Chapter 5: The Beginning of the Inner Chapter and the Temple That Has Been Licked Clean
Well-fed and watered, the players unleashed an astonishing level of productivity.
"Hurry, hurry! That pillar hasn't been moved yet!"
"Don't pull up those weeds over there! Leave them for firewood!"
"Does anyone have an empty bottle? I'll go outside and get some of that green water. It's not drinkable, but maybe I can water the plants!"
The once lifeless temple is now like a swarm of wind-up worker ants taking over.
In their race to catch up on the mission's progress, players have even started to engage in intense competition.
"Make way! Make way! I saw this rock first!"
"You're not strong enough, so move the smaller one! Let me do the big one!"
"Team up! Team up to grind! Double the efficiency!"
"Dangdangdangxinzhigang" made full use of his physical advantages, and he could carry 200 pounds of gravel by himself, moving back and forth between the temple like a human bulldozer.
"Awesome! This is what fitness should be like!" "Ding ding ding Xin Zhi Gang" shouted as he ran, "I'd never dare train like this in real life! My back would be ruined!"
"What Canned Food I Say" used his intellect to his advantage. He directed several players to make a simple lever pulley device using some long sticks and vines (found outside).
"Archimedes said, 'Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.'" "What canned food?" He pushed up his non-existent glasses. "Even without pulleys, friction can save a lot of effort. Hey you, tighten the rope!"
Seeing the broken pillar, which originally required five people to lift, being easily hoisted by two people, Li Wei couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"That's really good."
Time flies.
As the twin moons (one blood-red, one pale white) of the Forsaken Land rose into the sky, a system notification (a whisper in the player's mind) rang in the minds of all players.
[Server-wide Announcement: Quest [The Revival of the Temple (Part 1)] is complete!] [Congratulations, warriors! Your efforts have pleased the gods.] [Rewards have been distributed: +10 Favorability, +50 Contribution Points.]
"It's done!"
"What can these contribution points be used for? What about the in-game store?"
The players cheered as they checked their loot. Although there was no expected level-up notification, the extra 50 contribution points still filled them with a sense of accomplishment.
Looking at the newly renovated temple, Li Wei couldn't help but sigh with admiration.
The rubble and weeds that used to litter the ground have been completely cleared away, and even the soil in the cracks between the paving stones has been dug out (probably done by "I'll teach you a lesson"). The broken stone pillars are neatly piled up in a corner of the square, and even sorted by size.
Although the damaged walls and roof have not been repaired, it at least looks like a place where people can live.
"Just one afternoon... Is this the execution capability of the Fourth Calamity?"
Li Wei stood up, his black robe fluttering in the night wind.
"Well done, my family."
His deep voice echoed throughout the venue, silencing the players who were celebrating.
"You have proven your worth. Now, I grant you… the right to rest."
After saying this, Li Wei waved his sleeve.
[Note: Night mode is not currently available. For your mental well-being, the server will be shut down for maintenance in 5 minutes. Please log off as soon as possible to avoid data loss.]
"Huh? It's shutting down already?"
"No way! I can still work! I'm not sleepy!"
"Does this game have an anti-addiction system? I want to play all night!"
The players groaned in despair. But Li Wei didn't have time to stay up all night with them. Maintaining the soul projections of 15 people wasn't very taxing, but even he, as an evil god, needed rest to recover his mental energy.
"Logging off! See you tomorrow!"
"Make sure to save your progress!"
Five minutes later, the 15 players vanished in a flash of white light. The temple returned to silence.
Mia peeked out from behind the pillar, looked at the empty square, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"They're finally gone... Those guys were terrifying; they even caught all the bugs on the ground."
Li Wei rubbed his temples, but a smile remained on his lips.
"Tomorrow is just the beginning."
As the countdown to Li Wei's forced server shutdown reached zero, the fifteen players in the temple square vanished in a flash of white light.
...
Earth, China.
A male dormitory at a university.
Chen Feng suddenly opened his eyes, took off his helmet, and sat up in bed.
Outside the window, night had just fallen, and the streetlights on campus were already on. The dormitory was filled with the aroma of food from the cafeteria that my roommate had brought back—the lively, everyday scent of the night.
"This..." Chen Feng subconsciously touched his arm and then pinched his face.
The realistic touch, the slightly stiff muscles, and the sense of gravity that belongs to the real world. It's back, truly back.
He glanced at his phone; it was 8:30 PM.
"I spent an entire afternoon grinding in the game, and that much time has passed in real life too?" Chen Feng was somewhat dazed. "The time flow is actually one-to-one? If a night mode is enabled in the future, won't we have to stay up all night cultivating immortality?"
To his surprise, despite doing physical labor in the game for half a day, he didn't feel the exhaustion he had felt in reality. On the contrary, he felt refreshed and energetic, even more so than after a nap.
"Holy crap! This helmet... it's something else." Chen Feng stretched his neck. "Playing games and giving your brain a break at the same time? What kind of cutting-edge technology is this?"
He immediately turned on his computer, wanting to check the mysterious webpage for updates, but the result was still a 404 error.
"Oh right! That blogger called 'What Canned Food I Say'!" Chen Feng suddenly remembered that the seemingly refined strategist in the game was actually a big influencer.
