Chapter 2: Unwilling to be Ordinary, Returning to "Myth World

December 31, 2078. Standing on a bustling street, Lin Mu felt a mix of shock and an irrepressible surge of excitement. His eyes shone with a piercing, electric intensity as he exclaimed in ecstasy, "It’s the day before the virtual holographic online game 'Myth World' launches. Damn, I actually reincarnated!"

That Reincarnation Pill—it had actually worked!

A real Reincarnation Pill!

Scenes from his past flashed through Lin Mu’s mind, countless thoughts swirling as he felt an overwhelming sense of emotion.

Reincarnation had actually fallen upon him. He had joked about this with his friends in the past, but he never imagined it would become reality!

Thinking back on his four years of struggle, the ups and downs, the bitterness and the joy, a complex web of emotions washed over him. "Weakness is a sin. With an opportunity like this, am I still willing to be ordinary? My past self wasn't mediocre; I just lacked the opportunity! If I’m not cautious, I might end up like those players who were swallowed by the darkness!"

Now, he possessed the greatest opportunity of all! The compromises of the past would no longer exist. With his unparalleled, advanced experience and a fresh start at the starting line, he would strive to reach the pinnacle of the world and command the winds and clouds...

"Believe in yourself. I will definitely conquer the magnificent and mysterious Myth World...!" Overcome with excitement, Lin Mu roared, letting his inner voice out as a wide smile spread across his face.

"Sigh, another middle-schooler poisoned by the virtual world!"

"That brat of mine bought a virtual helmet too. He’s been acting all mysterious all day, talking about becoming the hegemon of the world, having Diaochan on his left, Cai Wenji on his right, and the Goddess of the Luo River above... he even said he wanted to learn from Boss Cao and love other men's wives... I gave him a good beating with a rattan cane!"

"Hahaha, my kid is the same..."

"I heard another virtual game is opening. These middle-schoolers are going to contribute another wave of GDP!"

Hearing the passersby, Lin Mu’s face darkened. I just accidentally blurted out my inner thoughts and let out a laugh, that’s all.

Lin Mu turned his attention to the virtual screen hanging on a skyscraper: *Promoted by the Huaxia government, the world's first virtual holographic online game, "Myth World"! You can once again possess the starting point of life!*

*You can once again possess the starting point of life!*

His situation truly lived up to these words! This phrase wasn't just superficial; it even held the hope of human biological evolution.

Lin Mu pondered the details of his past life. He had been reborn, and he didn't know if the game's situation would change. He hoped the changes wouldn't be too drastic, otherwise, his forty years of game experience—four years in reality—would become useless!

Lin Mu was an orphan, raised by his butler "Grandpa." And "Grandpa" was an old, simulated intelligent robot.

Nowadays, technology had advanced to simulated bio-humanoid robots. These robots possessed the advantages of various organisms and could help humans perform many difficult and dangerous tasks...

Intelligent robots were considered obsolete technology, and Lin Mu’s "Grandpa" was a somewhat worn-out but very "sentimental" robot.

From childhood to adulthood, "Grandpa" had taken care of him like a giant, shielding him from the wind and rain, allowing him to spend a happy, albeit lonely, childhood.

Modern social welfare was very comprehensive, and combined with the savings left behind by his vanished parents, he had spent 17 years living a peaceful, carefree life.

"Grandpa" was not an ordinary robot, for he possessed great wisdom—a fact only Lin Mu knew.

But when Lin Mu came of age at 18, the "Grandpa" who had accompanied him for so many years and held such deep affection for him left. He didn't go missing; he simply left silently, leaving behind a letter and an ancient-looking ring.

Lin Mu had kept the letter and the ring well-hidden, never touching them. Even now, he remembered that those two items were secretly hidden under his bed. After reading the letter, Lin Mu had not gone looking for "Grandpa"...

