Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Nothing to Say but Holy Shit
SWISH—
Zhou Xiao’s vision blurred.
A world shrouded in clouds and mist suddenly appeared before her.
A square interface popped up: [Please enter your ID. ID must be a normal name.]
’What does that mean?’
’I can’t even pick the ID I like?’ Zhou Xiao grumbled inwardly.
Her go-to ID was the poetic Little Woman Power. If there was a character limit, she would just use a part of it.
’But this scenery feels so real.’
Zhou Xiao glanced down. A vast world seemed to be hidden beneath the clouds. She felt as if she were standing among them. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she could even feel the moist breath of a gentle breeze caressing her cheeks.
Usually, VR headsets felt quite restrictive on her eyes.
But maybe because the scenery in this world was so realistic, it felt as though she wasn’t wearing anything on her eyes at all.
’Could this game actually be something special?’
Zhou Xiao thought for a moment, then clicked on the box. A pinyin input interface thoughtfully popped up.
Zhou Xiao used the controller to enter her name: [The Little Woman with Mountain-Lifting Strength].
[This ID does not comply with Yunzhou Continent regulations.]
’Okay, just as I thought. It won’t work.’
Zhou Xiao wasn’t about to use her real name, so she tentatively entered the ID [Zhou Nvzi].
The system deliberated for a moment, then approved the ID.
Then, the character creation screen appeared.
The puppets could also have their faces customized. Although Song Jiulai had ordered a standard template, the system could expend a little energy during login to let them create their own faces. Otherwise, everyone would look identical, and even Song Jiulai herself wouldn’t be able to tell who was who.
Character creation was a technical skill for some, but Zhou Xiao quite enjoyed it.
The moment the puppet model appeared, Zhou Xiao blurted out, "Holy shit!"
Goosebumps immediately broke out on her skin.
Because the puppet was too ’real.’ The only inhumane part was that she couldn’t choose her gender.
Zhou Xiao was defaulted to a female body type.
When registering for the game, she had to link her ID and even do a facial recognition scan.
She had no idea how a supposedly broken game had such an advanced detection system.
Other than that, the model was just like a living person. Except for its unremarkable face, it looked completely real from every angle.
’This game is this incredible?’
Zhou Xiao suddenly felt that something was off.
She remembered that the game’s login window was only open for an hour, and she recalled a friend from her group chat who had pre-registered saying they were going out for dinner tonight.
It was a broken game that no one had ever seen. No one cared much about it, so definitely not everyone would be playing it right away.
"Maybe it’s just my imagination..."
’The character creation system is just really well-made,’ Zhou Xiao thought. ’It won’t be this good once I actually get in the game.’
Zhou Xiao decided to wait and see after she finished creating her character’s face.
That wait lasted for about ten minutes.
In her room, Song Jiulai watched the puppets in the courtyard that had yet to awaken, anxiously scratching her head. "Why hasn’t anyone come out after all this time?"
’Didn’t the system say someone had logged in?’
System: "What’s the rush? They’re in character creation."
Song Jiulai: "..."
Outside the courtyard, only A Wu was waiting.
He was only twelve years old. In Song Jiulai’s original world, he would have been considered child labor, no question.
He was an unwanted orphan back then, which was why the previous Sect Master took him in to be a Medicine Gathering Child.
A Wu was a common type of Cultivator with very little talent. Compounded by the Longevity Sect’s lack of good resources, after all these years of cultivation, A Wu was only at the Early Stage of the Qi Refinement Realm. Reaching the Mid-stage was something one could only hope for in the future.
The cultivation Levels on the Yunzhou Continent were divided into: Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Divinity Transformation, Mahayana, and Crossing Tribulation (Ascension).
Each Realm was further divided into Early, Mid-stage, and Late Stage. Breaking through a Realm was incredibly difficult, but one’s lifespan would also increase exponentially.
But he never would have imagined that the Early Stage of the Qi Refinement Realm was already the highest combat power in the Longevity Sect.
