Ren Bu Xiu Ji: “That’s right, I suspect the company has already mastered thought acceleration technology, but it’s still in the experimental stage, so they haven’t promoted it yet!”
Cun Tou Er Gou: “Damn, if the server opens at 8 o’clock, isn’t that equivalent to having twice as much time? What kind of heaven-defying technology is this?!”
Tian Li San Hua: “Xiu-ge, you’re not lying to us, right? This is way more impressive than the nonsense Sunzi brags about flying!”
Zhen Shi Qin Shi Huang: “Ahem, stop talking about things that don’t exist. By the way, if this technology really comes out, the influence of this game would go far beyond just the gaming industry!”
Zhen Shi Qin Shi Huang: “Extending lifespan is something everyone would pay attention to!”
Ren Bu Xiu Ji: “Everyone in this group should know my personality. I wouldn’t spread rumors about something unless I’m sure.”
Ren Bu Xiu Ji: “If you trust me, you must join the next closed beta recruitment. The earlier we get in, the more benefits we can get!”
Lin Xian’s influence still remained.
No matter how skeptical the viewers were in their hearts, they all felt 99 yuan was still acceptable and unanimously expressed that they would definitely sign up.
Especially “My Fish Pond Is Full,” who, upon hearing that didn’t have censorship, immediately clamored to register.
There was no need to wait for Lin Xian to drop another bombshell.
It made him both laugh and cry.
He notified his own people of the good news at the first opportunity, then took a deep breath, his expression serious.
It was time to grind out the next video!
Lin Xian hadn’t even started writing the script, but he could already foresee the storm that would come after the video was released.
This time, the people he faced weren’t just fans—the situation was destined not to go as smoothly as before.
***
Blue Star, hundreds of kilometers north of Lin Xian’s location, in Hua Country.
A young man in his twenties or thirties lay on the bed.
He was still wearing a gaming helmet on his head.
He looked a bit out of place, yet seemed to be sleeping soundly.
Finally.
The person on the bed moved.
Wang Zhen propped himself up with one hand, inch by inch, and struggled to sit up.
His right sleeve hung empty.
He removed the gaming helmet, revealing a pair of gloomy eyes.
His originally rugged and resolute features appeared ten years older due to those eyes and the deep nasolabial folds on his forehead.
Wang Zhen—or “#¥#…&!%,” the “Garble Brother” in Lin Xian’s words.
He turned his body carefully, cautiously placing the gaming helmet on the bedside table.
Even such a small movement seemed to take tremendous effort and took a long time to complete.
Just that slight twist brought a series of consequences.
Feeling the pain born from his spine spreading rapidly throughout his body, Wang Zhen frowned even more.
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“Ahem, just playing a game for a day and I can’t take it.”
Though he was smiling, his expression was full of bitterness.
It had been fourteen hours since he last felt the chronic neuropathic pain caused by spinal cord injury.
“Having a healthy body is really great…”
Wang Zhen’s gaze was melancholic.
As if he had been reborn, given another chance at life.
He tried putting on the gaming helmet again, but found he couldn’t enter.
It was probably as the game panel had said.
He had to wait for his in-game character’s fainting status to end before he could log in.
All because Ye Hui Fei came up with such a terrible idea.
Insisting that repeated magic depletion training was faster than meditation and proper exercise.
All three of them ended up exhausted, passed out, and forcibly logged off.
Wang Zhen found it laughable.
It was clearly a proposal that sounded suspicious, yet he agreed to it?
He really was getting worse, his brain had turned to mush.
“Clatter!”
The food tray fell to the floor.
Mother Wang stood at the doorway, her eyes brimming with tears.
Wang Zhen looked up, immediately struggling to get off the bed.
“Mom! What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mom’s fine!”
Mother Wang quickly entered, making him lie down properly.
“Mom’s just too happy.”
Mother Wang wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
As she spoke, she recalled the smile that had unconsciously appeared on Wang Zhen’s lips when she entered.
How long had it been?
How long since she had last seen her child smile?
Amputated below both knees, his right arm entirely gone, paralyzed from the waist down…
Ever since that day three years ago when Wang Zhen was gravely injured and forced to retire—
She had never seen her son smile again.
Mother Wang’s heart ached.
When Wang Zhen came home,
He had nothing but a crippled body, a box full of medals,
And a large sum of money and compensation from the government, enough for him to live in comfort for the rest of his life without doing anything.
The brightest among them was a bronze, gold-plated cross-shaped five-pointed star medal.
Because of confidentiality, Mother Wang never knew the details.
But these things alone were enough.
She knew her son had saved countless families in silence, and was the eternal pride of their household!
But Wang Zhen couldn’t move on.
His family had served in the military for generations, starting with his grandfather.
His grandfather was a retired lieutenant general, his uncle a navy rear admiral, his father a colonel, and his mother a military doctor.
It could be said that Wang Zhen had grown up immersed in the purest military values.
So, he became a special forces soldier as an adult;
And after becoming disabled, he couldn’t bear being useless!
Watching his parents’ hair turn gray, not only could he not support them, but he had to be cared for in return.
He couldn’t stand such a self!
He felt like… a burden!
Mother Wang saw it all.
Her once-confident and dazzling child had withered day by day.
Neighbors came to comfort her, she tried everything she could.
But it only seemed to make things worse.
Once, Mother Wang even found a fruit knife under his pillow!
To prevent harm, every sharp object in the house was placed out of Wang Zhen’s reach.
Mother Wang didn’t know how he had obtained it.
But from that day, she never dared to bring anyone to counsel him again!
She could only watch as Wang Zhen fell deeper into despair.
But now!
Mother Wang saw her son smile!
It was a good omen!
She looked at the gaming helmet on the bedside table and helped Wang Zhen adjust the pillow behind his back.
She asked casually:
“Did you make new friends in the game?”
Wang Zhen couldn’t help but smile.
“Something like that. I found a great game!”
“Mom, I realized the martial arts I learned before weren’t wasted. I can still use them in the game!”
As he spoke, Wang Zhen recounted his battle with the red-skinned earthworm in the game, describing it in vivid detail.
Mother Wang watched her son’s animated expression, nodding from time to time, her eyes gradually turning moist.
She understood.
Rather than describing the game’s content,
It was more about describing his own healthy body within the game.
Wang Zhen looked up, eyes filled with hope for the future.
“When this game launches publicly, I should be able to make money through it and ease your burden!”
“Silly child, raising you is never a burden. Did you forget the bonus you brought back?”
“Mom, stop lying. The bonus is enough for me to live alone, sure, but it’s definitely not enough to buy such a high-end wheelchair!”
Wang Zhen raised his hand, and the wheelchair near the wall automatically rolled closer.
The silver light gleamed from the frame, and with its various high-tech features, it was obviously expensive.
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