Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

Chapter 6: You're A Skeleton Too

Bilibili content creator, Vanilla Pudding, whose real name was Qin Guan, was a small-time influencer with slight acclaim in the gaming community. However, he didn't have a single video exceeding 50,000 views and had yet to gain 100,000 subscribers.

Having less than 100,000 subscribers meant that Qin Guan couldn't earn much, and the incentive bonus from the number of video clicks wasn't enough to put food on the table. Therefore, in order to make ends meet, besides making videos and live streaming, Qin Guan also did part-time work as a substitute power leveler and gold farmer.

Although being a self-media influencer was widely considered the easiest job in society, Qin Guan lived a life harder than a corporate slave.

A week ago, on a certain black market… uh, forum for gold farmers, Qin Guan saw a promotional post by an anonymous user who had registered a Level 1 account. As he was feeling upset over an account of his being banned, Qin Guan made fun of the post as well as the original poster for trying to pretend it to be a third-person's recommendation. Then, he clicked on the official website link posted by this clearly alternate account.

Despite the website's shabby interface and the rather questionable "Independent VR game" slogan, Qin Guan was hooked by the three promotional videos.

Especially the final "Undead NPC Combat Demo" video, where a zombie in tattered armor and wielding a gigantic axe chopped down a tree with stunning realism. Whether it was the graphics, physics engine, and interactive collisions, all of it gave Qin Guan goosebumps and made his blood boil.

And then… When he saw the VR headset's 188 yuan material cost, Qin Guan immediately calmed down.

Not because it was too expensive, but because it was way too cheap.

He was a gaming content creator after all and had some common sense. VR devices on the market could easily cost upward of 10,000 yuan. How could a VR headset that only cost 188 yuan claim to be a black technology game that could beat all VR games on the market?

How utterly ridiculous was that! Thus, Qin Guan cursed and closed the webpage.

The next day, for some inexplicable reason, Qin Guan opened the same sketchy website again and admired the promotional videos once more…

After repeating the process several times, Qin Guan silently filled out the closed beta application and paid 188 yuan by scanning the QR code.

Just take it as a gamble. No, as a leap of faith!

Anyway, since he paid through the platform, he could just request for a refund if he didn't click the confirmation of receipt…

Qin Guan, who made the payment in late September, woke up early on the morning of October 1, about to begin a day of gold farming, only to find an email in his inbox reminding him that the server was about to go live.

"It's here? It's time to see whether it's a scam!" Qin Guan's spirits were lifted, and he quickly picked up the box next to his PC and took out the headset.

This VR headset looked like a motorcycle helmet, but it was indeed different from a regular one. It could be connected to a computer with a USB cable, and once connected to the official webpage, a pre-built game character interface popped up.

Well… it was just a rudimentary interface that looked no different from the oldest IE pop-up. Once there, a player could pre-set their ID, choose their gender, and race… However, there was only one option under the race section to choose from—"Undead."

Qin Guan had already pre-built his character upon receiving the helmet. His ID was the same as his streamer ID, Vanilla Pudding, and his gender… female.

That's right, Qin Guan was a "transvestite bro."

As long as he played a game, regardless of whether it's an account for gold farming or his main, Qin Guan always played as a female character.

Having turned on the computer, put on the helmet, connected the USB, and activated the pre-built character interface on the official webpage, Qin Guan found that the window that popped up this time was slightly different. There was an additional login button below the ID, race, and gender sections.

Without any hesitation, Qin Guan moved the mouse to the login button and clicked it.

Then, another pop-up appeared: [Please maintain a safe and stable lying posture before selecting login.]

"Why is it so troublesome?" Qin Guan murmured, dragging the computer desk to the bed before leaning back on his bed with an awkward position while once more confirming his selection.

.

In the next second, this guy, who had just woken up a short while ago, tilted his head and fell asleep snoring in a side-lying position.

Of course, in Qin Guan's own personal experience, he didn't fall asleep.

The Mind Imprint rune engraved in the helmet activated after Qin Guan clicked the login button, transmitting his soul to the magic plane through the matrix. In Qin Guan's perception, this process was like suddenly experiencing slight pulling sensations all over his body as his vision turned black.

Then… Qin Guan opened his eyes and saw the pure black background login screen in front of him.

"The f*ck! I'm in just like that? Without any buffering? Even faster than logging into a browser game?!"

Qin Guan was very excited and carefully examined the login interface. His ID, race, and selected gender appeared in the upper right corner of his display, and below them was a button for selecting the game character.

"Is this VR? Is this black technology?!" Qin Guan was very excited. He couldn't feel the existence of his body at all, but he could clearly feel his own existence.

