Volume 1 Chapter 1: A Twist and Turn
On June 1, 2045, I braved the scorching sun and waited in line for more than 6 hours in front of the endless queue in front of the New Times Building in the center of Shanghai. Looking back, it seems that I only suffered this kind of hardship during the military training in college? Although I consumed two bottles of mineral water per hour, the amount of sweat evaporated was still greater than the water I replenished, so I only went to the toilet once from morning to now. But fortunately, I queued with Awei, who is my college classmate and best friend. The two of us chatted and talked nonsense, and it didn't feel so boring, otherwise I really don't know if I could have persisted until now.
Finally, as the crowd slowly moved, Ah Wei in front of me stood in front of the service counter. He took an envelope from the window, and his horse face suddenly became very happy. He greeted me with a smile: "Come on, Big Shrimp (my nickname in college), it's your turn."
I took a step forward excitedly. The waitress smiled professionally and said sweetly, "Sorry, sir, the 100,000 game accounts issued in this city for the public beta of 'Zero Degree Fantasy' have been sent out. If you need an account, please wait for the second batch of accounts to be issued in three days."
$##&%$! I am speechless and ask the heavens!
Is it easy for me? This New Era Group, acting like a millionaire, said that in order to ensure that the first people to enter Zero Degree Fantasy are real gamers with a spirit of perseverance, the first batch of 5 million public beta accounts will not be registered online, but will be distributed in proportion in cities around the world, and players can go to designated locations to buy them. The price of each account is as high as 100 yuan! As a game developer and operator, the headquarters of New Era Group is located in Shanghai, and the largest number of accounts was allocated, 100,000. I had expected that the supply would exceed the demand, so I ran to line up early in the morning, but I didn't expect that one step away...
Why is Zero Fantasy so popular? In fact, in terms of the game itself, although Zero Fantasy is a world-class company, New Era Group, with a large investment and production, the game content is exciting and the pictures are exquisite and gorgeous, but in this era of rampant online games, it is impossible for it to be so popular among players. Its real advantage is a revolutionary technology launched by New Era Group - a simulated virtual helmet. Unlike the past ecological warehouse that connects biological electrodes to human nerves, it directly stimulates brain waves and easily reaches the realm of virtual reality. In this way, the ecological warehouse that only the rich could afford in the past was replaced by a virtual helmet that costs less than one thousandth of the price, allowing ordinary people to have the opportunity to experience the wonderful taste of virtual simulation games. Based on this, New Era Group was rated as the most popular company in 2045, and its stock price rose for three consecutive months!
However, I was unable to enter the public beta test in the first place! As a veteran with many years of online gaming experience and having participated in the three-month internal test of Zero Degree Fantasy, I know how important the "first-mover advantage" is. Now I have to lose at least three days! For me, who failed to find a good job after graduating from college and was angry about becoming a professional gamer, not being able to grasp such a "money-making" game is really a huge blow!
Ah Wei looked at me standing there without any reaction, and said with sympathy: "I can't help you, big prawn, you should just wait for three days, then come to me, I will help you level up, haha..."
Damn, this guy actually dared to laugh at me. Damn, we played games together during college, and because I was naturally smart and good at studying, I was always a little bit better than him, so he had no choice but to accept his fate as a younger brother, following behind me to gain experience, and wearing my discarded equipment to show off and trick girls everywhere. Now that he has caught such an opportunity to surpass me, shouldn't he be so proud?
"Hehe, then I'll need Wei Ge to take good care of me from now on, little brother?"
"Yeah, don't worry, big brother will definitely protect you, hahahaha..."
"Then, the secret leveling sites, the time and location of the boss spawning, the triggering and completion methods of the hidden tasks will all depend on you, Wei Ge, to explore more in these three days. Let me share some of your experience when the time comes!"
"Ah! Stop it..." Ah Wei screamed immediately: "Da Xia, you will always be my big brother. My respect for you is like a surging river... (N hundred words omitted) If the account and ID number were not already bound together, I would not mind giving this account to you. Big brother, please do not be stingy with your internal testing experience!"
Humph, you are still a little naive to fight with me!
Talking and laughing all the way, A Wei and I left the service desk. My depressed mood also improved a little. Well, isn't it just three days? With the game experience I accumulated in the internal test, I still have a great advantage over ordinary players. I believe that I can make up for the time lost in a few days. However, I am afraid that my original dream of becoming the best player of Zero Degree Fantasy will be in vain. After all, there are more than 100,000 players who have participated in the internal test, and most of them are game veterans. Most of them must have obtained the first batch of public beta accounts. They can make full use of this advantage. I think it will be very difficult to catch up and surpass them.
Just as we were about to step out of the door of the New Era Building, I looked back inadvertently. As the accounts had been sold out, the originally orderly long queue dispersed in twos and threes amid curses. My eyes were able to pass through the hall and fell on the elevator door, where I happened to see a short and fat old man walking out of the elevator accompanied by two young men.
