Chapter 1

In the year 20XX, the global economy was weak, unemployment rates were rising, and the situation was volatile. The two superpowers, China and the United States, decided to work together to lead the world out of the crisis. The United States also launched a series of major initiatives to cut military spending and create revenue, including the conversion of the "Battle of Aliens" U.S. Marine Corps holographic simulation system for civilian use. In collaboration with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, and China, major game companies jointly developed a holographic reality super game called "Genesis of Heroes"! This game integrates elements of fantasy, adventure, war, trade, territory construction, navigation, competition, and leisure.

During the development process, the companies from various countries had already begun extensive global promotional campaigns.

In the spring of 20XX, "Genesis of Heroes" was launched globally! Young people around the world were captivated and obsessed with it! In the Chinese region, the Chinese agent of "Genesis of Heroes" flooded the market with advertisements!

— Do you want to compete with world-class players? Do you want to fly freely in a fantastical world? Do you want to become a hero admired by thousands? Do you want to own your own castle and lead your army with passion? Do you want to become a high-income professional player? Come on! "Genesis of Heroes" will fulfill your dream of crossing over!

...

Da Fei, a 30-year-old freelance worker in the construction and logistics industries and a former casual online gamer, saw the immense business opportunity in "Genesis of Heroes" and resolutely joined the queue to purchase a client machine.

Where is the business opportunity? This is a heavily hyped game, a money-making game, a game where the rich lead armies, build castles, and where do the troops come from? What if the troops are all killed? Gold! Everyone understands.

Today is actually the third day since the game's official launch. If it weren't for waiting for his year-end salary to buy the machine, Da Fei would have been queuing up at the sales point with his bedding on the night of the release.

As a professional player, losing to millions of people by three whole days at the starting line is a tremendous failure! There's no choice but to level up as quickly as possible.

Da Fei thought for a moment and called his younger sister, who was in college: "Xiao Li, I've quit my job and found a new one with a high income. I won't be going home for the New Year. Tell Mom and Dad for me."

For someone like Da Fei, quitting a job is simple, and finding a new one isn't difficult. After all, the world doesn't lack jobs; it lacks people willing to do them.

A surprised and efficient female voice came from the other end of the phone: "What? Not going home for the New Year? Is that proper?"

Da Fei said helplessly, "Do you know how many positions are short of people during the New Year? The income for working during the New Year is three to four times higher than usual! That's it. I'll call you when you're on break and help you with your luggage to the station!"

"No need, someone will send me."

Da Fei's heart skipped a beat, and he said urgently, "Who? That Liu Dawei again! Have you kissed? Have you slept together? Are you pregnant? Tell that poor bastard to get lost! If you don't think about making money in college and only think about dating, I'll beat you every time I see you!"

Xiao Li said hurriedly, "What are you talking about! We're just ordinary classmates!"

Da Fei said angrily, "Ordinary classmates my ass! Back in college, I made all the ordinary female classmates pregnant and left! Now they can't even get into the door of a rich man's marriage!"

Xiao Li said angrily, "You're just boasting!"

Da Fei perked up, "Ah, right! I'm just boasting!"

Xiao Li said irritably, "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm hanging up!"

Da Fei sighed inwardly, I'm doing this for your own good!

As the eldest brother, Da Fei spent the family's already tight budget to complete his college education, which should have been the family's hope. However, he ended up disappointing everyone and became a laughingstock in his hometown. On the contrary, his younger sister, who was smart and academically excellent, won scholarships and grants, placing no burden on the family. How could he, as the eldest brother, bear this? When he was admitted to college, his younger sister, who was in junior high school, admired him so much! But now... sigh!

More importantly, his younger sister was beautiful and a campus beauty. If she could find a rich husband in college, their family would be prosperous! She is the hope of the family! The problem is that she is blind, ignoring all the rich second-generation and instead falling for that poor and unconnected bastard! What's so good about that poor bastard? Just a tall, handsome track and field athlete who writes sappy poems and plays the guitar? All nonsense! Without money and ability, he's just a pile of shit!

As long as I have a breath left, you two won't be together! So what if he's on the track team? I've been in the construction industry for so long, I can take him out with one brick! I'll call their dormitory tonight to find out his schedule! Hmph, I hope Xiao Fang answers the phone!

The long queue gradually shortened, and the large screen at the entrance of the sales store repeatedly played the game's advertisements, igniting Da Fei's passion!

This is a world of heroes, where there are no complicated attributes like strength and agility that players can't understand, no whirlwind slashes or explosive shots. All attributes are simplified to attack, defense, and damage, making it easy for players to calculate.

What is attack? What is defense? What is damage?

Human strength has limits, but the destructive effect is infinite. A person can punch a wall with all their might, and the wall won't lose a single point of health! But if they use a heavy hammer to hit the wall with all their might, the wall will be instantly destroyed! The same strength can cause completely different destructive effects depending on the tool used.

Limited strength is damage, the hammer is attack, and the wall is defense. Attack and defense are always relative; different attack and defense levels result in different damage effects.

The role of a hero is to enhance the attack and defense of the entire army, allowing a limited army to unleash infinite destructive power! The character the player plays is such an exciting hero!

