As the sky darkens, towering buildings cast dark shadows over the streets. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

The soft light that shines through the door illuminates the large sign of "Midnight Restaurant".

Today, as usual, there is only one customer in the restaurant.

The young man with a somewhat cold expression sat by the door, and under his short thin hair, a pair of blank eyes appeared, staring at the vegetable platter on the table in front of him, which was obviously too brightly colored.

There was a sweet smell wafting through the room, left over from the strawberry ice cream dessert just now. As for the sound of clattering dishes and chopsticks from behind the counter, it was naturally made by the stupid chef.

- This guy hasn't learned how to cook yet......

Realizing that the food shouldn't taste much better, he put down the chopsticks in his hand and looked up at the holographic projection screen on the opposite wall.

On that screen, the rotating earth is displayed, and the exact time in this time zone:

July 1, 2035, 20:31. Haze, acid rain.

Looking at the weather forecast that followed the time, the young man sighed. Even if you're used to heavy pollution, acid rain isn't good news.

In this era, most people's meals are cooked by housekeeping robots, and a few people retain the habit of ordering takeout, and people like him who eat in small restaurants have become completely "rare creatures".

In fact, he also has a housekeeping robot at home, and the reason why he chooses to eat at the restaurant downstairs is for other reasons:

――As a person who lives alone and is alone all year round, talking to other people occasionally helps to maintain mental health.

Although I communicate with my teammates in the virtual space every day, it is not the same as chatting in the real world.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but complain:

"It's a nuisance."

In the twenty-four years since he was born, this man named Lin Chi has always been synonymous with laziness.

Aside from being a "pro gamer" who didn't seem to be very glamorous in the eyes of the older generation, there seems to be nothing remarkable about his life.

A guy like him is basically a negative teaching material that relatives and friends often mention when educating children, and by the way, he will be labeled as "unproductive", "no future", "mixed eating and waiting to die" and so on.

Lin Chi knew that those guys who were prejudiced against the game would never be able to understand what they had done in the game. He has always cared about the opinions of others, and he has not bothered to explain, but continues to maintain the original rhythm of life and spend his days alone.

"How is today's dish......"

The faint female voice, as thin as a mosquito, interrupted Lin Chi's thoughts.

He turned his head to see a cute chef with a petite figure and a single ponytail, standing next to him and staring at him nervously, wearing a white apron over a gray coat, stained with colorful stains.

Seeing the girl's fair little face, with a nervous and slightly expectant expression, Lin Chi decisively chose to lie:

"Okay."

"Then why don't you eat it?" There was a hint of confusion in the girl's voice.

"I'm not really hungry today, I just want someone to talk to." Lin Chi continued to lie neatly, took out his mobile phone in his right hand to make an appointment with his housekeeping robot, and began to cook automatically.

"That's right." The girl seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, pulled over a chair and sat down beside Lin Chi, a faint flush appeared on her cheeks: "I can chat with you, it just so happens that there is nothing to do......"

"Hmm." Lin Chi nodded and responded casually: "Thank you." ”

Looking at the young girl sitting beside him, what came to his mind were burnt chicken wings, steak that was "tender on the outside and charred on the inside", and egg soup that was too much salt and could only be diluted with water.

――If she hadn't improved her cooking skills, no one would have come to eat at this restaurant, but if she did, there wouldn't be any new customers......

Thinking of this, Lin Chi couldn't help but start worrying about the girl's future. However, the other party was obviously optimistic, and just smiled and asked, "Did you play the game again today?" ”

"It's 'playing the game' thanks." Lin Chi corrected the girl's words, and then nodded: "It's still the same." ”

As a professional gamer and team leader, he spends at least ten hours a day in the game. Ten hours in the real world, of course.

The speed of time in an in-brain imaging game is not the same as in the real world, and the ratio is generally 10 to 1, and ten hours in the game is only equivalent to one hour in the real world.

Now, Lin Chi and his comrades-in-arms are training in a competitive game called "Sword Blade" to prepare for the upcoming arena competition with huge prizes in this game.

Although training was exhausting, Lin Chi knew that only by continuing to train and becoming familiar with tactics could he defeat those monster-level opponents.

In a sense, he's not lazy.

