"I am an NPC."
Saying this to the mirror, Chu Guang took a deep breath and adjusted his collar, trying his best to look suitably imposing.
And completely expressionless.
Three days had passed since that day.
In just a few minutes, it would be time for the players to log in.
As for the blue coat he wore, it was the very outfit he had arrived in when he first transmigrated into this world long ago.
Old Charlie from Bet Street had once told him that residents emerging from the shelters all seemed to wear this.
"I am an NPC."
Chu Guang practiced once more in front of the mirror he had scavenged from outside.
The nature of this "new job" was completely different from the sales work he used to do. A warm, spring-breeze smile and polite demeanor had no place on a manager.
After all, this was a wasteland governed by the law of the jungle.
To survive in this wasteland, he didn't necessarily have to look like an iron-blooded tough guy, but he at least had to inspire enough confidence and security.
Feeling the contour of his jawline, Chu Guang pondered whether he should carve a scar onto his forehead.
Or maybe just shave his hair into a punk-style mohawk?
After all, this was a wasteland ruled by the law of the jungle.
Being too handsome would ruin the immersion.
"Master."
Still striking poses before the mirror, Chu Guang gave an impassive jerk of his chin.
"What is it?"
Xiao Qi said in a small voice, "According to the data I accessed, NPCs in games usually do not refer to themselves as NPCs."
The expression on Chu Guang's face stiffened slightly, and he cleared his throat.
"Of course I know that..."
Facing the mirror, he mumbled again, "...I am the manager of Shelter 404."
Speaking of which, it was almost the agreed-upon time.
Three hours ago, the incubation pods had finished synthesizing the clones.
He had previously arranged with the four "lucky" players on Penguin that they should put on their helmets before nine in the evening, Yanjing time, find a comfortable position lying flat or on their sides, and log into the game promptly at nine.
Just as Chu Guang was pondering what kind of entrance to make in front of the players, a chime rang out in his mind.
Immediately following that, a line of text floated before his eyes.
[Mission accomplished!]
Chu Guang's heart tightened slightly.
They're here!
***
"Holy, holy, holy shit! This is insane!"
In an unassuming room in the living quarters right next to the residents' hall, four incubation pods unlocked simultaneously, their translucent doors swinging open.
Sitting up from the open incubation pod, Ye Wei stared dumbfounded, looking around with a face full of astonishment, even outright daze.
This—
This was the game world?!
Until a minute ago, he had still been wondering if this was an elaborate, well-planned prank.
Yet just as he had lain flat in bed with the fully charged helmet on, on the verge of dozing off, a streak of light pierced through the darkness and shot toward him.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside an unfamiliar room.
His body felt slick and wet.
Just like he had been fished straight out of a pool.
The breeze blowing from the overhead vent brushed across his shoulders, and he could distinctly feel the liquid slowly evaporating, leeching the heat from his body.
It was faintly accompanied by a rather unpleasant odor.
Ye Wei snapped to his senses, his eyes widening in shock.
Sight!
Smell!
Touch!
Taste!
Hearing!
All five senses were fully intact!
Fucking incredible!!!
The sheer immersion brought tears welling up in his eyes.
To think that in his lifetime, he would actually witness fully immersive virtual reality technology!
Calling it mind-blowing didn't even begin to do it justice!
He wasn't the only one.
The other three players sitting up from their incubation pods all wore identical looks of utter shock.
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap."
"...I fucking thought this was a joke."
"Sweet mother of God! It's actually full immersion!"
"Is tech really this advanced nowadays??? Holy hell, how come I've never seen this on the news?!"
"Hiss... There's even fucking pain." One of the players pinched himself.
"Who the hell are you? An NPC?"
"NPC my ass, I'm Old Bai! Fleeting White Horse! Who are you?"
"Holy shit? Old Skinny?! I'm Kuang Feng! Gale Force 8! Why do you look like this? Hahahaha, you're killing me!"
"Fuck off! Call me Old Skinny again, and I'll show you what Old Thick means... Hey, this game is neat. Our appearances are preset? Wonder if we can customize our faces in the open beta."
Old Bai pinched himself too. Though he grimaced in pain, his face was radiant with joy.
Thrilled!
Excited!
Incredulous!
