Life Almighty Player (Holographic) - Chapter 1

Chapter - 1

*********************************************************************

When Ye Shi woke from his sleep, the digital clock on his bedside showed 02:07, and everything around him was silent.

In a daze, he turned on his communicator. No messages had come through—just a few sparse software notifications and billing reminders. The screen’s glow was blinding in the pitch-black room. Ye Shi cleared the screen with a swipe, sitting up with an unfocused gaze.

He’d probably slept for… three or four hours?

Years of a topsy-turvy schedule had blurred his sense of time, and regular meals had long disappeared from his routine. Ye Shi swallowed, realizing it was the sharp pang of hunger that had woken him, reminding him to eat.

Dragging himself in his slippers, he walked over to the refrigerator. In his small, 20-to-30-square-meter apartment, the double-door fridge stood out starkly from the minimalist furnishings. As the fridge light flicked on, rows of nutrient packs filled its shelves, catching Ye Shi’s eye.

He seemed accustomed to it; he grabbed a pack, placed it between his teeth, and just like that, settled what could loosely be called his dinner.

With the nutrient pack in his mouth, Ye Shi shuffled toward the only valuable item in his little apartment—a full-body holographic pod.

In the year 2231, technological advancements had led the industry giant Ling Tian Interactive Entertainment to announce a breakthrough in holographic technology, launching three types of holographic access devices: holographic glasses, holographic helmets, and the full-body holographic pod. The first two were relatively affordable but sacrificed part of the immersive experience, while the pod, though expensive, offered superior functionality. It even included massage and scheduled nutrient pack refills, making it the best choice for those who spent extended hours in the virtual world.

It was for this reason that Ye Shi, gritting his teeth, had spent most of his savings on the pod. Since then, it had become the most valuable item in his tiny apartment.

Ye Shi’s profession could barely be considered as a professional gamer. Ever since his grandfather passed away, the old house he left behind had become Ye Shi’s entire world. With no goals and no friends, his life had once revolved solely around his grandfather. And now that his grandfather was gone, his life revolved solely around himself.

As technology and automation advanced, a vast number of jobs disappeared. And with the rise of heavy-duty entertainment in fully immersive virtual worlds, making a living through gaming had become a common way to survive.

With the mindset of "as long as I feed myself, the whole family doesn’t go hungry," Ye Shi naturally chose a profession that required minimal interaction with others. As long as he earned enough to buy his nutrient packs and saved a bit for emergencies, it was enough.

Lying down in the full-body pod, he attached the sensory connectors to the corresponding points on his body. Ye Shi relaxed his mind, letting his thoughts sink into the vibrant and chaotic virtual world.

A notification chimed, indicating he had completed another daily task, as he did day after day. With his expression unchanged, Ye Shi switched to a web page to check hints and recipes needed for his quests. He noticed a familiar, eye-catching ad in the corner of the page—a dazzling display of skill effects.

This was an ad for Cedrela, a massive new game developed by Ling Tian Interactive Entertainment, which claimed to have spent over a decade crafting this game. Set in a Western-fantasy-like world, it had quickly become the most anticipated release in recent times.

As a semi-professional “gamer-worker,” Ye Shi was, of course, keeping an eye on it. A new game meant a fresh start, and even though he was used to a monotonous life, he occasionally longed for a change.

Ye Shi glanced at the release time for the game—less than ten minutes from now.

After a quick glance at the time floating in the bottom right corner of his screen, he committed the new strategy guide to memory and returned to complete his current tasks.

With less than a minute until launch, Ye Shi logged out of his current game and returned to the home screen.

The floating light screen showed several neatly arranged icons, and among them was Cedrela, which he had downloaded a few days earlier.

Five, four, three, two, one… Enter!

The screen suddenly went black, accompanied by a brief wave of dizziness that made Ye Shi instinctively close his eyes.

Moments later, a burst of light appeared. Ye Shi squinted and opened his eyes halfway, finding himself standing amidst an endless starry sky. There was no ground in sight, as if he were floating in midair.

So, this must be the character creation interface for this game?

Having played countless games, Ye Shi was familiar with the process. He turned his head as he would in reality, and his field of vision shifted accordingly. There was nothing remarkable about the space around him; the view remained the same in all directions.

Ye Shi looked up at the “Create Character” icon floating in the upper left corner. He gently touched it, and the starry scene before him spread out, like ink dissolving in water.

When Ye Shi looked around, he found himself standing in what appeared to be an expansive wheat field. The golden stalks stretched endlessly, filling his vision with their warm hue. As the wind gently brushed over the wheat, a soft rustling sound filled the air, while the smooth feel of the wheat against his hand gave him an unexpectedly immersive experience. For the first time, he realized that the game's advertised "realism" might actually live up to its promise.

