Chapter 222: Dramatic Life Change
Han Tian and the others had finally had their wake-up call.
’They now knew that only a Mary Sue or Gary Stu type of player could sweep through enemies of the same rank uncontested.’
’They should just focus on earning money and grinding for now.’
Although losing the competition meant they had to leave the Sea View Sect, An Xiu and Honghuang went to inquire about the journey to the Dragon Frost Swamp.
They learned that there was no limit on the number of people who could go to the Dragon Frost Swamp; everyone simply had to depart at a set time.
This was set for exactly seven days from now—next week.
As long as they confirmed their participation in the trip to the Dragon Frost Swamp, they could stay temporarily in Liu Xian City.
However, the conditions were also harsh.
The Sea View Sect gave each of them a list detailing the types and quantities of spirit materials they were required to turn in annually.
Everything else would be arranged once they reached the Dragon Frost Swamp.
The players each had their own tasks to attend to.
Meanwhile, Song Jiulai worked overtime to finish crafting one hundred and fifty puppets.
The difference this time was that because she was also heading to the Dragon Frost Swamp, she had to rush the crafting. The puppets’ appearances, as a result, were... even harder to look at.
If any players didn’t want to customize their character’s face, they were in for a rude awakening.
***
Meanwhile in Huaxia, it was 11:50 PM, exactly one week later.
Many people were waiting nervously.
In reality, most people still wouldn’t be able to snag a spot.
Because they didn’t have VR equipment.
For an average family, purchasing VR equipment was a rather superfluous, extra burden.
’Besides, indulging in such distractions saps one’s will. It’s just a game, is it really worth all this fuss?’
Of course it was worth it!
At the very least, sales of VR equipment on the market had skyrocketed within a week, and many businesses took the opportunity to raise their prices.
Only Feiyun’s official website released a series of cheap and effective VR devices, as if they had been waiting for this very day.
They even made a promise to their customers.
Anyone who managed to secure a spot in Broken Sect would receive a free VR gaming pod.
How could such an offer not be tempting?
Even many elderly people got involved.
After all, if the disabled could be made healthy, then perhaps the elderly could become young again. The temptation was simply too great.
In the dead of night, someone whispered.
"Sister, are you ready?"
"Yes, I’m ready."
"You have to get a spot. Don’t worry, I’ve arranged everything. You just need to sit here and do the facial verification..."
Others, however, had different motives.
"Remember, your mission is to get into this game and find out who their leader is! You must get close to the game developers and the players. We need to find where their producers are hiding. Technology like this cannot be monopolized by Huaxia!"
"Understood, boss."
"If you can’t find out anything in the end, then go cause trouble everywhere inside the game. Ruin it. If we can’t have it, we absolutely will not allow the Huaxia people to have it, understand?"
"Understood!"
...
At midnight, just as the time in the corner of the screen ticked over to 12:00.
Countless hearts pounded at that very moment.
The official website for Broken Sect refreshed.
The slots were officially released.
In an instant, the servers were flooded with countless connection requests.
Any other website would have crashed long ago under such a massive influx of traffic.
But the Broken Sect website remained completely stable.
In just a few moments, the first lucky person appeared.
Late at night, a girl’s shriek erupted from a certain residence: "I got it! I got in! AHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The scream was loud enough to pierce the heavens.
Others, upon seeing the "Congratulations" message pop up on the site, simply smiled, their eyes betraying their excitement while their composure remained calm.
For some, however, the message that appeared this time was rather bizarre.
In a certain basement, a group of people were all trying to snag a slot at the same time.
Compared to the previous "[We regret to inform you that you did not secure a spot]," Broken Sect had changed its tune this time.
[Oops! So sorry, you didn’t get a spot. Try harder, maybe next time!]
A smiling emoticon was even tacked on at the end.
But no matter how you looked at it, that smiley face felt rather mocking.
Especially when paired with their own words.
"Not a single one?"
"We set up dozens of locations across all of Huaxia, and not a single one got in?! How is that possible!!!"
"What are we even paying you for, you useless bunch of failures!"
Amid angry roars and the disappointment that was the destined fate for most people that night...
...the one hundred and fifty lucky few seemed all too small and insignificant.
"We got one, Chief! Xiao Chen from our department got in!"
Wei Jun received the call reporting the good news.
Fearing the phone lines would be jammed, Wei Jun had given instructions that only those who succeeded should call back to report; there was no need to report failures.
"We got one?" Hearing that his department had another lucky winner this time, Wei Jun couldn’t help but smile. "That’s fantastic!"
Liu Wen Yu sighed from the side. "Why does it feel like we’re waiting for news from a delivery room?"
Wei Jun: "..."
’It really does feel a bit like that.’
Unfortunately, however, only one call reporting success came in within the first ten minutes.
And by that point, everyone would have already finished trying.
Wei Jun sighed. "One hundred and fifty slots across the entire country, and we only got one person."
"Getting even one is pretty good," said Liu Wen Yu. "There are way more than one hundred and fifty people in our city alone. Look at those odds. Of course, it’s not just our department; maybe other departments will have good news."
Liu Wen Yu, at least, knew that some departments had already assigned personnel specifically to prepare for entering Broken Sect.
Wei Jun nodded. "We’ll know more soon enough."
It was still necessary to pay close attention to the information on this new batch of players.
Wei Jun and his superiors were worried about undesirable players showing up.
After securing a slot, players had to enter the game within one hour. Even new players knew this, as it was posted on the official website in large, bold, red text.
Those who already had the equipment quickly entered the game.
In an ordinary apartment, a beautiful young girl was fumbling around. Her older sister, having cried for a long time after successfully getting a game slot, was now guiding her younger sister on how to put on the device.
"You just have to put this on. Once you put it on, you’ll be able to see."
Not wanting to disappoint her sister, the younger girl just smiled.
She was blind, so of course she didn’t know that such a magical game had appeared on the market.
It was her sister who had told her about it.
On the day her sister learned the news, she told her that there was hope for her to see.
But the younger sister didn’t really believe it.
She had been blind since birth. She didn’t even know what colors were; she couldn’t make out the world around her.
For a long time now, she had given up hope of ever truly being able to see.
A somewhat heavy device was gently placed over her eyes.
Her sister guided her. "Close your eyes."
She gently closed her eyes.
Ten seconds later, she suddenly heard a mechanical yet human-like voice.
"Hello, and welcome to the Yunzhou Continent!"
She opened her eyes.
In that instant, everything changed.