Chapter 1: People call us 789
System is rebooting!
Engines running!
System recharge successful!
Transmigration begins!
……
Weng!
My mind was totally blank as my body continued to fall. It was as if I were about to be ripped apart. With the world spinning around me, I woke up with a jolt from my dreams.
I had a heavy feeling in my mind as if I had just woken up after experiencing the past. What I had seen moments ago was a giant abyss and many looming shadows looking down from above, but in the blink of an eye, I was back in reality.
“I am finally awake…”
As I lay in my bed, I thought, I’m really going mad; even the scenes in my dreams are of those of a game… What is going on with me? Did I transmigrate from the game back into reality? No no… My memories slowly recovered. A night ago, I was getting drunk with my best buddy, Ah Fei. Moreover, was this not Ah Fei’s house?
“En?”
I was thinking about this when the thick scent of perfume suddenly entered my nose.
“What is going on? Why is there the smell of perfume in the room?”
I sniffed and reached out to brush above my pillow. However, I ended up grabbing a soft, triangular piece of clothing.
“Yi?”
All of a sudden, lightning struck me. This was… a woman’s clothing? Rage rose in my chest.Why were there female things in my room?
“Ah Fei!
“Ah Fei, get over here!”
After I shouted twice in anger, a guy pushed the door open and entered. He was rubbing his wet hair, and when he saw me holding the undies in my hand, he smiled naughtily. “A-Ah Li, why are you awake? Ahahaha! I thought that you were going to sleep until the afternoon!”
“This, what is going on?!”
“T-That… That’s…”
His face turned red, then he said angrily, “D*mn! You really aren’t a brother. Did you get so drunk that you forgot about all that happened yesterday? If it weren’t because you got dumped, why would I go to the bar and get drunk with you?”
“En? I was dumped?”
I was totally lost and could not recall anything.
“You forgot about it already?” He walked up and placed his hands around my shoulders. “I am happy that you can walk out from the darkness of your love lost. It seems like yesterday’s drinking was worth it!”
“Stop changing the topic; what is this?” I continued to stare at the thing in my hand.
“Haha…”
He laughed awkwardly as usual and said, “Didn’t I bring that Cara girl back last night… You were too drunk so I just did it beside you…”
“What!”
I threw it at his face. “You really did it right beside me?”
“Anyways, you were too drunk and knew nothing.”
“Scram!”
I kicked him out of the room.
“Hahaha~”
Ah Fei’s loud laughter spread out from outside as he said, “Right, Ah Li, don’t forget about the important matters. Illusionary Moon opens at 3pm today. Don’t forget about how we are going to become legends of the world and create an illustrious history, sweeping everyone in our way!”
“Illusionary Moon opens today?!” I exclaimed.
“D*mn, did you turn dumb after sleeping?”
He stared at me. “Wait, do you still remember who Wang Siyu is?”
“Wang Siyu…” I was in deep thought.
“D*mn!”
He was speechless for a moment. “You just broke up with her a day ago, so why does it seem like you have forgotten all about her? You really are skilled; I am impressed. Hehe!”
I scratched the back of my head. “I don’t know, either. I had a dream after being drunk, and it seems like I have gotten over everything.”
“What dream?”
“I forgot…”
“I am impressed; I am really impressed!”
He grinned. “Anyways, you’ve also been fired so just stay here. With our gaming skills, we will definitely be able to rule the world in Illusionary Moon, won’t we?”
“Hehe…”
I scoffed. “Look at your gaming skills.Don’t you know your own place? You really should improve your gaming skills. If not, let’s not talk about sweeping the world, for you can’t even sweep a dog’s den…”
“Ahahaha! I look at the big picture! That is one of my better skills…”
He suddenly recalled something and asked, “Right, have you prepared the gaming helmet already? If not, then we have to go downstairs right away to buy one. Ten thousand for one. Right, you used to be the head data analyst of Destiny Corporation; you were earning tens of millions a year, so how did you become poor enough to be here?”
I felt a little embarrassed. “My bank card was frozen by my father; I have nothing to my name now…”
“D*mn, you unfilial child!Hahaha~”
“Scram scram scram! I will go check the helmets out.”
“Okay.”
……
I dragged out a heavy luggage from the bottom of the bed. In it were basically all of my documents. In the corner of the luggage was a helmet which had a mix of gold and red patterns. This was Destiny Corporation’s latest game Illusionary Moon’s specific helmet. It was said to be the most advanced helmet, and I had only managed to get it after begging my sister for a long time.
“D*mn!”
When Ah Fei saw the helmet, he froze and muttered in disbelief, “That’s… Glory Helmet?! Red and gold interlaced—isn’t that a Glory Helmet? A limited edition! They say it’s designed for the top professional players. In the entire country server, only Li Xiao Yao, Fang Ge Que, Cang Tong, Q-Sword, the top twenty to thirty players have the right to own one.”
