Chapter 1

Earth, in the eastern part of the Eurasian continent, during the Middle Ages.

There was a man, the eighth-generation grandson of the Yellow Emperor, rumored to be nearly a thousand years old, yet he looked like a young boy. Throughout his life, he had lost forty-nine wives and fifty-four children. It was said that he had great endurance, capable of walking five hundred miles a day, and could go a whole year without eating or eat nine times a day. People called him Pengzu.

On this day, the spring sun was bright, the warm breeze gentle, and the sky was clear and beautiful.

Pengzu, who had lived for a thousand years, was slowly walking through the village. His sleeves fluttered, his tall hat gleamed, his face was youthful, and his hair was white like a crane's, making him an extraordinary handsome man.

By his side was his fiftieth young wife, and two young children were hopping around his knees. The family was preparing to go out of the village for a spring outing.

Pengzu's face was smiling, relaxed, and extremely beautiful.

When they reached the bridge at the village entrance, he saw two young men squatting by the river, washing something in their hands.

Both young men were handsome, with clear eyes and lively expressions, clearly very intelligent. Their clothing was peculiar; one was dressed entirely in white, without a speck of impurity, while the other was dressed entirely in black, also without any other colors.

More strangely, the object they were washing was pitch black, and it had turned the clear river water around them black as well.

Pengzu's young wife, with her sharp eyes, clapped her hands and mocked, "You two boys must be crazy. How can you wash charcoal in the river? It will never get clean!"

The young man in white didn't mind, not even lifting his head, "How do you know until you try? Clean charcoal can fetch a better price."

Pengzu, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh, stroking his beard.

The young man in black looked up and asked, "Elder, you have vast knowledge. Why are you laughing?"

Pengzu, with a smug look, leaned on his age, "I, Pengzu, have lived for eight hundred and eighty years. What haven't I seen? I've never seen charcoal turn white. You two boys are truly delusional. Stop wasting your time and go home."

As he spoke, the two young men looked up simultaneously, their faces twisted with a strange smile.

The young man in white said, "Elder, you have transcended the laws of life and death, living nearly a thousand years. That's more extraordinary than washing charcoal."

The young man in black said, "Pengzu, since you have come, follow us."

"Follow? Where?" Pengzu was slightly taken aback.

"To the underworld!" the two young men shouted in unison.

At that moment, the originally clear sky suddenly turned dark with clouds, and a black wind, like an angry yellow dragon, swept across the bridge, carrying sand and soil.

Pengzu's face changed dramatically, filled with regret, "Oh, I was too careless!"

Although he was regretful, he wasn't panicked. He lifted his hand, and a clear light shone from his palm, easily blocking the black wind and protecting himself and his family.

"Hmph, you two minor ghosts think you can kick me out? Watch my move: Seal of the Universe!"

Pengzu waved his sleeve, and the clear light brightened, transforming into a square crystal seal. The seal had four sides, each representing the four cardinal directions, engraved with the four divine beasts, slowly descending to the ground.

With each descent, the black wind weakened, and the sky cleared. No matter how hard the two young men tried, they couldn't change the situation.

The Seal of the Universe, one seal to stabilize the universe!

As the black wind was about to dissipate, a hurried voice came from the wind, "This guy is powerful! Wife, help quickly!"

"Wife?" The thought flashed through Pengzu's mind. Wasn't that the nickname of his wife? How could outsiders know?

Before he could finish his thought, Pengzu saw his wife step forward, leaning close to his ear, smiling sweetly, "We've lived together for several years, and I've given you two sons. Over the years, I've found out your real name. You are Sun Ran, living in the first level of District 55, Great Huaxia, right? If you don't surrender, be careful, or your true self will be destroyed!"

Pengzu, or rather, Sun Ran, looked at his wife in surprise, seeing her smug smile, and felt a deep regret.

He remembered the half-truth he had told her on their wedding night. He never thought she would follow the clues to find his real identity. Truly... sigh.

Walking too many dark paths, one is bound to meet a ghost. He didn't hate the maintainer named 'Wife'; he only blamed himself for not being careful enough.

