What appeared before Wang Shouyi was a pure, unblemished white light.
Beyond the light, there was nothing else in the entire world.
But this light was neither harsh nor dizzying. Instead, it was gentle like water, and touching it felt like caressing the soft breeze of a spring day.
"—You call this a ga?"
As a talk show host in the gaming industry, Wang Shouyi felt like he couldn’t vent the sarcasm building up inside him.
Was this an alien’s ga or a ga of gods and demons?
Or maybe both.
"—God damn ’Faceless God Studio’."
...Nya’s opened a company?
At first, Wang Shouyi was indeed startled.
He was scared out of his wits when his computer suddenly started playing a promotional video; but when images began to appear on the windows, he beca less afraid.
Because it was obvious.
The problem was too big, panicking would be useless.
At least, it definitely wasn’t a problem that could be solved by calling the police.
Wang Shouyi’s talent was much less than that of his brother... which is why his brother beca a successful young lawyer, while he ended up as a UP host.
He would upload weekly updates about recent industry news, review newly released gas, share the leaderboards, and at the end of the show, recomnd trying out so underrated or high-quality gas—that was all there was to his job.
Aside from the sponsorships from big bosses, his inco was just the occasional endorsent deals for mice, keyboards, headphones, and such, plus running a Taobao shop selling snacks and rchandise. Wang Shouyi could afford his rent solely because his studio didn’t have many people.
But he also had his unique talents.
As soone who could livestream horror gas without ever screaming, even managing to casually tell a codic monologue to his viewers, Wang Shouyi could stay calm in any unexpected situation.
"...Can I take a photo?"
His first reaction was to reach for his phone to snap a photo to rember this by.
But just as he was about to touch his phone, he suddenly realized... he didn’t have hands at the mont.
He was like a specter, floating in a pure white space.
When Wang Shouyi looked up, two ghostly figures made up of countless dark green arcs appeared before him.
"[Are you male, or female?]"
"...What do you think?"
Wang Shouyi remained silent for a mont, then retorted with sarcasm.
The next mont, the long-haired figure with a slightly defined chest suddenly collapsed.
The male figure grew larger and moved in front of him.
From among the dark green arcs, Wang Shouyi’s own likeness gradually erged.
"[Is this what you look like?]"
This is... character customization?
So this is really a ga?
Are you serious?
Do you think I’ll believe this is a ga just because you threw in a customization feature?
If this really is a ga, then why don’t you let import soone else’s customization data?
"...No."
After another mont of silence, Wang Shouyi reluctantly chose to customize his own character.
Let’s be honest, the temptation to tweak and perfect one’s appearance and physique was not sothing everyone could resist.
After a long character customization session, Wang Shouyi gave up on the idea of further modifications.
It was mainly his curiosity about what would co next that made him unable to resist seeing more.
Wang Shouyi’s passion for gaming was genuine.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen this career path after graduating with a master’s degree from a 985 university.
He had a hunch that this was definitely not any ordinary ga—being sowhat familiar with Lovecraft’s mythos, he recalled what the faceless sphinx ant when he saw "Faceless God Studio."
...Excuse , is your company’s boss a man with dark skin, a tall and thin body, and a hearty smile on his face?
If so, is it still possible for to uninstall the ga now?
"When in Ro, do as the Romans do..."
He sighed and chose to complete the customization.
The next mont, he regained a tangible body.
Wang Shouyi’s first act upon receiving his body was to lightly stamp on the floor.
He was acutely aware that this was not the texture of his ho’s wooden flooring. It felt more like... an elastic rubber floor?
With his action, a ripple of light spread outward like a wave on water. However, it never reached a limit and bounced back as if this pure white space had no bounds.
What should he do next?
Move forward?
As this thought entered Wang Shouyi’s mind, a line of text appeared in the void before him:
[When you have free ti, do you prefer to be active or still?]
Below this line of text, images of a running self and a static self appeared.
"...Pokémon Rescue Team?"
Wang Shouyi raised an eyebrow.
Was this a psychological test to determine one’s profession before entering the ga?
Considering the promotional CG, it seed to be a fantasy ga. Following this line of thought, opting for ’active’ might lead to a physical profession, while ’still’ might an a magical one?
...Sure, a mage might struggle early on, but a mage is always a mage.
With that thought, Wang Shouyi directly chose [Still].
The other phantom shattered once more—he continued forward, and a new option with larger text erged:
[Do you prefer to rely on your own strength, or the strength of others?]
"Naturally, I trust in myself."
Wang Shouyi walked forward without hesitation.
[Are you skilled at leading others, or do you prefer to act alone?]
Seeing an image of himself at the forefront of a crowd and another walking alone, Wang Shouyi was montarily lost in thought.
He was silent for a mont before making his choice:
"...I should be good at leading others."
Should.
Then once again another self shattered, and the largest text he had seen so far materialized in front of him.
[Would you rather control the hearts of others or their actions?]
The two "Wang Shouyis" now had distinctly clear images.
This was no longer about silhouettes but about two paintings.
Or rather, two paths split down the middle.
The left version was wearing a mysterious smile, elegantly seated cross-legged on a chair, exuding a relaxed vibe. He slightly raised his head as his right hand reached out a bit. It was as if he was lecturing students.
His pupils twinkled with a strange light blue glow... and in front of him, sitting or standing or squatting, were a dozen or so people with blurred faces and differing genders. The commonality was the identical glint in everyone’s eyes and the nearly identical smiles on their faces.
The right self had a stern expression.
Around his raised left hand floated several gems; his mouth was slightly open as if he was shouting sothing. In front of him, many runes had coalesced, and nurous letters ford chains that locked the actions of the people in front of him. Their faces showed pain, akin to being electrified.
—Wang Shouyi vaguely realized that this should be the final round of professional selection.
They should all be mages.
The one on the left was... a mind controller? Professor X?
And the one on the right seed to also be a controller... but it appeared to be an expensive profession.
And there’s no further explanation? At least tell what kinds of professions these are... Although he could roughly understand the images, he had seen deceptive advertising before.
Typically, "highly playable" ans lacking damage, "easy to pick up" ans few skills available, "team-oriented" suggests a healer or buffer, and "strong mobility" invariably ans an ostentatious glass cannon...
Since it’s uncertain how to choose.
Then it might as well be based on intuition.
At least that way... if the profession goes down the drain, there won’t be too many regrets.
As this thought surfaced in Wang Shouyi’s mind, the image on the right began to distort and lt away.
This ti it didn’t shatter and disappear, instead, the left image gradually encroached on the right. It was as if a canvas that had hidden half of its true form was now being fully unveiled.
[You have made your choice]
[So then...]
[Welco to the world of mist]
The next mont, the light that filled his vision disappeared in an instant.
Reviews
All reviews (0)