Song Jiulai had just entered the Qi Refinement Realm and still had only a partial understanding of her mental method.
A Wu was very nervous. The Sect Master had told him that a new batch of disciples would be joining the Sect soon, and he was responsible for showing them around and helping them get familiar with the Sect.
From now on, he would be the Eldest Senior Brother.
A Wu didn’t know why their poor, dilapidated Sect would get new members. But a prophecy had descended a month ago: the Sect Master was the Daughter of Destiny, and she would bring great opportunities to the Longevity Sect. It had to be true!
The Sect Master said it wasn’t convenient for her to show her face, that she had to maintain some kind of persona, and that he should guide his junior brothers and sisters well.
If any of them were disobedient, he should just beat them up.
’But... isn’t that too violent?’
This was A Wu’s first time being an Eldest Senior Brother. He had no experience!
BANG—
Suddenly, there was a noise from the courtyard.
But before A Wu could see anyone, he heard a string of curses: "Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!!"
A Wu was confused.
’What does "fuck" mean?’
’Is it a type of duck?’
Then the person switched it up: "Oh my fucking god!!! Damn it, this isn’t a hallucination? Fuck!!!"
A Wu: ... ’I get it now. This junior brother is swearing. He has no manners!’
’I must teach him a good lesson!’
However, before he could resolve to teach him a lesson, the junior brother went silent.
Song Jiulai had waited all this time to see someone come in, only for them to spout a string of curses and then log off.
Song Jiulai stared, wide-eyed. "Did he disconnect?"
’Our game doesn’t even need an internet connection to log in.’
System: "I don’t know. He logged off himself."
The system definitely couldn’t observe him after he logged off.
Meanwhile, the player who had logged off immediately sent a message to his gaming group chat.
[Qiao Shan Zhen Hu: Holy shit, anyone who pre-registered for Starting with a broken sect, get on RIGHT NOW or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!!]
[Qiao Shan Zhen Hu: @ProGameReviewer Aren’t you out for dinner? Even if you’re eating abalone and mountain delicacies, you better haul your ass back here and log on. The login portal is going to close soon, and you’ll be kicking yourself!]
[AscendedTaoist: ...What’s up? Did you find some masterpiece that’s got you this worked up?]
[Born_To_Be_Emperor: Eh? Brother Wu Song is so excited. You didn’t take a sponsorship from the devs, did you?]
[Charity: What game? How come I’ve never heard of it? Brother Wu Song, what new game are you guys playing?]
...
But no matter how many times he was @’d in the group chat, Qiao Shan Zhen Hu didn’t say another word.
He had logged off just now because he remembered the portal was closing in an hour. There was a countdown timer in the bottom right corner when they entered the game!
By sending just those two messages, he felt he had reached the peak of human kindness. He then eagerly and impatiently re-entered the game.
The reason he was the fastest was that he wasn’t very good at character creation. He was all thumbs. After fumbling around for ten-odd minutes, he managed to create a barely presentable face and went in.
Who knew that upon entering, he would be utterly stunned by the scene in the courtyard.
Holographic. Virtual.
At that moment, those were the only words that came to Qiao Shan Zhen Hu’s mind.
He was so shocked he practically lost his senses.
And at the moment he logged in, a puppet next to him also woke up.
Hearing the noise, the other person turned his head. His rather handsome, custom-made face was filled with shock and confusion. "Bro, which chat group are you from? I’m Jing Bao Tian, in-game name’s Han Tian."
A jolt went through Qiao Shan Zhen Hu, and he hurried to greet him. "Holy shit, a pro! I’m Qiao Shan Zhen Hu, in-game name Wu Dahu."
Because his surname was Wu and his chat ID was Qiao Shan Zhen Hu, everyone jokingly called him Wu Song. When he entered the game, he couldn’t think of a suitable ID and just picked one at random, following the same thought process as Zhou Xiao.
Just then, a boy’s young voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Have the junior brothers and sisters arrived?"
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