[Does Mr. Zhou Sui live here?]

Cheers and applause spread across the Star Network — this was the live broadcast of the Gathering Camp’s pinnacle competition, a grand spectacle in the spotlight of the holographic network.  

The Gathering Camp, part of the Star Alliance’s mainframe holographic competition, brought together countless talented competitors in the holographic challenge world. Participants had to overcome stages involving strategy, survival, and intense combat, pushing their limits in an environment where the highest mainframe had set the survival difficulty to its maximum — a true pinnacle competition where players challenged the mainframe itself.  

In countless live streams, striking figures appeared one after another. Each stream displayed the participants’ current stage at the top — Level 30, Level 45… arranged in order of progression. And at the very top of all these streams was the contestant with the highest challenge level — the one currently ranked first.  

In this competition, he had opened a remarkable lead, surpassing other players by four levels and becoming the first to enter the Level 51 challenge arena, leaving everyone else in the dust. He was engaged in a fast-paced, strategic battle against the mainframe’s simulated monsters, pushing his limits amid thunderous cheers both inside and outside the arena.  

“Kill count: 58!”  

“His combo count is still rising — thirty consecutive hits, forty… he’s still going!”  

A swarm of dark monsters poured into the arena from all directions. Standing at the very center, the contestant showed no signs of slowing down. The weapon in his hand shifted from a short blade to a long polearm, cutting down the obstacles in front of him with sweeping strikes. The sharp tip of the weapon flicked crimson blood into the air as his fluid, effortless movements wove through the monsters like flowing water.

All the monsters with exceptional physical abilities gathered in the arena, each one equipped with its own intelligence, reflected in their modeling data panels. This meant that the contestants had to fight against simulated monsters with combat awareness, defeating them all to claim victory.  

In such a grueling challenge, this player executed each thrust and strike with ruthless precision, delivering fatal blows with astonishing accuracy that left everyone in awe and disbelief. 

The countless simulated monsters fell like defeated enemies, their lifeless bodies scattered across the ground, leaving traces of death everywhere.  

“60 kills!”  

“65 kills!”  

“Zhou!” “Zhou!”  

The Star Network live stream erupted with cheers, everyone shouting his name in unison.  

The announcement reached a crescendo as the blade tore through the air. The arena was soaked in blood, and the simulated monsters’ processing speeds grew slower and slower. The fighter was now drenched in blood, covered in the aftermath of battle.  

At this moment, the last monster, slinking through the sea of corpses and blood, crept up. With cunning and sharp senses, it attempted a sneak attack from behind. Known as the simulated monster that most closely resembled the contestant’s data, it did not hesitate to reveal its deadly claws.  

The contestant, clad in cloth armor, took a step back. As the grotesque monster lunged at him, his blade struck faster than the monster could react. He slashed its throat, sending a spray of blood across his face. The blade sliced through the wound from top to bottom, the flash of the blade splattering blood as it fell.  

The cheers reached their peak, and the audience leaped to their feet in excitement.  

“The first one!!! He’s the first person to break through the Savage Beast Arena!”  

“Zhou! The record he’s set is the highest in the history of the Gathering Camp! Level 52!! It’s a new record!”  

“And he can still continue challenging!”  

The contestant, still covered in blood, remained unaware of the cheers outside the arena.  

But in the next moment, as he raised his hand, a shocking message appeared —  

“The contestant has logged out of the Gathering Camp.”  

He never logged in again.  

…

Three years later.  

In a residential neighborhood in Capital Star A City, the curtains that blocked out the sunlight swayed slightly.  

In the corridor bathed in sunlight, a middle-aged man walked behind an automatically operating delivery truck, pressing the doorbell several times while lowering his head to check the data pad in his hand.  

Before long, the door across the hall opened.  

“Looking for someone?”  

“Yes, does Mr. Zhou Sui live here?”  

“401?” The woman who spoke was slightly overweight. She leaned against the side, peering out the door without stepping outside, seeming to have no intention of going over.  

In this neighborhood, each floor had two units, and the unit across had only recently been occupied by a young man.  

That person rarely went out, and was a man of few words. The only ones who passed by that place regularly were the cleaning robots.  

The woman glanced at the delivery truck behind the man, sizing it up before impatiently saying, “It’s no use ringing the doorbell. Did you try the communicator?”  

