“Life is truly as lonely as snow!”
Liu Shuai, carrying a dog paw, looked lonely.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Dealing with so many players just now was quite risky, but the rewards were also substantial.
【Title: Enemy of Humans (Level 2), unlock next level title: Kill players 335/350.】
【Tame monsters: 18/30】
His title of Enemy of Humans was now one step closer to the next stage.
“I didn’t want to become an enemy of players; the game forced me into this,”
Liu Hai decisively blamed the Dog Planner.
With only 15 more players needed for the next stage of his title, Liu Shuai decided to complete the next title quest first.
So, he began searching for players in the wild area.
The quest for 15 players was quickly completed, but he soon noticed something was wrong.
“Why are there so few monsters in this wild area?”
He suddenly recalled how a group of professional players would clear out nearby monsters before slowly draining the Kobold Chieftain’s health.
【Ding! Your legion members were killed by ‘Crown of Caesar the Great’, current count 12/20.】
“Not good, there are a lot of players nearby!”
Seeing this familiar name, Liu Shuai’s mind raced. After all, he was a seasoned brick-mover, and he understood all sorts of player tactics.
Although he was already progressing towards becoming a boss, no matter how powerful a boss was, if there was a possibility of being conquered, players would conquer it.
Even though he had only seen professional players conquer bosses in videos, Liu Shuai understood how terrifying professional players could be.
He had previously taken advantage of the element of surprise to gain some initiative.
However, these players could indeed conquer him if they really wanted to.
“What should I do?”
Liu Hai quickly led his remaining legion members to flee, ordering four members to head in different directions to see if they could encounter some enemies. He hadn’t encountered Level 4 players yet. Level 3 players had a speed of only 6, while his speed had reached an astonishing 12. This huge gap made his escape very convenient.
Just then, a system prompt suddenly appeared.
【System Warning: Player’s physical condition in the real world is detected to be declining. Players will have three minutes to prepare. After three minutes, you will be forcibly logged out.】
Seeing the system warning, Liu Shuai woke up as if from a dream.
So,
This was in the game.
“I actually forgot about this setting!”
Liu Shuai’s mind recalled the origin of this setting.
In 2040, game pods and virtual helmets began mass production, and holographic systems became widely popular, driving countless players to madness. The completely realistic environment made countless players addicted.
Even the simplest act of moving bricks or fishing in the game could make players forget to return home. However, the subsequent problems dealt a huge blow to holographic games.
Even flat games could easily lead to player addiction. Now, with holographic dynamic stereoscopic games, countless players treated the game world as their second world, leading to many tragedies.
Many players died suddenly in reality due to overplaying. One tragedy after another hindered the promotion of holographic games.
“The next generation of humanity is being ruined by virtual games.”
But when various countries jointly banned holographic games, it triggered a huge public backlash.
“This is clearly the players’ lack of self-control; why should the game take the blame?”
“When Wuxia novels were popular, parents said they would ruin the next generation. When online games appeared, parents said they would ruin the next generation. After mobile games became popular, parents again said mobile games would ruin the next generation. Why should the mistakes of humans be blamed on games?”
“Were there fewer people who died suddenly after staying up all night in internet cafes? We didn’t see internet cafes shut down! Were there fewer people who died in car accidents every year? We didn’t see cars stop being produced!”
“Our bodies are our own; why interfere with our freedom to play games?”
Of course, these were just excuses. The reality was that the real world had entered an era of overproduction and excessive material abundance. Furthermore, with highly perfected laws, people’s material needs were satisfied.
Coupled with the emergence of the Intelligent Brain/AI, human crime rates plummeted.
In such circumstances, people began to pursue spiritual needs.
The advent of holographic games satisfied these spiritual needs.
Following the calls of countless players, game companies introduced a new policy:
【To ensure public safety, the virtual reality system will incorporate a physical health detection function. Through bioelectricity, the human body will be comprehensively tested. If physical fitness does not meet the standards, entry into the game will be prohibited. Furthermore, periodic intelligence and mental health assessments will be required. Failure to pass these will also result in prohibition from entering the game until passing.】
After this policy was introduced, public opposition immediately subsided.
If you are worried that virtual games are harmful but still want to play virtual games, well now, since you are concerned about the damage holographic games might cause to the human body, why not introduce physical and intelligence detection functions? That should solve the problem!
Now, you don’t have to worry about anything, right?
If mental state declines, players will be directly removed from the game. Excessive addiction will not occur; if you don’t take good care of your body and the system detects abnormal mental state or insufficient rest and sleep, you won’t even be able to play the game.
With the introduction of physical and mental detection functions, holographic games entered a phase of explosive growth; future obstacles were no longer obstacles.
Physical detection wasn’t too difficult; any normal person could pass. Intelligence monitoring only assessed mental state and normal logical thinking. Periodic major assessments would also incorporate social common sense to prevent players from confusing games with reality. Failure to pass would also prohibit playing the game.
However, the increase in detection facilities caused the cost of holographic games to skyrocket. The high cost of playing games meant that holographic companies could no longer attract customers with free services.
Consequently, phenomena of neglecting sleep and meals for the sake of playing games became less common than in the era of computers, and the level of common sense among young people regarding life also improved.
Furthermore, holographic games also promoted the development of the fitness industry.
Many gyms launched slogans:
【Want to play games to your heart’s content? Then come and get fit!】
“If you don’t study hard in the future, you’ll only be able to move bricks in games!”
“If you don’t take care of your body, you won’t even be able to move bricks in the game.”
Overall, the advent of holographic games did not lead to social chaos but rather to greater harmony.