Chapter 1: New Life
"If you've been following the news about the 'New World', you'll know I'm a well-known figure on the list!"
"I'm not exaggerating, I'm a hidden character in the fantasy world, a disciple of an aristocratic family, a genius in cultivation. With a wave of my hand, eight hundred servants can destroy the world. I'm so powerful! If you choose according to my instructions, there's an 80% chance that you'll end up near me. With my protection, you'll get through the novice period and even pass the light level..."
Before Song Ziyi could finish boasting about his abilities, Lin Han interrupted him: "I should have told you long ago that I would choose 'life mode'."
Song Ziyi was speechless. He had really forgotten about this matter. He had to think of a way to make his boring friend come back to the right path.
The other end of the phone suddenly became quiet. Lin Han raised an eyebrow and filled the game compartment with nutrient solution according to the instructions in the manual. Looking at the shaking translucent liquid inside, he was still a little hesitant.
Holographic...game?
A week ago, Lin Han was still one of the employees of the last PC game company on Blue Star. Due to his serious and responsible attitude towards work, and his lack of interest in new things, Lin Han had never played holographic games even after they were released for several years.
The "New World" that Song Ziyi mentioned is a holographic game that has emerged in the past six months. It has firmly occupied 99% of the market after only one week of being online, and its popularity remains high. When facing other similar games, it is like a dimensionality reduction crushing, not to mention the already half-dead PC game industry.
After persisting for several months, Lin Han's former boss finally opened up his heart and embraced the "new world". The first thing he did after logging out of the game was to announce the bankruptcy of the company.
Just like that, Lin Han was gloriously laid off.
Lin Han didn't need to rush to find a job due to his superior family background. He originally wanted to take some time off to relax, but Song Ziyi, who had finally caught the opportunity, would not "let go" of him easily.
On the first day that Lin Han moved to the seaside villa to relax, Song Ziyi had already ordered a game console and sent it to her door without her permission, under the pretext of "giving it to you to play and kill time", but in fact he just wanted to satisfy his urge to "show off in front of his friends".
The new world is not only online on Blue Star, but is open to the entire universe simultaneously. The so-called "people on the list" mentioned by Song Ziyi are not just the rankings of Blue Star, but the rankings of the entire universe. The fact that he can occupy a place on it is enough to prove his luck and strength.
Song Ziyi: I have gone through so many hardships to build this career, I would feel suffocated if I don’t show off.
But Lin Han had never been persuaded by Song Ziyi before, and it was the same now.
The "lifestyle" he chooses will directly make all of Song Ziyi's plans come to nothing.
New World has two game modes: Fantasy Mode and Life Mode.
The former is the choice of Song Ziyi and most people. It involves all fantasy factors and is similar to a multiplayer game with cooperation and competition. Players can start an extraordinary life in it, just like the protagonist in the book. Magic, cultivation, technology, etc. are all possible; and the life mode that Lin Han intends to choose is a very ordinary life simulation compared to the fantasy mode. Re-experiencing life as another person is more like a stand-alone game.
The new world only allows players to make one choice, so many people who originally chose the life mode are extremely upset, but have no way to change it.
Song Ziyi naturally didn't want his good brother to regret it in the future, but Lin Han had already made plans to "live again".
Only after working did I realize how relaxing studying was. Lin Han doesn't mind reliving his study time in the game. It would be nice to have a chance to take the doctorate exam. He can quit the game if it gets boring. He is not worried at all.
Song Ziyi was desperate: "Are you really not going to consider it again?"
Who would believe that! Song Ziyi is a big shot, and even after begging for so long, he still couldn't get a chance to help his brothers gain points!
This is unreasonable!
Lin Han: "No, I don't want to cause any trouble."
Song Ziyi: "......"
No matter in what aspect, becoming stronger requires a price. Song Ziyi spends almost 24 hours a day in the game cabin. If he hadn't come to persuade Lin Han today, he would not have logged out of the game at all.
Lin Han didn't want to be as "overwhelmed" as Song Ziyi, so he would naturally take the initiative to avoid this possibility.
So, despite Song Ziyi's "lasting struggle", Lin Han still hung up the phone.
He showered, changed into his pajamas, and then stepped into the gaming cabin.
Can people breathe underwater?
As he immersed himself in it, Lin Han thought so, watching the light getting smaller and smaller as the game cabin closed, and slowly exhaled a string of bubbles.
It's like I'm still breathing the air, without any discomfort.
A novel experience enough.
Then, he seemed to just blink, and before he could think about how to enter the game, his consciousness sank.
In just a moment, the darkness in front of him was replaced by light, and Lin Han found himself standing in an empty hall. It was a circular space surrounded by sixteen towering pillars, with a clean marble floor and a coffee table and a dark sofa in the center.
He was no longer wearing his pajamas, but an ordinary white T-shirt and trousers, like the uniform "newbie equipment".
Lin Han pinched his wrist and could not tell the difference between this game woven in the world of consciousness and reality.
"Welcome to the new world, Mr. Lin Han, I am your guide Alfred." A gentle and polite male voice sounded beside Lin Han. When he turned his head, he saw the other person's calf become clear from blurry. Then he took a step forward to lead the way and took him to sit on the sofa.