The middle-aged man looked awkwardly at the communicator in his hand. Yes, he had tried, but no one had answered.  

Sensing the woman’s attitude, he hesitated to keep pressing the doorbell. “I’ll try again.”  

—-

The communicator beeped with an electronic sound, and two pieces of clothing were scattered messily beside the bed. Before long, a mechanical cat crawled out from under a T-shirt, gracefully stepping onto a bulging lump on the bed. Its powerful front paws pressed down on the soft bedding, until the human beneath it let out a displeased grunt.  

The communicator beeped again, its sound ringing in the room as the doorbell echoed outside. The cat, seemingly annoyed by the noise, pressed harder again.  

Sensing the noise was too much, a pale hand emerged from under the blanket, grabbing the mechanical cat by the back of its neck and casually tossing it aside. The cat hit the wall with a loud thud, baring its teeth and letting out an irritated yowl.  

The room had few furnishings — just a bed, a table, and a cabinet.  

Under the bed, mechanical cat energy supplies were haphazardly placed, along with a makeshift cat bed made from old clothes and mechanical parts.

The room was entirely filled with cold tones, the only living presence being the mechanical cat that had just been tossed aside and the room’s occupant.  

After three minutes of the continuous ringing of the communicator, the young man, trapped in the bed, slowly woke up. He groggily reached for the communicator beside him and paused for a moment when he saw an unfamiliar number displayed.  

The young man glanced down at the mechanical cat at his feet.  

The cat, presenting its rear to him, seemed to say, “I’ve already done the wake-up service.”  

He groggily rubbed his eyes for a moment, threw off the blanket, and walked out.  

The doorbell was still ringing. When the young man opened the door, a slightly overweight man in a loose black T-shirt stood outside. Upon seeing the young man, the man’s expression changed from helplessness to delight. He hurriedly handed over a data pad.  

“…Mr. Zhou Sui, right? The cargo you’ve ordered for the holographic loader has arrived. Please confirm on the receipt.”  

On the receipt, in bold and flowing handwriting, were the words “Cang Qiong ^[1] The blue dome of heaven”. The specially sealed packaging required the client’s fingerprint to unlock it.  

Cang Qiong Holographic Loader.  

“Where do I sign?” The young man’s voice was a little hoarse.  

The worker realized what was happening and was about to guide him, but as he stretched out his hand, he saw the young man slightly pull back.  

He paused for a moment, cleared his throat, and pointed to the spot where the young man had avoided. “This will do.”  

The young man’s drowsy consciousness gradually came back as the mechanical cat at his feet nudged his pant leg, bouncing up several times before landing on his shoulder. The worker, startled by the sudden movement, looked at the cat. The cat lacked any faux leather, and one could faintly see the flow of energy beneath its mechanical body. The metal parts of its shell were of varying colors, making it impossible to tell which company had manufactured the machine.  

Behind the young man and the cat, the room remained dim. A glance at the room revealed no light; it was dark and oppressive.  

The worker felt a chill run down his spine. It was almost noon, and his eyes involuntarily scanned the young man. The young man’s face was somewhat pale, his hair slightly messy as he kept his head lowered, with strands of hair that seemed to have been left untidy. His exposed arms bore several pale, old scars.  

At that moment, the mechanical cat suddenly lifted its head.

The worker was startled by the piercing gaze of the mechanical cat. When he focused, he realized that the young man had somehow been watching him all along. The young man’s eyes were an extremely pale color, almost glowing faintly in the sunlight, but his eyelids drooped heavily, staring at the worker with a dead, lifeless gaze.

Suddenly, the worker’s fingertips brushed against something cold.

The young man handed him the data pad without saying a word.

The worker, relieved to see the signature, suppressed the eerie feeling and forced a smile. “Well, it’s all set. If you encounter any issues with the loader later, you can contact our online service. Enjoy your time in the holographic world.”

The young man took the device from his hands, and the worker, eager to leave, quickly turned and walked off with the cargo truck.

The young man retracted his fingers and looked up, seeing the woman from the opposite door glance his way before quickly closing her door. It seemed she had no intention of interacting further.

“You’ve been rejected!” the mechanical cat gleefully remarked.

The young man’s voice was hoarse. “Shut up.”

The mechanical cat added, “People like you will never make friends!”

They had been living here for two months, and the neighborhood relations had soured in just half that time. In the following month and a half, the number of times they encountered their neighbors didn’t even add up to five.