Thus, the clear light faded, the Seal of the Universe dissipated, and Sun Ran gave up all resistance.

Without any resistance, the black wind swept over, and after the clouds and wind dissipated, Pengzu had collapsed on the ground, lifeless. The two young men had vanished, leaving only two frightened children and a cold-faced woman on the bridge.

The villagers who witnessed this scene spread it as a story of the cycle of life and death, believing the two young men to be ghosts of the underworld.

People sighed, "Pengzu lived for eight hundred and eighty years, but he couldn't tell the truth to his wife."

...

With a 'whoosh,' in a narrow and dark room, a young man sat up from a sensory chair, a bitter smile on his face.

The young man's face was slightly pale, and his body, unused to exercise, was thin. He rolled his eyes and looked at the top left corner of the holographic screen.

The AI immediately captured his gaze, pulling a red-light flashing email from the top left corner to the center of the screen, enlarging it, and a soft, clear electronic voice began to read.

"The email is from the Virtual World Management Headquarters, listing the crimes you committed in the virtual world 'Earth' and the corresponding punishments."

The young man rubbed his forehead, looking very troubled.

The AI immediately responded, "Master, is this action to indicate that you are currently unwell, in an attempt to gain sympathy and reduce your punishment?"

The young man smiled bitterly, "Reduce the punishment? Forget about that for now. Just read it, I'm listening."

He had lived for over eight hundred years in the massive virtual reality game 'Earth,' his mind had become muddled, and he had forgotten the difference between reality and the virtual world. As a result, he didn't see the obvious trap today and fell right into it.

Worse still, he had left clear evidence, making it impossible to argue or appeal.

This time, he was completely ruined.

The AI, very responsible, read out the harsh punishment in a soft voice.

"Sun Ran, male, twenty-four years old, unemployed, residing in the first level of District 55, Great Huaxia.

Crime one: Severe disruption of game balance.

In 'Earth,' you paid a total of 1000 credit points for 8 years of life, but you exploited a game loophole to consume an additional 872.325 years. According to the credit point calculation protocol, the Earth operator is claiming 9,286,500,000 credit points from Sun Ran."

Sun Ran, upon hearing the first crime, looked at the string of zeros in the compensation amount and felt completely drained, as if he had been sucked dry.

According to the general calculation protocol, the credit points required to consume game life were not linear but exponentially increased.

Eight years cost 1000 credit points, but to live seventy years as a commoner required over 100,000 credit points, a significant amount. Therefore, in 'Earth,' there was a saying, "Seventy years is rare."

But he had lived for over eight hundred years, and with the game compensation, the total was a staggering nine billion credit points.

This was nine billion credit points, almost equal to the monthly trade volume of District 55. Sun Ran's annual subsidy was only 2000 credit points. How could he possibly pay it back?

Just as Sun Ran was feeling weak and sweating, the AI mercilessly read out the second crime.

"Crime two: Virtual rape.

During the 872 years of illegal consumption, you had forty-nine wives, all of whom were illegal unions. Among the forty-nine women, three chose not to pursue legal action, while the other forty-six decided to sue. Based on the severity of each case, the total compensation is 8,648,586 credit points."

Another heavy blow. The sweet words of love in the past were now cold and heartless. Sun Ran groaned in the sensory chair, looking like a dead pig unbothered by boiling water.

Debt was no longer a burden after the nine billion credit point hit. Eight million was nothing. What could they do? At worst, he would use his broken body to pay the debt.

"Can you tell me which ones didn't sue?" Sun Ran asked weakly, curious.

"Due to confidentiality agreements, without the consent of the parties involved, I cannot provide their identities."

"Oh..." Sun Ran sighed, feeling a sense of relief. At least three of them still cared for him. He hadn't lived in vain.

The AI delivered the final blow, "Master, this is the last time I will call you that. You are heavily in debt and cannot repay even 1% of the compensation in the foreseeable future. The Solar System Federation Government has stopped all your welfare benefits. To restore them, you must find a job. After finding a job, all your earnings, except for the minimum living requirements, will be used to repay the debt. From now on, your every move will be monitored by the Central AI."

