GAME

Chapter 1The Mysterious Ring

"Dad! Can you buy me a Gaming Pod, please?" Jiang Fei asked his father, his face feverish with excitement.

Almost instantly, the reply came blaring into his eardrums, as his father's face, cheerful just a moment ago, turned into a scowl. "In your dreams!"

"Young Fei, you're already in high school! You can't just keep playing games!" As if it made things any better, his mother chipped in from the sidelines, barely even looking up.

"Mom! This game is nothing like... Like... Anything! Shengshi Enterprise has spent more than 13 years working on this godly game! It has even been dubbed as the best game in the world! They are calling it the second world! Dawn Break, that's the name of the game. They even programmed it in a way that alters our perception of time! Time inside this world would be slowed down! Those who play the game would enjoy a longer life!" Jiang Fei explained to his parents with much gusto.

Dawn Break was a technological breakthrough of its time. Not only was it able to emulate real-world physics, it did so to the quark. Through the use of a newly-developed technology, the game even enabled humans to play in their sleep! In the eight hours of sleep, one could be fully functional in the game! Those eight hours would be 24 hours of wholesome gameplay in that hyper-realistic world!

His father spun around and directed a finger at Jiang Fei. It quivered as his voice rose. "Don't buy into those stupid taglines! That's just how gaming companies reel in gullible oafs like you. They just want you to pour all your hard-earned money into their honey pot! Oh, but who am I to say anything. Let those idiots believe whatever truth that sounds right to their ears! You! Are my son, Fei! Not one of those gullible idiots! Non-idiots don't get to play! Your current priority is to finish high school! Once you're in a reputable university, you can do whatever you want!" Jiang Fei's father was adamant.

"Dad! You're too much! Even the government endorses this game! How could they lie to us?! Not only would it guarantee us a solid 8 hours of sleep, it won't even get in the way of my study time!"

Jiang Fei gave one last push.

His father seemed to swell in size. "I'll only say this one more time. No. Negative. Denied! That's it. If I don't see you in your room doing your homework in 20 seconds, consider your allowance halved!"

"Stupid old fart."

Jiang Fei lowered his head, muttering under his breath. He knew that he would go no further with this. He knew his father did not hold anything against gaming, per se. The old man had only been this close to bursting a blood vessel due to the price tag of the gaming pod. It was just his father being a little old-fashioned; as if gaming would affect anything.

…

The bell rang. As the teacher took his exit, a plump little fellow scurried over to Jiang Fei.

"Brother Fei, how's it going? Dawn Break's launching tonight! Have you prepared your gaming pod yet?"

"Ugh… Don't get me started. I won't be joining you guys this time. Rather, I can't," Jiang Fei said with a bitter smile.

"Woah. What's wrong? I'm not the only one counting on you. We've got a band of brothers here!" the fat boy said anxiously.

He was Zhao Feng, one of the few friends Jiang Fei had. Jiang Fei was in was the ninth class