Civilization Paradise

Chapter 7 Star City

Long Ming held the helmet in his hand and examined it carefully. The entire helmet shell was made of titanium alloy, which felt very high-quality to the touch. There was a slightly recessed switch button on the right side of the shell, but no other buttons.

Long Ming stared at the helmet in his hand, a sense of unease creeping into his mind. While the helmet's quality was undeniable, he still couldn't quite believe it could truly provide a lifelike, immersive experience.
At this moment, Long Ming noticed a thick instruction manual inside the box, so he put the helmet back and picked up the manual to read it carefully.

Name: XS-01 Virtual Game Helmet.

Note 1: This game helmet is a special helmet for the Civilization Park. It is strictly forbidden to disassemble or install it without authorization. Otherwise, you will be responsible for all adverse consequences.

Note 2: This game is strictly prohibited for people with serious mental deficiencies.

Note 3: This gaming device has the function of regulating the body's metabolism. The maximum gaming time can be extended to 24 hours. If you need a longer gaming time, please purchase a professional gaming pod device and matching nutritional injections.

Note 4: Please ensure you are in a safe space during the game. Forced disconnection may cause unpredictable consequences.

A moment later, Long Ming closed the instruction manual, walked to the computer desk, sat down, and opened the official website of Wenming Paradise (Shanchengshan).

To be honest, after reading the instruction manual, he became more and more interested in the game.

Long Ming checked the announcement on the Civilization Paradise website; the game would officially launch at midnight tonight.

He checked the time on his phone screen; it was 4:30 PM, meaning he could enter in a little over 7 hours.

Seeing that there was still a lot of time, Long Ming started browsing the official website to see if he could find any information about the game. However, after browsing for a long time, he didn't find any useful information. The secrecy was exceptionally good.

Suddenly, the game's official website updated with an announcement.

"The Civilization Paradise Forum is now officially open."

Long Ming saw the newly updated announcement and clicked on it out of curiosity, and a notification popped up immediately.

"Notice: You have logged into the Civilization Paradise Forum. Currently, only the posting function is available. More functions will be added in the future, so please stay tuned."

Long Ming didn't pay much attention to the prompt and simply clicked the mouse to close the prompt box.

The forum interface was empty at first glance, but the next second, all kinds of posts sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

"Haha, the first one!"

"So this is the forum of Civilization Paradise. This time, Simu City has finally done something worthwhile and developed a decent game."

"Hey bro, are you out of your mind? This game was developed by Sin City!"

"Pah, it was clearly developed by our Shancheng Mountain."

"What the heck? The network is interconnected? Am I seeing things? I'm actually seeing people from other cities."

"This is unbelievable!"

"Stop arguing, I'm offering a high price to buy a gaming helmet."

"Selling the latest top-secret information on the Civilization Paradise, only 100."

"The United Front Guild is recruiting! If you're a true brother, come and conquer the world together!"

"Cute female player looking for a pro to carry her."

Long Ming ignored these worthless posts and kept scrolling down.

He quickly found a popular discussion thread and clicked on it.

Gray Fox: Don't you guys think the propaganda for this civilized amusement park is a bit sinister?

Fishing in the mountains: I also think it's weird. Do we really have that much advanced technology?
Fish: Could it be a scam?
Tianxia: It can't be a lie, after all, all the cities of Sanctuary have this game open.

Gray Fox: When did the relationship between the various sanctuary cities become so good that they can run the same game at the same time? Usually, it's good enough if they don't kill one of them in order to get resources.

Tianxia: I don't know, but I have a guess. Youyu: What guess?
Tianxia: There's a saying that goes, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Since all the cities of refuge are involved in this game, it's highly likely that everyone has reached an agreement to abandon offline battles and switch to online ones.

Gray Fox: That makes sense. Does anyone know what this game is all about?

Tianxia: I don't know about that. I heard that the relevant information is top secret.

Long Ming browsed the forums for a long time, and his anticipation for the game grew stronger. Sometimes the unknown is the most attractive thing.

Before we knew it, it was 11:55 p.m.

Long Ming locked the door, checked the room, and then went to the bathroom. He then leisurely returned to bed, plugged in the helmet, put it on, and lay down.

He then reached out and pressed the power switch on his helmet.

Suddenly, a virtual projection notification popped up in front of his eyes.

"There are 3 minutes and 15 seconds left until the game starts."

As Long Ming watched the countdown tick away, his heart pounded faster and faster until the countdown reached zero.

A faint electric current swept through Long Ming's brain, and his consciousness went black. He felt as if he had suddenly lost weight and was falling into an endless abyss.

The next second, Long Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

Swish!
A vast and dazzling sea of ​​stars immediately came into view.

Only then did Long Ming notice that he was standing on a huge circular mechanical platform, with a massive obelisk-shaped mechanical pillar standing in the center, covered with intricate star marks. The ground was covered with irregular cracks that emitted a special halo. The entire mechanical platform was surrounded by three intersecting ring mechanical rings. In the outer starry sky area, there were numerous small gyroscope-shaped mechanical platforms, each also bearing a small obelisk-shaped mechanical pillar.

At this moment, countless white lights fell, and players were teleported in one by one.

Everyone looked around and exclaimed in amazement.

Wow, where am I?!

"How spectacular!"

"Oh my god, am I dreaming?"

"Have we come to the future?"

"Wait, this is the game world. Try hitting me."

"Crack~"

"It hurts, it hurts!"

"Holy crap, that's amazing, the pain is so realistic."

Long Ming was also shocked by the scene before him. He couldn't believe that a game could be made so realistically. For a moment, he couldn't distinguish between reality and illusion.

He raised his hand and pinched his face; the sharp pain made him feel incredibly surprised.

Long Ming took a deep breath, trying his best to calm himself down.

Then he noticed that he was wearing a very high-tech bracelet on his left wrist.

Just as Long Ming was about to study it, a mechanical synthesis broadcast suddenly sounded.

"Dear players, welcome to Civilization Paradise. Here you will be able to pursue the light of civilization and experience a world unlike any other. For detailed rules, please read the beginner's tutorial in your wristband. We wish you a pleasant gaming experience."

Upon hearing the broadcast, Long Ming and many other players immediately perked up their ears and listened attentively.

(End of this chapter)