Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
“Finally off work…” The young man walked into his room, sighing. “Speaking of which, that brother and sister today were truly pitiful.”
Lin Fan, male, with an ordinary appearance, average height, aged 24, ate a lot, and loved to sleep.
He had no car and no house. His apparent identity was an orthopedic doctor. Today, he had treated a girl paralyzed in both legs. Her leg veins had completely died, and amputation was recommended. Her brother, named Qi Wub, cried heartbrokenly.
Truly a pitiable pair.
Lin Fan’s greatest wish every day was not to go to work.
Since he had an apparent identity, he naturally had a hidden one. Every day, after taking off his white coat at home and sitting in front of his computer, he transformed into a well-known game reviewer on a small video platform.
For Lin Fan, playing games was a part of his life.
It was an inseparable passion.
Artificial intelligence technology and network development technology had reached their peak. Everyone played games using game pods. Lin Fan could only hear about the antique games that could only be played on computers from his father’s mouth.
Current games were called virtual reality technology, a top-tier technology developed from VR.
All games nowadays pursued realism and open worlds, enhancing NPC intelligence. However, no game could achieve all of this to the extreme.
Humanity’s second world was still far from being a luxury dream.
Lin Fan never gave up on his dream. He played every new game that came out. But those AAA masterpieces that boasted about the realism of their five-sense technology and realistic physics engines ultimately ended in disappointment. He hoped to encounter a good game that could provide a truly immersive experience in his lifetime, not one that was all talk and no action.
Perhaps it was a professional hazard of being a doctor, but Lin Fan approached everything meticulously. This characteristic was also reflected in his game reviews, which were known for their absolute fairness and lack of “sponsored content.” He quickly gained a group of loyal fans.
Countless games launched every day.
The task of discovering good games fell upon his hundreds of thousands of fans.
Sitting in front of his personal electronic terminal, he opened the small video platform. The intelligent robot butler walked over with a box of instant noodles, thoughtfully adding a sausage.
“So many fan messages?”
Lin Fan’s eyes lit up. He thought to himself that a lot of good games must have been released recently. He hadn’t been on the small video platform for three days, and he had over a dozen private messages.
“Brother Fan, I want to have your babies!”
The first private message made Lin Fan’s vision go black.
“Brother Fan, can you give me your address? I haven’t updated in three days, and my parents thought you might be sick and wanted to send you some local specialties. (Smile)”
Damn local specialties.
They’d probably send him razor blades!
Lin Fan pouted and quickly skipped the useless direct messages. The remaining direct messages were finally normal game recommendations.
“Let me see? A fantasy cultivation game… over eighty sects, thousands of immortal skills, special effects comparable to movie effects… Gaudy and trashy!”
“A horror puzzle game? Damn! Didn’t they know I’m afraid of ghosts? I wouldn’t play this even if it were realistic. Next…”
“《My Neighbor’s Girl’s NTR》 looks good! Hehehe, save it for later…”
He was at an age when blood was surging. Even if it was just a girl in a game, he wanted to save her!
Comforting himself psychologically, his gaze continued downwards:
“Huh? What is this?”
A pop-up with a gaudy, poorly made poster appeared.
“Nine countries jointly create the Second World, with the Super Artificial Intelligence Queen as the computing core?”
“《Cain Continent》 aims to create the most realistic game experience?”
Is it fake?
Lin Fan knew about the Super Artificial Intelligence Queen.
But a joint production by nine countries seemed unreliable. If it had such a powerful background, why wasn’t it on the news?
Although it seemed very unreliable, he had to admit that such a boastful introduction piqued his curiosity. Today, he wanted to see how powerful a game jointly produced by nine countries was. If it dared to be all talk and no action, he wouldn’t hesitate to transform into the Nine Tribulations Key Immortal.
He clicked the link under the poster.
What greeted him was a slightly more refined game poster, at least showing discernible figures, unlike the pixelated style from afar…
It was a giant map sandbox, surrounded by Orcs, Humans, Elves, and Demons.
To be honest, the poster looked very low-tier. Shouldn’t they have put one or two beautiful girls on it?
With only two grown men and two non-human monsters looking at a broken sandbox, how could they attract players?
After seeing the cover, Lin Fan had basically given up hope for this game, assuming it was just some trashy game leveraging its connections.
However, he patiently clicked on the video portal below the poster.
It was the game’s promotional video and pre-registration window. To Lin Fan’s surprise, the comments below the promotional video were constantly scrolling, with new people commenting every second.
Honestly, he had only seen this kind of activity in flagship games from major companies.
Could this game called《Cain Continent》really be that impressive?
