this effect, a powerful computing system was required. This was why the empire sought Su Mou’s help.
A light screen appeared in front of the monitor, projecting the “Player Agreement.” After carefully checking it, Bai Ruogu found no issues and clicked on the agree option.
“Okay, your character is being assigned. You will be projected in shortly.”
To ensure Bai Ruogu had a realistic gaming experience, Su Mou, who controlled the entire network, did not manipulate the system.
As the electronic voice finished, a white light flashed before Bai Ruogu’s eyes. His head was in chaos for a moment, and when he regained clarity, he saw a completely different scene.
“Hey? Is the guy awake? Damn, what bad luck, being born directly in the Hell Zone.”
A rough, angry voice sounded nearby. Bai Ruogu rubbed his temples, and once his vision cleared, he found himself in a dilapidated room full of straw.
Recalling the earlier voice, Bai Ruogu turned his head to see a man with dark skin, bushy eyebrows, and big eyes dressed in ragged clothes.
Noticing Bai Ruogu’s gaze, the man sighed heavily.
“Damn it, everyone only has one chance to choose their birthplace. Some people are born in the green base camp, equipped with weapons and gear from the start, and even have experts to help them level up!”
“What about us?” Bai Ruogu naturally assumed his role, starting to understand the current situation.
“Us?” The man scoffed, looking up at the dilapidated beams and kicking the scrap wood beside him in frustration.
“We’re screwed. Born directly into Hell Zone, right next to the evil faction. What the hell can we play? We have nothing, barely any companions, surrounded by enemies. Might as well wait to die!”
Bai Ruogu raised an eyebrow, unfazed and even slightly interested as he stretched his wrists.
Too easy was not appealing to him, he needed a challenge to stay motivated.
As he moved his joints, hunger set in, creating a sense of urgency.
Indeed, the first problem arose: how to fill his stomach?
He turned to the man with little hope, asking, “Is there any food here?”
The man couldn’t help but laugh.
“Food? We’d be lucky to have tree bark to chew on,” he said, rummaging through the surrounding straw and raising his voice with a derisive laugh.
“Didn’t you check any guides before you came? So many players born here die within a few days, and 90% of the time it’s because they don’t have food. Some people even found worms and ants to eat, which made quite a few others envious.”
This was not a good start, Bai Ruogu thought to himself.
However, unlike the man, he didn’t wallow in self-pity. Instead, he stood up, ignoring his hunger, and surveyed the surroundings.
Just then, strange-sounding voices came from outside. Bai Ruogu paused and whispered instinctively.
“Who are these people?”
The man stood up, folding his arms, scrutinizing Bai Ruogu from head to toe. His gaze became complex when he saw the red string tied to Bai Ruogu’s tattered coarse cloth.
“They are NPCs in this village, responsible for sacrifices. They worship a so-called ‘god,’ and every year they capture a handsome young man from elsewhere to sacrifice to the ‘god.'”
Bai Ruogu frowned, “What nonsense and absurdity.”
“Indeed.”
Bai Ruogu felt something was off and tentatively asked, “When is this year’s sacrifice?”
The man grinned at him, “Today.”
Bai Ruogu: ?
“Has the boy been found?” he asked, puzzled.
“Of course,” the man answered nonchalantly.
“Where is he?”
The man looked straight at Bai Ruogu, then nodded at him, the meaning in his smile clear.
Bai Ruogu: …
The man walked over and patted Bai Ruogu’s shoulder in consolation, “Don’t worry, it’s just bad luck. Players born here usually face hellish difficulty, but you’ve got it even worse—the toughest of the tough. You’ve got the hardest difficulty in the whole server. Incredible!”
As he spoke, he slung an arm around Bai Ruogu’s shoulder, using the system’s built-in camera to take a photo of them, adding another remark.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to save the video of your heroic death. It’s a rare way to die—only one per server each year. And don’t take it to heart if you die at the start. With so many servers and over ten thousand sacrifices, no one has ever survived…”
Bai Ruogu’s eye twitched, pushing the man away and straightening his clothes.
Dying at the start was not an option. Every seemingly hopeless situation had a solution. In his past life, he had faced countless more dire situations and had resolved them all.
The man shook his head at him, and before the two of them could say a few more words, the door was kicked open.
Bai Ruogu stood calmly, surveying his surroundings.
Countless people in strange attire flooded in, surrounding him and pointing numerous weapons at him simultaneously.
In a vast and boundless space, black orbs roamed aimlessly. Despite the brightness of day, the atmosphere was oppressive, as if shrouded by an abyss.
Countless powerful “people” in white cloaks walked silently on the ground.
No matter how formidable they were outside, here they cowered, not daring to make any sound.
Just then, these “people” seemed to sense something, and one by one, they turned their heads and looked up at the sky. Black and white orbs of light converged into a vortex, filled with a terrifying power.
The “people” below bowed their heads, trying to lower their presence, fearing to disturb this being.
From beneath the holy white robe, a jade-like foot stepped out. The hem of the robe swayed gently, with silver tassels shimmering.
His face was fair, with long eyelashes, and his black eyes were like gemstones embedded in their sockets, half-covered by his eyelids.
His lips were thin, perfectly shaped, though usually pressed together, rarely showing other expressions.
His back was straight, standing as upright as pine and cypress. At the same time, he exuded an indescribable majesty and aura that made everyone fearful.
All the “people” in the space were preparing for the day the main god would appear. Seeing the time had come, they turned to face the same direction as the main god, and countless light screens lit up in front of him.
In countless worlds, preparations for sacrifice were underway simultaneously, with many handsome young men dressed in prepared clothing being sent to the altars.
It seemed that since the birth of this world, everyone subconsciously knew that the main god favored boys.
However, after so many years, despite annual sacrifices, the main god had never personally demanded anyone.
Just when everyone thought today would be as fruitless as previous years, the main god suddenly lifted his robe and pointed a slender finger at one of the screens.
“Him.” His voice was as clear and cold as frost.
Following his finger to the screen, they saw a slender, delicate-looking young man being pushed onto the altar by the villagers.
The young man was indeed good-looking.
Someone bowed and spoke, “This person could be a candidate for the Lord’s concubine.”
“Concubine?” The main god’s tone suddenly intensified, and in the next second, that person turned into a wisp of smoke and scattered.
The “people” knew the main god was angry and bent lower.
The main god spoke slowly, “We could be the only husband and wife, but after careful consideration, I feel unworthy.”
Everyone agreed, how could an ordinary mortal be worthy of the main god’s wife position?
However, the main god’s expression softened, and he stared blankly at the screen, unblinking.
“It’s me who is not worthy.”
Everyone: …!!