Eight days later – Headquarters of the King's Landing Team, Jiang City.
Just like any other day, the professional team followed its routine training schedule. During the lunch break, Zhao Mingwei sat in the cafeteria, scrolling through major game forums and threads on his phone.
Whether it was chat groups, message boards, or even Weibo, he found nothing about the game Holy Zero (圣零).
There were a few forum posts titled "I played a game that feels more real than reality!"But the replies? All disbelief.
"100% realistic immersion—except no physical pain—every other sensation is perfectly replicated. Even the texture of your clothes is accurate down to the silk fibers."
That level of VR realism? Current tech couldn't touch it. Everyone chalked the post up as exaggerated nonsense, and it quickly sank into oblivion.
If Zhao Mingwei hadn't actually played the game, he would've thought the same.
Because frankly… the whole thing felt unnatural. Uncanny, even.
You didn't need a VR helmet to log in—just tapped your phone.And somehow, playing it even replaced sleep.
Zhao Mingwei tested it. He played all night and still felt more refreshed the next morning than if he'd slept.
That alone made him suspect:This isn't something made by humans. Aliens, maybe?
And the server had so few players. After eight days, he'd only met two other friends in-game:"No Patch Today" and "Heals But No Extra Charge."
There was no marketing. No downloads on the app stores. It was as if the game had chosen him, not the other way around.
"Xiao Ye, what do you think—real or fake?"Lin Xi suddenly appeared beside him with a bowl of boxed lunch, asking in a hushed tone.
"Definitely fake," Zhao replied without hesitation.
King's Landing had strict rules. Playing casual mobile games or PC titles was fine, but trying out any large-scale VR MMO would earn him a verbal warning.
That's partly why his relationship with team management was strained.Unfortunately, when he was younger, he'd foolishly signed a contract that basically sold himself. For the next two years, he could only appear under the stage name Xixiao, King's Landing's star player.
"I think it's real," Lin Xi said between bites. "There's a whole discussion thread on it now. And the game is… really fun."
"You played it?" Zhao's eyes narrowed.So that's why he came over—not to gossip, but to flex.He had access to the game!
"Of course. Only thing is, you can't livestream it or take screenshots. No proof."
Lin Xi's contract had fewer restrictions, so he didn't worry much.
"Duo queue tonight?" Zhao asked in a low voice.
"No way… don't tell me you—Fine! See you in Lionheart City."
They knew each other well after years of friendship. Lin Xi quickly scarfed down the rest of his meal and returned to his seat.
Around 3 a.m. – When pros should be sleeping – Lionheart City
Jiang Qiao was stretching in front of the Resurrector's Temple in Lionheart City.
Game character progression transferred to his real body.The clearest benefit? His neck and back didn't ache even after pulling an all-nighter.So to stay fit, he made time for in-game workouts.
"Sorry I'm late, big bro."
Zhao Mingwei's character "HappyGame" appeared beside him. After eight days, Zhao had reached level 25. Jiang Qiao was already level 26.
Yesterday, Jiang Qiao had received his Summoner class advancement quest. At level 25, Summoners could pick one of three paths:
Necromancer
Elemental Summoner
Beast Summoner
Due to his fondness for the Water Spirit, Jiang Qiao chose Elemental Summoner.
Unfortunately, he hadn't triggered any hidden class changes during quest selection. But he still had a chance mid-quest.
"You gotten your advancement quest yet?" Jiang Qiao asked as he finished his stretches.
"I did—picked up the Brawler class. Wanted something close to Dispute-style gameplay."
The base class Fighter had three advancement paths:
Brawler (focus on punching)
Qi Cultivator (uses energy)
Grappler (focus on throws and holds)
The setup felt familiar—Jiang Qiao figured his Creator-self probably borrowed the idea from a popular game.
He even wondered where the fourth Fighter class was—something dirty like poison, bricks, or sand?Then remembered: Street Brawler was a hidden class.To unlock it, your Charm stat had to be -10, and you had to be affiliated with Lionheart City's underground gangs.
"What's your Charm stat?" Jiang Qiao asked, curious whether he could unlock a hidden class for Zhao.
"Fifteen. Got a new guide for me?"
Over the past few days, Zhao had shared multiple hidden NPC triggers with Jiang Qiao.Charm was key for unlocking hidden quests—high charm made NPCs friendly, while low charm sometimes caught the attention of… unconventional NPCs.
Players could also use Speech skills to improve NPC relations.
The game's mechanics were so complex that even Jiang Qiao was still exploring them.
"Fifteen's a bit too high. Ever wanted to throw energy blasts?"Jiang Qiao mimed a Kamehameha motion.
"You want me to become a Qi Cultivator?"
"No, something rarer. There's a hidden class called Nian Qi Master (念气师)—pure energy blast specialist."
Jiang Qiao wasn't suggesting this purely out of kindness.The Dimensional Invasion was only two days away, and Zhao Mingwei would be one of the closest players to ground zero.
Invasion monsters had dark attributes, and Nian Qi energy had natural resistance to them.
"How'd you find out about this hidden class? I thought you were a Summoner."
"Because my Intelligence broke 250 and my Charm's over 15.Yesterday I walked past the Fighter Guild, and a Nian Qi Master NPC asked if I wanted to work for them."
"That's wild. Sometimes these NPCs feel more human than coded."
Over eight days, Zhao had encountered numerous weird NPCs—some acted like static quest-givers, while others would randomly spout strange, unscripted lines.
"Nian Qi Master's unlock conditions are INT 250+ and Charm 15.You got a Forgetfulness Potion from the Deepdark Swamp dungeon, right? I've got one too. Want to try?"
Jiang Qiao twirled a shimmering blue potion in his hand.Zhao had invested heavily in Strength as a Fighter. But if he respec'd entirely into Intelligence, and used the right gear, he could probably hit 250+ INT.
"…I'll give it a try."Zhao hesitated, but agreed.
He was known for melee classes, but didn't want to be trapped by his Xixiao identity forever.Besides, the game's hidden class system was too tempting to ignore.
As for Lin Xi? He was still getting chewed out by his coach.Zhao could hit the Fighter Guild solo first.
(End of Chapter)