Jiang Shi noticed a detail: the system’s welcome message mentioned [Return] instead of [Arrive].
This is obviously customized for the returning players, and it’s clear that the official team behind Genesis put a lot of effort into welcoming back the old players.
Jiang Shi was momentarily lost in thought but quickly adapted to the changing light.
The surroundings were no longer the smooth lines of the virtual cabin but had transitioned into a spacious room. The wooden furnishings had a somewhat antiquated look, and right in the center of a conspicuous sign, it read, [Temporary Reserve Point].
Jiang Shi’s gaze shifted from the sign to the young man standing not far away.
The sharply dressed suit was far too elegant for someone his age, but it somehow suited the young man’s mature demeanor.
It had to be said that this was an old acquaintance.
Jiang Shi immediately recognized him as the steward NPC he had singled out from the servants’ market five years ago. He could sense the unspoken reproach in the young man’s eyes for leaving without a word.
Jiang Shi cleared his throat nervously and put his fist to his mouth. “Siheng, long time no see.”
NPC Siheng looked at him and said, “Indeed, it’s been a while, sir. Your new name is quite unique.”
Jiang Shi smiled, “I thought so too.”
“I never expected that I’d continue to serve you even after five years. I was genuinely surprised and honored when I received the message from the world consciousness. According to the agreement of subordination, in just about a month, I should be able to retire and return to the servant market to find a new master. I never thought you’d come back to renew the contract before my glorious retirement. It truly makes me admire your commitment to the contract.”
When Jiang Shi chose Siheng back in the day, it was solely because of the brash kid’s knack for teasing everyone. Now, receiving a bit of mockery after such a long time, he didn’t get angry but rather felt a genuine sense of coming back home.
He was quite accepting.
It was as if he didn’t hear the cold words from Siheng. Jiang Shi glanced around, and any trace of remorse he had felt earlier had disappeared.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, “Where is this?”
Although it had been a long time, Jiang Shi remembered that he had logged out in the outskirts, not inside this rundown wooden cabin.
Siheng answered respectfully, “This is a temporary reserve point, sir.”
Jiang Shi pointed to the sign in the center with his fingertip, “I can read.”
Siheng continued, unruffled, “Due to the development of the new world in recent years, the resources from the original world have been integrated in parallel. During the time you were missing, it expanded from the third zone to the current tenth zone.”
“Recently, the Genesis continent has been quite lively, so the world consciousness has gathered all the long-term ‘absent’ travelers from different worlds in the Silia region. You are here for the same reason.”
Jiang Shi asked, “So?”
Siheng explained, “So, even though it looks rudimentary, this is indeed a hub for your assets during your active time in the Silia region. During this period, I will be here to provide you with services. Please rest assured, everything in this asset hub is connected to the estate’s storage, and you can carry out all asset-related operations, sir.”
Although it was a bit convoluted, Jiang understood it. The Silia region was the initial novice area in the Genesis game world. This time, during the official operation’s orchestrated return wave, all old players had been transported to this area for the unified management of long-abandoned information data.
Jiang Shi glanced at the panel and indeed found a series of densely packed return missions. These missions weren’t particularly difficult, but their rewards were ten to twenty times higher than regular missions, clearly intended to help players like him, who had fallen out of sync with the updates, catch up quickly.
Jiang Shi closed the mission panel and didn’t dwell on the spawn point issue for the moment.
He examined the steward NPC in front of him and sincerely said, “You’ve worked hard during my absence these past five years.”
Siheng gave him a respectful look, and his words, despite his condescending expression, were filled with respect, “It’s not hard, sir. Every month, I’ve been regularly withdrawing my labor compensation from your account, as I should.”
Jiang Shi laughed, “No, by ‘hard,’ I mean… with your fairly average memory, being asked to suddenly get back to work after slacking off for five years and having to remember a lengthy conversation like the one we just had in just a few seconds is genuinely tough.”
Siheng, who had a somewhat arrogant face to begin with, looked even more serious, “I appreciate your concern, sir.”
Jiang Shi didn’t continue to banter with him.
Now that he knew this place was connected to his asset repository, he didn’t hesitate to give a command, “Open my warehouse.”
Siheng responded, “Of course, sir.”
With Siheng’s help, Jiang Shi successfully accessed his asset warehouse within his estate.