This meant that Sun Ran's comfortable life in the first level of District 55 was over.

If he didn't find a job with income soon, he would either starve to death or be forcibly expelled by the Federation Government to the outer Solar System, such as Europa, to explore unknown worlds, where life and death were uncertain.

However, finding a job on Earth was extremely difficult, with competition reaching unimaginable levels. He estimated he would end up on Europa.

As for the last point, although Sun Ran wasn't afraid, it was a significant headache.

The Central AI was the core of the global AI system, with extremely powerful functions. Being closely monitored by it meant that any action in the virtual world would be ten times riskier.

This was why Sun Ran could wield power in the virtual world but dared not move a single credit point in the real world.

This was a high-voltage line under close surveillance, with extremely high risks. One mistake, and the Central AI would discover and punish him by erasing his physical body. Even if he managed to get the money, it would be black money, and without professional money laundering channels, it would be discovered and left to rot. Of course, if Sun Ran was willing, with his intelligence, none of this would be a problem. The issue was that he had some moral底线, or pride, and was unwilling to earn such unscrupulous money.

The room fell silent for a long time. Finally, Sun Ran sighed, "Then, take care."

As he spoke, the holographic screen in front of him went dark, and the energy indicator of the sensory chair slowly dimmed.

Sun Ran got up, wanting to turn on the light, but the voice-activated light no longer responded. In the tiny bathroom, he put his hand under the faucet, but no water came out. At the food delivery port, the selection panel was gray and unresponsive.

No electricity, no water, no food, life had returned to the primitive age.

With his last hope, Sun Ran checked his electronic wallet and sighed. There were only twenty credit points left, enough to survive for about five days if he was frugal. But what about after five days?

Sun Ran sighed. He had really messed up. After living for eight hundred years in 'Earth,' he had plunged his entire life into an abyss.

Now, there was only one path left: find a job.

He moved to the door, looking at the dust on the doorknob, and smiled bitterly. Eight hundred years in the game, one day in the game equaled one year in reality, so nearly three years had passed in the real world.

For three years, he had only logged out once a day to handle physiological needs, spending the rest of the time in the virtual world.

Opening the door, artificial sunlight shone in, blinding him. Sun Ran raised his hand to shield his eyes.

To maximize the use of Earth's space, cities had three levels. This was the first level, the lowest, built underground, equivalent to the slums of ancient times.

The slums had no blue sky or green plants. Under the principle of maximizing space utilization, it was a steel jungle.

Most of the people living here were those who lived off government subsidies, like Sun Ran.

Sun Ran himself didn't want to live off subsidies, but he had a genetic defect causing congenital α-type heart disease, making his heart very fragile and unable to work.

This genetic defect could be repaired, but the cost was astronomical, and he couldn't afford it. So, he could only live day by day until he died.

His so-called job search was just a formality.

When his eyes adjusted, an autonomous hovercar had already stopped at his door.

"Service for you, sir." The hovercar's door slid open silently.

The hovercar was part of the public transportation system, free in both the first-level slums and the third-level sky district.

Sun Ran got in the car, feeling a bit hungry, and said weakly, "Give me some food. The cheapest one."

"One credit point, sir." A bag of thick, mucus-like nutritional liquid slid into Sun Ran's hand, and one credit point was deducted from his wallet.

The government subsidy of 2000 credit points per year was a true survival subsidy. Just eating the cheapest food would consume more than half of it. If he wanted to eat better, he would have no money left for the year.

Sun Ran took a few sips, then pinched his nose and swallowed the disgusting liquid in one go.

After eating, he was in tears.

In 'Earth,' he had eaten the finest delicacies, all pure and natural. Compared to this disgusting food, it was like heaven and hell.

Tragically, to survive, he would have to eat this every day in the foreseeable future, a thought that filled him with despair.

After filling his stomach, Sun Ran felt a bit more energetic and said, "Take me to find a job."

The hovercar's AI, connected to the 55th District AI, understood Sun Ran's meaning and accelerated, merging into the dense stream of hovercars.