Probably because Lin Tuo's attitude was too calm, and the contrast with the surrounding environment was huge, and the owner of the Internet café stayed for a few seconds before he finally reacted and looked at him curiously.

Smiled: "Congratulations." ”

According to the rules, since Lin Tuo is the first to clear the level, the challenge will also have a champion.

Well, as for the second and third places, they still need to continue to compete, and they are all rewarded, but that's not what he cares about.

After a while, amid the shouts of the owner of the Internet café, the rest of the people returned to their respective seats, and Lin Tuo was taken up to the second floor to receive the prize.

It was only then that he could see the situation on the second floor......

Separate compartments, with cables hanging from the roof.

There are no screens, and there are some people standing in the cubicles at this moment, wearing helmet-like brains, with sensor equipment fixed to their bodies, and making all kinds of strange movements with their eyes closed......

Walking in place, chopping, rolling or something...... When Lin Tuo entered the door, he saw a player rolling on the ground, pouting his ass and calling for a hero to spare his life......

It looks like a sand sculpture......

"This is the newly opened virtual game area," the owner of the Internet café said with a smile, "Our side is still too biased, otherwise we would have already been equipped with a machine."

If it weren't for the fact that "The Third Continent" was too popular this time, it wouldn't have been renovated so quickly. ”

Third Continent ...... This is the Nth time he has heard this name, and it is also the first stop of his investigation.

Lin Tuo looked around with interest and asked tentatively:

"I see an ad that says this game is ...... tens of millions of people online"

"Hey, how can there be so many people...... Well, but I'm really not sure in the past two days," the owner of the Internet café smacked his lips, "I heard that this game has become more and more popular in the past two days."

Anyone who can afford basic equipment is at least registered.

In particular, this game is very sticky, and almost everyone who has played it can't do without ......"

"What about cyber syndrome?"

"That's not it, don't you listen to nonsense on the news, how can you feel unwell if you don't go online? If this game had to have this magic, the government would have shut it down a long time ago. ”

After arguing, the middle-aged man pointed to No. 1 VIP area on the second floor, took out a card from his pocket, and said with a smile:

"That's it, get on the machine with a card, this thing is precious, I'm willing to buy one, it's much stronger than the one outside, just lie down."

"Okay." Lin Tuo took it, said a few more greetings, and waited for the owner of the Internet café to go downstairs before he pushed open the box door.

……

The lights come on automatically, and there is only a sofa-like game compartment inside, and there are usage tips posted on the wall next to it.

Lin Tuo didn't hesitate, he immediately lay down and closed all the parts, not to mention, it was quite comfortable to lie down.

At this time, he couldn't help but be a little more curious about the so-called "virtual space".

Closed his eyes, fumbled for the switch, pressed it, the green light lit up, and in the next second, a slight aether fluctuation emerged, and Lin Tuo only felt that a line of small words suddenly lit up in the consciousness space:

"Device Startup ......"

"The organism is sensed, it is automatically connected, and the connection is complete."

Immediately, a system interface suddenly appeared in his field of vision.

It's rudimentary.

Only the Internet café system and a "browser" are installed.

Ignoring the former, Lin Tuo skillfully opened the "Browser" icon with his mind, and an input box popped up:

"Please enter the link address."

When he consulted materials in the library before, Lin Tuo focused on understanding and knew that the so-called "virtual space" was not a real virtual world.

The technology of this era has not yet developed to that level.

It's a small space.

Each space has a separate "address" that can be accessed through a browser.

For example, some large companies rent servers, open a separate virtual meeting room, and then give employees the address and password so that they can access it.

This makes it possible to have a pleasant after-hours meeting......

Similar applications are widespread.

The Third Continent is a game based on a similar principle, but it goes deeper, and players need to log in to the "main city" space first.

Then, based on the teleportation arrays distributed in the "main city", enter other small dungeon spaces to do tasks, fight monsters, clear customs, player PK, etc., and earn experience and game currency.

While thinking, Lin Tuo had already entered a line of "URL" through his mind and clicked to confirm.

"Logging in to ......"

"Login successful!"

As the words appeared, Lin Tuo saw a cloud of light suddenly appear in the darkness, and then drowned the entire consciousness.

After a few seconds, the light slowly dissipated, and Lin Tuo found himself in a blank world full of clouds fluttering.

Well, it feels similar to "phantom space".

As he entered, an interface similar to a "virtual panel" suddenly appeared in front of him, as well as a messy event advertising page, and on the right was the login screen.

Select Create Account...... There was no real-name verification here, and it took two minutes to complete a series of steps and skip the animation.

The character image is too lazy to adjust, and directly chooses the "original appearance", and the nickname is even lazier, and directly clicks on the system-generated ...... He just came in and had a look anyway.

In the end, the new area was chosen that had not yet been "full".

In the next second, the clouds rolled up, and a small door appeared in front of them.

Follow the prompts, hold the doorknob, slowly push it open, and walk in.

Suddenly, Lin Tuo appeared in a bustling city.

……

……

"Whew~"

With the breeze blowing on your face, everything around you becomes clear, and this is a slightly magical city, full of exaggerated and radiant buildings.

At the foot is a landing entrance in the shape of a magic array.

At this moment, turning his head to look, he could see people in different clothes appearing out of thin air, and then they were busy walking towards the distance.