He immediately opened Weibo and searched for "what canned food I said".
Sure enough, Wang Kai posted a new update five minutes ago.
@WhatCannedFoodIsSaid: [Pinned] I know you have a lot of questions about that incredible game. The video is currently being edited, and I will try my best to describe the game in words and give a preliminary gameplay sharing, which is expected to be released in an hour. Also, for those of you who have a helmet, please DM me your ID and photo, and I'll create a group so we can discuss tomorrow's strategy. #GodForsakenLand #FirstTestPlayer
Without saying a word, Chen Feng immediately took a picture of his helmet and sent it over: "I'm 'Husky,' pull me!"
...
The capital city, Wang Kai's (what canned food, I'm talking about) studio.
While keeping an eye on the video rendering progress bar on his computer screen, Wang Kai quickly processed private messages in the background.
"Incredible..." Wang Kai looked at the black helmet in his hand, a glint of fervor in his eyes. "Six hours of gaming without logging off, and my physiological functions didn't suffer at all. This neural connection technology is at least fifty years ahead of the current industry!"
"Ding-dong."
The number of members in the WeChat group "God's Forsaken Land First Test Strategy Group" is increasing rapidly.
Soon, all 15 players had assembled.
What Canned Food I Say (Group Owner): "Is everyone here? I'm Wang Kai, also known as 'What Canned Food I Say' in the game. If you don't mind, you can call me by my online name, or whatever sounds good to you."
I'm Not a Husky: "I'm the one with the iron bar, just call me Husky. Kai is awesome, if this video gets released, it'll definitely be a sensation!"
Dangdangdangxinzhigang: "I'm the one who moved the stone, you can call me Gangzi or Agang. Just logged off, about to go get a cheat meal. This game is something else, I feel incredibly energetic right now, like I just got an adrenaline shot."
Let me teach you a lesson: "Call me Lao Liu or Fatty, it's fine. Stop with the nonsense! I just want to know, is that black bread really made of rye? The taste I got in the game is even more authentic than the imported rye flour I buy in real life! I'm even thinking of opening a restaurant in the game!"
Edison reincarnation: "Call me Edison. I'm a mechanic. I've seen the structure of that temple. Although it's dilapidated, the load-bearing structure is very reasonable and fully conforms to the principles of mechanics. The modeler must be a master architect! Moreover, I found that the cut surfaces of those broken stone pillars don't look like they've been weathered, but rather like they were cut by some kind of high-energy weapon."
The group chat exploded instantly. Everyone was excitedly discussing every detail of the game.
From the realistic physics engine to the catgirl Mia's micro-expressions, and then to the shady merchant... no, the mission issued by the god.
"By the way, did you guys notice? That god looks fierce, but he seems pretty poor?" the husky suddenly said. "There's only black bread and water in that supply station, not even a weapon."
"Nonsense, didn't the background description already say so? This is a wasteland reconstruction story!" Wang Kai analyzed. "Right now, it's the pioneering stage; we have to rely on ourselves for everything. I suspect that in the future, we'll be able to build our own houses, farm our own land, and even establish our own country!"
"Wouldn't that be awesome?" Gangzi sent a muscle emoji. "I love this feeling of starting from scratch!"
"By the way, this game is a bit too cruel. I was in so much pain after playing for a while, but I didn't feel anything when I came out."
"? It can be adjusted, isn't there a bar every time you log in?"
"Huh? Is that pain? I thought the image quality was maxed out???"
"Awesome, bro!"
"Alright, enough chit-chat." Wang Kai posted a screenshot of a document in the group: "The Forsaken Land Beginner's Survival Guide (Grinding Edition) V1.0".
"This is the strategy guide I just put together, everyone take a look. Although there are only 15 of us right now, I have a feeling this game is about to become a global phenomenon. As first-test players, we have to stand up for ourselves and not let Earth down!"
"Roger! For the catgirl!"
"For the black bread!"
"For the tribe... no, for the city favored by the gods!"
...
Meanwhile, online discussions continued to escalate.
With the release of Wang Kai's video titled "A Guarantee for My Career! This is Absolutely a Miracle in Human History!", and the testimonials from other first-test players on various forums, the popularity of "The Forsaken Land" not only did not subside, but intensified.
In the video, Wang Kai used the most detailed language possible to describe the immersive touch, pain, taste, and the vast and realistic alien world.
The top trending topic on Zhihu: How would you rate the first test experience of the mysterious game "The Forsaken Land"? Is it really a full-immersion MMORPG?
Bilibili trending topic: Has Lao Da gone mad? Or has technology really exploded?
Although most netizens still held a "don't believe or spread rumors" or "just watch for fun" attitude, thinking it was probably a viral marketing campaign by a major company or that Wang Kai had taken a bribe, the sense of scarcity—that "only 15 people can play this"—had successfully piqued everyone's curiosity.
Countless people are asking for the link to that mysterious webpage, and countless people are asking when the next batch of slots will be available.
The mastermind behind all of this—Li Wei—was sitting on the throne in the temple, looking at the faint light that had finally appeared on the once barren divine core before him, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"The power of faith... has begun to gather."
Although it's not much, this is just the beginning