The door shut again, and the room plunged into darkness.

The mechanical cat was shoved aside by its owner, and Zhou Sui ignored the situation outside.

He looked down at the loader in his hand, feeling an inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity. With a quick motion, he expertly found the fingerprint input point and, with a flick, opened the outer packaging of the loader. He ignored the nearby instruction manual and other accessories, his peripheral vision catching the new-style head-mounted loader in the center. With a twist, the entire outer shell of the loader shattered into pieces.

The mechanical cat exclaimed, “Be careful!”

Zhou Sui responded, “It’s too fragile.”

Fortunately, the interior of the loader was well-protected, and the breakage of the outer shell did not damage the internal components.

Zhou Sui quickly cleared the sharp pieces of the outer shell and easily took the loader in his hand, his movements becoming more gentle. “Do all head-mounted loaders come so finely made? This is much lighter than three years ago.”

The cat meowed, signaling its confusion.

Zhou Sui already knew from its meows what the cat’s attitude was. He weighed the loader in his hand and said, “Things change so quickly.”

The loader was the latest model from the Cang Qiong Group, which he had pre-ordered on the star network some time ago. With the rise of the holographic network in recent decades, countless loader manufacturers had emerged, and Cang Qiong was one of the top brands, especially in the entertainment and gaming sectors, where it was a leader.

Zhou Sui had carefully selected this brand, and there was no other reason for it except that the medical module was well-designed. It had multiple layers of security locks, adapted to various physical conditions, and could even be used by F-level mental power users… but Zhou Sui didn’t need such a sophisticated system. The only reason he chose it was because it was particularly suitable for rehabilitation patients.

It was perfect for someone like Zhou Sui, who hadn’t used holograms for years.

Zhou Sui sat on the floor, pondering for a while, while the cat meowed beside him in response. He casually grabbed the cat and tossed it into the room, briefly saying, “Stuff.”

The room was still dim, and the cat landed nimbly.

Zhou Sui took the loader off and carried it into the room.

The small living room was filled with various gaming equipment. If you compared the manufacturing dates, you’d notice that all of it was from recent years. Apart from the equipment, a virtual video frame half-lit in the air was paused— it was a very popular live-streamed game on the star network… with just a glance, it seemed like everything was happening all at once.

The cat picked up something from the pile of items that hadn’t been unpacked yet, jumped beside Zhou Sui, and with a flick of its tail, resumed playing the game footage in the living room. “You fell asleep halfway through watching this yesterday.”

Zhou Sui ignored it.

The cat was watching the live broadcast on its own. Zhou Sui had recently developed a liking for these broadcasts, so the cat enjoyed them too.

The host in the video was saying—

“The breakthrough rate for the beginner servers of the Divine Tree is still quite low.”

“A lot of exploration companies have joined, and the mid-level rankings are still fluctuating. The progress of the Divine Tree’s first phase map exploration has only reached 15%! It’s hard to imagine that the Divine Tree has been live for two months now. I’ve heard that this game integrates a lot of data from mainframe simulations, and it even uses the data model from the pinnacle holographic competition three years ago…”

The pinnacle holographic competition from three years ago was almost the ultimate challenge of human versus intelligent environments. Countless top-tier holographic players gathered to take on the challenge. The highest challenge record was level 52, set by the player who ranked first at the time. Since then, no player had successfully broken that record, until the genius gathering camp was deemed to push human limits too far by experts and was forcibly terminated.

The cat squinted at the live broadcast, occasionally glancing at Zhou Sui with its mechanical eyes. “Look, they’re talking about the Gathering Camp!”

Zhou Sui was still unwrapping the package, and upon seeing the faintly glowing object inside, he completely ignored the cat.  

The item had been sitting in his home for more than half a month without being touched.

Now, Zhou Sui looked at the chip in his hand, which was only the size of a fingernail. An overwhelming sense of unrealism and illusion filled his mind—this was a holographic game loading chip.

“Breaking news! Just an hour ago, the 50th exploration level of the Divine Tree was finally breached, and the team that achieved this breakthrough was the adventure team Griffin!”

At this moment, Zhou Sui slightly raised his eyes, his gaze stopping on the host’s excited and exaggerated expression in the virtual video. Beside him, an initial preview of the new map for Divine Tree appeared, and the latest ranking placed the Griffin Team in second place, marked by a bright, shining icon.

