Chapter 223: Chapter 152: Universe, Here I Come (Three More) – 2

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“These things really aren’t common, are they?” Qiu Yu remarked, “What is this, a movie promotion? Which company’s?”

“No, a game. We’ve already played a round, and we think this company is definitely one of the rare gaming companies on the market. We are planning to investigate its origins, and with your participation, we will have a greater advantage against Fang Cheng Studio.”

Qiu Yu watched the screen for a while, then sighed helplessly, “No need to wonder, that’s a Fang Cheng Studio production.”

“… How is that possible, how do you know!”

“No one else has the technology but them.”

“But… However…”

After some hesitation, Alan sighed helplessly, “You’re right. We’ve had our suspicions, but we didn’t want to believe it. Especially since… Forget it, wait until you listen to the game’s music later, you’ll understand.”

Pointing to the front of the queue, Alan continued, “I’ve held a spot for you, go ahead and keep your place, I’ll go back to the end of the line.”

“… Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Standing with a few other Gauls, Qiu Yu knew they had already played a round, their faces animated with excitement as they gestured wildly and chattered in French.

Qiu Yu only knew the French he’d heard before, and at this moment it sounded like an utterly foreign language.

Especially since these Gauls really liked pulling Qiu Yu into their discussions—key point being, he couldn’t understand a word.

As he neared the end of the line, Qiu Yu noticed that each machine now had a notice posted outside.

“One person per turn, each turn 2 yuan (crossed out) 5 yuan (crossed out) 10 yuan. Do not rub the Squirrel Citizen, nor deliberately stick to them. If killed by a Squirrel Citizen, your death count will be deducted.”

Seeing this notice, Qiu Yu was curious about what someone must have done to the Squirrel Citizen earlier.

Finally, it was his turn, and Qiu Yu discovered that the setup was actually the latest VR flight simulator.

Seeing this thing, he felt a bit disappointed.

VR flight simulators weren’t too novel; essentially they were just VR headsets, tactile gloves, and motion sensors combined to create the VR experience.

But he got a bit dizzy with this stuff. After playing a few times before, he would be dizzy for hours, which really interfered with rest and work.

But now that he’d finally got his turn, and Alan had even held the spot for him, he had no choice but to bravely enter the VR flight simulator and put on the equipment as instructed.

The device’s soundproofing was excellent; the seat was fitted with a disposable paper mat, and there was also alcohol disinfection, ensuring it was fine even for someone with a bit of germophobia.

After getting all set, the game officially began after a countdown.

[Consciousness signal detected…]

[Newcomer’s presence detected…]

[Hello, newcomer, may I know your name?]

After thinking about it, Qiu Yu gave his name: “Qiu Yu.”

[Please set your password.]

After setting the password, another question surfaced on the screen.

[Registered as a pilot, your exclusive aircraft has been configured. Welcome to the world of Squirrel Citizens, please enter the game.]

The next moment, Qiu Yu found himself seated in a spaceship, with a squirrel with a particularly fluffy tail standing outside his cockpit, stammering, “It’s, it’s a pleasure to serve you, Mr. Qiu, Qiu Yu. I am your maintenance officer, responsible for fitting your ship with various equipment and parts.”

The squirrel was a typical snow squirrel, with very shiny fur that could really make one want to touch it.

Looking closely at the squirrel, Qiu Yu noticed that its modeling was indeed impressive. Upon close observation, one could even make out the shape of the fur, almost like Black Tech.

Turning his head, he began to study his own cockpit.

The interior of the cockpit was equally futuristic, with a sleek and natural design, and its simple operating system made Qiu Yu curious about what would happen next.

Sure enough, he soon heard a familiar voice.

“Mr. Qiu Yu, may I introduce the game to you?”

Turning his head, Qiu Yu saw a device, looking much like a camera, hovering in mid-air, floating beside him.

This voice was exactly like the Alpha robot’s from “Towards Death and Life,” making it clear that this indeed was a Fang Cheng Studio masterpiece.

“`

Shaking his head with a smile, Qiu Yu said, “No need, let’s just get started.”

“Okay, safety belts and other devices are detected to be running normally, we’re starting now.”

The sky above suddenly opened up, revealing the endless galaxy outside.

Looking at it, Qiu Yu saw stars as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, saw ships linked into a matrix, saw the Squirrel Mother Star in front of him, and the boundless darkness behind the Mother Star.

The vastness of the universe rushed towards him, making him acutely aware of the immensity of the cosmos and his own insignificance.

In that moment, everything else in the world lost its meaning, and his consciousness was filled only with the sky and the stars; nothing else mattered.

He didn’t know what the first thought of an astronaut stepping into space was when they saw the sky, but he felt that it must be the same as his own: a heart full of emotion to be committing to the universe.

Then, with a strong thrust on his back, the spaceship suddenly ascended, charging towards the Mother Star in front of him. The planet in front of him enlarged rapidly, its large and ethereal form within the mist overwhelming him instantly, making him forget that he was in a game.

Although they kept flying towards the planet, the distance seemingly did not close, and soon the ship started to adjust its angle to fly. Alpha naturally controlled all these actions.

“Mr. Qiu Yu, the target has been corrected, and we will switch to partial manual control. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a warning in advance.”

Suddenly, black fog appeared, and bizarre monsters emerged from it, then lunged at Qiu Yu’s ship.

Firing frantically, he could feel the slight feedback; although laser weapons had a light touch, the lasers they fired were deadly, annihilating monsters upon contact.

But what Qiu Yu liked the most were the missile weapons.

Every time he encountered a large monster, he had to launch a missile, and these weapons had an unparalleled explosive effect and tactile feedback. At these moments, he felt as if he were truly launching a powerful missile.

Weaving through the dense barrage, he focused intently, his eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. The 3D effects provided by the VR flight simulator immersed him in the joy of annihilating monsters.

However, after all, he was piloting an initial ship with less than stellar performance, which soon lost him the advantage, and the barbaric monster conjured from the black fog opened its mouth wide and completely devoured his ship.

The ship was torn to pieces in the creature’s mouth, its steel deck turned into thin strips, and flames began to burn fiercely, letting him almost feel that terrifying temperature.

“Mr. Qiu Yu, our mission has failed. This time you didn’t rescue the Squirrel Citizen, but you still did an outstanding job exploring part of the area and earned some points as a reward. Would you like to self-detonate?”

“Do I have any other choices?”

“No.”

“Then why do you ask?”

“It makes me seem more polite, and besides, self-detonating to destroy an enemy can also increase your points.”

Qiu Yu felt that this Alpha was a bit talkative, but its suggestion was good.

He chose to self-detonate, and Qiu Yu saw a bright light before his eyes, as he was blown into pieces and dispersed into the cosmos.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back at the dock.

His repairman stared at him with wide eyes, as if seeing a ghost.

“Outer God…”

“What did you say?” Qiu Yu asked, puzzled.

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask how you felt?”

“Pretty good, I want to go again. Right, points can be used to upgrade weapons or buy new ships, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any recommendations?”

“Escape pods are popular, but you shouldn’t need them, I feel…”

“Hmm, strengthen my self-detonating bomb.”

The repairman looked at Qiu Yu with fear: “Are you sure about self-detonating…?”

“Certain.”

“Outer God…”

Filled with fear, the repairman upgraded Qiu Yu’s self-detonating bomb.

Once it was confirmed that the installation was complete, Qiu Yu opened the ceiling again and flew back into the endless universe.