Chapter 4

The next morning, Su Peng got up very early. In fact, most of the night, he was lying in bed, and after an hour of sleep, he didn't need to sleep anymore.

He returned to the company late last night and moved into the dormitory.

When he came to the dining hall, Su Peng found that Sun Shijia, Fu Kang, and the thick-browed, big-eyed Ji Ming were already there, and they had even gotten up earlier than him.

Su Peng took some food. The food here was extremely abundant, with Western dishes like grilled sausages, roasted squab, milk, grilled steak, and whole wheat bread, as well as Chinese dishes like century egg and lean meat porridge, wood ear and pork, and stir-fried pork slices. The variety was very rich.

After getting his food, Su Peng carried his tray to the table where Sun Shijia and the others were sitting.

Sun Shijia greeted Su Peng and then continued their discussion. Sun Shijia said, "Eight thousand yuan, such a high salary, I wonder what kind of game they will have us play."

"It might be a martial arts game!" Fu Kang, who was short and plump with a sharp look and constantly blinking eyes, said, "Don't forget our test content. Yesterday, I overheard the old employees talking, and they were discussing things like Hong-style long fist, Great Power Buddha Palm, and Five Tigers Interrupting the Door Sword. It sounds like a martial arts game."

"Oh? So it's developed domestically? There haven't been any good martial arts online games recently. It might be a space game, think about our test," Sun Shijia said.

While listening to the two talk, Su Peng subtly gathered information by asking a few questions.

Ji Ming, who had a very proper appearance, suddenly twisted his lips but didn't say anything, which caught Su Peng's attention.

"Does Ji Ming know something?" Su Peng thought.

Ji Ming didn't speak. He drank some soy milk from his cup and said, "I'm finished." Then he stood up and walked out.

After Ji Ming had walked quite far, Sun Shijia whispered, "Brother Ji Ming looks very kind, but he's not easy to talk to and seems a bit unsociable."

Fu Kang also glanced at Ji Ming, nodded, and then continued eating his cola chicken wings.

Su Peng looked at Ji Ming's back and, for some reason, felt that Ji Ming seemed to know some secret...

After breakfast, Su Peng, Sun Shijia, and Fu Kang went to the office opposite the tea room, which belonged to Shi Qianjun.

They knocked on the door and, upon receiving a positive response, entered the office.

Su Peng saw that Ji Ming was also in the office, possibly having arrived a bit earlier. When Su Peng entered, Ji Ming tightly pursed his lips and said nothing.

"Everyone is here, so let me explain the game," Ji Ming said.

"The game you will play is a brand new next-generation game called 'Death Loop.' It's a martial arts game with some special settings. Characters cannot die; once they die, the game data will be reset... The game accounts are very rare, and each account can only create one character. If your character dies, you will be fired, so remember this."

"This game uses a new game mode, with an innovative physiological signal sensing system and a brainwave game chamber... It's not controlled by a keyboard but by consciousness and a reverse hypnosis wave system, which is called a real game. It realistically simulates your physiological state. This is the sensing device."

As he spoke, Shi Qianjun took out four black boxes from under the desk.

These boxes were made of metal with a matte finish, looking very expensive.

"What? A real game?"

Su Peng and the others were extremely shocked!

They were all gaming enthusiasts and naturally paid attention to the latest gaming equipment.

The best gaming equipment on the market now was the Japanese "V" series, a full-body sensing suit with a helmet and gloves that could simulate temperature changes and touch.

However, the "V" series was just an upgrade of existing motion-sensing games. Just now, Shi Qianjun said that this game was controlled by consciousness.

After all, 99.9% of online games on the market were still controlled by keyboards!

They stepped forward to look at the boxes, which had their photos on them.

"This is the human physiological sensing device, which can detect many physiological signals. You must wear this ring during the game, or the account won't activate... Of course, there is also a large sensor in your studio, which is essential for the game. Please wear it."

Shi Qianjun said to Su Peng and the others. They came forward to take the boxes and removed the rings inside. The rings were very ancient-looking, more like a thumb ring, with mysterious runes engraved on them.

"Wow, so advanced..." Sun Shijia took out the ring, fiddled with it, and said.

Su Peng looked at it and felt a sudden jolt in his heart. This ring was extremely similar to one of Xiao Lin's relics!

"You should wear the ring at all times, but you must hand it in when you leave the company. Also, you cannot lend it to others, as it could cause data chaos. If this happens, you will have to pay a huge fine that you might never be able to afford."

Shi Qianjun said calmly, which made everyone feel a chill.

"I will have a specialist explain the specific game content," Shi Qianjun said, pressing a button on the desk. Soon, a bulky man in a black suit walked in.

"This is Lei Ming from the Tiger Corps, who will be your team leader during the probationary period. He will help you get familiar with the game. You will work with Leader Lei Ming for the next month," Shi Qianjun said to Su Peng and the others. The bulky man in the black suit nodded and said in a deep voice, "Hello, I am Lei Ming. Follow me."

Su Peng and the others followed Lei Ming out of Shi Qianjun's office, with Sun Shijia carefully closing the door behind them.

They walked down the corridor to the right and entered a room with some people who looked like doctors and nurses.

"First, you will have a basic physical examination. After the examination, I will take you to the work area," Lei Ming said to Su Peng and the others.

