Under the overcast sky, a light drizzle began to fall.
Two figures, cloaked and hooded, their faces obscured, hurried towards the Internet Cafe.
As soon as they arrived,
one of them was about to remove his hood.
The other, startled, raised his hand to stop him: "Your Majesty, no!"
However, he was unable to stop him.
The man removed his hood, revealing his true identity: Emperor Liu Zhengyuan.
His companion was Fang Hui.
The two had left the palace without any guards this time, and Fang Hui was naturally worried that His Majesty's exposed identity would attract unnecessary trouble.
"It's fine. First, this Internet Cafe itself should be very safe, and there are Security Team members nearby!"
Liu Zhengyuan pointed: "Besides, look at the players here again; who would notice or care about my identity?"
Fang Hui followed his gaze.
Indeed, several players, rushing to the Internet Cafe, passed by them, muttering about wanting to play some new game, not even glancing at them.
As for inside the Internet Cafe, everyone was completely engrossed in their games.
Upon entering the Internet Cafe, the two immediately looked towards the counter and noticed that an extra computer had appeared there.
The boss, Su Ran, was currently wearing a virtual reality headset, focused on playing the game.
So, the two did not go over to greet him but walked directly to the next cubicle.
Coincidentally, as soon as they went over,
they saw a figure that was all too familiar.
The two exchanged glances and couldn't help but call out twice.
"Who is it?"
Liu Chengfeng, who was engrossed in his game, heard someone call him, took off his virtual reality headset, turned around, and froze, then looked surprised.
"Imperial Father, Chief Eunuch Fang, why are you here?"
Liu Zhengyuan said with a smile: "What, you can come, but I cannot?"
Fang Hui reminded him: "Your Highness, only I and His Majesty came today!"
Liu Chengfeng understood immediately; it seemed his Imperial Father had snuck out of the palace.
He especially thought about his Imperial Father, who had always been diligent in state affairs, unexpectedly running out to play games.
While finding it strange, he also couldn't help but exclaim: The charm of games is truly immense.
"What are you playing now?"
Liu Zhengyuan looked at Liu Chengfeng's screen at this moment and asked curiously: "It doesn't seem to be Stardew Valley, does it?"
"Imperial Father, this is a new game released today at the Internet Cafe!"
Liu Chengfeng couldn't help but suggest with a smile: "How about you try it too, Imperial Father?"
"A new game?"
Liu Zhengyuan was originally still thinking about his crops in Stardew Valley.
However, now that Liu Chengfeng had mentioned it,
and he also noticed that many players around him seemed to be playing this new game.
He himself had plans to try other games.
"Alright, then I'll play it and see!"
With that, Liu Zhengyuan and Fang Hui found empty seats and sat down.
Since they had already visited once before, they were familiar with everything here.
So, they quickly entered the game.
Not long after, they heard Fang Hui's startled shriek:
"Your Majesty, come look, I can actually fly, wow..."
Liu Zhengyuan's expression next to him was equally excited: "I'm actually flying on a sword?"
Liu Chengfeng, who had come over to take a look, laughed heartily upon seeing their exaggerated reactions, finding it very amusing.
He could even predict the expressions of disappointment and loss his Imperial Father and Chief Eunuch Fang would have when they discovered that all of this was just a dream.
However, he didn't keep watching them play but quickly returned to his own seat.
Liu Chengfeng himself had only just passed the opening dream sequence and was currently figuring out how to continue the game.
Other players were doing the same.
Although they all wanted to quickly advance the game's progress, they seemed to have encountered a problem right from the start.
Because they didn't even know what they should do at the beginning.
Could it be that they were supposed to be a waiter in the inn, doing odd jobs?
They felt it definitely wasn't like that, so they ran out of the inn and started wandering around the village.
"So, after waking from the dream, what should I do next in this game?"
"I don't know, there's no hint!"
"This village looks quite peaceful. I've wandered around for a long time, and there doesn't seem to be anything to do!"
"Also, the villagers' words, I find them a bit inexplicable; I always feel a bit out of place, and I don't even know how to respond!"
Just as everyone was confused and perplexed,
Wu Lei suddenly burst out laughing: "Haha, you guys really can't do it! Come and see, I've already walked out of the village!"
"What!"
Everyone was surprised and quickly looked over.
Even Wu Hao, who was nearby, took off his virtual reality headset, looked at Wu Lei's screen, and asked in surprise: "Where are you?"
"Shili Slope!"
Wu Lei said very smugly: "It's that small path below the village. Didn't any of you notice it?"
Ouyang Qing had a puzzled expression: "That's not right, wasn't that blocked by villagers, not allowing passage?"
Wu Lei looked disdainful: "If you can't go through the front, why don't you secretly climb over the wall from the side? You're so stupid!"
"Uh..."
When Wu Lei said this, the others quickly tried it and found that they really could pass, their faces lighting up with joy.
"Holy cow, it really works!"
"Awesome, Lord Wu!"
Wu Lei's expression became even more smug at this point, feeling that he was indeed worthy of being the first player to clear monster hunter, and his gaming talent was indeed much stronger than others.
So, he continued towards Shili Slope.
But after only two steps, he suddenly saw a wine jar placed in the middle of the road ahead.
"Who put this wine on the side of the road?"
Wu Lei found it a bit strange and wanted to go up and take a look.
"Woo ah!"
But as soon as he got close, suddenly, a strange cry came from the wine jar, and then a ghostly hand reached out from inside.
"Oh crap..."
Wu Lei was startled, and in his bewilderment, he was grabbed by the neck by that ghostly hand.
Then came a feeling of suffocation.
By the time Wu Lei belatedly reacted, he had already been choked to death.
The screen turned red, and a line of small text appeared: Victory and defeat are common in warfare, brave hero, please try again!
Wu Lei was stunned, looking at this sentence, feeling that it was clearly mocking him.
"Damn it, just you wait, I'll come back for revenge later."
Wu Lei was gnashing his teeth in anger; he felt that he had died completely unprepared, ambushed, and naturally, he was displeased.
He was ready to seek revenge immediately after resurrecting.
But the next moment, he found himself back in the confined space with only a wooden table, where he first entered the game.
"Why am I here?"
Wu Lei was a bit confused, but he didn't think much of it and immediately opened the bamboo scroll on the table, clicking "New Start."
However, it was completely different from the resurrection he had imagined.
He found himself appearing in the opening dream sequence again.
"What's going on?"
Wu Lei was completely bewildered now.
Why did the game completely restart?