CHAPTER 6: CHAPTER 3: CALM DOWN, I KNOW THIS ROUTINE

"Guys, was I just playing Descent of High Martial?" Fang Zhen couldn’t help but ask the audience in his live stream room, completely unable to believe it was real.

The texture! The feeling!

And that stinging sensation on the body!

It’s exactly like the real thing! It’s way too real!

"Brother Zhen, you’re such a good actor. Come on, admit it, did the game company pay you?"

"Brother Zhen, your performance was amazing. I really thought you were kidnapped."

"The streamer is incredible, this is the first time I’ve seen someone do two hours of squats in a live stream without gasping, that stamina is truly enviable."

The audience in the live stream room looked at Fang Zhen, who appeared surprised, and couldn’t help but tease him, thinking Fang Zhen was pretending too much. It’s just a game after all, yet it seemed so real.

"Brother Zhen, you’ve been doing squats for two hours, how’s the virtual reality of this game? Is it real?"

"For real, Brother Zhen did two hours of squats, isn’t that real enough?"

"But this game is a bit tough at the beginning, starting right off with two hours of squats. Brother Zhen didn’t even make it out the door before dying. The game company must be doing this on purpose; they just don’t want people to get refunds."

The audience, seeing Fang Zhen still in a daze, became curious and started asking questions.

Watching a virtual game live stream is like watching a movie; the audience can’t experience it firsthand. There are only two perspectives available: a third-party view or a player’s view. Except for the graphics quality, they can’t feel anything else.

"Virtual reality? Is it real?" Fang Zhen looked at the Descent of High Martial on the screen, his eyes getting brighter and his voice even trembling a bit as he said, "Guys! All I can say is, I’ve never played a game this real. The realism is unprecedented, I’ll say it out loud, this Descent of High Martial is definitely the masterpiece of the year, and it will definitely go viral globally in the future!"

"Even though those other games with over 75% virtual reality did well with gravity and sensory systems, they are far from Descent of High Martial. Every squat I did felt like physical exhaustion all over my body, and the stabbing pain at the end of death was incredibly clear, just like reality. Saying that it’s 100% virtual reality is not an exaggeration."

"But the game does have some flaws, like no newbie guide and no game window; when I got in, I didn’t even know how to log out, and there’s no character face-crafting system, with your appearance and physique instantly replicated to 100%, leaving no chance for adjustment."

"Also, the newbie start is too difficult. Starting with two thousand squats is probably impossible for players without enough perseverance to complete. The manufacturer needs to redo this, otherwise, it’ll discourage newcomers."

Fang Zhen shared his impressions of Descent of High Martial and its drawbacks, but even though he mentioned several flaws, his gaze grew more heated with every word he said.

A second spring!

Fang Zhen felt that his second spring had arrived!

The career span of professional eSports players is short, typically ending at thirty years old, with only the top-tier players making it to thirty-five, earning plenty of money.

Now, the hottest mecha battle game, ’Mecha Continent,’ was played by Fang Zhen too late, and given his age, he struggled to get into it. Now, his Mecha Continent professional league team is on the verge of being optimized out, making it unlikely to achieve success there.

But now, Descent of High Martial has shown Fang Zhen an opportunity.

With 100% virtual reality, just by the name, you know it’s a fighting-type game. Once it explodes in popularity, it’ll surely form its own professional eSports circle, and surpassing the 75% virtual reality Mecha Continent’s popularity is not a big issue.

Being one of the first players to experience Descent of High Martial, if he can seize the opportunity, becoming a top player in the professional circle in the future is not impossible.

"Brother Zhen, although you provided a lot of useful advice for newcomers, is there a possibility... that newcomers can’t even get in?"

"I’ve already paid for the game a while ago and it still says I’m queued for connection."

"No way, did you already pay 4999 bucks?"

"What 100% virtual reality, fake! This is definitely a game company paying the streamer to advertise, just to trick people. They say only ten people can play, but don’t limit more people from buying and queueing. What kind of scam is this? Since genuine players can’t even play it, the streamers can say whatever they want."

"This is obviously the streamer hyping it up. If it really is 100% virtual reality, I’ll be the one shouting its praise."

"Newbie here, is this game real?"

"I don’t believe it! Unless they let me play it for free!"

As Fang Zhen continued to promote Descent of High Martial in his live stream, many viewers wanted to try it themselves, while many players jumped out, claiming that Fang Zhen and the game company were colluding to trick people into buying the game, which was actually unplayable.

For a while, the live stream room was filled with arguments, popularity was rising, and it was close to reaching the top ten of game live streams, increasing Descent of High Martial’s renown, as both skeptical and ecstatic players grew in number.

"Listen to me, everyone, the game is still in experiential testing, and it can be purchased now. I estimate that more spots will be released later. If you don’t believe it, that’s fine, I’m clear in my conscience, and I’ll continue to stream this game." Fang Zhen looked at the audience who were constantly taunting and cursing, no longer trying to explain, intending to strike while the iron is hot, "Folks, let’s continue, we haven’t even started today, we’re not logging off."

After saying this, Fang Zhen recharged 648 currency, and the Descent of High Martial icon immediately lit up, no longer appearing grayed out.

In the dim basement, the cold wind continued to blow, with constant wails.

"Are there two more people this time?"

Fang Zhen opened his eyes to find two more people beside him, a young man and a woman both wearing gray T-shirts and long sleeves.

Both looked quite young, the guy seemed under twenty with a shy, student-like demeanor, and the woman appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four, with fair skin, shoulder-length hair, and an air of heroism, like a wandering heroine from the martial world.

Both were bewildered upon waking up in this strange environment, looking around blankly, especially when noticing Lin Qi sitting at the iron table holding a notebook and pen, a panicked look crossed their faces.

Seeing the nervous pair, Fang Zhen, for some reason, swept away his previous gloom and even felt a sense of achievement.

"No need to panic, everyone." Fang Zhen stood up, patted the dirt off his pants, and calmly said to them, "I’m familiar with this process!"

The male student and the female warrior, hearing this, felt much more at ease and looked towards Fang Zhen, this bearded elder brother, seeming to find a backbone, completely shed their earlier anxiety.

"Name?"

"Fang Zhen!"

"Age?"

"29!"

"You’re a bit old, aren’t you?"

"I think I still have potential! I can prove it!"

For a moment, Lin Qi asked and Fang Zhen answered, with Fang Zhen’s responses firm and confident, clearly displaying the stance of an experienced player.

"Alright! In that case, prove it." Lin Qi looked at the confident Fang Zhen and nodded in satisfaction. This is the kind of player they need, someone he was willing to cooperate with. Lin Qi then picked up an Alloy Shovel from the ground and tossed it in front of Fang Zhen, "Take a right at the passage ahead, there’s a small warehouse over there. You’re on a time limit of two hours and twenty minutes to dig out a 10 cubic meter space five meters underground. You can start now!"