A dream had stepped into reality!
In the adjacent pod, Ye Wei stared wide-eyed without moving a muscle, struggling to digest the shock in his heart.
Aside from him, another fellow was sitting motionless, likely Ample Time Ahead from the chat group.
The guy was staring down between his legs in deep contemplation, lost in thought over who knew what.
"The default character setting is male? There isn't even a character creation screen. I mean... can I make a female character?"
"Fuck, you horny degenerate! You've gotta be Ye Shi."
"I'm Fang Chang..."
"Holy crap?! Fang Chang?! Bro... you know what I'm thinking, right?"
"Piss off, I was just making a casual comment. The guy next to me must be Ye Shi... You guys all made it?"
Seeing the three of them look over at him, Ye Wei finally returned to his senses.
Realizing he was completely naked, he hurried to grab the uniform hanging by the incubation pod and pulled it over his head, replying offhandedly,
"Yeah, just got here... How do you play this game? Isn't there a beginner's tutorial?"
"No clue, we just arrived too."
Just as the words left his mouth, the room door opened.
A man wearing a blue coat walked in from the outside.
Behind him trailed a wastebasket-shaped robot. Its barrel-like body looked somewhat endearing, yet its streamlined casing and polished silver coat gave off a distinctly sci-fi air.
The four players' eyes went wide.
"An NPC!"
"He looks just like a real person!"
"Is this really a game world?"
"This is way too realistic!"
"Quiet," Chu Guang interrupted the chattering noise. Sweeping his gaze across the four players in the room, he said slowly, "Welcome to Shelter 404."
"I am the manager here."
"Codename—Dawn."
The room went dead silent in an instant.
The four players were unexpectedly well-behaved, holding their breath as they stared at him, terrified of missing a single narrative detail.
It seemed his aura had successfully commanded the room.
Chu Guang let out a silent breath of relief and continued according to his prepared script.
"First, I must tell you some good news: the war has ended."
"The bad news is that our world has changed beyond recognition. If you expect to pack your bags and run home to your mothers right now, that is plainly impossible."
"We are now in the two-hundredth year after the apocalypse. Fortunately, we have survived the hardest years. The fact that you are standing here means you are already luckier than twelve billion people. Now, I need you to recognize our reality as quickly as possible, and fulfill the oath you made under the banner of the Human Alliance—to rebuild our home!"
"Beside me is my assistant, named Xiao Qi. If you have any questions about the shelter, or anything you don't understand, you can ask it."
That concluded his opening monologue.
When the next batch of players arrived, Chu Guang would deliver it all over again.
After all, he had spent quite a bit of effort putting it together.
As for Xiao Qi, Chu Guang had already briefed it on what could and could not be said, so there was no need to worry about slip-ups.
In truth, even if it did slip up, it didn't really matter.
Anything that couldn't be explained could simply be brushed off with "that's game lore." Flawless world-building didn't exist these days anyway; if you nitpicked hard enough, you could find plot holes even in the evening news.
Seeing that Chu Guang had finally finished speaking, the player registered under the handle Ye Shi quickly spoke up.
"Excuse me, where is Brother Guang? I mean, the game designer who gave us the helmets."
"I do not understand what you are talking about," Chu Guang answered expressionlessly.
"How do we log out of the game?" Old Bai chimed in.
"Lie back down inside your incubation pod, and you can log out normally."
In truth, there was another way—abnormal states like unconsciousness, sleep, or death would also sever the connection—but Chu Guang didn't want them trying that carelessly.
Lying in the incubation pods was energy-efficient; having corpses strewn randomly across the floor would be a massive headache to clean up.
"What about levels? Where's the player interface? How come I can't find it?"
No sooner had Kuang Feng asked this than Fang Chang cut in beside him before Chu Guang could even answer.
"What about character customization? Are our avatars locked? And about character gender—"
"Enough. You can ask the design... ahem, it is not your turn to ask questions yet."
With a forehead full of dark lines, Chu Guang cut off their endless barrage of questions. Keeping a stern, strictly professional demeanor, he shoved four booklets into their hands without room for argument.
"I will familiarize you with the surroundings here, and inform you of the rules you must observe."
"Specifically: what you can do, and what you shouldn't even dream of doing."
Chapter 6