Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Starlight City
Long Ming held the helmet and examined it. The shell was titanium alloy, smooth and solid to the touch. A single black power switch sat by the right ear. There were no other buttons.
He eyed the helmet and frowned, uneasy: [It looks high quality, but can it really give a true, “being there” feeling?]
He noticed a thick manual in the box, set the helmet back, and started reading.
Name: XS-01 Virtual Game Helmet.
Note 1: This helmet is for Civilization Paradise only. Do not open or modify it. Any problems caused will be your own responsibility.
Note 2: People with severe mental issues are forbidden to use this product.
Note 3: This device can adjust body metabolism. The maximum continuous playtime is 24 hours. For longer sessions, please purchase a professional game pod and matching nutrition injections.
Note 4: Make sure you are in a safe space while playing. Forcing a disconnect may cause unpredictable results.
After a while, Long Ming closed the manual, sat at his desk, and opened the official Civilization Paradise (Mountain City) website.
To be honest, the manual made him even more interested.
He checked the latest notice. The game would open tonight at 12:00 a.m.
He glanced at his phone. It was 4:30 in the afternoon, which meant a bit over seven hours to go.
With time to kill, he browsed the site hoping for useful info, but found almost nothing. The secrecy was impressive.
Then the site suddenly posted a new announcement: “Civilization Paradise Forum is now open.”
Curious, he clicked it. A pop-up appeared: “Notice: You are logged into the Civilization Paradise Forum. Only posting is available at the moment. More features will roll out in the future. Please stay tuned.”
He dismissed the pop-up and saw an empty forum. The next second, new posts sprouted like mushrooms after rain.
Someone crowed: “Haha, first!”
Another user cheered: “So this is the forum for Civilization Paradise. Simu City finally did something right and made a good game.”
A third snapped back: “Bro above, are you kidding me? This game was made by our Sin City!”
A fourth scoffed: “Pfft, Mountain City made it.”
Someone gasped: “What’s going on? Are the networks connected now? I’m seeing people from other cities.”
Another wrote: “Unbelievable!”
A buyer jumped in: “Stop arguing. Buying a game headset, high price.”
A seller posted: “Selling top-secret info on Civilization Paradise, only 100.”
A recruiter shouted: “United Front Guild recruiting. If you’re a bro, come and conquer the world with us!”
A playful post read: “Cute girl player here, looking for a pro to carry me.”
Long Ming ignored the fluff and kept scrolling.
Soon he found a hot discussion and clicked in.
Hazy Fox wrote: “Don’t you think the promo for Civilization Paradise feels a little creepy?”
Mountain Angler replied: “I think it’s weird too. Do we even have tech this advanced?”
Drifting Fish added: “Could it be a scam?”
All-Under-Heaven argued: “No way it’s a scam. Every shelter city launched it.”
Hazy Fox asked: “Since when did the shelter cities get along? They used to fight over resources. How can they run one game together?”
All-Under-Heaven answered: “No idea. But I have a guess.”
Drifting Fish asked: “What guess?”
All-Under-Heaven wrote: “When something’s off, there’s a reason. If all the shelter cities are in on this, maybe they’ve made a deal: stop fighting offline and switch to fighting online.”
Hazy Fox asked: “Makes some sense. Anyone know what this game actually plays like?”
All-Under-Heaven finished: “No clue. I heard everything about it is top secret.”
After reading for a long time, Long Ming’s anticipation only grew. [Sometimes the unknown is the most attractive part.]
Time flew. It was now 11:55 p.m.
Long Ming locked the door, checked the room, used the bathroom, then returned to bed. He plugged in the helmet, put it on, and lay down.
He reached up and pressed the power switch.
A virtual projection popped into view: “3 minutes 15 seconds until launch.”
Staring at the shrinking countdown, his heart beat faster. When it hit zero, a faint current swept through his brain. His vision went black, and he felt weightless, as if he fell into a bottomless pit.
The next second, his eyes flew open.
Whoosh!
An endless, shining sea of stars filled his sight.
He realized he was standing on a huge circular mechanical platform. A towering Mechanical Obelisk rose in the center, carved all over with complex star-like marks. Irregular cracks glowed across the floor with a strange halo. Three interlocking ring structures circled the platform. Beyond it, in the starry space, small gyroscope-like platforms floated everywhere, each with its own smaller Mechanical Obelisk.
Beams of white light fell. One player after another was transported in.
People looked around and burst into awe.
Someone exclaimed: “Wow, where is this!”
Another shouted: “So grand!”
A third whispered: “Am I dreaming?”
A fourth said: “Did we come to the future?”
Someone warned: “Wait, this is a game world. Punch me and see.”
Smack.
A yelp followed: “Ow, that hurts!”
Another voice marveled: “This is insane. The pain feels so real.”
Long Ming was stunned too. He could hardly believe a game could be this real. For a moment, he wasn’t sure what was real or not. He pinched his own cheek. The sharp pain made his head spin with wonder.
He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Then he noticed a sleek, high-tech wristband on his left wrist. He was about to study it when a synthetic voice echoed from all around: “Dear players, welcome to Civilization Paradise. Here you will chase the light of civilization and experience a world like no other. For detailed rules, please read the newbie guide on your wristband. Have fun.”
Long Ming, along with everyone else, perked up and listened carefully.