There are also some "new players" like themselves, wearing novice clothes, who are looking around blankly, and in the sky, a colorful floating boat flies by.

There are also strangely dressed NPCs playing violins by the nearby pool, and the sound of the piano is melodious.

"It's online, I just got off work."

"Hey, hey, I've arrived, go to the main city statue to meet, and I have to save all the materials if I say anything today."

"I forgot to get my level package!"

Around, some players wearing various equipment, carrying swords or staffs are walking and talking to the air, presumably contacting their teammates in the open mic.

I didn't see the blood bar mana bar or anything...... It's probably hidden by default in the main city, after all, it's forbidden to fight here.

Lin Tuo, as a whiteboard account, is still level zero, and he only has a set of whiteboard clothes and a novice sword on his body: "Familiarize yourself with the environment first?" I haven't seen a newbie guide or anything......"

Although the initial lockdown of the "crisis" may be related to this game, Lin Tuo has no idea of investigation when he first enters this place.

Retracting his gaze, he was puzzled, when he suddenly heard a familiar and unfamiliar voice behind him:

"Dear player, 'It's too hard to code'...... Welcome to the Third Continent, I am your exclusive advisor 'Anne. Hathaway', it's a pleasure to serve you. ”

Lin Tuo turned around suddenly, and saw a female figure floating behind him:

She has the typical features of the Northern Continent, wearing a crimson robe and a crown of pure white flowers,...... He held a delicate staff in his hand and had a magical aura on his body.

At the moment, he is staring at it with smiling eyes.

Almost the same as the Grand Imam of Winton...... Apart from...... The body is only the size of a palm, with two pairs of round wings on the back, and the face and body painting style are obviously cute......

"Uh......" Lin Tuo was silent for a while.

finally looked at this Hathaway with a bloody face with strange eyes, and was at a loss in his heart:

"It's ...... What's the situation? ”

……

……

It was also a little earlier when Lin Tuo entered the game.

Shelter.

In the inner ring, or the second ring to be precise, a huge building full of design beauty shines brightly under the virtual sun.

As the headquarters of the developers of The Third Continent, it is always optimally lit during the full 12 hours of daylight.

So that the internal staff is always in a state of excitement.

However, at this moment, the building is full of solemn atmosphere.

On the 10th floor, in a large conference room.

On either side of the long table, almost all the heads of the various departments of the "Third Continent" project were present, and the screen in front of everyone displayed the same document.

It was a notice from the Central Committee that the game must be shut down by this evening, and the scarlet seal on it was particularly glaring.

“…… Is there really no way?

Our game has just surpassed the peak number of people online, and the daily turnover is the highest ever......

The publicity funds have been withdrawn, but the game development costs have not been wiped out, and the loss of the shutdown at this time will be incalculable......"

One said with a pale face.

was forced back by the murderous gaze of the company boss:

"You think I'd like to see that?

What can I do?

What can I do if you can't solve the problems you have made yourself?!

At the beginning of the problem, I asked you to check yourself, and what was the result? How did you tell me? Later, it made a big fuss and alarmed the Central Committee, and I tried to fight for two weeks, but what was the result?

Is the problem solved?

What's all about 'cyber sickness'?

What else would you say other than 'technical issues'? Two weeks on, the situation is getting worse and worse, and the number of people who can't get out of the virtual network is getting more and more!

All the clues point to "The Third Continent", don't you wait for the government to arrest people?! ”

The middle-aged man sitting at the top of the house roared almost like a roar.

Voices echoed in the room, but no one dared to look at each other.

Everyone understands that things are irreversible.

The number of people affected by "cyber syndrome" is increasing, and all patients point to the hottest game in the company's entire shelter history.

At first, it could be explained by "Internet addiction", but later, the situation became more and more wrong, and the technical department worked overtime and tried all kinds of ways to detect it, but it was never able to find a problem.

As public opinion gradually spread, the company finally couldn't resist the pressure, even if it faced huge losses, even if the hard work of thousands of people in the entire department was in vain, it could only choose to shut down the server.

In the silent atmosphere, the middle-aged man leaned back in his chair in despair, sighed, and said:

"Go ahead, there's still a few hours left before the deadline, we need to hurry."

As the hottest game in the entire shelter, the currency, equipment, accounts, etc. in it are not worthless, and a sudden closure will definitely cause a big mess.

It is necessary to do a good job of data backup and preservation, as well as deal with subsequent rip-offs.

“…… Be. ”

In silence, a department leader got up and left with a heavy heart, and after a while, only middle-aged people were left in the entire office.

Sit quietly in a chair and look out the window at the brilliant sun.

……

Five minutes later.

In the building's development center, the engineers who had received the final order returned to their workstations with a heavy heart and began to follow the plan that had been prepared long ago.

Open the background to migrate and save data.

And send an "email" that has been prepared to each player's mailbox through the system background.

It was due to technical problems and maintenance, and the announcement of the offline time was notified in advance.

However, what no one knows is that when a large number of in-game online players open their mailboxes and click on the "little red dot", they only see a blank space.

……

……

At the same time, the new district, within the main city.

When Lin Tuo closed the blank email suspiciously, and looked at the "Hathaway" who was following him, he found that there was a momentary lag on the chubby face of this cute "consultant".

"What's wrong?" Lin Tuo asked.

"Nothing, ah, do you need me to continue explaining the game to you?"