novelraw Chapter 25 Closed Beta Begins
Chapter 25 Closed Beta Begins
"Buzz..."
With a slight depressurization sound and a familiar mechanical sliding noise, the milky white nutrient solution quickly settled, revealing the smooth alloy hatch above.
Click.
The precise hatch latches were released, and the heavy hatch silently slid open to one side along the rails.
The soft, yet gentle, simulated morning light shines on your face.
Clean, slightly cool air rushed into the cabin, instantly awakening Chen Huai's senses.
He took a deep breath and immediately felt refreshed.
"call……"
I glanced at the analog clock on the wall; it was exactly seven o'clock.
It's a healthy wake-up time, right? But he didn't go to sleep until after 2 a.m. last night.
Although he doesn't have a room in the Hibernation Hall, he has a separate hibernation pod in the administrator's exclusive living area. This pod, which looks and is constructed very similarly to a game pod, is not only a cryogenic chamber used to traverse long periods of time, but also a top-level rest unit built upon the pinnacle of pre-war technology.
With gentle nutrient solution and deep neuromodulation, a short four or five hours of sleep is far more effective than eight or nine hours of normal sleep outside.
This gave him a feeling of being out of place in time and space.
The core technology of expensive gaming pods in the real world seems to have originated from this.
I don't know if the company used Gaia's design, or if Gaia simply took a shortcut and generated it based on the company's game pod.
After getting out of the hibernation pod, Chen Huai skillfully picked up the nutritional paste on the table and started eating breakfast.
He has been in this dungeon for three days, and today is the fourth day, which is the day players log in.
He didn't waste these three days. Relying on the information access provided by Gaia and his deep understanding of the game's underlying logic as a senior planner, he absorbed everything about Dungeon No. 57 like a dried-up sponge, and had basically figured out the ins and outs of the dungeon.
He now has Level 1 management authority over the underground city, which is the management authority of the first floor.
This area, serving as the entrance layer to the surface, contains a vast ecological agricultural zone, a processing and synthesis zone, a control center, a hibernation hall, and the core management area where he resides. He has thoroughly understood its layout, functions, and operational processes.
He delved into Gaia's vast database: resource reserves, defense systems, and system logs.
He even combined his knowledge of the wasteland from the Wild Grass Camp with his previous understanding of the game's mechanics, and with Gaia's assistance, he drafted a preliminary "Initial Construction Outline for Returning to the Surface"—which included base location selection, resource collection priorities, defensive fortification construction sequence, and interaction strategies with possible native inhabitants, among other things.
Who would have thought that even after he traveled into the game, he could still go back to his old profession?
"In three hours, this place will no longer belong to me alone."
Although he had only been here for a few days, he felt as if he had been out of touch with the real world for a long time, and he was quite excited to see the real players again.
Even if he can never go back, it's much better for a large number of players to come to the game world than for him to stay alone in the wasteland.
He stepped into the shower, where warm water washed over his body, bringing a real sense of comfort.
The wasteland has water that is even cleaner than drinking water, so you can even take a luxurious bath here.
He changed into the blue combat uniform that Gaia had provided him as a manager.
Chen Huai straightened his collar in front of the mirror-smooth metal wall and looked at himself in the mirror.
Deep within his eyes remained a trace of wariness about the unknown fate and a deep-seated confusion, but more than that, there was a calm that had settled down after being cornered, and... a subtle, indescribable sense of excitement.
The countdown timer for activating the hibernation pods in the control hall kept ticking.
With one minute left on the countdown, Chen Huai arrived at the Hibernation Hall ahead of time, waiting for his little players to arrive.
00:00:03、00:00:02、00:00:01……
"Buzz..."
As the numbers all dropped to zero, Chen Huai clearly heard a familiar sound coming from the room—the hibernation pod was depressurizing. Then…
Holy crap!
【The Fisherman Never Goes Sick】Up from his hibernation pod, he couldn't resist giving the world a friendly greeting.
He grabbed a handful of the nutrient solution beneath him in a daze, but the sensation from his fingertips made him recoil as if electrocuted.
"This feels...exactly the same as the real thing?!"
He stumbled out of the hibernation pod, and the moment his bare feet touched the metal floor, he felt a shiver run through him—the cold metallic sensation shot straight up his head from the soles of his feet.
This wasn't his first time playing virtual reality games, but it was the first time he'd seen something so realistic. If it weren't for the unusual environment outside the cabin, he would have thought he was still at home.