When he focused his consciousness on the "select game character" button, a rather aged skeleton appeared in the middle of his field of view.

Qin Guan: "??"

Although he didn't have a body, Qin Guan still felt himself shivering all over.

"D-did they intentionally make the character model this old for the sake of realism…? There's no need to go this far!"

Qin Guan vigorously criticized the skeleton and passed on it.

Then… another skeleton, even more dated and covered with dirt, floated up.

Qin Guan: "…"

Qin Guan continued to scroll down expressionlessly. The third, fourth… No matter how Qin Guan switched the game character selection, all that came out were distinctive, extremely dated, long-dead skeletons that seemed to have been freshly dug from their graves.

Each skeleton had varying degrees of age patina. Besides bones that were nearly all black, even the eye sockets and teeth were covered in mud and ash. Some bones also had cracks caused by damage, and it wasn't rare for small bits of bone to be missing from certain areas.

"Is the game designer trying their best to prove that the promotional video isn't false advertising, absolutely genuine, and even more realistic than the promotional video?" Qin Guan's mocking intensified.

Having 14 years of gaming experience in his 24 years of living, Qin Guan had never seen such a bizarre level of detail in character models!

That's right. He, as a hardcore gamer, valued realism in games, but there wasn't a need to make it this realistic!

It was just like how he loved the substantial depth of the zombie NPC in the promotional video, but would never want to be friends with such a scary-looking NPC!

"Never mind, I'm here already…" Qin Guan couldn't find any models that were less bland, so he scrolled back up and sadly chose the first one.

At least the first model looked relatively newer and not that dirty.

Upon selecting this skeleton, Qin Guan felt that slight pulling sensation again, and the display seemed to draw infinitely closer.

And then… Qin Guan felt as if he had merged with the skeleton.

Before Qin Guan could figure out what kind of black technology the developers had used to create this magical feeling of "immersion," he found himself rising slowly.

Like riding an elevator from deep underground to the surface, the endless darkness in front of Qin Guan gradually faded, and the undead spawning point from the promotional video appeared before him.

Well… Actually, the player was transported to the Mind Imprint Core, and once their "character" was chosen, they would rise to the surface…

Qin Guan heard the sound of wind blowing against his ears. The scent of earth, mixed with the fresh, crisp air, entered his nose. It was an indescribable and strange smell.

Before him was… a small town consisting of sparsely scattered old and dilapidated wooden houses, as if the place had been abandoned for decades.

Qin Guan stood in the center of this desolate town. A circular earthen platform was behind him, and in front of him, a gloomy, abandoned street filled with various debris.

"…The f*ck!" Qin Guan inhaled sharply.

He couldn't convince himself that he was just playing a game now. It felt like he was actually standing in this desolate ancient town, which could easily be used as a setting for a horror movie!

After subconsciously cussing out, Qin Guan realized he could even hear the sound of his teeth chattering.

Qin Guan: "…"

Qin Guan, who considered himself a hardcore gamer, silently lowered his head and examined his "new body."

It was a bare white skeletal frame with signs of extreme age. Faint crackles were visible on the bone joints of the skeletal hand, which could be clenched and opened freely.

"…I'm sorry, I apologize. I definitely don't qualify as a hardcore gamer." Qin Guan, in a daze, supported himself on his knees.

"Ah—!"

A shrill female cry sounded, startling Qin Guan.

Qin Guan, who was still trying hard to adjust after his worldview had been subverted, quickly turned his head.

Less than three meters away from where he was, another aged and bare skeletal frame had appeared out of nowhere.

Qin Guan looked over, and that skeletal frame… no, player, seemed to have gotten a fright as well and was retreating in panic while muttering, "Oh god, a ghost! The skeleton can move!"

Qin Guan was startled as well. "Aren't you a skeleton as well?!"

"Huh?" The newcomer immediately looked down at herself.

Then… this player, who entered the game roughly 10 seconds after Qin Guan, covered her head with both hands and exclaimed, "Holy crap, I really am a skeleton character! The art style isn't even cartoonish at all! Wasn't the character interface and the game interface supposed to be different?"

"AHH!!!"

Yet another loud and coarse cry sounded.

Qin Guan and Skeleton No. 2 both turned toward where the sound came from.

Yet another extremely aged and bare skeletal frame had appeared in front of the spawn point's earthen platform. It was facing them with its mouth agape, and had subconsciously assumed a posture as if it was about to flee.

Before Skeleton No. 3 could say anything, Qin Guan quickly raised his skeletal arm and pointed at the newcomer. "Don't scream, you're a skeleton too!"