Chapter 1 Scene 1 Many people don’t need a “home”, many people are forced to…
[If a disaster is predicted to happen, what would you choose?]
[1. Let it be. 2. Explore the truth. 3. Find ways to defend yourself]
The light on the phone screen flickered, and before He Yuezhe could press it, a huge pop-up window suddenly appeared.
——[Ding Dong! The number of people who chose 3 has reached 66.66%, ████ already ██!]
Hualalalalalalalala——
"Congratulations—sizzle—"
A fierce wind swept across the city, dark clouds rolled in, and the trees creaked and swayed. Occasionally, a street sign whizzed through the streets and hit the swaying tree trunks with a bang.
He Yuezhe put down his phone, opened his umbrella, and stood there watching everything in front of him.
Her black hair danced wildly in the wind, blocking most of her vision.
“Sizzle——”
A faint electrical sound came from the flickering screen of a distant TV station.
"Storm—sizzle—week—sizzle—attention—sizzle—"
"Zila—wake up—zila—!" A professional female voice was mixed with a slightly strange mechanical sound.
It’s strange. Wasn’t the sky cloudless when I first went out?
What's even more strange is why the wind started to blow as soon as she reached this intersection?
And what does this disaster mean...?
There seems to be no one else around...
"Host—Host—!"
As the mechanical sound suddenly sounded, the sound of the wind suddenly quieted down and the flow of time became extremely slow.
He Yuezhe dodged the LED screen coming towards her and took a few steps back, only to find that her time had not slowed down.
how so?
"Host! I finally contacted you!"
"...Host?" He Yuezhe looked around but didn't see anyone.
She guessed it was something like...like...someone...said...
"Yes!" A vague, indistinct entity emerged from mid-air. "We're on a mission! Have you forgotten?"
"On a... mission?"
Suddenly, an effect like a TV screen flickering began to appear in front of He Yuezhe's eyes, and she rushed uncontrollably towards a certain direction at the intersection.
No, that's not right!
It wasn't that she was running there, it was clearly that the whole world was closing in on her at an extremely fast speed!!!
"Yes! This is the first mission you will perform after binding to the system!"
The thing slowly retreated, muttering quietly, "If I had known that Zila would be so easily trapped, I wouldn't have looked for Zila."
“…?!”
^
He Yuezhe suddenly woke up from a simple iron bed.
The memories in the dream and the real memories merged together again, and were gradually forgotten in less than a quarter of an hour.
Only then did she remember where she was and the meaning of the mechanical voice's words—
"Electronic soul-savior" is a profession that is too unfamiliar to her.
Before she even heard of it, he died in an inexplicable storm and was then selected by the electronic salvation platform with the same name as this profession.
In a daze, He Yuezhe started the first mission of her new career.
"Host! Wuu ...
"How did you turn into a cat?" He Yuezhe raised his arm in confusion, looking at the blurry cat. "So the system can change its appearance on its own?"
That’s right, this little thing who loves to act like a spoiled brat is the system that He Yuezhe is bound to after entering the electronic salvation platform that uses quick travel as a task.
"Uh-huh!"
The system jumped onto the desk inside the room and lifted up a smartphone.
"Oh, by the way, you're a new employee, so I need to give you a brief explanation of our platform first!"
"Our platform's primary mission is to liberate the souls of the dead, but salvation is no simple task! In particular, you absolutely, absolutely cannot directly liberate the target of your mission!"
"You must understand the rules, principles, and truths of the world before you can perform salvation!"
"That's why the platform's name includes the word 'electronic', because you are a liberated soul, not a □□!"
"However, even if it's an electronic soul, it's not recommended that you touch it directly. As for why, you'll understand later."
"...What is salvation?"
"Hey, host, how could you even forget this! Well, salvation is the process of forming a close relationship with the target of the mission and fulfilling their wishes!"
"Also, although the world will actively hide some of its settings, as long as your relationship with the quest target is good enough, these won't be a problem!"
"And you asked me before if I could spoil the story. I'm sorry, but that feature can only be used after you complete the quests in the second world, so it's not possible now."
"Many other features, including these, need to be unlocked slowly."
"You're not in a rush anyway, so take your time!"
"And finally, be careful! There exists an Outsider in this world. He doesn't belong here, and his actions are completely uncontrolled by the plot!"
"Because of him, the plot has already deviated significantly from the original plot! In short, you must proceed with caution!"
"Okay, I understand." He Yuezhe nodded and said, "But according to what you said before, this world can be considered as cutting in line, right? Does the target of this mission really need someone 'deeply in love' with him?"
"Besides, if it's so troublesome, why can't I just kill the target of the mission?"
"And the original owner of this body of mine, after I complete my mission and leave, will she come back?"
