Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Planner is Such a Bastard, Which Doesn’t Fit My Mom’s Style

Wei Jun’s expression instantly brightened. He turned his head and asked, "Tan Jie?"

A staff member nodded. "You requested that everyone at the base participate. Tan Jie was on vacation, but we notified him anyway. He used his home computer, and he says he managed to get a spot."

Wei Jun let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

’I didn’t expect such a pleasant surprise.’

"Have Tan Jie—no, have him play from home. Does he have a VR headset? If not, get a set sent to him immediately. Expense it. And tell him to log into the game within the hour."

"Once he’s in the game, if everything checks out, have him log off immediately and report back."

He knew the game required a login within one hour, so they had to connect as quickly as possible.

"Yes, sir! I’ll go inform Tan Jie."

*

"Fuck! The heavens are watching! I, Hu Hansan, am back!"

The initial face verification was delayed by a few seconds, which nearly gave Zhen Qiang a heart attack from pure frustration. Thankfully, once the prompt appeared, he passed the verification quickly. The moment it started, the screen just seemed to flash black for a second, and then he was through.

Then, a message that brought him immense joy popped up: [Congratulations, you have received access to the persistent beta test. Please log in to the game within one hour, or the login portal will close and your account will be voided.]

Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhen Qiang sat back down, put on his VR headset, and logged back into the game.

Ah, the familiar interface. The air was fresh; everything was wonderful.

He’d expected to be greeted by the same heavenly system voice from before.

And it was indeed that heavenly voice, but the line had changed: "Yo, you’re back?"

That was the system’s voice!

Zhen Qiang was so moved he nearly wept. "System, is that you?"

System: "It’s me."

Zhen Qiang let out a wild laugh. "See? I, Hu Hansan, am back again!"

The system gave a perfunctory reply. "Uh-huh. You have previous character model data. Want to import it directly?"

Zhen Qiang paused. "Huh? If I import it, will I still have all my old points?"

System: "No. It only imports the model data. You’re a new player."

Zhen Qiang: "..."

’What a goddamn rip-off.’

Zhen Qiang shook his head. "No, I’ll create a new face this time."

The face he’d made last time was too plain. A Wu was friendly and greeted every disciple in the Sect with a smile, but he still gave preferential treatment to the good-looking junior disciples. He’d even hang around their Spirit Fields more often when he was supposed to be tending to them.

’And he thought he was being subtle about it.’

The country folk were even more pragmatic.

Zhou Xiao and his group had managed to get on good terms with a Feique Sect disciple in charge of procurement. At first, others had tried approaching that disciple, but he’d just ignored them.

It wasn’t until he saw Zhou Xiao that he showed any enthusiasm—all because Zhou Xiao had a good-looking character model.

Zhen Qiang was sick and tired of this world that judged everything by looks!

Unfortunately, Zhen Qiang had overestimated himself.

Not everyone has a knack for character creation, and it’s a difficult skill to master.

Even with the faces of countless celebrities in his mind’s eye, he discovered he was completely clueless. He had no idea how to make the subtle adjustments that resulted in an attractive face.

In the end, the more he tinkered, the uglier his creation became.

’Why can’t this game let you import other people’s character presets?’

In despair, Zhen Qiang finally realized that his newly created face was even worse than the one he’d casually tweaked last time. Holding back tears, he said, "Forget it. Just import the previous model."

System: "A wise choice."

Zhen Qiang: "..."

’Do you think I can’t hear the sarcasm in your voice?!’

System: "You can also reuse your previous ID."

Zhen Qiang didn’t hesitate. "Reuse it."

’A familiar ID makes things easier.’

After logging in with the ID Zhen Weida, Zhen Weida found himself in the novice village.

This was a proper novice village now, located in the outskirts of Wang’an County.

Players had already built dozens of new houses. The life-style players who preferred to stay put could keep themselves busy for a long time just by building.

These quaint, old-fashioned buildings were constructed along the riverbank.

Each cottage had a garden-and-wood-cabin aesthetic. Though the houses were small, living in a place like this perfectly matched the idyllic, paradise-like image that was ingrained in the very bones of the Huaxia people.

Some players had even cleared part of the small mountain behind the houses to plant peach trees.

The game’s time flowed quickly, and with players using Spiritual Energy to nurture them, it wouldn’t be long before they could enjoy vast groves of peach blossoms.

It was an incredible sight.

Wisps of cooking smoke rose from in front of some houses, a clear sign that players were busy inside.

"Huh—"

A passing player caught sight of Zhen Weida, and his expression turned to one of utter astonishment. "Holy shit, Zhen Weida, you’re back again? You’re incredible! How the hell did you manage to snag a spot? Don’t tell me you made some shady deal with the system, did you? How’d you pull it off?"

Zhen Weida looked over and saw it was the life-style player, Gu Yunxi.

He was an old player. Zhen Weida planted his hands on his hips and said smugly, "Pfft, of course I got it thanks to my single... uh, I mean, thanks to my brilliant mind! Didn’t see that coming, did you? I, Hu Hansan, am back! Where are Ye Xizhao and the others right now?"

Ye Xizhao was one of his partners.

But he’d been in the game the whole time and hadn’t answered his messages.

Gu Yunxi said, "Running around south of Wang’an County."

That was the place where Zhen Weida had fallen off a cliff.

The mere mention of it gave Zhen Weida traumatic flashbacks. He had no plans to go there for the time being.

Zhen Weida said, "Alright, I’ll go find them after I’ve seen the Sect Master."

As they were speaking, someone walked over. "Excuse me, are you both players?"

Gu Yunxi and Zhen Weida turned to look. It was obviously a new player.

He didn’t have any Spiritual Energy fluctuations yet.

He had done a simple job on his face, but he was still quite handsome—in a rugged, determined-looking way.

Zhen Weida was now equally jealous of every player who could create a decent face. "Bro, your face looks great."

The person paused for a moment before replying, "Thank you for the compliment."

Gu Yunxi was very friendly. "I’m an old player, and he... sort of is and isn’t. You should just wait here for a bit. Once all the new players have gathered, the Sect Master will come and give you Elixir Pills to awaken your Spirit Roots. Don’t wander off. There are still First-rank Demon Beasts around here, and right now, you’re all completely powerless."

The newcomer nodded. "Thank you for letting me know." He hesitated for a second, then held out his hand. "Hello, I’m Shuitan."

Gu Yunxi waved a dismissive hand. "No need to be so formal, we’re just playing a game. I’m Gu Yunxi, and he’s Zhen Weida."

Shuitan nodded.

He asked tentatively, "Excuse me, is this game’s Sect Master, Song Jiulai, the game’s developer?"

Gu Yunxi and Zhen Weida exchanged a glance. Then Gu Yunxi said, "That’s what we speculate in private, but we don’t want to believe it."

Shuitan asked, surprised, "Why not?"

Zhen Weida said, "Mainly because developers are such bastards, and that just doesn’t fit my mom’s vibe."

Shuitan: "..."