United States of America — Department of Defense
Inside the meeting room, the atmosphere was frighteningly tense.
On the huge projection screen, there was only a single icon.
[Galaxy]
The director placed both hands on the conference table, his expression dark.
“Speak.”
“What did you find out?”
No one answered.
The head of the technical department kept his head lowered, sweat already forming on his forehead.
After a few seconds, he finally spoke.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
The director stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
“This game has no filing records whatsoever.”
“The development company doesn’t exist.”
“The operating company doesn’t exist.”
“We can’t trace the source of its promotional channels.”
“As for the official accounts…”
The head of the technical department paused.
“It’s as if the game appeared out of thin air.”
The meeting room became even quieter.
He continued.
“We can’t find its IP location.”
“We can’t track the login addresses.”
“We can’t even locate the servers.”
“We tried tracing the data transmission.”
“Failed.”
“We tried accessing the servers.”
“Failed.”
“We tried blocking the relevant interfaces.”
“Still failed.”
The director’s temples throbbed.
“One day.”
“A whole damn day!”
“Dozens of people from the technical department!”
“And all you can give me is failure?”
No one dared to make a sound.
The director slammed his hand onto the table.
Bang!
“What’s even more ridiculous is this!”
“A game whose company can’t even be found!”
“It was promoted for only one day!”
“And it already has forty million users!”
The person beside him immediately spoke up.
“Director.”
“The latest data isn’t forty million anymore.”
The director turned toward him.
“How much?”
“Fifty-three million.”
“…”
The entire meeting room fell silent.
Fifty-three million.
And that was only counting the United States of America.
The director’s expression sank completely.
“That’s roughly one-tenth of the entire national population!”
“One day!”
“Just one damn day!”
“Isn’t that terrifying?”
“And that’s only our country.”
“What about the rest of the world?”
“How many people are inside Galaxy right now?”
No one could answer.
Hundreds of millions?
One billion?
Or even more?
Nobody knew.
And even more importantly, nobody knew what the entity behind Galaxy actually wanted.
A middle-aged man finally spoke in a low voice.
“Director.”
“Should we ban it first?”
The director immediately looked at him.
“Ban it?”
“How exactly do you plan to ban it?”
“Tell me. How?”
The man instantly fell silent.
“There’s no game platform.”
“The servers can’t be found.”
“The data interfaces can’t be cut off.”
“We don’t even know where the account registration process is being handled.”
“The technical department investigated for an entire day!”
“And they couldn’t do a damn thing!”
The director swept his gaze across the entire meeting room.
“Are we supposed to pull the network cables of the entire country?”
“Or smash all fifty-three million game pods?”
No one spoke.
Then, from the corner, a weak voice suddenly sounded.
“Director…”
Everyone looked over.
The speaker was a young investigator.
He swallowed nervously.
“Since we can’t find it in the real world…”
“Could we perhaps…”
“Go inside?”
The director’s eyes flickered.
The young investigator’s voice gradually became steadier.
“We could arrange for specialized personnel to enter Galaxy.”
“They could try to contact the official personnel within the game…”
“NPCs.”
“Special figures.”
“Or even anyone connected to the game company, if such people actually exist.”
“At the very least, we could determine what this game really is…”
“And whether it poses any danger to the real world.”
Several people in the meeting room immediately changed their expressions.
The director remained silent for a moment.
“Personnel screening.”
“Background checks.”
“Psychological resilience.”
“Gaming ability.”
“Everything must meet the highest standards.”
“Establish a special operations team.”
He stared at the Galaxy icon on the screen.
“Within one hour…”
“I want the roster of the first batch of personnel.”
“Yes!”
Galaxy — Northern Wasteland
The Steel Legion was still marching.
There were still no vehicles available, so the entire force had to advance on foot.
Leo rode on a Ranger’s warhorse.
The map before his eyes was continuously being revealed by the Adeptus Mechanicus Rangers.
One red dot after another appeared.
Resource points.
Monster gathering sites.
Ruins.
Mountain ranges.
Everything was gradually being marked on the map.