The host continued to excitedly narrate, “The Griffin Team is the pioneering squad that conquered the difficulty of the Divine Tree game. Their team mainly consists of members from well-known game companies, streamers, top players, and more. I heard their captain was a player from the pinnacle competition years ago! They’ve jumped to second place in the rankings, successfully advancing the game progress… Their goal is to challenge for first place!”

Zhou Sui hadn’t interacted with holographic games in a long time, and even though he had heard this report many times over the past few days, hearing that familiar broadcast voice still gave him an unusual feeling.

He attributed this feeling to novelty and casually flipped through the game overview from the chip’s packaging. After skimming it briefly, he shoved it back into the packaging bag.

The mechanical cat spoke up, “You’ve been on the leaderboard before.”

Zhou Sui didn’t respond, continuing to flip through the Divine Tree introduction.

Holographic worlds had developed to the point where the gaming sector was one of the most critical areas. Many game companies focused heavily on this industry. The success of Tianhuan a few years ago had made holographic games even more dazzling, spawning a vast industrial chain that nearly occupied every aspect of citizens’ daily lives in the StarNet. It was common for people to spend a week or even half a month immersed in the StarNet… But recently, the game that had stirred up a lot of debate among holographic citizens was the much-discussed Divine Tree.

Divine Tree was a special holographic game made with a unique chip. Even its internal testing had taken nearly ten years. It was said to incorporate the entire model content derived from the highest mainframe simulations. During the internal testing phase, the game company even released many preview modules, sparking curiosity among numerous players.

Two months ago, Divine Tree officially launched, and its vast world-building and systems that connected to various StarNet modules were novel and unique, making it leap to the number one spot on the StarNet rankings as a chip-based game. It became the focal point of attention across various industries, attracting professionals from all fields.

Within just one day of its release, the game quickly dominated the trending searches on major platforms. Its popularity was exceptional, surpassing many other holographic entertainment projects. Even industry experts from research institutions, competitive fields, and more supported it. Many game streamers and celebrities became immersed in it, and nearly everyone in the gaming world, as well as beyond, became familiar with the game.

In just two months since its launch, the game had already set a new record for the highest number of online players, and as the game continued to unfold, it was steadily breaking more records.

But the only reason Zhou Sui decided to purchase the chip was that it used the data model from the pinnacle holographic competition three years ago, and the theory of “AI vs. Players” was prominently featured as one of Divine Tree’s core principles.

The cat let out an annoyed meow, “Are you even capable? Why does it take so long to set up a loader?”

Zhou Sui snapped out of his thoughts and muttered, “If you’re so good, why don’t you do it?”

Even though he said that, he quickly inserted the chip into the loader. A game loading prompt appeared before him, and he instinctively found the port to insert the helmet. When he put it on, the world in front of his eyes shifted dramatically.

[Would you like to adjust your appearance?]

Zhou Sui sat there for a moment, staring at the prompt with a dazed look.

The mechanical cat, seemingly used to Zhou Sui’s occasional distractions, elegantly tapped him with its tail after noticing he hadn’t moved for a while.

Only then did Zhou Sui click the adjust button on the floating window and make minor facial adjustments, but for body proportions, he selected to import his real-world data.

[User data received. Verifying biological information.]

[Zhou Sui, male, 21 years old, physical fitness level S+, historical mental strength level A, updated to level B.…]

Zhou Sui furrowed his brow slightly when he saw the data pop up on the screen, but he didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he quickly noticed the floating button next to him: “Activate Biological Security Lock.”

It didn’t take long to finish the setup. Zhou Sui ignored and skipped over the unnecessary steps, saying, “Call me when it’s done.”

The mechanical cat meowed in response.

The sensory connection of the loader was excellent, and Zhou Sui barely felt any discomfort. When he opened his eyes again, the scene in front of him had changed drastically. The room’s surroundings faded away, and he now found himself in a narrow corridor.

[Chip Divine Tree detected, loading in progress—]

The corridor was constructed from rough, dark-brown stone bricks, and its width was less than three meters. Looking ahead, it felt a little cramped.

The sound by his ears had also changed to the gentle sound of trickling water. Zhou Sui seemed momentarily distracted, but the prompt for chip loading completion followed shortly after:

[Welcome to the world of Divine Tree, dear player.]