Lu Qiuchen groggily sat up, realizing she was on an endless grassland, with the towering Dragon Vein Peak piercing the clouds in the distance behind her.
“β Did this send me to Dragon Island?” Lu Qiuchen asked aloud but received no reply. Of course, it was a rhetorical question; she was already very familiar with the southeastern part of Dragon Island and could tell her current location at a glance.
She stood up and transformed into her dragon form, preparing to fly back to her lair. The previous experience had been intense; she needed to return and calm down, to analyze the intelligence she had gathered.
However, right after transforming, she sensed something was off about her surroundings—an inexplicable dissonance filled the air. She didn’t rush to fly off but instead carefully observed her environment.
After a long while without discovering the source of the discomfort, she decided it must be a hallucination. Lu Qiuchen scratched one of her front claws with the other, confirming she was not dreaming. But it was precisely this action that made her notice something abnormal.
Her body’s pain was faint now. Blinking, she shifted back into human form and reached out toward the towering mountain peak before her.
“Your chosen gender does not match your original form. Sensory perception of sensitive areas has been disabled.”
A bolt of shock ran through Lu Qiuchen’s mind. Beta’s mention of an emergency exit—did that mean she had been sent back into the game? All the earlier dissonance stemmed from the fact that she was currently inside the game?
…
“Data error detected. Rescanning complete. Player information updated. Sensory perception of sensitive areas enabled.”
During the time Lu Qiuchen was unconscious and disconnected from the system, she had explored her body countless times in the Eternal world and had lost much interest in it.
On top of that, since the system reappeared, events had come one after another, leaving her no headspace for such matters. The recent instance was her first self-exploration since the system returned, which explained the system update now.
Lu Qiuchen paid no mind to the reopening of sensory perception; what mattered most was confirming her current state.
The game still could not be exited. She was absent from the leaderboard, her status was “special player,” level LV120, race Silver Dragon Race, and her class was still boss…
Seeing that her attributes hadn’t changed, Lu Qiuchen grew suspicious. The emergency exit had, in fact, sent her into “Eternal.”
If she couldn’t leave the game now but her body felt no sluggishness as before in the dungeons, controlling it as nimbly as in reality, then what was going on?
She summoned Beta and asked her question, waiting for its explanation.
“β Detected surrounding dangers at the player’s login location; the exit function has been temporarily disabled. The player is part of the main storyline, possessing extremely high physical strength, and the login status is special. Effective immediately, restrictions on player control will be lifted. This solution has passed system self-inspection and complies with regulations.
“Players must not disrupt normal game order or communicate with other players beyond system limits, are strictly forbidden from attacking players in automated control mode, and must cooperate with Beta to progress the main storyline. Violation of these rules will result in forced isolation and strict supervision by the system, with possible automation control imposed.
“Additionally, the player must reset their temporary avatar and temporary nickname. Please proceed with the settings.” Beta’s gentle voice echoed in Lu Qiuchen’s mind, but the message it conveyed was anything but gentle.
After hearing Beta’s explanation, Lu Qiuchen realized she had been entering the game with her physical body all along, but was previously restricted.
“Nickname: Alice. Appearance… change to blonde hair and blue eyes, remove dragon horns and tail, keep everything else unchanged!”
Lu Qiuchen was accustomed to her current height of 174cm and was satisfied with it, so she didn’t want to change back and forth. Besides, dramatically altering height was never a good idea.
While browsing forums, she had read about a player with dwarfism who had become addicted to the game’s high realism and body customization. After experiencing the sensation of being 1.9 meters tall, he couldn’t bear his physical shortcomings in real life anymore, leading to deep despair and ultimately suicide.
That news had even made the Federation news and caused a brief stir on the forums. It prompted official adjustments in response to new Federation regulations, such as:
The developers imposed restrictions on player body modifications, shifting from free face manipulation to mandatory import of player data, limiting changes to within 10% of the original body dimensions, and canceling the option to switch to a body of the opposite sex. At the same time, they opened features like makeup, beautification, and tattoos.
They also offered a one-time, limited opportunity to adjust body shapes for dissatisfied players, while those with bizarre modifications had to re-adjust.
Whether these changes were good or bad was a matter of debate among players, but that was a story for another time.
After setting her nickname, Lu Qiuchen had a thought and opened her talent space, where the energy-filled item lay quietly. She sighed in relief.
With this, she could at least resist Beta once at a critical moment. Judging from the last time she used it, she would likely be forcibly kicked out by Beta again.
But her real-life situation was not necessarily better than the game. If the Flame Demon King was constantly stalking her, being kicked out by Beta would spell disaster, so she had to use this item cautiously.
Hmph, calling it a random item or tool didn’t sound right. It deserved a name. Since Gale called the system a “curse,” this round, chubby item would be called the “Curse-Breaking Orb!”
Lu Qiuchen then thoroughly checked her status. Although she couldn’t join any guild, she could now use her backpack and equipment functions. Many of her items, like the clothes Odin had given her, were unrecognizable, only showing as “???” in the detection.
