Chapter 11: The Arrival of the Player (Vote for Recommendations!)

University City.

Li Mu, wearing flip-flops and large shorts and carrying freshly bought fried dough sticks and soy milk, walked to his rented room.

The rental room was specifically rented for his live streaming, and it also served as his dormitory.

Suddenly, a pleasant ringtone came from his pocket.

He paused slightly, wiped his greasy hands on his white tank top, and carelessly pulled out his phone.

On the screen was a message:

"Congratulations! You have been selected as one of the first batch of beta testers for 'Elf Kingdom'! Your invitation code is: 233-123-124."

"June 1st, 'Elf Kingdom' welcomes your arrival!"

Li Mu was stunned for a moment, seemingly still in disbelief.

After confirming the message again, he slapped his thigh and grinned:

"Hey! I knew it!"

"My luck is never bad!"

At this moment, all major gaming chat groups were exploding.

"Ahhh! I got selected! I got selected!"

"What's got you so excited?"

"'Elf Kingdom'! I've been selected as a beta tester!"

"Damn! Impressive! Didn't the registration for the game's beta hit over a million?"

"Yeah! Hehehe, I'll send you screenshots when the time comes!"

"Jealous! I saw the trailer, it's really awesome! If it's really as the developers say, that the trailer is the real graphics quality, then it's truly a masterpiece! There are researchers saying the game team even specially designed the languages and music! That's freaking wild!"

"I've gone mad! People in the beta testers' group have started selling their spots already!"

"Damn, that intense? How much?"

"It's been hyped up to over seven thousand... after all, everyone wants to test the so-called thought acceleration! Plus, the developers will introduce a new 100% adjustable real sensory system, as you know, the perception systems in current virtual games are too poorly made."

"Scary."

"Rich people think differently."

"It's useless, the officials said, accounts are bound to identities, you have to verify your identity when logging into the game, non-owners cannot log on..."

"Sigh... just have to wait for the public test."

"I actually think the developers are bluffing... acceleration of thought and real perception, if that technology really existed, who would still develop games!"

"I'm suspicious too... it's quite a hot debate online. But still, let's wait and see, there should be famous streamers..."

"Stream? Weren't they talking about thought acceleration? If it's true, can that even be streamed?"

While peeking into the group chat and nibbling on fried dough sticks, Li Mu slightly smirked.

Thinking for a bit, he typed:

"Got the clearance, on June 1st at noon, I will start streaming 'Elf Kingdom', welcome everyone to watch."

Instantly, the gaming group exploded again.

"Holy shit! It's Mu!"

"Mu got the spot?"

"Mu is streaming?!"

"Front row seeds! The game has been hyped so much online, I really want to see what it's like!"

"Mu! Mu! I'm 'Demacia', I got the spot too, let's add each other as friends in advance! Carry me in the game, please!"

"..."

Watching the continuous stream of messages, Li Mu felt delighted.

...

Time flew by, and soon, the beta test day of 'Elf Kingdom' finally arrived.

June 1st, noon sharp.

Having finished lunch early, Li Mu entered the gaming pod and turned on the streaming function.

'Elf Kingdom' had already been downloaded, and he expertly found the start key to launch the game...

It loaded normally, first displaying the character creation screen.

The only selectable race was Elf, and there was also a face-pinching feature.

To be honest, Li Mu seriously doubted whether this feature was even useful.

Because even just looking at the system's default random faces, he already felt they were ridiculously handsome.

The chat in the streaming room also took off:

"The character model is amazing!"

"Is this a system-default face? Did the developers just use the faces of young celebrities?"

"So handsome!"

"After all, it's an elf!"

"Mu Da! Mu Da! I'm 'Demacia', add me as a friend! And please carry me through the game later!"

"Why doesn't Mu choose a female character? Playing a game and still looking at a man's butt, what's the point?"

Glancing at the barrage of comments, Li Mu explained:

"It's not possible, this game binds gender to identity."

After explaining, he set the color of his hair and pupils to black, changed the hairstyle to long hair, and slightly adjusted his figure to be more slender and androgynous in appearance.

"Pfft... Mu, you crossdresser aficionado, are you cosplaying as Tongzi?"

"Tongzi +1"

"Tongzi +2"

"..."

Ignoring the teasing comments, Li Mu set his name as: "Li Mu."

That's right, going hardcore!

Then, he entered the game.

His consciousness suddenly jolted, an indescribable feeling of weightlessness surged into Li Mu's heart, while his brain momentarily blanked out...

As if traversing countless spacetimes, as if traversing through ancient times.

When his consciousness became clear again, Li Mu found himself in a vast and magnificent world.

Accompanied by melodious classical music, one breathtaking scene after another unfolded before Li Mu's eyes.

The majestic World Tree, the magnificent Elf City, the brilliant Silver Civilization, the grand and tragic wars...

Li Mu, as an observer, watched everything from a single perspective.

"Cutscene! It's a cutscene!"

"The special effects are so realistic!"

"Hey, you haven't seen the promo before, have you?"

"The background music is really nice… Ah… I feel like it's affecting my emotions."

In the live stream, the audience let out a sigh of amazement.

Yes, it was indeed a cutscene.

These were still scenes combined from Eve and the World Tree's lineage, designed to help players entering the game understand the history of elves and simultaneously instill the "game's" central theme in them —

To assist the great ancient god Eve Yoctrahill in reviving civilization!

The quality of the cutscenes was very high, Li Mu did not choose to skip but watched it with the audience in the livestream.

Two minutes later, the animation finally ended...

Still left wanting more.

Accompanied by the holy chanting, Li Mu's world changed once again.

This time, he arrived in a vast white space, regaining control over his own body.

Li Mu's spirit lifted, and then he stretched out his own hands.

No longer the familiar greasy large hands, but now slender and fair, yet feeling an indescribable power.

He touched his own body, the real tactile sense made him feel as though he had traveled through time...

At this moment, all previous doubts vanished.

A sense of wonderment at discovering a treasure emerged, making him exclaim:

"It really is a masterpiece! The character modeling is very lifelike! And it really restored sensory perceptions! The sense of gravity is just like reality!"

He pinched his face hard, feeling a slight pain.

"Hisss—The pain feels very realistic! If I didn't know this was a game, I would even suspect that I had traveled through time! However, this seems adjustable, pain perception can be reduced to 0%."

He then pulled up his character card.

[Name: Li Mu]

[Race: Elf]

[Profession: None]

[Level: 1 (Apprentice)]

[Experience: 0/100]

[Health Points: 50/50]

[Magic Points: 50/50]

[Attributes: Constitution (5), Strength (5), Agility (5), Magic Power (5)]

...

While Li Mu was curiously exploring, a ethereal and elusive voice captured his attention—

"Welcome, Chosen One from another world."

The voice was melodious, ethereal, warm yet ethereal, but also endowed with an indescribable sense of sacredness, making one unconsciously feel the urge to worship.

As the voice entered his ears, Li Mu felt as if his entire soul had been cleansed, extremely tranquil.

He instinctively looked up, then opened his mouth in surprise…