They nodded and went for their physicals, which were quite thorough, including a consultation, vision test, internal organ function, and blood tests. Everything was comprehensive and nothing was left out.

After nearly half an hour, they finally finished. Lei Ming nodded and led Su Peng and the others deeper into the corridor.

They arrived at a room, and Lei Ming walked in, followed by Su Peng and the others. They found that it was a spacious game area of about 150 square meters, divided into several sections.

"This is your workplace... Soon, you will receive your machine numbers. This area is dedicated to new employee training. Remember to wear the ring before entering the game!"

Lei Ming said to Su Peng and the others in his deep voice.

Su Peng, Fu Kang, and Sun Shijia quickly opened the ring packaging, took out the rings, and put them on. Su Peng looked at Ji Ming and saw that he had already put his ring on.

"Alright, here are your numbers. You can start the game now," Lei Ming said, distributing the numbers.

Su Peng looked at his number, which was 7.

He walked to his station and looked at the machine, which resembled a hospital CT scanner. A person could lie on it, but there were no restraints.

"Is this the main game machine?" Su Peng thought.

"Lie down, and you can start the basic operation," Leader Lei Ming said to them.

Su Peng lay on the leather bed and, following Lei Ming's instructions, started the machine, which sent him into the game chamber.

The game chamber was not stuffy. It was entirely surrounded by cylindrical screens. Su Peng saw that the 360-degree screens displayed a classic Microsoft blue sky and white clouds, along with a game startup screen.

"Leader Lei, is this a computer? Why isn't there an IE browser, My Computer, or a Recycle Bin?" Sun Shijia, already lying in the game chamber, shouted out.

"Because the game accounts are extremely valuable. Although the game chamber has all the functions of a computer, the company is concerned that your accidental operations might cause issues, so the parts unrelated to the game have been deleted or hidden for unified management. You can use the laptops in your rooms to go online," Lei Ming replied. Sun Shijia said "Oh" and stopped asking questions.

"How do you operate this thing?" Fu Kang also asked.

"Use your eyes to focus on the game icon for ten seconds, and you will enter," Lei Ming's voice said.

Su Peng followed the instructions and focused on the game icon.

After ten seconds, the screens around the game chamber began to burn with black flames!

Su Peng logged into the game and saw a soft keyboard on the screen in front of him. He tried to control it with his eyes, and it worked well. He entered the game account given by Lei Ming, and soon, a login interface appeared!

Su Peng looked at it and saw a character that looked almost exactly like him!

"Oh? It's really a next-generation game, a character created based on our photos?" Su Peng couldn't help but smile.

Then, Su Peng checked the character's attributes and saw the following:

"Character: Su Peng

Gender: Male

Occupation: Commoner

Basic Attributes:

Intuition: 12 — Excellent memory, good understanding, and good insight

Strength: 8 — Can carry 56 pounds, attack power 8 (1 point of strength corresponds to 7 pounds of carrying capacity, 1 point of strength corresponds to 1 point of attack power)

Agility: 8 — Fast running speed

Stamina: 9 — 90 stamina (1 point of stamina corresponds to 10 points of stamina, good stamina)

Constitution: 9 — 135 health points (1 point of constitution corresponds to 15 health points)

Dexterity: 10 — Very dexterous hands

Charisma: 9 — Your appearance is quite good

Perception: 14 — Extremely strong will, very sensitive mental state, excellent insight and intuition

Luck: 9 — Your luck is slightly better than average, but don't expect to win the lottery."

When Su Peng saw the character's attributes, the corners of his mouth twitched.

He had always had strong insight and intuition, which he was proud of.

The other attributes were also similar to his own... but how did the people who created the character know this?

"If I have to force an explanation, it might be from the test, perhaps a cross-referenced test," Su Peng thought as he logged into the game.

"Please choose the game depth: Light mode, Moderate mode, or Deep mode."

Three options appeared on the screen.

"To explain, light mode allows your body to move freely. Moderate mode restricts body movement but allows you to hear external sounds. Deep mode immerses both your body and mind in the game, and you won't hear external sounds... This equipment can control brain waves and has a hypnotic effect, providing mild physical feedback. I suggest you start with moderate mode."

Lei Ming recommended.

Su Peng nodded and chose moderate mode.

The screen showed an entry animation, and soon, Su Peng found that his character, controlled by his mind, was standing on an ancient street.

"The graphics of this game look like holographic photographs; it's hard to tell they are polygon models..." Su Peng thought as he looked at the game screen.

The game graphics were extremely detailed, with realistic depictions of the mud and sky, making Su Peng feel as if he could see the subtle textures on the skin.

His character seemed to be on a street at night, with an ancient and elegant style, reminiscent of the Tang and Song dynasties.

Controlling the character with his mind, Su Peng walked deeper into the street, feeling as if he were really walking.

At the end of the street, there was a shop that seemed to be open. The shop's facade was decorated like a beast's head, with a wide-open mouth that served as the entrance, as if it were about to swallow anyone who entered.

Su Peng walked up to the shop and looked at the beast's eyes, which seemed to blink.

"Interesting!" Su Peng thought. This shop was the only place he could enter on the street, so he didn't hesitate and decided to go inside.