Especially after taking a deep breath, he was able to distinguish such a distinct scent for the first time in the game.
Just as he was marveling at the game's realism, a commotion broke out outside.
"Holy crap! You can take these clothes off?!"
Suddenly, Mr. Wang, the general manager of AAA Building Materials Wholesale, came running out of the room with a strange cry, taking off his clothes, pants, underwear, etc. as he ran.
Fortunately, his remaining rationality allowed him to retain his last shred of dignity amidst his agitation, preventing him from becoming the biggest laughingstock of "Reboot" for the next few years.
Because the moment he pulled it open, he actually saw something.
To onlookers, all they saw was a thug with his clothes hanging around his neck, his pants pulled down to his ankles, one hand still clutching the seam of his underwear, looking down as he rushed out of the room, revealing his lean waist and thighs.
[Cai Timo's Little Mushroom], who had just stepped out of the hatch, screamed and covered her eyes, but secretly peeked through her fingers:
"Damn it! Doesn't this crappy game have a censorship system?!"
The guy who was standing not far away, nicknamed "The Irritable Old Man Is Waiting Online," immediately lit up when he heard this. He bent down and started pulling at his belt, muttering to himself:
"I'll see just how realistic it can be..."
Then the players were all shocked.
Although it's just a closed beta test, how did this kind of content pass the review? The game company is incredibly powerful; they have connections everywhere.
The entire hibernation hall instantly erupted in chaos! Exclamations, whistles, exaggerated gasps, and screams filled the air.
As expected, the "pants-dropping party" is an obsession that the Second World cannot avoid.
However, such gentlemen (perverts) are still in the minority; most players' attention is focused on their game characters at this moment.
"Holy crap! Where's the character creation system? Where's the character editor?"
A player with the ID "Gardening Master" stared at his reflection in the smooth, mirror-like metal hatch, pinched his unremarkable, middle-aged face—the kind of face you'd easily lose in a crowd—and said with obvious disappointment:
"This character looks way too generic! Wasn't it supposed to have maximum freedom of choice? We can't even choose a hairstyle at the start? That's outrageous!"
After they logged into the game, there wasn't a single selection page; they were immediately in the hibernation pod when they opened their eyes. He had a bad feeling, and sure enough, it was.
Although gender has never been freely chosen due to ethical concerns and to avoid confusion in reality, character customization (like sculpting a face) is generally still possible.
The gardening master sighed and rubbed his short hair:
"At least give them a chance for minor adjustments, what if someone looks... well, rather distinctive in real life and wants to gain some confidence in the game?"
His words elicited nods of agreement from several players around him.
"What are your professions?"
A tall, slender female player named [Iceblade] glanced at him, seemingly quite pleased with her current character appearance, and had no intention of continuing the topic. Instead, she asked a question.
"【Producer】, I filled in the gardener direction for my application, and I also wrote planting as my skill.
[Gardening Master] looked at his job panel, nodded, and was fairly satisfied with his job.
Before the game was launched, the official game team sent them a survey, asking them to fill in their real-life skills and career paths, as well as their preferences for the game character's class.
It seems that the chart represents career choices.
As expected, this statement was echoed by most players.
"Mine is fine! It's a [producer] too! Haha, Old Zhang the farmer is back in his place!"
[Farming Old Zhang] looked at his panel with a smile. The exclusive skills [Basic Planting], [Basic Soil Improvement], and [Basic Tool Use] made him feel very familiar with them.
The "Carb Godfather" nodded in satisfaction.
"【Builder】That's a perfect fit! Hehe, I do construction in real life, and infrastructure building in the game, it's a perfect match!"
He rubbed his hands together, already fantasizing about how to build a gourmet fortress in the wasteland.
However, while most players' classes meet their expectations, not everyone is so lucky.
At the edge of the crowd, a tall player was staring at the attribute panel in front of him, his brows furrowed.
It was none other than the PVP master who spoke on the forum before – [Full of Stars].
His panel prominently displays the professional logo of "Pioneer".
The initial skills listed below are completely contrary to his expectations in the questionnaire he filled out:
[Basic Combat Mastery], [Basic Weapon Maintenance], [Introduction to High-Risk Environment Exploration], [Trap Setting]... each item points to the direction of combat and adventure.
"What the hell?! My ideal job was definitely a farmer!?"