After a quick scan, he chose a selection of runes and a few practical items to fill his currently empty inventory. Once he adjusted the weight on his body to its optimal state, he turned to his steward NPC, “So, Siheng, any suggestions on what I should do next?”
Siheng replied, “You can explore the new gifts bestowed by the world consciousness.”
Jiang Shi nodded and opened the push interface on his virtual panel.
As a popular holographic game in recent years, Genesis had gained its massive following for a reason. The concept of “the game is reality” meant that not only players like him could enter this new world for adventures, but every NPC inside had unique and complete lives as well.
Just like Siheng’s existence, all NPCs in this world possessed independent personalities and identities. For them, this holographic world was the most real and vital world, and they were a crucial part of the world’s orderly operation.
Interactions with these players from different worlds had become a common part of these NPCs’ daily lives.
All species from different worlds coexisted harmoniously here, making this holographic world even more real and irreplaceable.
Of course, subjective perceptions could vary among people from different worlds. For Jiang Shi, the world consciousness in Siheng’s words was merely the official system of Genesis. And the so-called new gifts were currently being displayed on the push page for this returning game player.
Jiang Shi casually glanced at it and saw that this wave of benefits was mainly divided into three parts:
The first part was the return benefits, a deluxe item package that all returning players could claim simply by logging in.
The second part was exclusive missions, which returning players could take on during their time in the Silia region. These missions were the primary means provided by the official team for old players to catch up with the new version in terms of levels and equipment.
As for the third part, it was the current limited-time activities, the most popular of which was the recall event for old players, without a doubt.
One could only say that the Genesis official team was exceptionally generous. Through this recall event, all online players could send recall messages to friends who had been offline for more than 60 days. A successful recall would establish a binding status, and in the future, the recalled player’s experience gained and crystal coin expenditure in Genesis would be returned to the binding player at a rate of 1%.
1%.
Each person could bind up to three offline friends.
It may seem like a very small percentage, but if the recalled player is a big spender or a level maniac themselves, that share alone would be absolutely terrifying.
No wonder everyone is racking their brains to recall their old friends. Just this benefit alone made even Jiang Shi feel a bit tempted.
Without thinking too much, he directly opened his “Like-Minded” friends group and clicked the [Recall] button after each person’s game ID.
Although he wasn’t as decisive as he was when he quit the game, the people in this group had been offline for one to four years, and it was uncertain what their real-life situations were like. However, back in the first season of “Genesis,” they were all formidable players.
Among this rather dim list, there was one game ID that stood out, not eligible for recall:
[Yu Weize.]
Offline for 6 hours.
After clicking through the list, Jiang glanced at this game ID and couldn’t help but think of the match he saw at the internet cafe just now.
At this time, that person should still be in the match server.
Considering today’s match schedule, he probably wouldn’t come online in the game server anytime soon.
His gaze paused for a moment, and then Jiang Shi closed the list.
His trusty steward, Siheng, was right. He should clear a few rounds of those return benefits tasks provided by the game’s official team first.
After all, why miss out on free stuff?
Jiang Shi did a final check of his backpack and, very contentedly, brought the floor mirror from his mansion, meticulously decorating the temporary reserve point made of wood.
Standing in front of the floor mirror, the elegantly dressed elf man systematically adjusted his attire.
The blue thorn tattoos on his face complemented his long golden hair, and under the unique aura of the elf race, the facial modeling that Jiang had imported into the game looked even more mesmerizing.
It was clear that Jiang Shi was in a good mood returning to the game.
As he walked out the door, he couldn’t resist teasing the NPC with a slight smile, “I almost forgot to mention, Siheng, it’s been about five years, but you haven’t grown any taller, as usual.”
Caught off guard by this playful jab, the young steward touched a sore spot, “Sir, your temperament is as terrible as ever.”
Jiang Shi responded with a faint, nonchalant chuckle, “Thanks for the compliment.”
Author’s Note:
Regarding the world setting of this story, in simple terms, you can think of it as a parallel holographic world. The NPCs are the “natives,” while players belong to “foreign world travelers” from other dimensions. If you’re not clear yet, more details will be revealed later.
By the way, whispering softly: Professor Jiang is really handsome. ≖‿≖
I like the steward’s character.
I find it fun too that all ‘return’ players get to start at their own “novice” area lol
The game is also generous to returning players owo
Excited for mc and the others meeting~