Chapter 1: The Oracle

“Wu Shaochen, go to the finance department to settle your salary. You don’t need to come to work tomorrow.”

A middle-aged man, thinning hair and a beer belly, sat comfortably in a large leather chair, speaking to the young man standing in front of him.

“Why are you firing me?” Wu Shaochen asked, his face filled with anger.

Actually, he had a pretty good idea of the situation. It was probably because yesterday, when he got home late after working overtime, he suddenly realized he’d forgotten his keys. He went back to the office to grab them and accidentally caught his boss and secretary in a compromising situation. It wasn’t a big deal, right? So why fire him?

“Because I’m the boss. I can fire anyone I want,” the middle-aged man replied smugly.

“This guy is probably afraid I’ll tell his wife,” Wu Shaochen thought to himself. His wife occasionally came to the office for inspections, and it was easy for her to bump into him. If he got fired, the boss wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

Though Wu Shaochen considered telling the boss that he wasn’t the type to gossip, he quickly decided against it. Such a boss would likely make things difficult for him, even if he stayed.

“You want to fire me? Fine, but according to the law, if the company fires me, you have to pay me three months’ salary as compensation,” Wu Shaochen said, trying to maximize his benefit.

“You think…?” The middle-aged man was about to say something, but then realized that making this a big deal would only hurt him. He suppressed his anger and said, “I don’t care about that little money. Go to finance and get your money, then get out.”

Quickly, Wu Shaochen went to the finance department, settled his salary, and packed up his things. As he walked out of the company, he looked at the bustling street but didn’t know where to go. Two years after graduation, he had achieved nothing, and now he’d lost his job. In a city like SZ, where money is everything, he didn’t even dare add a sausage to his instant noodles without a paycheck.

“Forget it. I’ll look for another job,” Wu Shaochen muttered.

Just then, a poster flew towards him and stuck to his face. He took it off and saw the promotional image for the globally popular game The Oracle.

Over the past month, the game’s advertisements had been everywhere. It was rumored that the game’s core was not from the current civilization, but a product of a cross-era technology. The specifics of how it came about were undisclosed. The game was developed by the top five global gaming giants in collaboration with this core, achieving 100% realism. That meant the five senses in the game were exactly the same as in real life.

“It really is a game from another era,” Wu Shaochen sighed. But playing the game wasn’t as simple as using a computer. You had to buy a game helmet.

“Damn it. One helmet costs ten thousand. I haven’t even saved up five figures after working for two years.”

“Wait a minute… I just got paid three months’ salary—exactly ten thousand and five hundred. Maybe…”

Wu Shaochen was tempted. This game was completely different from traditional ones, with infinite possibilities. As someone who often played games, he could see that much.

But while he had confidence in the game, he lacked confidence in himself. The game would face players from all over the world. The best players and the wealthiest players would probably jump into it first. Although he had played plenty of games, his skills were nothing compared to theirs.

“This is a gamble,” Wu Shaochen muttered. For him, ten thousand yuan was almost all of his savings. After rent and living expenses, he would be left with barely anything. If the game didn’t work out, he’d have no money by the end of the month.

“Damn it, I’m going for it. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll sleep under a bridge. Worst case, I’ll find another job. Besides, I’ve always loved playing games. I can’t pass up this opportunity.”

Without hesitation, Wu Shaochen splurged on a taxi to the nearest helmet sales point. Why take a taxi when he was so broke? Because The Oracle officially launched at noon, and it was already nearly ten o’clock. If he was going to play, he couldn’t be behind everyone else.

Arriving at the sales point, he saw a long line. He couldn’t help but sigh at the game’s popularity. The helmets had been on sale for a month, and there were always huge lines every day. Even with the servers about to launch, there were still so many people.

Wu Shaochen waited for over an hour before finally getting a helmet. Checking the time, it was 11:25, so he quickly hailed another taxi and rushed home. The whole way there, he urged the driver to hurry. By the time he got home, it was already 11:50.

Feeling a bit hungry, he realized he hadn’t had breakfast. He wouldn’t be able to get food once he entered the game, and his body probably wouldn’t hold up.

With no time to cook or go out, he rummaged through his house and eventually found a pack of bread under his bed. The packaging hadn’t been opened, so he didn’t think much of it. He tore it open and quickly finished it.

After a big sigh of relief, Wu Shaochen slowly put on the game helmet. It was 11:55.

“Huh? Why does my stomach hurt a little?”

Before he could think further, he was sucked into the game. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in a grand battlefield. Countless monstrous beasts blotted out the sky as they attacked the small humans below. On the ground, many humans were being chased by beasts, and those caught were torn to pieces.

Yet, among the humans, many strong warriors fought back, such as mages in noble robes floating in the air, casting elemental attacks on the beasts below; archers furiously shooting arrows at the flying beasts; shield warriors blocking the frontlines, unyielding; warriors with battle axes charging into the beast hordes; and stealthy assassins picking off weakened monsters.

Behind the crowd, white-robed priests, looking like holy angels, continuously healed their teammates.

This was The Oracle‘s great classes: Mage, Archer, Shield Warrior, Warrior, Assassin, and Priest.

Though there were many strong humans, they couldn’t withstand the overwhelming beast army, and in the end, all the humans on the battlefield were slain. The beasts roared in victory, as if showing off their dominance.

Wu Shaochen was stunned by the scene before him. The overwhelming sense of realism made the hairs on his body stand on end. It was terrifying. It didn’t feel like a game at all—it felt like a real event happening.

While Wu Shaochen was still in shock, the scene suddenly changed. He found himself in a grand hall, and a system notification rang in his ears:

“Scanning brainwaves…”

“Scan complete…”

“Extracting blood sample…”

Suddenly, Wu Shaochen felt a sharp pain in his scalp.

“What the hell? Does the game helmet have needles?”

After a long pause, another system notification came:

“Blood sample extraction complete. DNA binding in progress…”

“Binding complete.”

“Identity verification in progress…”

Name: Wu Shaochen

ID: 32**********8517

Age: 24

Country: Huaxia

“Binding your bank card for in-game cash transactions…”

…

“What the hell is this? This is a game?” Wu Shaochen stared, stunned. The system had scanned his entire personal information so precisely. Was this even a game?