The Only Player in ‘ Chapter 1 - 1 1 Child of Stardust

??Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Child of Stardust

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Child of Stardust

“You are right, but ‘Child of Stardust’ is a brand-new open-world adventure ga jointly developed by Stars Network and Spark Technology. The ga takes place in a fantasy world called ‘Endless Star Sea,’ where ordinary people also have the chance to ascend to godhood. You will play the role of a mysterious character nad ‘Pioneer,’ encountering companions with various personalities and unique abilities during your free adventures. Together, you will defeat formidable enemies, explore the stars, ascend to godhood—and gradually uncover the truth of the ‘Stellar.'”

She copied and pasted and sent it all in one go, completing today’s water army task perfectly.

In the security room, Zhou Yuan put down her phone and looked up at the ti on the surveillance screen—22:58.

“Sun, I’m going on patrol,” Zhou Yuan picked up the flashlight from the table and called out towards the inner room.

“Oh, oh, go on,” said Sun, the security team captain who was busy showering a live-streaming hostess with virtual gifts, responding perfunctorily.

Zhou Yuan left the security room humming a tune and walked towards the brightly lit office building.

The company’s na—Stars Network—hung on the rooftop.

Currently the most globally renowned ga company, bar none.

Six years ago, Stars Network released a teaser for a new online ga “Child of Stardust.” This ga was to be an unprecedented imrsive holographic ga, where the visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory senses in the ga world were identical to reality, boasting 100% realism.

After the teaser was released, it drew widespread skepticism among players. Such advanced technology seed like a pipe dream, much less turning it into a ga. Many thought Stars Network was just trying to scam money.

Over ti, discussions on this topic continued to heat up until a bombshell news dropped that made the players’ doubts gradually subside—Spark Technology and Stars Network announced their collaboration!

Spark Technology—a tech giant that rose to prominence after World War III, having created countless miracles.

chanical prosthetics, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, genetic editing, controlled nuclear fusion… many groundbreaking products were their masterpieces. Their involvent made it seem possible that imrsive holographic gas could beco a reality.

With recent years’ successive reveals of the actual gaplay footage of “Child of Stardust,” the stunning results drove players worldwide completely crazy. Stars Network had actually made it happen!

Now, with only a month left until the ga’s release, players were going crazy on the internet every day, wishing they could knock themselves out and sleep until the ga was out.

anwhile, the ga developers were also working around the clock to complete the final refinents. Lately, staying up late had beco the norm.

Beep!

Zhou Yuan swiped her card to open the door, greeted the front desk staff, and walked straight into the elevator. She swiped her card again and pressed the button for the 33rd floor.

As the elevator slowly ascended, Zhou Yuan stared ahead in a daze, reflecting on her experiences over the years, feeling a mix of emotions.

As an undereducated person orphaned with only a middle school diploma, getting into Stars Network was like striking gold. She owed it all to her looks.

Five years ago, while she was nervously preparing for high school entrance exams, her parents were brutally murdered by soone, and the culprits were never found.

To make matters worse, her parents were both gambling addicts, leaving no savings and a mountain of debt to the bank.

Fortunately, her classmates and teachers were kind-hearted, lending her so living expenses that allowed her to finish middle school. After that, she started working to pay off the debts—if she didn’t, the house would be repossessed by the bank, leaving her holess, only to beco a city explorer, roaming around to loot treasure chests.

Zhou Yuan had worked in factories, cleaned cars, been a custor service representative, and delivered food… Then one day, luck shone on her.

It was a sunny afternoon, and she was delivering food on a ninth-hand electric bike bought from a seafood market to an upscale neighborhood. She happened to see the neighborhood’s security team training at the entrance.

Maybe it was fate, the supervisor turned around, glanced at her, and exclaid, “Hey, young lady, you’re quite handso. Want to beco a security guard? An eight-hour shift, six thousand a month, with five insurances and one housing fund, working five days and off two.”

So she took the job that very evening and beca a neighborhood security guard. With her youth, vigor, tall stature, and handso looks as added advantages, she soon beca the face of the neighborhood’s front desk and even got a bit popular online, earning so quick cash.

Unfortunately, her eyes weren’t innocent enough to beco an internet sensation, so she fizzled out after two or three months.

Two years passed like this, and one night, Zhou Yuan, while patrolling the neighborhood, saw a person lying on the road. She quickly called an ambulance to take the person to the hospital. Later, she learned that the person was an executive at Stars Network who had collapsed due to exhaustion from continuous work and suffered a stroke on the way ho. If it wasn’t for the tily dical attention, he would have died.

After recovering, the executive sought out Zhou Yuan to repay her, offering her a job at Stars Network as a security guard.

Without a second thought, she agreed—Stars Network was a Fortune 100 company with decent security guard benefits.

Now, she had been a security guard at Stars Network for two and a half years, reducing her parents’ debt to just eighty thousand. Another six months or so of work should be enough to pay it off.

By then…

She would be free.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened to the rooftop recreation area, decorated with so parasols and tables and chairs, all empty.

Zhou Yuan routinely patrolled around and then turned back towards the elevator.

“Caw—”

In the silence, a raspy bird call suddenly sounded from the side, startling Zhou Yuan. She quickly shined her flashlight towards it.