Suddenly, two Steel Legion soldiers quickly approached.
“My Lord!”
Leo turned his head.
“What is it?”
One of the soldiers looked at him, obvious concern in his voice.
“My Lord…”
“Your body seems to be having some problems.”
Leo was slightly stunned.
He looked down at his hands.
His fingers were already becoming somewhat transparent, and his thoughts were starting to slow down noticeably.
Only then did he remember that he had been inside Galaxy for far too long.
The game pod could maintain basic vital signs, monitor his heart rate, adjust his body temperature, and provide minimal life support.
But it couldn’t eliminate fatigue.
And it certainly couldn’t replace food and water.
After more than ten consecutive hours of high-intensity commanding, fighting, calculating resources, and expanding his territory, even an ordinary person couldn’t keep going.
Interestingly, when people with physical disabilities entered Galaxy, their bodies would return to normal inside the game.
This miraculous feature had been discovered on the very first day.
Once the news spread, millions of new players joined Galaxy.
During the middle and later stages of the game, Galaxy gradually became connected with reality.
Many players who obtained items that strengthened their bodies discovered that their real-world bodies became stronger as well.
Once this information became public, potions, special fruits, alchemical products, magical items, and even high-tier items specifically designed to strengthen a lord’s physique became insanely expensive.
But for now?
Leo didn’t even need to think about those things.
He stretched his neck.
“I’m fine.”
The two soldiers still didn’t leave.
Leo looked at them and suddenly smiled.
“Soldiers.”
“You are all warriors of the God-Emperor.”
“I am proud of you.”
The two soldiers immediately straightened their backs.
Leo raised his hand and pointed toward the north.
“Continue advancing according to the planned tactics.”
“I’ll be gone for a while.”
“If anything happens…”
“Yarrick will take over command.”
The two Steel Legion soldiers simultaneously clenched their fists and struck their chests.
“Yes!”
“My Lord!”
Leo logged out of the game.
The next second, his consciousness rapidly withdrew.
Bang!
The game pod slowly opened.
The room appeared before his eyes once again.
Just as Leo was about to sit up, a wave of dizziness suddenly slammed into his head.
“Damn…”
He hurriedly grabbed the edge of the game pod.
Everything went black for a moment.
His lips were cracked and dry.
His throat felt like someone had stuffed a handful of sand into it.
His stomach was cramping as well.
Hungry.
Thirsty.
Exhausted.
All of it hit him at once.
Leo sat on the edge of the game pod and rested for a long while.
“I almost played myself to death.”
Beep, beep, beep!
Beep, beep, beep!
The phone on the bed was still ringing.
Leo glanced at it.
[Leah]
[Missed calls:17]
There was also a long row of messages.
Leo didn’t even have the energy to open them.
The phone vibrated again.
[Incoming call from Leah]
He stared at it for two seconds before sighing.
“Annoying.”
Click.
He pulled out the SIM card.
Leo walked over to the window, casually flicked his hand, and sent the tiny card flying outside.
It disappeared into the cluttered alley below.
Peace at last.
This was a place he had specifically rented.
The location was remote, the surroundings were average, and the rent was cheap.
Aside from the landlord, nobody knew he lived here.
He hadn’t even used the name Leo for the rental registration.
After suffering a loss in his previous life, he had learned his lesson.
In this life, he would never carelessly reveal his location to anyone.
Leo checked the time and grabbed his jacket.
“Food first.”
Downstairs, a small roadside shop greeted him with a wave of heat.
The owner had just lifted the lid off a pot, and a rich aroma immediately filled the air.
A bowl of miso was quickly placed on the table.
The broth was a deep red.
Bright red chilies floated inside.
Large slices of beef covered the noodles, with fresh greens piled on top.
Steam continuously rose from the bowl.
Leo lowered his head and took a sniff.
His entire body instantly perked up.
He picked up his spoon.
Slurp!
A huge mouthful of noodles went straight into his mouth.
Spicy.
Fragrant.
Hot.
The empty feeling in his stomach was quickly suppressed.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Oh…”
“Miso~”