In this age of advanced technology, many traditions still persisted. Although scientific knowledge was abundant and advanced, educational habits remained the same as in the old days: primary school at 7, university at 18. The only difference was the massive change in the knowledge being taught.

Primary school at 7, university at 18—that was the life Lin Mu had spent in school.

During his nearly four years of university, he became obsessed with virtual online games. He galloped across the virtual world, commanding the winds and clouds, and was considered a fairly well-known expert.

His savings in the virtual bank were decent; he was a man who, once fed, had no worries for his family.

Back then, when he saw the country promoting "Myth World" with all its might, his keen instincts led him to decisively buy a virtual helmet, beginning his career of exploring the vast world!

As a professional gamer, he became one of the first pioneers to enter the game. Due to a stroke of luck, he obtained a Village Building Token shortly after entering, establishing one of the top ten territories in Huaxia and becoming a lord-player that everyone envied.

But because his plans were not kept secret, his situation was discovered by other transcendent powers, all of whom wanted to seize his territory.

In a certain transcendent meeting, the weak Lin Mu had no choice but to surrender to one of the factions to gain protection.

The faction he joined was a family he held in high regard.

After joining, he received many conveniences and generous treatment.

After drifting for so many years, Lin Mu never found a great opportunity, much like a scholar with talent who never found his break.

Later, due to various reasons, he felt quite unwilling and struck out on his own to develop his own territory.

Relying on his experience, he upgraded from a small mountain village to a county seat, which was considered an extraordinary feat.

At the end of his previous life's trajectory, his former guild asked him once more to help take down a hegemon-level boss. Lin Mu agreed without hesitation, as always; there were still many things worth cherishing about that guild.

Now, because of that mutated [Reincarnation Pill], Lin Mu had returned to the day before the game opened. It was truly a miracle.

This would be Lin Mu’s greatest secret.

Now, he had to set his sights further—perhaps becoming a feudal lord and contending for the world... just thinking about it made him a little excited.

Thinking of those mysteries, those powerful divine generals and strategists, those historical beauties, and the countless treasures, Lin Mu trembled.

"Myth World" was a virtual game represented by all the governments on Earth. That’s right, all of them. Its arrival was full of momentum, surging like a tide.

With the development of the era, countless technologies flourished, virtual worlds were developed, and of course, the exploration of the universe had begun.

Controlling everyone on Earth, the government was a behemoth.

Nowadays, all the governments of Earth had jointly formed a Federal Government. Its predecessor was the United Nations; although it was renamed the Federal Government, it still existed in name only, as many things could not be changed. And these unchangeable things deeply constrained the development of Earth...

However, in some aspects, its power was greater than the former United Nations. Similarly, it was still controlled in turns by several major rogue nations and mysterious forces.

These things were temporarily far away from him.

After the tireless promotion by various countries, many citizens logged into the game.

"Myth World" had different names in different countries. In Lin Mu’s Huaxia, it was called "Myth Three Kingdoms," while in the United States, it had another name.

Certain enhancements obtained in "Myth World" could be added to one's physical body in the real world; certain situations in reality would also affect "Myth World."

"Myth World" was an opportunity for human evolution.

...

These were some explosive secrets that would cause countless consequences.

Of course, these secrets were only announced by the authorities half a year after the game had been running in real-time.

In fact, many powerful players had discovered many secrets in the game, but they just hadn't spread them.

Moreover, in the professional gaming circle, many kidnappings and murders had occurred, most of which were suppressed by major powers or the authorities, and ordinary people were unaware of them.

It was December 31st, and people only thought of "Myth World" as another masterpiece from some game company.

Ordinary citizens were still living their peaceful lives. But in countries, factions, financial conglomerates, and the upper echelons of society across the globe, undercurrents were surging. They were the masters and wealth giants of their respective nations.

The information provided about "Myth World" was very scarce. The game world was controlled by the most powerful super-intelligence, [Nuwa]. There were no human administrators. There was only one server worldwide, and only the super-intelligence had management authority over player data; no one else had permission to view it. This completely eliminated the possibility of leaking player information, greatly increasing the safety of players in the real world.