It's him! I hurriedly said hello to A Wei, "Wait for me for a moment, I'll go and see if I can get the account!" Then I turned around and ran towards the old man.
Before I ran to the old man, the two men beside him stepped forward and blocked the old man behind them, with a wary look on their faces. They seemed to be bodyguards. Hehe, no wonder they were so nervous. This old man was the CEO of New Era Group and the chief engineer responsible for the development of "Zero Fantasy", Li Zhaohui! His identity was not made public. The reason why I knew it was because I completed a perverted hidden task during the internal test: Find a complete set of autographed photos of the core members of the Zero Fantasy development team!
"Hello, Mr. Li! Do you remember me? I'm the Bloody Sky who discovered the equipment bug!" Seeing the two bodyguards' unfriendly faces, I quickly revealed my identity to the old man.
"Haha, Bloody Sky is you? The equipment bug is so hidden that even hardcore players find it difficult to discover it. Thank you so much. Otherwise, if it was exposed during the official operation, our company would suffer a great loss."
"Haha, I discovered it by accident. Mr. Li, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"Why? Are you willing to work in our company?"
During the internal test, I found a bug that could turn ordinary equipment into special equipment, and reported it to the GM. For this, Mr. Li contacted me online to express his gratitude. After learning that I was a recent college graduate, he asked me if I was willing to work for New Era Group. But the game Zero Degree Fantasy was very attractive to me. Once you become an employee of New Era, you are prohibited from participating in the game to ensure its fairness. At that time, I had decided to become a professional player, so I declined Mr. Li's invitation.
"No, Mr. Li, Fantasy Zero is a very exciting game. I really can't bear to give it up, so I appreciate your kindness. But I didn't get the public beta account today..." I repeated my situation.
"Oh, so that's the case... Well, this is not easy to do. After the first batch of 5 million accounts were released, the server database has been fixed and will be launched soon. It is impossible to put another account in specifically..." Li Zhaohui frowned.
"Ah? Then...then I won't bother Mr. Li. I'll just wait for the second batch of accounts in three days." Having said that, I couldn't hide the disappointment in my tone.
"I'm really sorry. Actually, you internal test players have contributed to the improvement of the game, and you should be given a public test account as compensation. However, Fantasy Zero made major changes before the public test, and the database was cleared and rebuilt, and the ID information of the internal test players was also deleted."
"It's okay, Mr. Li. I'll be able to play in three days anyway. Sorry to bother you. I'll take my leave now."
"Wait!" Li Zhaohui stopped me. "If it's just one account, I still have a way. Do you have your ID card with you?"
Did I hear it right? Suppressing the ecstasy in my heart, I handed over my ID card with trembling hands.
"A Qiang, go change the user name of the account I kept to this friend's ID number." Mr. Li handed my ID card to a man next to him.
"Sir, that lady..." The man was very hesitant.
"It's okay, just go when I tell you to." Under the pressure of the president, the man had to go to do his job reluctantly.
Sweat… From their tone, it seems that the account that Mr. Li is going to give me has been bound to an identity, that is, it has an owner. Because the game coins in Zero Degree Fantasy can be exchanged for real money, which may involve huge amounts of money, so in order to prevent account theft, identity binding has been done. To change the identity of the owner, you need a very high authority, that is, Mr. Li, the boss of New Era Group. And fortunately, the game is not open yet. Once the registration is completed and the identity is locked, only the national legal authorities can change the identity… I didn’t expect that the Zero Degree Fantasy account is so tight that even Mr. Li has no blank accounts!
"This... is too much trouble for Mr. Li. I'd better not count it. Someone else has already reserved the account..." Although I wanted the account desperately, I also knew that this would make it very difficult for Mr. Li.
"Haha, you don't have to be so polite. Although away, that girl is actually a rookie. It would be a waste to give her the first batch of public beta accounts. It would only be a good match for an experienced player like you! Consider it my reward for discovering the bug."
"Then...thank you so much, Mr. Li!"
"Young man, you don't need to thank me. If you really want to thank me, please give us more suggestions for our game! A perfect game requires the joint efforts of the company and the players!"
As I was speaking, the man who had gone to process the paperwork for me came back and returned my ID card and an envelope to me.
"Okay, young man, the game is about to be released, and I still have to check the preparations. You should also make preparations and enter the game happily. Work hard and don't waste this account. I am optimistic about you and look forward to your success in the game!" Mr. Li said goodbye to me and pointed meaningfully at the envelope in my hand.
What does "keep an eye on me" mean? Mr. Li had already left, and I was still in a daze in the hall. It wasn't until Ah Wei came to me and slapped me on the shoulder that I came to my senses.
"Let's go home and buy some ammunition from the supermarket to prepare for battle!" I excitedly waved the envelope in my hand to Awei.
"Ah my! A big shot is a big shot. Did you really get the account? My admiration for you is like..." Before he finished speaking, I kicked him out of the hall with a shadowless kick. How could I have such a brother!
