"Knock, knock, knock..."
Cao Yi perked up his ears, thinking he heard a knocking sound coming from the living room.
"Who is it?"
So late at night.
"Your delivery has arrived."
A somewhat cold mechanical male voice came through, followed by silence.
Huh?
He hadn't ordered any deliveries to be brought to his door...
Cao Yi leaned closer to the peephole to check outside.
However, outside was empty, not even a shadow in sight.
Cao Yi opened the door, only to find a cardboard box placed against the wall beside the door.
Recipient: Cao *.
Phone number: 138****1188.
It really was his delivery...
But why was there no sender information?
Curious, Cao Yi picked up the box and returned to his bedroom.
He carefully examined the delivery slip. Damn... what kind of courier is this Headwind Express?!
Does this courier company even exist?
Cao Yi pondered for a moment, picked up a box cutter, and opened the cardboard box.
Inside was a completely black "motorcycle helmet," with a user manual pressed underneath it.
A motorcycle helmet, and it needs a user manual?
Three question marks floated above Cao Yi's head.
Was this a gift secretly sent by one of his "Lady Bosses"?
But which "Lady Boss" could it be...
Cao Yi had too many "Lady Bosses," making it difficult to pinpoint the exact one.
Don't get the wrong idea, Cao Yi isn't the kind of person you might imagine.
Cao Yi is a game booster, occasionally taking on "regulars" for companionship.
So receiving "Lady Boss" gifts every now and then is perfectly normal.
"What brand is this helmet?"
The all-black motorcycle helmet had a futuristic tech look.
It felt substantial in his hands.
Although the helmet's surface had no logo, Cao Yi could tell it wasn't cheap the moment he held it.
He thoroughly inspected the helmet inside and out, confirming it was harmless and not a prank.
It seemed to be a surprise gift from one of the "Lady Bosses."
Did they know his birthday was coming up?
Cao Yi skillfully opened the helmet visor and put it on.
Comfortable, snug, breathable.
It lacked the heaviness or stuffiness he imagined.
The wearing experience was even better than the motorcycle helmet he had spent seven thousand bucks on.
Damn... this thing must be quite expensive, right?
Cao Yi only sells his skills, not his body...
But if it were a "Lady Boss" who was wealthy, beautiful, and had a great figure, Cao Yi thought it might not be impossible.
The condition was not to force him to post on social media.
"Click."
Cao Yi snapped the visor shut, stood up, and moved around, feeling good.
Suddenly, a "buzz" sounded in his ears.
It was as if a white line flashed across the helmet visor like lightning.
In the next moment, a holographic image enveloped him, completely engulfing Cao Yi.
[Congratulations, you have won a game pass for "Land of Divine Descent."]
[Do you confirm to claim the game pass?]
[Yes/No.]
The cold mechanical voice echoed in Cao Yi's ears, leaving him utterly stunned.
Before him was a mysterious space, dark as a black hole.
Three lines of text appeared on a massive, illusory light screen.
"......"
Cao Yi was dumbfounded for a full minute before he finally came to his senses.
Where the hell am I?!
Land of Divine Descent?
Game pass?
What does this all mean...
However, these two keywords did remind Cao Yi of something.
Yesterday, or maybe the day before, an ad popped up in the bottom right corner of his computer.
He had no idea which software pushed the ad.
Cao Yi didn't look closely, intending to "×" it out directly.
But unexpectedly, the "×" in the top right corner wasn't a real "×," the transparent and blurry "×" in the top left corner was the real one.
These pop-up ads were truly despicable.
Clicking the fake "×," Cao Yi grumbled as he closed the unknown webpage that had opened.
The information on that webpage was about "Land of Divine Descent"!
"Is anyone there?"
"Hello?"
The mysterious space was empty.
Except for the massive, illusory light screen.
No matter where Cao Yi moved, the screen followed him.
The damn "motorcycle helmet" that brought him to this mysterious space was nowhere to be found.
"I can't leave unless I choose, right?"
Faced with such a bizarre situation, Cao Yi naturally wanted to refuse.
But upon closer inspection of the screen, Cao Yi almost lost his temper.
The [No] option was grayed out!
So Cao Yi could only choose [Yes].
When people are speechless, they usually chuckle.
With no other choice, Cao Yi punched the [Yes] option on the illusory light screen.
With a "boom," the screen shattered into countless specks.
These specks transformed into flames, burning fiercely.
[Thank you for your choice, enjoy the game...]
Did I even have a choice...?
The mysterious space was consumed by flames, replaced by sky and earth.
Cao Yi saw two suns hanging high in the sky!
One sun shone brilliantly like gold.
The other sun burned fiercely like magma.
Light and darkness alternated, time sped forward.
In just a few breaths, night covered the day.