He Yuezhe, who had previously not understood why they had to rely on the "deeply affectionate person" who became the target of the mission to save them, was given another eloquent explanation by the system.
Finally... I still don't understand.
"Host, the original owner of this body made a deal with our platform. She is █ █ █ █ █ █, so you don't have to worry at all."
What does this mean?
"As for directly killing the target... that's possible, but Master, the energy gained that way is only 30% of what you'd get from normal salvation. That's far too little!"
"I see."
"Hey, host, I originally thought you were just like you look, a very kind and gentle person, and that understanding salvation wouldn't be a big deal! I didn't expect that! Oh!" The system wiped away its tears and continued, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about what you checked before going to bed. Do you remember?"
"Well... this is a world that values technology and games, and the technology is very advanced, but some games are still a bit expensive."
He Yuezhe began to narrate based on the few memories in his mind.
"Although the original owner was a poor soul who saved money to buy games and was eventually kicked out of her home, her relationship with the mission target was not bad."
"But she seems to dislike her name. I can't find anything with her name on it in the whole house."
"——Tang Liu." said the system.
Oh, Tang Liu.
"Come to think of it, I've never seen a game that's as immersive as that."
He Yuezhe said this and picked up the phone that the system had just handed to her. The message bar on it read:
[News from Traffic Light Company! "Nuts" immediately tops the pre-order charts upon release!]
"Is this 'Nut' the main location for missions?" She clicked on the news. "Will the mission subjects spend most of their time here?"
[Nuts, the latest holographic game released by Traffic Light Company! ! ! (Explosive)]
The gameplay of "Nuts" is very simple. No matter you are old or young, female or male, you can all master it perfectly!
[Instances, farming, plots... these main gameplay elements of "Nuts" are all very beautifully crafted, as far as I know~...]
It looks like some boring promotional content.
He Yuezhe shook his head and turned off his phone.
"Yes! Host - are you ready to officially carry out your first mission?!" The system was a little excited.
He Yuezhe said angrily, "Will this game be boring?"
She hates boring things.
"Host! You must believe in the imagination of the 'Source of the World'! There will be absolutely no mistakes in this game!" The system rubbed against her.
"'Origin of the World', what is this?"
Although He Yuezhe was not very interested in this game, he still got out of bed and started packing, preparing to go to the Traffic Light Company.
"And that thing you mentioned earlier... your system has so many nouns that the host doesn't know. How can I carry out my mission?"
"Uh...ah!...I'm sorry for being so talkative! Host, you'll naturally learn these words after completing the first world! No rush, no rush..."
The system gradually melted into a ball, floating in the air and following He Yuezhe out the door.
…
Walking out of that small room with all the windows covered with tattered newspapers, the outside was visible...
Worse newspapers.
He Yuezhe had actually been here for several days and had long since become indifferent to the habit of the residents in this building who liked to cover the windows with newspapers.
At first, she would try to say hello to those neighbors who looked a little vicissitudes of life, and maintain her gentle personality in front of the system. Later, after seeing it more and more often, those people were unwilling to pay attention to her.
He Yuezhe recalled what had happened in the past few days and went downstairs.
The traffic light company is very close to the building where she lives, and it takes less than ten minutes to walk there.
This is why, even though the lighting and design of this building are very poor, there are still so many people scrambling to live in it.
In this holographic age, everyone is beginning to pursue this advanced technology.
Holographic games are only a small part of it. After all, the expensive equipment and prices of games are not affordable for everyone.
The biggest part, where "funds" flow most frequently, is "home" from the beginning to the end.
"Home" is something that requires people to spend too much emotion, companionship and money.
According to statistics, since the advent of the holographic era, hundreds of thousands of people have voluntarily wandered the streets because they could not afford the "expenses" of having a "home".
But on the contrary, millions of people are crazy about their homes and are fighting for that little bit of land.
"Home" has gradually changed from a warm and inclusive place to a cold, terrifying and unbearable concept.
Even though holographic products have provided people with spiritual comfort, extremely realistic touch, and extremely warm emotions to a great extent.
Even though there is nothing that holographic products cannot bring to people.
Many people don't need a "home", and many people desperately need a home.
"And our new game, Nuts, undoubtedly meets the needs of both parties!"
"In Nuts, you can enjoy leisurely gardening, raising flowers and fish! You can also immerse yourself in battle and experience the thrill of combat! You can also experience the plot and learn about the touching story!"
“Whether you need emotional companionship, a piece of land, or just want to live a carefree and happy life, Nuts is definitely your best choice!”
"Nuts is now open for closed beta! Everyone is welcome to try it out at the Traffic Light Company headquarters! (Company address: xxxxxxxx; Contact information: xxxxxxxx)"
^
"Welcome! Welcome!"