“En.”I nodded my head. “This is indeed a Glory Helmet.”
“How do you have it?”
He looked as if he had seen a ghost, touching the helmet like an insane man. He was even about to drool. “D*mn.Although your skills are just so-so… you are far from the level required to have this!”
“Don’t forget my identity. I was once Destiny Corporation’s head data analyst. Would it be hard to get a Glory Helmet using personal relations?”
He raised his thumb. “You really are good at bragging; I nearly thought that you were the son of Destiny Corporation’s big boss!”
“How would you know that I wasn’t? Hahaha~”
“Scram! His surname is Ouyang, while yours is Lu. You can wish that is the case, but forget about it! Hahaha~”
“Scram, you ****!”
“You are cursing again! When did my grandmother offend you…”
He laughed out loud and thengotserious. “Since you already havea helmet, we are ready, and since your bank account is frozen, stay in my house and be my little brother. I will feed you well in Illusionary Moon. Our legendary combination will definitely create a legend!”
“Scoff… Who knows who’s gonna be the little brother!”
“Let’s go down to eat; the restaurant’s sour vegetable fish isn’t half bad. The waitress is also beautiful.”
“Wait a bit. Let me wash up first, then we can head out!”
“Okay!”
Ah Fei turned around and left.
Looking at his back, I could not help but laugh. When I was at my lowest point, I actually had such a good brother taking me in. It seemedthat my life was not so bad.
Ah Fei was a local in Suzhou and his name was Shi Shangfei.
His name did come from somewhere. Legend had it that, the night before his mother gave birth to him, she dreamed of a golden-colored roc. His grandmother felt that he would rise up in the sky and help bring glory to the Shi family, so she gave him the name Shi Shangfei. However, the classmates mostly called him Fly. Because of that, they often ended up fighting.
Ah Fei was a player. How much of a player was he? So much that, when I was downstairs buying cup noodles, I would be able to meet several girls whom he had relationships with. So much that, in the short few kilometers to his office, his phone could automatically connect to dozens of Wi-Fi.
He was a player, but as a brother, he was top-notch.
……
Afternoon.
Ah Fei and I each took a side of the living room and wore the game helmet. We waited for the launch of the game at three. The moment I put on the Glory Helmet, there was a swoosh, and a golden flash of light appeared in front of my eyes. What I saw was a vast land with numerous golden-armor-wearing cavalry galloping forward. They gathered on the high ground.
The first-person camera suddenly panned down, and there were instantly a number of Undead Soldiers below. There were corrupted Cowhead Men holding battleaxes, Undead Beings with their mouths wide open, and even a Necromancer holding a staff. The ground shook and numerous Undead Soldiers rose from the ground, surging toward the human army like a flood.
The scenes suddenly changed. A full moon hung in the night sky and gave off a really devilish aura.
In my ears, I heard the opening female voice…
“When the silver moon rose, the elements awakened. The power of magic descended on the land and the living beings prospered. In the end, humans, barbarians, dragons, elves, and ocean waves appeared. Five thousand years ago, the kings of the five races signed the legendary Fanshu Contract in the human city of Fanshu, and it was known as the Five Race Alliance Treaty.
“Many years later, the Gate of Flames in the north of the continent was forcefully opened. The strong undead army swept the north, destroying a total of six empires made up of humans, elves, and barbarians. The five races were driven to the south. When the silver moon rose again, humans started their study of magic and martial arts. From then on, light and darkness, good and evil, began a long battle.”
Moonlight scattered and rain pelted down, forming two large words that stated, ‘Illusionary Moon’. Shortly after, the server countdown timer appeared in front of me.
“Hu…”
I took a deep breath. As the head dataanalyst-cum-developer of Destiny Corporation, I should be unable to enter the game, but it was different this time. I was out of a job and could officially be an official player, joining this game which was said to be running on a new engine, one that grew from the core dataset of the last game, Destiny.
……
The voice of someone familiar spread into my ears.
“Ah Li, when you enter the game, with your comprehension ability, you will definitely be an expert. This is something I am sure of!Hahaha~”
This was Han Yixiao’s voice.
I suddenly felt melancholic. Han Yixiao, Ah Fei, and I graduated from the same high school. We played games together when we were young. My ID was July Flame, Ah Fei August End, andHan Yixiao September Vest. The three of us gamed together and people called us ‘789’. We were quite famous when we were ingame.
Unfortunately, all of this had passed.
I looked at the Illusionary Moon picture in the distance and sucked in a deep breath.
“Old Han, I will definitely find the truth and look for you. Don’t worry!”
……
Time passed second by second, and we got closer to the start of the servers.
One had to say, Ah Fei and I had rushed to set everything up. Most of the other teams had built relevant workshops, while we had made this decision just half a month ago. However, although it was rushed, I was still confident in my ability. I did not doubt that I would be able to sweep the world in this game.