With a sense of exploration, Lin Fan clicked on the game video. His expression changed from calm to astonished, and then to gradually shocked, in less than a minute.
…
…
In the China region, a player named “Moyu Hunben Zhenjun” also clicked on the video link.
He didn’t rush to watch the video.
He was first drawn to the diverse comments below the video.
【Ms. Chunlian Pangji】Shocked! A special effects company that doesn’t do movies properly and comes to make games?
【Kouni Jiwa】Western fantasy game, forget it. Although the trailer looks great, I really can’t get into it.
【Nobody Does Human Things】Making CG with heart, but making the game with feet? (Penguin emoticon)
…
Moyu Hunben Zhenjun shook his head with regret.
Western fantasy games were popular in the early years, with games from “Pickle Country” dominating the market.
The “car headlights” sisters in those games were very popular with players. But most players nowadays had aesthetic fatigue and preferred the more refreshing Xianxia games.
He continued to scroll through the comments, and then a “Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin” game emperor’s special effect popped up:
【Lin Fan Bu Fan】To be honest, being able to achieve such special effects indicates that the game developer has reached the top level in special effects application at least. I’m looking forward to the game content.
【Kewan Yao Shang】Hahaha, if this game can survive the test server, I’ll directly ride a five-speed electric fan!
【Sun Piercing Steel Plate】Marking my words, if this game becomes popular, I’ll eat my way from Zhejiang Province back to Sichuan Province!
【Delaimei Wodejiao】…Good heavens, from bland to spicy, brother has a good appetite.
…
“Yoho, Brother Fan also thinks it’s good? Then it’s worth looking forward to…”
Seeing the few comments that followed Brother Fan’s with their “flavorful” content.
Moyu Hunben Zhenjun grinned.
He had always admired these people who scammed for free meals and those who tortured their own little brothers in various ways. Therefore, he immediately commented with a milk cow and a beer emoji on these two brothers and gave them a thumbs-up.
He would protect the netizens’ dreams!
Then Moyu continued to scroll down to other comments.
【E Wang Wu Qian Tuo Er Suo】Achieving 100% restoration of the five senses and NPC intelligence through the Queen’s Super Artificial Intelligence. Are there any experts who can explain if this is really possible?”
100% restored five senses?
So boastful?
Seeing this, Moyu was amused.
No virtual reality game on the market dared to claim 100% restoration of the five senses. Achieving twenty to thirty percent was already a remarkable masterpiece.
While other games were still stuck at the 30% five-sense threshold, this one claimed 100%?
Which game company was so boastful?
He scrolled to the bottom of the page and saw the game’s developer.
“Star Blue Nine Nations Federation? What the heck?”
Moyu’s vision went black. As an old player on various game platforms, he was familiar with all sorts of well-known game companies.
But he had never heard of this game company; it was as if it had appeared out of thin air.
Was it newly established?
He switched to another webpage, typed in “Star Blue Nine Nations Federation,” and clicked search.
An information page about the Star Blue Nine Nations Federation popped up, but it only contained a few lines of text:
Established on April 29, 2088.
Representative work: 《Cain Continent》
…
Moyu exclaimed, “Holy crap!”
It was indeed newly established, and just yesterday.
Yesterday?!
Moyu was completely stunned. They made a game and a promotional video in one day? Were they fooling ghosts?
At this point, Moyu didn’t know where to start complaining, so he clicked the play button and began watching the promotional video that this game company had made in a day…
The screen opened with a black screen, but a serene and warm background music gradually began to play.
The screen slowly brightened.
It was a beautiful demi-human town. Gothic houses with red tile roofs and spires were nestled among green trees. Children were chasing and playing in the town, their silvery laughter echoing in the air. Notably, they had furry ears and various animal tails, each looking exceptionally cute and mischievous.
Demi-human women wearing wreaths hung out clothes at their doorways, peddlers opened their shops and called out loudly, and pedestrians walked together with smiles, chatting softly, their whispers inaudible through the screen.
The camera zoomed out, and the town gradually became a distant view.
It was surrounded by golden wheat fields and wisps of cooking smoke.
This was a depiction of peaceful demi-human town life in a Western fantasy world.
The scene then shifted.
The background music became stern and tense.
A grim-faced human king sat high on a cold steel throne, with twelve knights guarding beside him. They wore bright silver plate armor, with crimson cloaks trailing behind them. The crystals on their helmets reflected the light of the chandeliers, and their tower shields were engraved with an angry, flame-breathing Fire Dragon.
Suddenly, the king raised his sword and swung it forward. His mouth opened and closed, as if saying something, and the killing intent in his eyes was almost tangible.
This was the command to attack.
