After Wu Lei defeated the Minglei Dragon, he returned to the Research Base.
At this moment, he became the center of attention, and all his fellow Research Team members came to greet him warmly.
The Captain also excitedly patted his shoulder: "Wu Lei, thanks to you, the Research Team's mission was accomplished so quickly. Well done!"
"Today, let us all celebrate to our heart's content!"
Then, there was a grand celebration banquet.
During the banquet, the Captain and an Ancient Dragon Hunter approached Wu Lei and finally explained the reason for the Ancient Dragon migration to him.
All the mysteries were completely unraveled at this time.
Finally, on the night the banquet ended, the Captain announced:
"With this, the mission to investigate the Ancient Dragon is complete, and everyone's duty has ended. The Guild has already dispatched a report ship, and everyone can choose to return tomorrow!"
"It's truly been hard work for a long time, thank you all!"
Hearing this, the members of the Research Team all applauded, revealing relieved and proud smiles.
Wu Lei was also among them.
However, at the same time, a strong sense of reluctance and loneliness also arose in his heart.
Even if the surrounding team members were just game NPCs, even if this world was just a game world.
"However…"
But at this moment, the Captain's words seemed unfinished, and he continued.
"The investigation in the New World is still a very meaningful endeavor."
"If any of you are willing to continue the investigation, you can choose to stay, but this also means new hardships are about to begin."
"So, are there any volunteers?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, before the other team members could even speak.
"Does that even need to be said? I'm the first!"
Wu Lei excitedly shouted and raised his hand.
The surrounding team members all looked at Wu Lei with a smile, then followed suit and echoed him.
"Count me in too!"
"Of course, we're staying!"
"Definitely together!"
"Haha."
Immediately, everyone exchanged glances, and with anticipation for tomorrow and the future, they all burst into hearty laughter.
And at this moment.
A melodious music sounded in Wu Lei's ears.
Along with the appearance of the ending CG credits, a system prompt popped up:
"Congratulations, you have completed the main story of the game."
"As expected… I cleared it?"
Wu Lei then took off his virtual reality device.
But he stared blankly at the screen.
A sense of grand epic adventure, personally experienced, welled up within him.
Recalling this gaming experience, although the time wasn't very long, the changes and impact it brought him were immense.
The scene of him first entering the game seemed still vivid in his mind.
At that time, he was just a dissolute young master with blocked meridians, destined to never become a martial artist.
But now, he had not only become a martial artist but also the first person to clear the game.
"I cleared it!"
"I really cleared it!"
Slowly, Wu Lei's emotions also became high-spirited, no longer able to hide the excitement in his heart. He excitedly waved his fists and boasted to the people behind him.
"Did you all see? I cleared it, the first one to clear it, haha!"
"Ouyang, it seems I'm still a step ahead of you guys!"
"This final boss, the Minglei Dragon, was nothing special after all…"
…
After boasting for a while, he still felt it wasn't enough.
He couldn't help but get up and run to the bar counter.
But he found no one at the counter.
He scanned the Internet Cafe again and finally found the boss in front of a computer.
When Wu Lei walked over and glanced at the screen, he smiled even wider.
"Boss, are you playing monster hunter too?"
Su Ran took off his virtual reality device and nodded: "Hmm, there are still quite a few empty spots right now, so I came to play for a bit. What's up, something you need?"
"Boss, let me tell you something, I cleared monster hunter!"
Wu Lei smiled triumphantly: "Hehe, this time I've surpassed you, Boss, and become the first player to clear monster hunter…"
Although he was sharing his joy, there was still a bit of showing off involved.
As he spoke, Wu Lei chuckled again and glanced at Su Ran's computer screen; he hadn't looked closely just now.
But at this moment, he saw on the screen a monster he had never seen before, glowing golden all over, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
"Huh, Boss, what monster are you fighting now?"
"Kulve Taroth!"
"Ah? Kulve Taroth?"
Wu Lei looked bewildered: "Is there such a monster? I've already cleared the game, how come I haven't encountered it?"
Su Ran explained: "This monster can only be unlocked after clearing the game!"
"There are new monsters after clearing the game? That's good, uh…"
Wu Lei's eyes lit up when he heard there were new monsters to fight after clearing the game, and he was quite happy at first.
But the next moment, he immediately realized something was wrong.
A monster that can only be fought after clearing the game, but the boss was fighting it now.
Wu Lei's expression stiffened: "Boss, you, you, you haven't already…"
Before he finished speaking, he saw Su Ran smiling and winking at him: "Sorry, I just cleared it last night!"
"Holy crap!"
When Wu Lei heard that, he was stunned.
He had originally thought he was the first person to clear the game.
If he had known, he wouldn't have come over. He tried to show off but got shown up instead.
Instantly, Wu Lei was depressed.
However, the boss was the boss after all; losing to him was nothing to be ashamed of.
Moreover, putting the boss aside, he was still the first player to clear it.
Thinking this way, Wu Lei felt relieved.
At this moment, Wu Lei was more concerned about another matter. He rubbed his hands with a chuckle and said: "Boss, look, I've played monster hunter pretty much enough. When will there be new games to play?"
"Isn't there still Stardew Valley? Aren't you planning to play that?"
"It's not that I think that game is bad."
Wu Lei shook his head and stated: "But I still prefer to play more passionate and exciting games!"
Su Ran thought for a moment and casually said: "New games, they should be coming soon!"
Wu Lei's eyes lit up, and he quickly pressed: "What game? How soon?"
Su Ran didn't answer, but instead opened the task list and glanced at the time-limited task. The progress for five hundred people was already close to three hundred.
However, most of the increase in numbers happened in the first two days, as those were all new players then.
While it was still increasing now, it wasn't as fast as before.
Of course, at the current pace, the task would definitely be completed.
Su Ran pondered while looking at the task list, and at the same time, he conveniently submitted the tasks that had already been completed.
"Internet Cafe popularity reached 6000. Reward: 100 Contribution Points."
After this task was completed, a follow-up task immediately popped up.
And because of the recent surge in Internet Cafe popularity, the follow-up task had also been completed.
"Internet Cafe popularity reached 7000. Reward: 100 Contribution."
After that, the subsequent tasks appeared again, and Su Ran could continue to submit them.
"Internet Cafe popularity reached 8000…"
"Internet Cafe popularity reached 9000…"
Until the next system prompt sounded.
"Internet Cafe popularity reached 10000. Reward New Game: the legend of sword and fairy."
"New game the legend of sword and fairy has been unlocked. The game will be officially launched in three days. Please prepare, Host."