-- Lin Chi's laziness is mainly manifested in his body, and his thinking is much more active than that of ordinary people. Because of this, compared to this guy in the real world who is always unmotivated, he is simply like two people in the game.

While thinking about the formation strategy in the 5v5 battle, the girl asked again:

"That...... Does it hurt? ”

Hearing this, Lin Chi laughed: "What you say is easy to cause misunderstanding." ”

"Huh? Yes! I didn't mean that! The girl blushed and waved her hand in a panic: "I mean the back of the head intubation!" ”

"It's a 'brain-computer interface,' not a posterior intubation." Lin Chi explained helplessly: "And it doesn't hurt at all, don't worry." ”

As he spoke, he touched the round metal connector on the back of his head.

-- With the start of civilian use of brain-computer interface technology, which was originally used for military purposes, the first "brain imaging game console" was officially born five years ago, in 2030.

The shape of this device is similar to that of the holographic game warehouse in the past, but the configuration inside is very different.

When the "Brain Imaging Game" is activated, a long, thin metal probe inserts into a port in the back of the user's brain, providing the player with an unparalleled immersive experience by directly modifying the neural signals.

When this kind of game console came out, it was like a bombshell in the gaming world. To this day, there are still many gamers who refuse to use this type of gaming device, and still stick to old-fashioned VR games or antique on-screen display games.

After all, it's too "exciting" to have brain surgery specifically to play a game, and then to have to stick a long needle into your head every time you play a game.

But for Lin Chi, this kind of question is completely irrelevant:

Because, he is a "pioneer".

When brain-computer interface technology was first put into the market, only a very small number of fierce people dared to undergo brain surgery and installed an interface on the back of their brains, becoming the first players of intracerebral imaging games.

This initial group of players was called the "Pioneers" by later players.

Today, these pioneers have basically become either professional gamers or popular streamers, and they are all thriving.

A guy like Lin Chi, who has never shown his face and is only famous in the game, is rare in these years.

However, Lin Chi was actually not interested in those false names at all. After all, it is very troublesome to maintain popularity, and it is completely inconsistent with his character.

Moreover, there is actually another unknown reason why he chose to become a professional gamer-

"Well, my cousin is also playing the back-of-head intubation game, and he told me last time that something strange was happening." The girl's voice came.

"What's weird?" Lin Chi asked perfunctorily.

"He's been playing this game for a few years now. The other day, I suddenly told me that the NPC in a new game recently seems to have feelings......" The girl's tone was a little uncertain.

Hearing this, Lin Chi's eyes, which were originally a little godless, suddenly widened slightly, and he asked quickly, "How is he sure?" ”

"I don't remember exactly, he just said that one of the NPCs cried to him before he died, and it didn't look like an AI anyway." The girl added: "That game seems to be called war...... What is the war? ”

"War Paradise?" Lin Chi said.

"Yes, yes, this game seems to be very popular lately, and I often see ads." The girl kept nodding.

Hearing this, Lin Chi was silent for a moment, took out his mobile phone and scanned the code to pay for the meal, stood up and turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" The girl asked.

"I'm sorry, but the team suddenly has to train." He smiled back and walked briskly out of the main entrance of the restaurant, towards the staircase not far behind.

Lin Chi has always heard of the game "War Paradise", this game has only just been tested for a few days, and his team has no plans to enter this game for a while.

But now, it's time to give it a try.

Walking quickly into the high-speed elevator next to the stairwell, Lin Chi pressed the button on the 35th floor, looked down at the mobile phone screen, and the advertising email sent by the game's official:

Dear avid virtual gamers,

Tired of the cookie-cutter linear plot? Want to try a real sandbox game?

Tired of playing RPGs where you can only play one character? Want to lead your men in virtual reality and experience the thrill of commanding thousands of armies?

Welcome to the massive open-world killing game Paradise at War!

Here, NPCs are no longer vases that only repeat the same lines, but characters with "self-awareness" who can really interact with you.

Here, you will not be bound by boring quest chains, but can experience sandbox gameplay with a high degree of freedom.

Here, you don't have to stick to one character, but you can command an army and experience a gorgeous and massive crazy war.

Book an appointment now to qualify for the test.