Noticing that Beta had no data on these items and equipment made Lu Qiuchen somewhat proud. This was more like a real boss—if the final boss of a major update didn’t have a few epic items, she herself would feel embarrassed.
The sun was just rising. Lu Qiuchen now wanted to explore the human world. Even if she couldn’t chat directly with other players, she was confident she could find a way to communicate!
*****
January 29, Saturday.
Early morning, Zhang Cheng climbed out of the game pod, washed his face and brushed his teeth, then sat at the table waiting for breakfast.
The kitchen partition opened, the aroma along with Zhang Yu came to the table, and the two began to eat.
After finishing, Zhang Cheng cleared the dishes while Zhang Yu crossed her arms and asked, “Are you really not going to the gathering tonight?”
“Yeah.” Zhang Cheng kept busy with his hands, lowering his head to answer.
The gathering Zhang Yu mentioned had been proposed by Liu Qingzhu a few days ago. Ostensibly, it was to take advantage of the free Saturday to have a family dinner and chat, but in reality, it was meant to ease the current family tensions.
The root of this family conflict dated back half a month.
Half a month ago, Zhang Guang confessed to Zhang Cheng and Zhang Yu about the Eternal Group and the explosion at the game pod.
Learning that his father had been both an accomplice and direct instigator of Lu Qiuchen’s death tangled Zhang Cheng’s mind into a mess.
On one side was the obsession and guilt over Lu Qiuchen’s death, on the other was the father who had made mistakes for his own safety. Zhang Cheng didn’t know how to choose or what reaction was right.
Zhang Guang had taught him since childhood to be kind, honest, responsible, and independent. His name “Cheng” meant honesty. But his father’s past deeds made him feel ashamed.
Zhang Guang admitted fault in the matter and acknowledged that his role was disgraceful. What he did was unfair to the Lu family and also to the teachings he had given Zhang Cheng.
But Zhang Cheng could neither bear to send his own father to prison nor had the strength to do so.
Zhang Guang was an epic-level magic swordsman and also the executive CEO of the game company.
In terms of strength, Zhang Cheng couldn’t defeat Zhang Guang. Even if Zhang Guang didn’t care about his reputation, the company still valued its image.
As for quitting, that was out of the question. Just because of a young man’s guilt and obsession, the game company losing a capable employee—even if he was his son—was a joke.
The company’s plan to return home was the top priority. Everything else was secondary.
Amid extreme turmoil and pain, the father-son relationship between Zhang Cheng and Zhang Guang hit rock bottom and entered a cold war.
In these two weeks, apart from Zhang Cheng being summoned once to handle a Panda issue the next day, they hadn’t seen or spoken to each other.
Regarding Lu Qiuchen’s matter, Zhang Cheng had unusually calmed down because he knew what had happened was irreversible and he had no power to change it. All he could do was try to make amends.
Zhang Cheng’s behavior over these days was mostly normal except for the cold war with his father. After work, he dived into the game pod to level up, and his conversations with Zhang Yu were mostly about the game.
Zhang Yu noticed and knew Zhang Cheng had fallen into another obsession. His current thinking was probably that since his father couldn’t make amends, he would do it himself, bearing all the blame.
“Dad… that someone has a social event tonight, so it’s just the three of us, mom, you, and me,” Zhang Yu said after hearing Zhang Cheng’s answer, stepping back according to their mother’s instructions.
“I’m not going. I want to level up today.” Zhang Cheng’s voice was cold and resolute.
A sigh escaped Zhang Yu. Seeing that their mother’s plan was doomed, she grabbed her phone to text their mother.
After putting down the phone, Zhang Yu tilted her head and thought for a moment before patting her brother’s shoulder. “Xiao Cheng, I suddenly don’t want to go shopping today. I’ll bring Qiwen over to keep you company while you level up!”
Zhang Cheng finished washing his hands and wiped them, looking at Zhang Yu skeptically, as if saying: “Just you?”
“What’s that look? You little brat, how dare you look down on your big sister!” Zhang Yu snapped. “Considering your bad mood, I’ve been nice to you for half a month already. I even learned how to cook those complicated dishes for you. If you anger me today, I’m officially canceling your immunity.”
“Big sis, it’s fine for the brother-in-law to level up, but you have to think about what level you’re at now.” Zhang Cheng looked helpless.
Zhang Yu’s expression grew awkward. She really was a bit low level, having just reached 62. Not to mention the gap with Zhang Cheng, but also quite far behind the main group.
“You little punk, you called me brother-in-law without my permission. Wait and see!” To cover her embarrassment, Zhang Yu abruptly changed the subject.
Zhang Cheng endured a half-hearted “beating,” half-pushed into the guest room, closed the door, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Shaking his head, he took off his clothes and stepped into the game pod.
‘Looks like my mental state hasn’t been good lately. Big sister’s concern really shows on her face.’
Thinking that, Zhang Cheng’s gaze grew determined. He had to speed up leveling, reach level 80 to trigger the main storyline, and when he met Lu Qiuchen again, apologize to her on behalf of his father.
Maybe only after settling this matter could he return to normal.
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