Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Fattening for the New Year Slaughter
Wei Jun wasn’t a gamer. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he received the message.
Liang Xueyao hadn’t said anything else. After much consideration, Wei Jun had Xiaoqing, a more active member of his department, watch the stream in his place.
Wei Jun’s department was already a fairly powerful agency.
"Plus, this game claims to be a full-dive simulation."
Looking at the news online, Xiaoqing still couldn’t quite believe it.
"Director, given the current state of global information technology, it should be impossible. Creating a simulated world through the human brain, allowing people to experience realistic sensations of touch, smell, and taste using only their consciousness... that’s just not possible. And it can even be livestreamed..."
If the livestreamer was lying, it meant they possessed hidden information technology more advanced than anything their country had.
And if they weren’t lying—that was an even more terrifying prospect.
Either way, it meant something beyond their control had emerged.
Even if Wei Jun didn’t understand the game itself, he understood its implications.
He made a swift decision. "Investigate this livestreamer. And keep an eye on any developments with this game. I’m reporting this to the higher-ups."
As he went to make the arrangements, his thoughts turned to Liang Xueyao, the one who had sent him the message in the first place.
’Looks like I’ll need to meet with this young comrade, Liang Xueyao, again.’
***
"This game is pretty open-ended. At least for now, other than giving us a main questline, the Sect Master doesn’t restrict us at all. We don’t have to accept quests or grind NPC affinity or anything like that."
Han Tian explained during his stream.
"Aside from cultivating, it’s a pretty free-form game."
As they traveled farther and farther, Han Tian and the others discovered that the game’s map was unbelievably huge.
He added with a sigh, "I’ve never played a game this realistic. If I didn’t have to log off, sometimes I’d forget I was in a game at all."
Yeah, right. He hired a whole film crew and is really getting into character.
To be honest, it’s a little terrifying. I’ve been watching for a while now, and none of the scenery has ever repeated. I can’t find any corresponding locations in the real world, either. Whether it’s the graphics or the special effects, the workload to create this has to be insane, right?
If this is really a game, our country’s technology has progressed way too quickly. A full-dive simulation game... I still can’t believe it.
Han Tian won’t even show his face. You guys really believe this is him?
I gotta admit, it’s great to have on while eating. The plot’s a little boring, but the visuals are incredible! The effects, the demon beasts—they’re more realistic than what you see in foreign blockbusters. It’s just so exciting to watch. Makes my food taste better!
Han Tian wasn’t streaming constantly; he was also recording data about his surroundings as he traveled.
However, the area between Wang’an County and First Mountain was mostly a vast forest, making for monotonous and boring scenery.
Since he also had to be on guard against demon beasts that could jump out at any moment, Han Tian rarely spoke.
Time in the game flowed slightly faster than in reality. So, after two hours in the real world, four hours had passed in-game, and they were still only halfway there.
As it started getting dark, Chen Miaomiao announced she had an emergency and needed to log off.
The others had no choice but to stop and rest, sitting in meditation.
After Chen Miaomiao logged off, her in-game body remained seated cross-legged on the spot like a motionless, silent puppet.
"I’m going to stream, so I’ll go take a look around."
When Han Tian said this, the others nodded in agreement.
Zhou Xiao added, "Be careful. Don’t let a demon beast ambush you."
Han Tian replied, "Don’t worry, I’ll be fine."
Han Tian angled his camera as he walked away. He was hoping to find some wild Spirit Grass to gather.
But this area wasn’t rich in Spiritual Energy, so there were few demon beasts and not many wild resources.
He rambled to his audience as he walked, occasionally bending down to scoop up a handful of dirt.
He showed it to the viewers. "If you think this isn’t a game, then take a look at this soil."
As he spoke, he cast the Water Manipulation Technique, and the dirt in his hand quickly turned to mud.
Because the camera was so close, the visual transformation was striking.
Suddenly, Han Tian’s brow furrowed.
’Why am I smelling blood?’
Now that he was a Cultivator, his sense of smell in the game was incredibly keen; he could pick up scents from a great distance.
The blood of a demon beast usually had a somewhat foul odor.
This scent... it smelled human.
Han Tian said aloud without thinking, "I smell blood."
Of course, the viewers watching the stream couldn’t smell a thing.
Ooh, is the plot finally starting?
Going by standard drama tropes, there’s about to be an injured beauty lying in the wilderness for our streamer to rescue.
A beauty! Yes, a beauty! Male or female, I don’t care, just show me how gorgeous they are!
Han Tian followed the scent of blood.
He didn’t sense any Spiritual Energy, but he proceeded with caution, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
And then he saw something completely unexpected.
Not far ahead, blood stained the ground where an injured creature lay on the forest floor, letting out soft whimpers.
It was a pure black wild boar—and a piglet at that. It wasn’t very large; about the right size for a roast suckling pig.
The chat immediately exploded with "?????".
Huh?
Where’s my beauty? Where’s my beautiful damsel?
What the hell kind of plot twist is this? Who runs into a wild boar in the woods?
...Actually, running into a wild boar in the woods is pretty normal when you think about it.
The black boar had an injured leg. It was so dark that only the streaks of blood were visible against its hide.
Upon spotting Han Tian, it immediately let out a squeal fit for a slaughterhouse.
Unfortunately, its injured leg prevented it from running far, so it could only stare at Han Tian and continue to squeal.
Han Tian was dumbfounded. "System, what is this?"
His words were censored, so the livestream viewers didn’t hear him.
System: "As you can see, a genuine wild boar."
Although, it had never seen a black boar recorded as being this dark.
Two sharp tusks were growing from the sides of its snout, though they weren’t very prominent yet.
It wasn’t even a demon beast, just an ordinary animal.
Of course, there were regular animals on the Yunzhou Continent.
But with the existence of demon beasts, the survival conditions for normal animals were harsh, and they could typically only be found near human settlements.
"Even for a wild boar, this is too black."
The boar’s coat was so black there wasn’t a single fleck of another color on it.
Han Tian had never seen a boar like it in the real world.
He walked closer. The boar struggled to get up, but its leg buckled, and blood gushed from the wound. Its squeal turned sharp and pitiful.
"Alright, alright, stop squealing. You’re lucky; I’m a vegetarian in this game."
Seeing the boar’s injury, Han Tian thought for a moment, then, in an act of extravagance, took out a Blood Replenishing Pill and tossed it over.
The versatile Blood Replenishing Pill was a life-saving elixir for ordinary people on the Yunzhou Continent, and it worked on boars, too.
The wild boar seemed to realize this was a life-saving treasure and swallowed it in one gulp.
In an instant, the bleeding on the piglet’s leg stopped and began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Feeling the vigorous life force coursing through its body after eating the pill, the boar decided Han Tian was a good person. It immediately trotted over and nuzzled his leg.
Han Tian picked up the little boar, and it didn’t resist.
Its pure black color made it quite a curiosity.
Even its eyes were black. If it closed them at night, it would be completely invisible.
Han Tian decided to take it with him.
’I’ll raise it for now,’ he thought. ’It’s still too small.’
’I’ll fatten it up and slaughter it for the New Year.’
Comments