The newly "refreshed" guidance NPC, Alfred.
Lin Han subconsciously looked at the other person carefully. He had to admit that no matter how realistic the PC game was, it could not compare to the person in front of him.
His guide was wearing a neatly ironed, well-fitting deacon's uniform, with every button buttoned meticulously. He had a tall and straight figure and a handsome face. At this moment, he was using a teapot that suddenly appeared to pour him a cup of hot black tea. His fingers in white gloves were slender and his movements were elegant.
No wonder people are so crazy.
Lin Han understood that everyone loves beauty. When they released CG in the past, they would also release close-up pictures of the carefully crafted characters to attract the attention of players.
Just basic exercises.
His gaze was very direct. Alfred, the guide, smiled slightly, pushed the still steaming cup of tea in front of him, and said, "Is this your first time trying a holographic game?"
Lin Han just picked up the teacup and took a sip. He also felt that it was no different from reality. He was stunned when he heard it: "Hmm."
Before entering the game, he had watched several character extraction videos of other players. The guides' stereotyped words seemed different from his. Perhaps he encountered an NPC played by a real person?
Alfred said gently: "Now let me give you a brief introduction."
"'New World' is a life simulation game with two modes: 'Life' and 'Fantasy'. After making an initial mode selection, players will be randomly assigned a character in the new world based on the three selected tags, starting a new life. You can tell me the life you want to experience, and I will filter out relatively suitable tags for you to meet your needs."
The fantasy imaginations of the people of Blue Star are mostly about "cultivating immortals", "magic" and so on, and these are also what they hope to experience in detail, but of course they also have more preferences among them.
Almost all players will ask their guides to provide tag recommendations so as to lock in the birth area of their game characters to the greatest extent possible.
Song Ziyi originally hoped that Lin Han could make a choice according to the labels he provided, so that the two of them could meet directly in the same game dimension. It would be best if she was born directly in his family. He would definitely have to take good care of her brothers!
However, Song Ziyi's dream was shattered and Alfred's introduction was forced to be interrupted.
Before he could say anything more, Lin Han put down her teacup and said calmly, "I choose the lifestyle."
There was a flicker of surprise in Alfred's eyes.
To be honest, the difference in the selection ratio of life mode and fantasy mode in the new world is quite shocking. Since the game was launched, people have learned the difference between the two game modes from the live broadcasts of other players, and there are almost no new life mode players.
At least according to the data Alfred has, in the past month, there was only Lin Han.
But his surprise was only fleeting, and he soon calmed down.
"Once the game mode is selected, it cannot be changed. Please confirm again."
A transparent light curtain appeared in front of Lin Han.
[Whether to select life mode]
Lin Han pressed confirm without hesitation.
"Next, please select a character tag." A dense array of tags appeared in front of Lin Han. Alfred, who was sitting opposite him, asked, "Do you need me to recommend one for you?"
Lin Han shook his head.
When experiencing the life of a normal person, there is no need to recommend any labels. It is just a matter of choosing the one that you like.
Wealth, appearance, height, knowledge... The selection of labels was quite extensive, covering all aspects, from detailed to broad. Lin Han couldn't reach the bottom even after just a few glances, but he still found a label that he quite liked.
【Relax】——No pressure, this is a label that office workers who have been working for many years will like very much.
After flipping through the pages for a while, Lin Han chose a new label, [Free].
The last one is [Normal], and Lin Han is quite satisfied with his choice.
He didn't want to consider whether the character he chose was rich or handsome. He just wanted to experience the carefree life of an ordinary person again. After all, the character that was closest to these three labels should also give him a very good experience. Anyway, if he didn't like it, he would just quit the game.
That’s what Lin Han thought.
His choice of the last two labels was beyond Alfred's expectations, but seemed very reasonable. However, it must be said that after the player he was guiding chose the life mode, his responsibilities as a guide were hardly fulfilled.
Just like the teacup before, the calm guide gently touched and released his hands. A square black box appeared out of thin air in his palms, with an opening at the top for reaching in, wrapped in a circle of red velvet: "Please draw your character."
Lin Han originally thought that character extraction was a system operation, but he didn't expect this to happen.
In reality, when the others drew characters, just as he'd imagined, it was the same process as choosing a game mode or selecting a tag, with the system giving them the answers directly. But Alfred smiled at him, his face as handsome as the protagonist in Lin Han's old PC game who occupied most of the CG content: "Life always needs a sense of ritual, doesn't it?"
Lin Han blinked, reached into the box and grabbed one at random. What looked like a small piece of paper in the box turned into a black card that could not be covered by his palm after leaving the box. He opened his hand and saw only two small gold-plated words on it - [New Student].
Alfred was also stunned for a moment. When he looked at Lin Han, a gentle smile appeared on his face again, which seemed more sincere than at the beginning.
"It seems we will meet again. Congratulations on winning the hidden character - an ordinary student who just received an acceptance letter."
Lin Han: “…?”
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Lin Han: No, hidden characters are so worthless?
The post, nearly half a year late, is finally here! Sorry for the wait, everyone! Xoxo!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
