Chapter 55: The Technological Mirage, The Concept of the Hive!

The next morning, after getting up and washing, Wang Chen had breakfast at a small eatery near his home before heading to the city research center.

Upon arrival, he didn’t go in right away. Instead, not far from the center’s high-tech gates, he found a stone ledge and sat down. From this spot, Long Wushuang would see him as soon as she arrived. And so, he waited quietly.

Meanwhile, at the research center’s bus stop, a graceful figure approached—it was Tang Ruotong. She walked with several female classmates, and with a casual glance, she spotted Wang Chen from afar.

“Huh? What’s Wang Chen doing here? Is he going to try out the Virtual Realm too?” asked a stylishly dressed girl beside her.

This girl was the core of Tang Ruotong’s small circle, hailing from a wealthy family. It was thanks to her that Tang Ruotong had managed to get a ticket to experience the Virtual Realm today.

“Could he even get a ticket? I remember he’s a scholarship student,” remarked another, a round-faced girl. “Maybe he’s just resting here, tired from passing by.”

“Doesn’t matter,” the stylish girl said lightly. “He used to have good grades, but now he’s just a Shaman of Life. We probably won’t cross paths with him again.”

Tang Ruotong spoke up in a small voice, “But didn’t Wang Chen reach a higher level than Lu Shiyu during the first leveling?”

The stylish girl scoffed, “Just luck. Every year there are a couple of lucky ones, aren’t there?”

With that, the other girls fell silent. Everyone knew that Tang Ruotong herself had run into a group of half-dead six-tailed venomous centipedes during her first leveling and shot straight to level seven. Clearly, she was one of those “lucky ones” the stylish girl referred to.

After a while, the round-faced girl brought up the latest fashion trends, and the heavy mood shifted as the topic took hold. The girls soon began chattering away again.

Tang Ruotong’s face was expressionless. She fell silent, trailing at the back of the group as they walked toward the research center.

…

“Chen!”

Wang Chen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them at the sound of a familiar voice. He saw a round figure hurrying over—Long Wushuang, his best friend, nicknamed “Fatty.”

“Hey, looks like you’ve lost some weight since I last saw you,” Wang Chen said, a bit surprised.

Long Wushuang grinned, rolling up his sleeves. “Look, my arms are all muscle now.”

Once, his arms had been layered with soft, pale flesh that made the girls in class envious. Now, his arms were clearly much leaner, the excess fat gone and replaced by defined muscle.

“Have you been working out behind my back?” Wang Chen teased.

“Too busy killing monsters, who has time for the gym?” Long Wushuang said, pulling up his class panel for Wang Chen to see. “Remember how I awakened as a Rapid Archer? I thought archers were supposed to be nimble, but turns out, the strong ones are all built like bears.”

He explained, “Especially their arms—much thicker than normal. Only with enough strength can you draw a powerful bow. When I use my class skills, my arms get enhanced like a true Rapid Archer’s, and the extra flab just melted away.”

Wang Chen clapped him on the shoulder. “Congratulations. Looks like you’ve found a painless way to lose weight.”

He handed over a bag of breakfast. “Good thing you’re not dieting—otherwise you’d have to pass on the fried dough sticks in here.”

Long Wushuang’s eyes lit up. “How’d you know I skipped breakfast?”

He grabbed the bag and immediately bit into a bun.

Wang Chen chuckled, “Come on, I know you. You’d rather be late every day for a bit more sleep. Asking you to get up early for breakfast is torture.”

With his mouth full of pork and scallion filling, Long Wushuang mumbled, “Wash the oranges.”

“What a guy! One bag of food isn’t enough, and now you want me to wash your oranges? You sure are picky about fruit,” Wang Chen laughed, half-scolding.

After a bout of banter, Long Wushuang finished breakfast, and the two friends walked arm-in-arm through the center’s main entrance.

…

Upon entering, a guide approached to ask their purpose. Long Wushuang explained and produced their Virtual Realm experience tickets. The guide scanned both tickets at a machine, verified their authenticity, and handed each of them a hard identification badge.

Pinning the badges to their chests, they followed the guide deeper into the center.

They walked down a corridor paved with spotless white tiles and soon arrived at a metal door. Having brought them here, and learning Long Wushuang already understood something about the Virtual Realm, the guide took his leave.

A scanner at the side of the door emitted a blue light, sweeping over the badges at their chests, and the metal door slid open.

The scene before them was straight out of a science fiction novel.

Beneath a vast white domed skylight was a space nearly the size of a standard soccer field. The walls were built from some white material—soft and gentle to the eyes. There were many round hatches set into the walls, resembling small caves.

In the center stood a massive machine, composed of countless servers, all interconnected by glowing blue transmission lines. The lines stretched out from the machine, running beneath the floor and into the round pods on the walls. Through the frosted floor, Wang Chen could faintly see the blue glow.

“The tech here is impressive—must be three or four stories tall,” Wang Chen marveled.

Long Wushuang grinned. “Doesn’t it feel like an insect hive?”

Wang Chen looked closely at the round pods along the walls. “You’re right, it really does.”

He recalled illustrations he’d seen in books.

“Yeah, because the technology behind the Virtual Realm is based on the neural network of the insect race. Humanity borrowed the concept to create machines that allow people to immerse themselves in virtual space. The experience is utterly real—just like fighting monsters in an actual secret realm,” Long Wushuang explained enthusiastically. “Here, you can face powerful beasts, awaken your buried combat instinct, and grow stronger—without the risk of injury or death.”

“Of course, there’s still pain feedback. If it exceeds your neural tolerance, you’ll be forcibly logged out.”

Long Wushuang led Wang Chen to two adjacent pods. After scanning their badges, the pod doors opened.

“Chen, let’s try it separately for now. Later, we can decide if we want to team up,” Long Wushuang said. “Once you’re inside, just follow the pod’s voice instructions and get used to it first.”

Wang Chen nodded and entered his pod.

As soon as he stepped inside, the door closed automatically, and the device before him lit up with a ghostly blue glow.