Against the pitch-black backdrop of the universe, a blue planet quietly orbits its star.
The vast majority of its surface is covered by oceans, with several irregular landmasses scattered amidst the blue.
Clouds drift slowly over the land and sea, refracting the star's light and making the entire planet look like a breathing gemstone.
This is Blue Star.
Human civilization has endured here for thousands of years, progressing through the Stone, Bronze, Steam, Electric, and Information Ages. Now, it has reached a stage where artificial intelligence and virtual reality have permeated every aspect of daily life.
But just when everyone thought brain-computer interfaces were at least half a century away from moving from the lab to the consumer market, a virtual reality game called 《Deep Red Continent》 burst onto the scene, shattering the world's understanding of technology.
Huadu is a city on Blue Star famous for its flowers.
When the city's name appears in travel brochures, it is always accompanied by a string of flowery adjectives, yet all those modifiers combined cannot match the shock of seeing the city in person.
In Huadu, it is like spring all year round, with different flowers blooming in every season.
The residents of this city seem to have an innate understanding of how to live alongside flora. They do not just plant flowers in parks and botanical gardens; even the roadside green belts are filled with vibrant, colorful blossoms.
Walking down the streets of Huadu, one looks up to see skyscrapers and down to see a sea of flowers. Tradition and modernity achieve a strange sort of balance here.
The tourism industry in Huadu is perpetually in its peak season.
Tourists from all corners of the world flock to the city—some for the floral landscapes, some for the flower shows, and others just to take a few photos on the blossom-filled streets to harvest likes on social media.
Hotels are booked year-round, restaurants have queues until midnight, and the seeds and dried flowers in souvenir shops are always the most sought-after items.
But recently, the number of tourists in Huadu has plummeted.
The problem does not lie with Huadu itself, but with the emergence of the epoch-making virtual reality game, 《Deep Red Continent》.
The game appeared without any warning. There were no pre-orders, no delays, and none of the usual saturation of advertisements.
It was like a supernova suddenly appearing in the night sky, so bright it was blinding.
While everyone was still using smartphones, while brain-computer interfaces were still just concepts in science fiction, and while experts were still debating the safety and ethics of implanted chips, 《Deep Red Continent》 simply arrived.
A fully immersive virtual reality world that required only a gaming pod. Lie down, close your eyes, and your consciousness would be transported to the game world.
The day the news broke, the global tech media exploded.
Rumors flew that it must be alien technology; others thought a secret team of geniuses had been developing it for years. Some even insisted it was not a technological achievement at all, but some kind of supernatural power.
The debate did not last long, as the game quickly launched its closed beta.
There were few slots, but they were enough for the first batch of players to experience the realism and scale of the Deep Red Continent.
When those first players stepped out of their gaming pods, their expressions were dazed.
Every second they spent in the Deep Red Continent felt real. The wind had temperature, the sunlight had color, the aroma of food could be smelled, and even fear could make one's entire body tremble.
It was quite literally another real world!
From that day on, the eyes of everyone on Blue Star were focused on this game.
From high-ranking government officials to the common people, everyone was talking about 《Deep Red Continent》.
Governments worried the technology behind the game posed a threat to national security; parents worried that game addiction would harm the physical and mental health of the youth; investors frantically searched for the background and founders of the game company; and ordinary people could only spam the comments sections begging for beta access.
As for how this game was actually made?
No one knew.
...
In a certain skyscraper in Huadu.
The building was one of the city's landmarks, its exterior covered in a blue-green glass curtain wall that looked like an icicle growing from the ground from a distance.
The middle and upper floors were residential areas, where every household had a spacious balcony filled with flowers. Looking up from below, the layers of flower pots and vines transformed the side of the building into a vertical garden.
At this moment, in a certain apartment on one of those floors, a bedroom door was tightly shut.
The room was dark, the curtains drawn so tight that only a few slivers of light leaked through the gaps.
A gaming pod sat on the floor, its streamlined white shell pulsing with slow, pale blue bands of light.
This was the only gaming pod available on the market, and it was compatible only with 《Deep Red Continent》.
Equipped with constant temperature and humidity controls and a built-in life support system, it could run continuously for seventy-two hours without disturbing the player.
The lid of the gaming pod suddenly popped open, and the young woman lying inside snapped her eyes open.
There was no grogginess or confusion from just logging off; there was only a pure, concentrated ferocity.
Her pupils constricted, the whites of her eyes were bloodshot, the muscles around her sockets were taut, and veins bulged on her forehead. Her body jerked violently within the pod before she bolted upright, her mouth hanging open as she let out a piercing scream.
The scream echoed through the bedroom, causing the window panes to vibrate slightly.
The gaming pod's smart system responded instantly, and the red warning lights on the edge of the pod flashed urgently.
“Warning, warning. Player is suspected of sustaining unknown trauma. Please contact a medical institution immediately.”
【Peony】 didn't hear the prompt. She seemed to have lost her mind. She gripped the edge of the gaming pod with both hands, her voice turning raspy as she continued to scream.
“What are you screaming for?! Who died?!” a shout came from outside the door.
Immediately after, the door to 【Peony】's bedroom was kicked open.
A middle-aged man walked in, his hair a mess and his face contorted with rage.
He was 【Peony】's father.
However, the moment 【Peony】 saw him, there was not a shred of familial affection in her eyes—only a thick, heavy malice.
That malice was stronger than mere hatred, as if a caged beast had just spotted a target it could tear to shreds.
Her father was startled by the ferocity in her gaze and took a half-step back, though he quickly caught himself.
Feeling his dignity had been insulted, more fury surged from his chest, turning his face the color of a pig's liver.
He took a step forward, pointing a finger at 【Peony】's nose. “You little brat, how dare you glare at your father? You've got some nerve!”
【Peony】 did not react as she usually did, cowering before her father's violence.
She only felt the malice roiling in her mind, gradually swallowing her reason and humanity.
Her son-obsessed father, the mother who forced her to be a martyr for her brother, her brother Yaozu...
The memories of a lifetime of being treated as lesser had been faded by time, but now they came rushing back like a bursting dam.
She couldn't endure it for another second!
Rate on N.U.