A slight movement among the stalks in front of him soon caught his eye. Given that he was likely still in the character creation interface, he doubted there could be any real danger. Ye Shi remained motionless, lips pressed into a thin line, intending to simply observe what would happen next.

"Meow." A sudden cry broke the quiet, causing him to frown slightly. He waited until he saw a small creature float into the air.

It was a black cat, its fur and tail dark except for a single patch of white on its forehead. Its striking blue eyes met his with an unexpected intensity.

“...This is such a hassle. Why do I have to be the one doing this?” The cat’s mouth opened and closed, but instead of the expected meowing, human speech emerged. Ye Shi squinted, studying the creature, trying to determine whether the young-sounding voice belonged to the cat itself or was just a system-generated effect.

“Hurry up and pick a race,” the voice spoke again, sounding irritated. The cat’s tail lashed back and forth through the air, a clear sign of its impatience.

"What races are available?" Ye Shi ignored the cat’s attitude, though he was quietly impressed by the AI’s sophistication. He kept his face neutral, addressing what seemed to be his “guide” character in the game.

“…Meow. The available races are Elf, Human, Spirit Cat, Siren, Phantom, Abyssal, Winged, and Wood Sprite.” The cat listed the options with what looked like a reluctant expression, almost as though it were annoyed at having to repeat them.

"I’ll need a description of each race," Ye Shi replied, not at all concerned with the cat's impatience.

The cat visibly stiffened, settling its hind legs onto what seemed like an invisible platform. Its tail flicked back and forth in mild agitation as it recited each description:

“Elves—they’re tall, with pointy ears but mostly useless. They’re… agile, I suppose, though they’re nowhere near as graceful as we are!” The cat couldn’t help adding a touch of personal—perhaps “feline”—bias, its tone slightly smug at the end.

The intelligence of this game’s NPCs was surprisingly sophisticated, Ye Shi noted, though his expression remained unreadable. He realized that although the first-person perspective heightened the sense of realism, it also kept him from seeing the full appearance of each race.

Just as his thoughts settled, a light blue prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Switch to third-person view? Yes/No]

Ye Shi paused, glancing up and down at the system interface. It seemed that certain commands in this game could be triggered by his thoughts alone. Considering this, he reached out and tapped the "Yes" option.

His perspective shifted instantly, and Ye Shi found himself looking at a character model standing in front of him. The appearance and build were identical to his own, but the character now had long, pointed ears and hair as golden as the wheat around him, shimmering brightly in the light.

So, this is what an elf looks like. Ye Shi nodded to himself. He discovered that he could zoom in and out or rotate around the model simply by willing it.

He pulled the view back slightly to examine the elf character as a whole. Once again, he saw his own face staring back at him: a narrow face with somewhat full cheeks, making him look a few years younger than he actually was. Thin lips, which formed a neutral expression, gave him an appearance of discontent. His brows arched sharply, sweeping outward toward his temples, while his almond-shaped eyes had a slight downward tilt at the corners. His long lashes softened the otherwise sharp look, though Ye Shi rarely smiled with his eyes, which would make the downturned corners more obvious. Overall, he was quite handsome in a refined way, but his perpetually neutral expression and his pale complexion, a result of irregular sleep, lent him a somewhat forbidding and somber aura.

Ye Shi pressed his lips together, wondering if he could enter the game with a different face.

[Reset facial features? Default data imported from the player. Yes/No]

Ye Shi understood now. A game that claimed such high levels of freedom would certainly have extensive customization options. He reached out and selected "Yes."

Immediately, dozens of sliders and options for facial adjustments appeared. Even with his usual stoic expression, Ye Shi felt the faint urge to twitch his mouth in amusement. He browsed a few options, such as face shape, height, and eye shape, only to find that there were pages upon pages of settings.

"..." Ye Shi took a deep breath and decisively selected "Randomize" in the lower right corner.

Several different faces flashed before him. He quickly scanned them and selected the most ordinary-looking one, then confirmed his choice.

[Would you like to adjust height and body type? Yes/No]

After a moment's thought, Ye Shi tapped "No" and waited to exit the customization screen.

The screen changed again, and the black cat reappeared in front of him, its tail swishing lazily. It looked like it had been bored while waiting and now stared at him with an expression of surprise.

“Hmm, I have to say... I liked your original face better, meow.” The cat circled him, clicking its tongue disapprovingly.

The cat’s expressions were almost too animated, making it obvious that the game developers had poured a lot of unnecessary effort into this feature. Ye Shi thought this with his usual blank expression, choosing not to respond to the cat's critique.

*********************************************************************

Description

Table of Contents

Next Chapter