Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Giant of Light

Page 907

After agreeing on a meeting point, the five parted ways, each exploring the situation of War King City in their own way.

Captain Lei's target, however, is a special palace located near the center of the city—the Dream Palace.

The magnificent palace, inscribed with the word "dreamlike," evokes a sense of being subtly drawn out of one's consciousness at first glance.

Captain Lei remained calm and composed, not daring to look any longer, yet a sense of horror welled up within him. Even a Silver-level professional's spirit was affected—what level of power was this?

With a determined effort, Captain Lei decided to go in. Since he was already there, not going in would only draw attention to himself.

Once inside, contrary to Captain Lei's expectations, the palace was more like a temple, with a very solemn atmosphere and uniformed professionals patrolling inside.

Then, led by the reception staff, Captain Lei arrived at a quiet room.

"This must be your first time at the Dream Palace. You need to register first," the receptionist said gently.

"That's right!"

Captain Lei looked nervous. At this moment, he was also playing the role of a newly professional member of the Lower City. He didn't know if the people here had seen through his true nature, so his nervous expression was not fake.

"Don't worry, it's a very simple operation, you'll understand when the time comes."

The receptionist then handed Captain Lei a strangely shaped pendant, a round, metallic pendant.

Captain Lei looked at the pendant in his hand, but did not sense any strange power from it. However, for some reason, the sculpture's appearance gave people a feeling of inviolability, and it was somewhat similar to something.

However, before Captain Lei could continue exploring, the staff member continued to guide him:

"Hold the pendant and repeat after me with gratitude..."

"********"

The guide's words seemed to be some kind of language, but it wasn't one that Captain Lei recognized.

Although they didn't understand it, with the professional skills, they could easily replicate the incantation.

"Is it a spell from some mysterious race, or does it contain a mysterious power of control...?"

As Captain Lei recited along, he kept pondering in his mind, ready to use his life-saving trump card hidden in his storage space if he sensed anything amiss.

Knowing that there was something wrong with War King City, Captain Lei still dared to come in, so he must have his own reasons for being so confident.

boom……

After reading it, Captain Lei felt as if his consciousness had instantly transcended the world. In a flash, he found himself in a pure white world.

"Hello, welcome to the Dream World!"

As Captain Lei remained vigilant, an adorable beast spirit appeared beside him and began to slowly recount the Dream World to him.

"A virtual space, but it's so real?" Before the little elf could finish speaking, Captain Lei realized where he was.

The virtual world is not a particularly difficult technology. Captain Lei comes from the Lei family, one of the six golden families in the Upper City District. During his training, he also came into contact with virtual space.

However, the technology itself is not difficult to master, and the difficulty lies in making it so that even professionals cannot distinguish between reality and illusion.

The Lei family's virtual world technology can only stop professionals below the silver level; even some bronze-level individuals with strong willpower can be easily distinguished.

This is already top-tier virtual world technology in the Upper District, and its effects are significant. It can greatly cultivate grassroots professionals and also play a considerable role in the daily training of silver-level professionals.

However, Captain Lei discovered that, relying on his self-awareness, he was unable to find any flaws in this virtual world, as if he were in a real world.

Only the incessant chatter of the little sprite beside him constantly reminded him that he was in a virtual world, and that there was a panel unique to virtual worlds.

If you remove these things, Captain Lei will be completely unable to distinguish between illusion and reality.

"No wonder the number of professionals in the lower city has increased so quickly, now I understand." Captain Lei suddenly realized.

A virtual world where resources can be consumed at will and there is no fear of death provides unparalleled assistance to the cultivation of professionals.

The selection process is even more rigorous for ordinary people. They can be trained in the virtual world to become professionals, and then go through the process again in reality.

There are also battles that test your mettle, replicas of special environments, and even simulations of professional rituals, especially the last one.

Although the special nature of the profession makes it impossible to replace reality with the virtual world, simulating the ceremony multiple times will definitely increase the success rate of holding the ceremony in the real world.

If a virtual universe can simulate something and the user cannot distinguish it, then it is essentially another form of reality.

"I never expected this kind of technology to appear in the Lower City," Captain Lei mused.

A single technology can equalize the accumulation of several generations, and the same is true in the world of cultivation.

"If the Upper City could also acquire this virtual world technology..." Captain Lei was very tempted.

This kind of training technology for grassroots professionals is still very important. The emergence of strong individuals can be divided into two main types: one is purely by chance, and the other is the nurturing of geniuses from a sufficiently large pool of people.

Among hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of professionals, as long as one strong individual emerges, the entire family can ascend to immortality.

"I just don't know what level this virtual world technology can reach," Captain Lei began to think from the family's perspective.

Even if it only reaches the Silver level, it would be worthwhile for the Upper City to wage a major war and pay a heavy price.

If we can reach the gold level...

