Chapter 1168 Like It Once Existed

Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.Virtual reality technology research center.

Duan Siqi had just finished today’s experiment. He took off his helmet and sighed in relief.

A second ago he was shooting and dodging bullets in The Matrix, and the next second, he was in the slow-paced and peaceful real world. The feeling of traveling through time and space was hard to articulate. Because he often participated in VR experiments, he could easily tell the real world from the VR world.

He could only feel the flow of air in the real world, and he could feel satisfaction other than consuming food in the real world. The real world was complete, and he felt alive.

With the continuous upgrade of the Phantom system, the virtual reality world was becoming more and more perfect. They could now feel the four basic tastes of sweet, bitter, salty, and spicy. Even though the taste of food only lasted for a few bites, it felt like the boundary between reality and simulation was getting blurry.

His score was written on a screen nearby.

21,111 points!

He came first.

“21,111 points! All missions completed… Not bad, bro!”

Sitting on the chair next to him was a white-collar IT worker who looked a little older. This middle-aged man looked surprised when he saw the number on the screen.

This number was twice his own score.

No wonder this kid won 100,000 yuan from that experiment.

The man had a jealous look on his face.

“It’s alright.” Duan Siqi smiled and put away his helmet. He said, “Come, let’s eat at the cafeteria.”

The score was actually meaningless.

So far, Star Sky Technology had only given them rewards for defeating one game, which was when he won the 100,000 yuan. Most of the time, as long as they completed the experimental tasks step by step, they could smoothly enter the next level regardless of the mission evaluation.

During the “Calanian Empire” mission, Duan Siqi took the game seriously. He studied every single detail, eventually winning the 100,000 yuan.

After being mocked constantly by his mathematics genius roommate in the past, he could finally bathe in the admiration and envy of others. He was regarded as an expert closed beta player.

Even though at the beginning he only participated in the “Master God” experiment as a part-time job, he suddenly began looking forward to the day the Phantom system would go public.

The white-collar worker that also participated in the “Master God” experiment came to the cafeteria. Duan Siqi filled his plate with food and sat down at a table.

Not long after he sat down, his friend sitting across from him smiled and said, “I heard someone from Penguin came yesterday.”

“Penguin?” Duan Siqi frowned and asked, “Why?”

“Apparently, they’re doing an investigation, but I think they’re here to discuss platform authorization.”

“Platform authorization… Looks like we’re getting closer and closer to going public.”

“When the public beta begins, do you think they still need us?” the white-collar guy said.

Honestly, he quite liked this job.

He only needed to come for two days a week. His job was to play games, earning a couple thousand yuans per month. They didn’t even have to write feedback themselves as the system’s AI could generate feedback automatically… At least, that was what the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study researchers said.

If the Phantom system was released to the public, was there a need for closed beta testers?

Even though they would eventually lose their jobs, this man still couldn’t help but look unhappy.

Duan Siqi said, “I don’t know, maybe, maybe not…” He thought for a second and shook his head. “Who cares, we signed a two-year contract with Star Sky Technology, so there must be a reason.”

Also…

It doesn’t matter if my job no longer exists.

He felt like with his knowledge of the Phantom system and his experience that he accumulated from testing VR games, he could start a career in VR…

After Duan Siqi finished eating, he went back to the laboratory.

He was about to pack his things and get back to Jin Ling University when the laboratory door suddenly opened. A researcher wearing a white coat walked in.

“Good news, everyone,” the researcher said with a smile on his face. He continued, “You might have heard this already, but thanks to you guys, the first batch of neural demodulators equipped with a virtual reality headset will be launched soon! We can’t disclose the launch time and price for the time being, but all of you will receive a model. This is our way of thanking you guys for the experiments!”

Clap clap clap!

Thunderous applause broke out in the laboratory.

Even though this meant that they would soon lose their jobs, most people were happy that they didn’t do the experiments for nothing.

Also, this VR headset was not going to be cheap.

Yet Star Sky Technology was willing to give each of them one for free, how exciting was that?

The researcher smiled and continued, “Also, the first game that will enter the Phantom system will be the Calan Empire game you guys played. After adjusting the world model, the game will be released as an open-world game with a higher degree of freedom. Players will see what happens fifty years after the ‘Oracle’ crisis. Don’t know if you guys still remember this game.”

A beta tester laughed and yelled, “Of course we remember! I died twenty times in the first level!”

Laughter erupted in the laboratory.

That game left a deep impression on everyone’s mind.

The number of times they died in that game was more than every other game combined.

“I’m looking forward to what happens next!”

“I wonder if they will make it difficult after the rework.”

Researcher: “Not sure, the focus of the plot will be on the surrounding planets, not the Empire Ring world. I don’t know the specifics since the Calan Empire project is a top-secret in our department.”

A player smiled and said, “I know, even if you know, you can’t tell us.”

The researcher smiled and nodded.

“True! But I really don’t know.”

The Phantom system will go public soon!

The laboratory became lively because of this news.

Everyone excitedly discussed this news…

An open-world completely generated by an AI…

They wondered what the world would be like.

Duan Siqi listened to the discussions and couldn’t help but feel fascinated.

He couldn’t help but wonder if the Calans once existed somewhere in the universe…

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