Two girls in professional attire were standing at the gate of the Traffic Light Company, constantly saying words like "Welcome, welcome".
But most of the people who entered ignored them and just walked in.
"Host! This is just a holographic projection! Please stop looking at it! The mission target will run away if you keep looking at it!" The system frowned and lay on her shoulder.
He Yuezhe said "Ouch" and pretended nothing happened as he followed the crowd into the company.
"It's the first time I see you." She walked into the company.
The decoration in the company is very simple, basically consisting of metal products and display cabinets for a series of products produced by the company.
Probably because the new game is online for internal testing, there are so many people who have made reservations to draw for the internal testing qualifications that there are already several long queues.
He Yuezhe didn't want to squeeze with the crowd, so he just found a display case and started to appreciate it.
In addition to the game itself, the display case also contains several videos of actual gaming.
And it seems to use the latest holographic technology. People who approach the display cabinet can not only see the picture, but also hear the background music of the game, and even interact with the facilities and characters in the game.
An immersive experience...
"Host! Mission target! Mission target!" The system anxiously pulled her into a certain team.
"Do I need to get to know him now?" He Yuezhe was still immersed in the actual gameplay of this fairy-tale game. He decided to wait and see about the target of the mission.
The system sighed: "That's not necessary. He probably won't pay attention to others now."
"You know him very well?" He Yuezhe raised his eyebrows, smiled, and asked without looking away.
"Ah... Oops." The system scratched its head. "Um, host, if you don't queue up, aren't you afraid you won't be eligible?"
Someone who doesn't want to be saved and tries to use this method to fix the bug: "Oh! Can we change the world like this?"
The system sighed again.
…
He Yuezhe walked around with the system until everyone in the team had left, and then he went over to draw.
"Hello! Are you here to draw a lottery?" The girl at the front desk had been talking all day, and her voice was obviously a little hoarse.
He Yuezhe nodded: "Yeah."
"Okay, please wait."
She saw the girl take something like a tablet from the front desk and hand it to her, with a dozen different numbers written on it.
Of course, with the help of the system, He Yuezhe will win no matter which one he chooses.
"Please select a number."
"Then, let's go with this one." He Yuezhe clicked on a number.
She picked one at random, and with a flash of golden light, she took the last internal test qualification ticket of the day under the calm yet somewhat surprised gaze of the receptionist.
^
It was already dusk when I got home.
The pale yellow sunlight tinged with orange and red shone through the newspapers in the corridor and was stained a little green by the glass.
The colorful light illuminated the corridor like a church, and the cold light gradually melted on the couplets posted on everyone's door, turning into a warm greeting.
He Yuezhe was taking out the key from her bag to open the door.
"Is the New Year almost here?" an old man's voice sounded behind her.
"Yeah." A young boy responded. His voice was a little hoarse and emotionless.
Along with the wind came a sweet smell like rainbow candy.
He Yuezhe opened the door, looked back at the two people who were supporting each other and seemed somewhat familiar, and closed the door silently.
"Host! The target of the mission has appeared! The mission information has been updated, please check it in time!"
The system jumped from her shoulder to the ground and slowly lay down on the sofa.
He Yuezhe also curled up on the sofa with it, pressed the tassel wreath on his wrist, which was said to be able to connect to the platform and obtain information, and the task panel suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Quest Target: Yuan Yang (Updated!)]
[Mission Objective: Help Yuan Yang realize his dream (Updated!)]
[Quest Item: "Nuts" Internal Test Ticket (Owned) (Updated!)...More items await your exploration!]
[Quest Progress: 10% (Updated!)]
[You have unlocked plot nodes: 0.1 Get the beta ticket, 0.2 First encounter (updated!), more plots are waiting for you to explore!]
[Current relationship between the quest object and you: Ordinary neighbor (Updated!) (This column will automatically disappear after reaching 'Friends')]
"Yuan Yang, that's an interesting name." He Yuezhe flipped through the quest items, only to find that they were all unlocked. "But what kind of dreams would someone like that have?"
She vaguely felt that the name was familiar, but when she thought about it carefully, she couldn't remember why it was familiar.
"Host! Of course, dreams are something you have to explore yourself!" The system said excitedly, "But by the way, do you remember what he looks like? The one we saw at the door!"
The pace of this world is really... fast and slow for a hardworking system like this that has experienced hundreds of battles and never gives up.
After staying here for so long, I finally triggered the two prerequisite nodes!
However, the host has to have that dream every day. In order to prevent the host from falling into nightmares and being unable to perform tasks, it has never had any spare energy and cannot directly push the node to trigger.
Now I'm on the right track. I can finally have a good rest, hahahaha!
The system smiled slyly as it thought about it.
"...Uh, I remember, but he doesn't look like he needs any help from me?" To it, the host's voice at this moment was like the sound of nature.
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