Captain Lei could hardly believe it; the entire Blackwater City would probably be destroyed.

Although it may come at a considerable cost, this technology could become the foundation of a family's livelihood.

The rise of many families or forces is also based on a core capability.

While pondering how to acquire this virtual world technology, Captain Lei, guided by the little sprite, began to experience the "Dream World".

It's described as a fantasy, but perhaps because it's just emerging, or perhaps it's being deliberately restricted by the masters behind it.

Aside from basic face-to-face communication, the entire Dream World's functions are all focused on training professionals.

Battle features... Killing Arena... Martial Arts Hall...

Features such as various entertainment functions are not open to the public.

Of course, this entertainment function is indeed not important for professionals.

Because the entertainment activities that the virtual world can provide can also be achieved by professionals in the real world, there is no need to specifically simulate them.

Captain Lei also experienced all the functions of the Dream World. The more he experienced them, the more he couldn't help but become immersed in them, and he was amazed by the power of the Dream World's functions.

Two important indicators of the virtual world are realism and richness.

The dream world he inhabits is not only highly realistic, but also incredibly rich in simulated professions and combat templates.

In this dream world, Captain Lei even fought against races he had never encountered before.

However, before Captain Lei could get completely absorbed in it, his personal sprite sent him a special reminder that the free trial period for the first time had expired, and he would need to pay if he wanted to continue.

"Pay up!"

Captain Lei was momentarily dazed, and then he was kicked out of the Dream World.

This is probably the most unreal part of the game world, as it actually prompts you that you have no money.

"As long as you are within the five main urban areas of the Lower City, you can communicate with the Dream Realm using the method you just described," the little sprite reminded you at the end.

"Five main urban areas!"

Captain Lei felt he had gained another crucial piece of information and secretly memorized it.

After glancing at the renewal fee, Captain Lei decisively left the Dream Palace.

Although he had money, he was new to the area and didn't dare to recharge too much at once.

Moreover, he calculated that if he continued to use the silver-level features, even though he came from the upper city, the price would be too high to bear.

Even in a virtual world, the more powerful the simulation, the more computing power is needed, and this cost is naturally something that the Dream World cannot afford.

Moreover, if the price is too low, it will not be conducive to the career aspirations of professionals.

"We must bring this message back."

Captain Lei looked at the word "Dream" on the palace behind him. If he was originally only worried about the threat from the lower city, he was now worried about the threat from the lower city.

So now they're eyeing the benefits of the lower city, and their objectives have subtly shifted.

In dealing with the threat, some parties in Shangcheng District may be going through the motions, but those who want to gain benefits are willing to pay a much higher price.

"The fact that such a valuable virtual world technology has been popularized in the Lower City District suggests that someone may have obtained some precious inheritance." Captain Lei pondered.

Captain Lei didn't think the forces around Blackwater City could produce this technology, and even if they could, they wouldn't hand it over to the mere Lower City.

Even the entire downtown area is probably not as valuable as this technology.

Leaving aside the influence of external factors, it is highly likely that someone unexpectedly obtained the inheritance of a powerful figure and then wanted to use that person's legacy as their base.

Such incidents are quite common in mainland China.

After all, a considerable number of powerful individuals have perished on the main continent, and it is not uncommon to encounter people who have inherited the legacy of powerful individuals and then soar to great heights.

"And that abyssal rift was probably an accident too!"

The more Captain Lei thought about it, the brighter his eyes became, as if he had connected everything together.

In this area of ​​the lower city, there is likely a hidden legacy of a powerful figure who then opened the abyss rift to select the inheritor they desired.

Those who inherit the legacy naturally don't need to fight alone, so they choose to cultivate the lower city and eventually annex the entire Blackwater City to establish a powerful force.

While pondering, Captain Lei arrived at the meeting point he had agreed upon with his teammates. The second and fourth brothers had already arrived.

"Captain, this War King City is no ordinary place!" the second brother said with a serious expression, his eyes filled with alarm.

“That’s right. I took a look around War King City and found that all kinds of professional paths were being sold openly and without any restrictions.” The fourth brother was also shocked.

"There are also various supporting facilities. If I didn't know that this was the Lower City, I would have thought that I had returned to the Upper City."

"In some details, it's even done better than Shangcheng District."

The two started talking at once, and then Captain Lei revealed the bombshell information he had uncovered.

"A virtual world that even silver-level professionals cannot distinguish."

The two gasped, wondering if the roles of the upper and lower city areas had been reversed.

"The mastermind behind this has grand ambitions; we must relay this information back," Captain Lei said solemnly.

Then, the fifth brother rushed back, looking somewhat anxious.

"Has Third Sister returned?"

"I went with her to gather intelligence, but after hearing about the War King, I insisted on going to confirm it myself," the fifth brother said worriedly.

Although the third sister was very capable, after touring the War King City, she no longer dared to underestimate the lower city.