Mu Chunfeng is dead, but the voice of command can still be heard in the audio recording.
Amidst the corpses lying on the ground, only Tang Qi and Wu Zhou remained, still jumping around.
[Team] Tang Qi: Disciple, stop! We've been wiped out! lol.
Wu Zhou didn't stop, and neither did Tang Qi.
Time seemed to stand still. Just moments ago, Zhuo Wanqing was unleashing one powerful move after another, but now she was as quiet as a beautiful woman.
[Team] Tang Qi: Disciple!! Stop!!
The cycle hasn't stopped.
Poison Bro twirled and leaped with lightness and flair, his eyes closed, playing tunes on his large flute, which shone with purple light.
Everyone else was controlled by some inexplicable force, but he was not. He remained conscious while playing the game, wearing headphones, but only the sounds of skills and background music could be heard.
The commander's voice never reached his headset, as if it had been blocked.
But that's impossible. The only possibility is that the thing that was directing, or rather, manipulating things behind the scenes, never intended to mislead him or lead him into another world.
His window was split in two, one half showing the JX3 game interface and the other half showing the voice chat interface. He could see the people in his team, and if one of them died, the voice chat would disconnect.
Now only he and Tang Qi remain, two white horses.
The chairman mode was dispelled the moment Mu Chunfeng left, meaning that even if they were on white horses, they could still speak.
It is now 2016. The game JX3 was officially launched in 2009. After a brief period of 50s, the level cap was raised to 70 in the same year, which is commonly known as the 70s. The level cap was not raised to 80 until 2013.
Wu Zhou is a veteran player who has been playing for seven years. Those who know him will notice that he is online every day, even if he is not doing anything.
Seven years is enough time to master a game so thoroughly that even a new dungeon can be played flawlessly with eyes closed after a little research. He knows the distribution of every rock, every quest, and every monster on the map by heart.
What exactly is the point of playing games? Excitement, novelty, passion, a sense of accomplishment, and satisfaction. Even for PvX players who enjoy exploring scenic spots, completing an achievement, catching a pet, or discovering a new location brings a sense of satisfaction.
But seven years is enough time for everything to settle down, and these feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction will become commonplace.
Since everyone already knows everything, the game becomes boring and tedious.
Wu Zhou once had a girlfriend who played JX3 (Sword Net 3) with him. When he bought a house and was preparing for his wedding, his girlfriend broke up with him because she fell in love with her in-game partner.
The house he lives in now has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. He considered what would happen if he had children, so he gritted his teeth and used the inheritance left to him by his parents to buy a large house.
However, he now only occupies one room; the other bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen are all empty.
He sat there quietly, perhaps because he had been concentrating for too long, and his thoughts became a little hazy.
A voice seemed to be quietly asking him.
Why play JX3?
My classmate invited me here.
—Where are your friends?
He quit college, graduated, and we haven't been in touch since.
— JX3 made your girlfriend run away and ruined your hopes for life.
Even if it wasn't JX3 (Swordsman Online 3), something else would have made her leave. We're not a good match.
—Why not just skip it?
...It has become a part of my life.
Do you feel lonely?
...
Wu Zhou's hand paused slightly as he was grazed by Zhuo Wanqing's sudden attack of a thousand needles, causing his blood to drop by more than half, which he then replenished.
But the voice in his mind kept asking him.
—Do you feel lonely? It's just a game, but it cuts you off from the outside world, isolating you in the online world. No one will stay with you for long; people come and go, but you remain stuck in this game.
Wu Zhou was typing intently on the keyboard. His fingers were long and pale, and the first joints of his index and middle fingers had a slightly yellowish tinge from cigarette smoke, but it didn't look bad.
These are beautiful hands that can make hand fetishists scream with excitement.
—Give up. It has wasted too much of your time. You can leave now, go out, communicate with the outside world, and resume a normal life. Don't let a game ruin your life and your happiness.
'It's not a delay.'
Wu Zhou answered in his heart.
He didn't know what had happened. He thought it was just another internal struggle that happened every now and then when a new friend quit the game, and he was used to it.
His bangs were a bit long, even slightly obscuring his eyes, as he quietly watched the screen of JX3 (Swordsman Online 3).
"In the 1970s, my master took me to Rilun Mountain City to do some dungeon runs. We jumped up and down the mountain all day. I made it to the top, but my master fell and died."
"Later, my master quit the game, and I met Hu Jun. I helped him level up and run dungeons, but he took me into PvP. That's when we formed our first guild; I was the vice guild leader, a Wan Hua player, and he was the guild leader, a Tian Ce player."
"A dozen or so members of the gang stripped naked and had a swimming contest on the Yangzhou River. Even though the setup and speed were identical, everyone was having a great time."
"In the late 1970s, Falcon and most of the guild members quit... but when level 80 was released, they came back."
'My master joined the Tang Clan, while Falcon Lord and I joined the Five Poisons Clan; we're all playing as new sects.'
On the screen, Tang Qi, the "Cannon Brother," was attacking Zhuo Wanqing intermittently, while Wu Zhou was diligently healing him from beginning to end.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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