Seven moons hung high in the night sky, emitting different glows, the night scene was breathtaking.
At the edge of Cao Yi's vision, a majestic mountain range appeared.
In the next instant, the earth shook!
The mountain range "came to life," transforming into a towering stone giant, roaring loudly.
Sound waves swept through, rivers flowed backward.
Cao Yi was utterly shocked by the scene before him.
He felt himself being tossed into the air by the shockwave, but it seemed that he had no "physical form" now, so he wasn't harmed.
This feeling... was like watching a "holographic" movie.
Flames swept past Cao Yi.
It was a flame demon, its entire body ablaze, forged from magma.
The flame demon and the mountain giant clashed fiercely.
Boulders the size of hilltops, wrapped in flames, flew in all directions.
Cao Yi saw more beings that seemed godlike.
A twelve-winged archangel wielding a golden holy sword, bathed in holy light.
Elves riding the wild wind.
Sky knights wrapped in blazing lightning.
...
Light and darkness alternated, everything vanished.
[Player data loading... Player data loaded successfully.]
[Welcome to the Land of Divine Descent!]
The cold mechanical voice sounded in Cao Yi's ears, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
A dim space, an old ceiling.
The unfriendly smell of body odor, the sound of snoring rising and falling, all hit Cao Yi at once.
Cao Yi incredulously sat up.
He was on a large shared bed, with about ten "roommates" sleeping on either side.
Not far to the right of the shared bed was a yellowed squat toilet and a sink.
Cao Yi looked down, examining himself.
Gray coarse cotton short-sleeved shirt and shorts, looking very much like "prison clothes."
Is this damn place a prison?
Before Cao Yi could think further, a needle-like pain surged into his mind like a tide.
Cao Yi groaned, clutching his head, painfully curling back onto the bed.
Scene after scene of unfamiliar yet familiar images pieced together in Cao Yi's mind.
Cao Yi felt he suddenly had many "memories."
He was still "Cao Yi," but not the Cao Yi from Azure Star.
This was the world of "Land of Divine Descent."
Tiannan Great State... Yunhai Province... Zhuohong City...
[Player Interface loading... Player Interface loaded successfully.]
In a daze, Cao Yi heard that damn mechanical prompt again.
[Nickname: Unnamed (please name soon)]
(Note: The game nickname is only displayed to other players and will not affect the natives of "Land of Divine Descent.")
[Race: Human]
[Main Profession: None]
[Sub Profession: None]
[Energy Level Stage: /]
[Status:
Surface Life Status 100%, Core Life Status 100%;
Surface Stamina Status 90%, Core Stamina Status 95%;
Surface Mental Status 75%, Core Mental Status 80%;...]
[Skills: None]
[Items: None]
[...]
[Chaos Value: 80]
(Note: Do not let your Chaos Value get too high, but also do not let it get too low!)
[Overall Evaluation: Trash]
Cao Yi: "..."
You're the trash, your whole family is trash!
The strong urge to complain brought Cao Yi back to his senses, even alleviating the stabbing pain in his head.
Player Interface?
Is this a game?
Are you kidding... how could such black technology exist on Azure Star?
And what about those inexplicable memories?
Transcending into a game world?
Cao Yi instinctively waved his hand, but found the Player Interface wasn't in front of him, it was in his mind.
The left side of the Player Interface had lines of text, recording some basic information.
The top right corner was a full-body handsome photo of Cao Yi.
With defined features, fair skin, a bit handsome.
It was precisely because of this handsome face that Cao Yi gained the favor of many "Lady Bosses."
Standing at 1.78 meters, neither too tall nor too short, neither too fat nor too thin.
But this gray prison uniform "set" was rather glaring.
In the bottom right corner of the Player Interface was a glaring "Exit Game" button.
Huh?
Is this really a game?
Can I log out?
Cao Yi looked bewildered.
[Do you want to exit the game?]
"Yes!"
[Regarding exiting the game, there are four friendly reminders:
1. Players cannot exit the game while in combat;
2. Players cannot exit the game if noticed by natives;
3. After a normal game exit, the game character and their belongings will disappear from the "Land of Divine Descent" world.
4. It is recommended to exit the game in a relatively safe and private space.]
[The player will exit the game in a five-second countdown, enjoy the game...]
The countdown ended, and Cao Yi's vision went black.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself wearing the "motorcycle helmet," sitting comfortably in his gaming chair.
No way, I really logged out?
Every step of the process was completely unexpected for Cao Yi.
He had been prepared for a "Sword Art Online" scenario.
But then he logged out...
Is this for real?
Being able to exit a game should be a very normal thing.
But because it was so normal, it seemed abnormal!
Isn't this supposed to be a story about "transcending into a game world, becoming an NPC, summoning the Fourth Calamity, and further dominating the game world"?
Apparently not.