Just watch! Back when I played games, I was a revered expert in treating internet addiction! With my casual play, I achieved so much; imagine what I can do now with full dedication? The national server is too small; only a world-class game like this is my stage! For this day, I've already studied enough from the beta forums and official website! I've memorized all the racial, unit, and building data! I will succeed! I will have a house, a car, and a wife! Hahaha!

At this moment, the large screen advertisement suddenly changed.

— "Hello, dear players! It's time for the Hero News Live Broadcast. Today, we have the Chinese spokesperson for 'Genesis of Heroes,' the famous professional e-sports player, Miss Deng Jiayi from the 'Stars' team, joining us in the live stream. Welcome everyone!"

— "Hello everyone! I'm Deng Jiayi!" A fresh and lovely face appeared on the large screen.

"Wow!!! Goddess of otaku!!!" The players in the queue erupted in excitement!

Da Fei's eyes nearly popped out! The otaku goddess Deng Jiayi, with her game ID Bu Feiyan, is known to everyone! She is the dream girl of my rich and beautiful fantasies!

The host said, "Just now, we received a message that a Japanese player has drawn a Hell族 hero with the talent of 'Mobility Master' through the random draw system. This is the second rare talent hero in the Japanese region after the 'Hell Gate Master,' which was bought by the Mitsubishi team for 800 million dollars. Can Miss Deng Jiayi share her professional opinion on this matter?"

800 million dollars!!! The entire street erupted in shock! Da Fei was also deeply shaken! This is not just a business opportunity; it's like winning the lottery and changing one's life overnight! As for the random draw, it's simple: in this money-making game, as long as you're willing to spend money to recharge, you get a chance to draw a powerful account when you create your character!

What? Unfair? When has competition ever been fair? Asians can't run as fast as Africans, and Africans can't swim as fast as Caucasians. Blame God?

Moreover, countless facts have shown that the more unfair and money-driven a game is, the more popular it becomes! It also generates a large number of "service industry" personnel and helps solve the unemployment problem in various countries! However, those who don't spend money don't have to worry; they can still develop good talents through hard work in the later stages.

The screen switched to an introduction of the hero's talent:

— Mobility Master: The hero's army's attack speed and movement speed increase by 1% every three levels!

The entire street erupted again!

A hero's skills can be obtained through player effort and leveling up, but the hero's talent is a natural ability, the only standard for distinguishing the strength of heroes!

Deng Jiayi smiled bitterly, "This is an incredible strategic talent! In the later stages, it's like the hero's army starts with a full rage and acceleration spell. The main combat units of the Hell族 are already fast, so this is like adding wings to a tiger! It's easy to imagine that the Japanese region, with two rare heroes, will focus on developing the Hell族. Once the national war starts, our Chinese region will face tremendous pressure!"

The host asked, "Can such a hero be called a god-level hero?"

Deng Jiayi smiled helplessly, "The term 'god-level hero' was coined by ordinary players during the beta test. The game only has ordinary heroes, epic heroes, and legendary heroes. However, this Mobility Master is indeed beyond the known legendary heroes, and calling it a god-level hero is not an exaggeration. I can't think of how to counter such a hero in the later stages."

The host laughed, "With so many players in our Chinese region, if everyone draws, we will surely draw some powerful heroes, right?"

Deng Jiayi laughed, "If we draw a so-called god-level hero, our club's boss will definitely spend a few million to buy the account! However, drawing often results in ordinary or even strange talents, which is not beneficial for new players. I don't recommend players to draw; it's better to customize heroes according to their preferences. After all, in the later stages, players can still develop their talents through their own efforts."

The host laughed, "So far, 'Genesis of Heroes' has been running for three days. Here are the rankings of the rare talent heroes in various countries. Please look at the large screen—"

Ranking of Rare Talent Heroes:

1. Death Lord: Any undead monster in the wild will unconditionally join the hero's army in half numbers. Owner: Swedish player Vurtne, hero estimated value: 10 million dollars.

2. Hell Gate Master: The hero's 'Hell Gate' skill effect improves with the hero's level. Owner: Japanese Mitsubishi team, hero estimated value: 6 million dollars.

3. Unicorn Maiden: The hero's unicorn unit's attack, defense, and health increase by 1 point every two levels. Owner: American Supernova team, hero estimated value: 3 million dollars.

4. Siege Engineer: The hero's ballista unit's attack and defense increase by 1 point every two levels. Owner: Russian War Angel team, hero estimated value: 3 million dollars.

5. Knight Model: The hero's 'Blessing Ritual' skill effect improves with the hero's level. Owner: British Royal Ark team, hero estimated value: 3 million dollars.

6. Vampire Princess: The hero's vampire unit's attack and defense increase by 1 point every two levels. Owner: French player Natasa, hero estimated value: 1 million dollars.

7. Griffin Trainer: The hero's griffin unit's attack and defense increase by 1 point every two levels. Owner: Chinese Stars team, hero estimated value: 1 million dollars.

...

Looking at the long list of prices, the entire street was in an uproar! Da Fei's heart was racing! Although he knew the game was heavily hyped, he didn't expect it to be this crazy! This feeling was like opening a lottery website, where it seems everyone in the world has won except him!

Should I also try my luck? Although the show is clearly trying to encourage people to spend money, it's just a thousand dollars, right? I've spent at least eight thousand dollars on lotteries over the years! Besides, as a skilled player like me, even if I draw an ordinary account, I can still make it work!

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