The army surged out of the Royal Capital like a steel torrent, the black Fire Dragon flag fluttering in the wind.
A war with destruction and invasion as its main theme began.
On the fortress, countless armored demi-human soldiers fought valiantly, resisting the advancing enemies. But with a flash of magic, heaven and earth lost color, and a giant meteor descended from the sky, ruthlessly collapsing a section of the city wall…
In the open fields, a dense mass of heavy cavalry charged at the demi-human infantry. Weapons clashed, armor collided, warhorses whinnied, and soldiers from both sides fell dead, their blood soaking the ground.
In the center of the screen, a demi-human general, with blood-red eyes, her body swelling several times, transformed into a silver-grey giant wolf with wings. Looking back at the broken defending line, she desperately charged into the human army with a determination to die and hatred.
In the once peaceful town, squadrons of cavalry charged in, slaughtering indiscriminately, leaving no survivors. The cold helmets concealed their faces, revealing only their sinister eyes. The Fire Dragon flag flapped in the wind, and the dripping long swords were chilling.
These magnificent, seemingly seamless movie-like scenes deeply impressed Moyu Hunben Zhenjun.
The horror and brutality of war shook him to his core.
The tragic and stirring music made his blood boil.
He couldn’t help but wish he were one of the demi-human soldiers in the scene, fighting to protect his homeland.
Who wouldn’t love cute little creatures with beast ears and tails?
Moreover, they were the invaded party.
At the end of the war, the defeated demi-human Royal Capital was captured, and the demi-human King, with a heroic face like a lion, was nailed to his throne. This peaceful and serene country turned into scorched earth under the sound of the bugle.
In the shrine, the young fox-eared Saintess wept. The statue of the Goddess of the Plains in front of her had already been toppled by soldiers, and the headless corpse of the Pope lay nearby, blood staining the pure white walls.
In a secret room of the royal palace, the youngest demi-human princess was handed to a plainly dressed woman and quietly smuggled out of the palace…
The captured demi-human Royal Capital (Image source: Douyin, please delete if infringing)
The scene shifted again. Ten years later, the demi-human Royal Capital had become the Earl’s territory of the invading country, with the Eagle’s flag flying everywhere.
The surviving demi-humans eked out an existence in the cracks between the Human Empire and the Orc Empire.
As mournful background music played, the screen began to cycle through bleak scenes of demi-humans being enslaved, whipped, bullied, and sold.
They no longer had a homeland and could only wander.
In a dark corner of Eagle Territory, the grown, beautiful Saintess, wearing a patched and faded priest’s robe, knelt before the statue of the Goddess and prayed with tears.
In the desolate jungle, the scarred demi-human princess honed her martial skills. Gritting her teeth, she wielded a sword taller than herself and fought a ferocious magic wolf.
The background music gradually intensified, the Saintess’s prayers became more sorrowful, and the demi-human princess’s fighting grew more perilous. The scenes from both sides gradually merged.
Suddenly, the background music stopped abruptly, and all sounds fell silent. The bell of a distant church chimed. The camera lenses from both sides gradually pulled back, and a third lens moved to the center.
Outside the town, a young human man wearing a straw hat looked up at the sky.
A necklace around his neck emitted a faint, soft glow. Golden phantoms appeared around him one after another. They had various expressions and looked curious, as if they came from another world.
This was clearly a pre-recorded video of players descending.
Many virtual reality games use this technique in their promotional videos to enhance immersion.
The screen plunged back into darkness. After a few breaths, lines of text slowly enlarged and appeared on the screen:
“Super Artificial Intelligence Queen core computation, 100% five-sensory experience provides you with the most realistic game sensation.”
“A joint production by nine nations, forging humanity’s second homeland.”
“The disputes among nations, the mysteries of sword and magic, the fate of the demi-humans, awaiting your discovery.”
“May 1st, the fantasy masterpiece《Cain Continent》begins its first test! Pre-registration is open!”
The promotional video concluded.
Moyu Hunben Zhenjun’s hands holding the mouse trembled slightly. His eyes remained fixed on the promotional video window, which had returned to black. He seemed to be in a daze.
Suddenly, he slammed his desk and stood up from his chair, unable to contain his excitement any longer, and shouted:
“Damn it! If this game is as good as the promotional video, I’ll sing its praises to the heavens!”
______________________
[Lin Fan is a supporting character, with a bit of plot to lay the groundwork. Moyu Hunben Zhenjun is one of the main supporting characters later on, appearing less frequently in the early stages. Many player names will appear sequentially.]
Dropped Ruo Yi x4
In response to the demands of many readers, the VIP member ad-free function is now available.
Click to view.