Major agencies only provided sales and maintenance management for game peripherals, as well as the development of game-related products and the establishment and management of game studios.

It was still possible for player information to be exposed through real-world means, but as long as one kept it secret and didn't casually disclose relevant information to other players, the safety was still quite high.

"Myth World" was a game that combined lord strategy and wilderness adventure. The entire game map was formed by enlarging the real-world map by a certain ratio.

However, some terrain would be changed due to the rules of the Myth World. For strategic needs, the specific names and locations of some mountains, rivers, or cities would be slightly adjusted.

According to revelations from "analysis emperors" among the player base, the length and width of the map were increased by about 40 times, and the height by 100 times. That is to say, a 100-meter-high hill in reality would reach 10,000 meters in the game. Think about how high Mount Everest is—it’s terrifying to think about.

Of course, these figures were just summarized by players and were not official data. Players didn't know exactly how big the Myth World was; many places hadn't been explored, and it was all just speculation. Furthermore, the Myth World had its own mysterious rules, which would produce many strange changes!

These were all the players' own estimates; the Nuwa super-intelligence had not provided any data.

However, the larger map meant more secrets for players to explore, which greatly increased the game's playability.

Based on real-world national borders, the game background for each country was taken from a certain period in their respective historical development. It was generally based on the history of cold weapons, forging a world with historical plots and rich, flesh-and-blood emotions.

For regions without a history of cold weapon development, the super-intelligence would automatically generate one based on the world background. Specific game background information could be viewed in the "Game Historical Background" section on the "Myth World" homepage.

The Huaxia region took the historical period from the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period...

Lin Mu slowly calmed down, pondered for a while, and then left.

He had to go home. He had run out onto the street in his excitement over his rebirth and hadn't even brought his smart watch, so he couldn't buy the "special" game helmet. To buy the special game helmet, one had to go in person.

He hurried home, opened the door, and seeing everything in the house—familiar yet somewhat strange—a strange feeling rose in his heart.

This was the house Lin Mu rented outside of school. He was still a senior in university.

A few months into his senior year, he had moved out to rent a house to make it easier to be a professional gamer, as professional gamers often had irregular schedules and he was afraid of disturbing his roommates.

Thinking of his three "bros" in the dorm, a flash of nostalgia crossed Lin Mu’s face. Although he rented a place outside, he often went back to school to stay; he only spent the night here when he needed to pull all-nighters for quests or clear dungeons.

Today, he had planned to buy a helmet, as there was only one day left until the game opened.

Reborn, he carefully recalled the memories deep in his mind and planned his future actions! He knew some secrets that could give him an advantage in the early stages. It would be idiotic not to use an advantage.

Actually, buying it on the Battle Net was also possible, but it wouldn't come with some special little bonuses.

Arriving at the sales location in the city center square, Lin Mu didn't go to the main sales counter. Instead, he turned to a bionic humanoid receptionist on the side. "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Hello, I am a relative of an employee at the Tianyue Studio in Xinghai City. I’m here to buy a game helmet."

"Please state the employee ID of the relevant game studio personnel." "ty03ty237".

"Okay, please pay 15,899 RMB." Currency was still RMB, commonly known as "soft sister coins" in the professional gaming circle; everyone used the slang.

Lin Mu had found a loophole here. He had learned about this way to buy studio helmets from a professional gamer friend in the city in his past life. However, at that time, the studio's permissions had been revoked. Now, it was still possible to purchase them, and there was no limit on the quantity. As long as one had the relevant information as proof, one could buy as many as one wanted. Lin Mu quietly using this information wouldn't be an issue; other players' family members used it too, so he wasn't afraid of exposing his identity.

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This is my first book. I hope everyone will cast some recommendation votes and monthly tickets, and you can also add the book to your bookshelf. These are very important for a new book. Thank you very much!~

(End of chapter)