My Healing Games

Chapter 1: Playing games? The kind where you have to have brain surgery before you can play?

"You're a comedian, why are you always looking so gloomy? You need to straighten up a bit!"

In the outer district of Xinhu City, in a secondhand shop called "Laisheng," an old man is comforting the shop's only customer.

“Our whole family loves watching your show, we are all your fans. If we don’t watch your show while eating, the food doesn’t taste as good.”

The old man kept rambling on and on until the young man standing in the corner of the store slowly turned around.

He looked to be in his early twenties, dressed casually, with messy hair. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had an inexplicable melancholy air about him: "The show I was on has been canceled. I was fired by the company three days ago."

“It’s okay. Your acting is so good. We can just find work on film sets ourselves.”

The shop owner was very enthusiastic, but the young man just shook his head and didn't continue the conversation: "Boss, I've basically played all the secondhand games here. Have you received any new games recently?"

"Yes, there are, but given your current situation, I suggest you avoid games that are too stimulating or gory." The shop owner pulled a black box from the bottom of the counter; the box was made of some unknown material and was very heavy. "Have you ever tried any healing games before?"

"Healing games?"

"It's the kind of game with heartwarming visuals, soothing music, and a storyline that brings a smile to your face. It captures many beautiful moments in life and can bring positive energy." The shop owner said, opening a black box and taking out a somewhat worn second-hand gaming helmet. "Technology is becoming more and more advanced, but the feeling of happiness and joy is becoming less and less. Young people today face all kinds of pressure. A good healing game can relax your nerves and warm your mind. I think you can give it a try."

After taking the gaming helmet from the shop owner, the young man hesitated for a while before finally nodding: "Boss, what's the name of this game?"

"The Perfect Life".

……

After paying, Han Fei put on his mask and pulled his hat down before leaving the secondhand store with the gaming helmet in his arms. He wasn't doing this because he was worried about being recognized; he simply didn't want to have contact with outsiders.

After returning to his rented room, Han Fei gradually relaxed. He turned on the TV, randomly selected a channel, and then went into the bathroom to wash his face with cold water.

After graduating from Shanghai Film Academy, he worked very hard every day, determined to become a comedian who could bring laughter to everyone.

But sometimes hard work doesn't always pay off. With no connections, he worked incredibly hard, moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, and finally got a chance to shine, only to be ousted from the company for some reason.

Water droplets slid down his cheeks. Han Fei looked at himself in the mirror, cupped his hands around the corners of his mouth, and tried to force a smile.

He tried to make others laugh every day, but one day he suddenly found that he couldn't laugh at all.

With a soft sigh, Han Fei tore down several pieces of paper pasted above the mirror. The papers were covered with the same sentence: "The best actor is you in real life."

After leaving the bathroom, Han Fei went to the desk and began to examine the gaming headset on it.

He had heard of the game "Perfect Life" a long time ago. It was said to be a deeply immersive virtual reality game jointly launched by Deep Space Technology and Eternal Life Pharmaceuticals. It was also the world's first game to simulate real touch, taste, and smell, and was touted as the ultimate form of gaming. Theoretically, if a player had no material pursuits, they could even live in it forever.

It sounds impressive, but with two tech giants, Deep Space Technology and Immortal Pharmaceuticals, backing it up, even the most outlandish things can become reality. After all, with the advent of the intelligent revolution and the biological revolution, these two tech giants have already created many miracles.

This game actually sparked heated discussions when it was first conceived. Deep Space Technology is a giant in the aerospace, artificial intelligence and communications industries, and has been conducting cutting-edge technology research with the goal of colonizing outer space. Meanwhile, Immortal Pharmaceuticals is a behemoth in the fields of biotechnology and human neural engineering, and wants to unlock the ultimate mystery of life.

Many industry insiders are baffled as to why two top international companies with no connection to the gaming industry would dedicate so many resources to developing a single game.

Online reviews of "Perfect Life" are mixed. Some people think the game has a warm and healing theme, where players can experience and simulate all kinds of lives. It's like an artificial paradise where you can get everything you want in a virtual city and realize all your dreams.

Some people say that this adult game has almost no moral or ethical limits, and its various deep gameplay modes will completely extinguish humanity.

In fact, since the first test of "Perfect Life", departments related to judicial and moral development have been stationed at Deep Space Technology.

Other games' closed beta tests involve experienced gamers and professional testers, but this game's testers are mostly government officials.

This alone demonstrates the game's exceptional nature.

This was Han Fei's first time trying a deeply immersive virtual reality game, so to be on the safe side, he searched online for a lot of information related to "Perfect Life".

With the participation and supervision of relevant departments, "Perfect Life" has undergone five closed beta tests and three major revisions. Tonight at midnight, "Perfect Life" will undergo its sixth closed beta test. If all goes well, this test will be the last test before the public beta.

"The game hasn't even been released for public testing yet, so how did the owner of the secondhand store get the game helmet? What kind of insider channels does he have? Also, I saw online that 'Perfect Life' doesn't actually release a game helmet; they developed something called the Space Game Pod, which costs twenty times more than a regular game helmet."

After thinking it over, Han Fei realized that he might have been deceived, and the game that came with the helmet might just be a knock-off game with the same name as "Perfect Life".

However, since he had already bought it, Han Fei felt it would be better to give it a try.

After connecting all the wires and seeing the indicator lights come on, he put the gaming helmet on his head.

With his vision blocked and darkness enveloping everything, Han Fei felt as if he had been thrown into a black ocean.

He couldn't see anything, but he could still hear the news broadcast on TV.

"December 31st news: The construction of the new Shanghai smart city is entering its final stage. The emergence of a fully automated, interconnected smart city will become a milestone in human history."

"December 31st news: Antitrust investigations into deep space technology have been restarted in multiple countries."

"December 31 - In order to safeguard the well-being of its citizens, the Malaysian government has decided to increase investment in education and science and technology, unlock more high-tech industries, and cultivate more high-quality talent."

"December 31st news: A serious fire broke out in the antique street of the outer city of Xinhu City, destroying many second-hand shops. The possibility of arson cannot be ruled out."

The sounds around him grew fainter and fainter, and in a moment, the world before Han Fei's eyes suddenly turned blood red.

Strange noises began to emanate from inside the gaming helmet, and Han Fei instinctively felt uneasy. Just as he was about to remove the helmet, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head, as if a steel needle had pierced his skull and sent something deep into his brain.

"Biological file uploaded successfully, memory file uploaded successfully, neural connection successful, initial administrator account activated, permission number 0000..."

(End of this chapter)