ryethenovel Chapter 82 [Welcome to Asem]
Chapter 82 [Welcome to Asem]
Late at night, in the graduate student dormitory of the history department.
Wang Xuan rubbed his dry eyes.
The densely packed ancient documents on the monitor had been distorted into meaningless symbols in his vision.
His thesis topic is "On the Evolution of Social Structure and Dependence on Theocracy in Early Ancient Civilizations".
A topic so grand that it could bury you in it.
He sat there blankly for six hours.
Aside from typing over three hundred words and then deleting them all, I gained nothing.
"Another logical paradox." Wang Xuan scratched his hair in frustration.
The accounts in the literature are often contradictory and full of mythological elements.
You simply can't tell that those so-called "divine revelations" are lies fabricated by the ruling class.
It is also a kind of primitive collective unconscious.
Or it could simply be the ramblings of a drunken historian.
Building a rigorous academic model from a pile of garbage is harder than climbing to heaven.
He leaned back wearily in his chair and casually opened a game forum that he usually used for slacking off.
A post title that was highlighted high caught his eye.
[Asem Online, the first game with 100% stealth realism, is now recruiting for its closed beta test.]
Wang Xuan instinctively chuckled.
He'd seen plenty of these overhyped, trashy games.
The so-called 100% realism is simply the addition of the elements of drinking water and eating.
At most, you'll get a debuff that makes you unable to run away because you have a broken leg.
He originally intended to turn it off directly.
But the promotional slogan made him click on it as if by some strange impulse.
Do you yearn for a true adventure? A journey where every choice you make has real consequences, and could even permanently change the course of the world?
"We don't provide tutorials for beginners; we only provide a real world that breathes and evolves."
Wang Xuan touched his chin.
This copywriting is quite interesting.
Humans, in the end, still harbor a sense of wishful thinking.
in case.
But what if this game really is as advertised...?
Isn't that a perfect living sociological laboratory for verifying the viewpoints in one's own paper?
He can personally experience the evolution of a primitive civilization inside, and observe how divine authority was established and how social structures changed.
This is much better than gnawing on those moldy piles of old papers.
Consider it... a field survey.
Wang Xuan convinced himself of this, and then, in order to legitimately slack off, he opened the questionnaire.
He laughed when he saw questions like, "If a native NPC kills your companion, would you choose to forgive him or slaughter his entire village?"
In the "Other" option, he typed a line:
"I will first figure out the social conflicts between them, then assess the social relationships behind this NPC, and finally decide whether to push for legislation or ignite a revolution based on the tribe's internal laws and moral standards."
The inherent academic flaws were laid bare.
……
Institute of High Energy Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Ai Jia stared at the wriggling tardigrade under the microscope, her delicate brows furrowed tightly.
The experiment failed.
Thirty-three times.
They are attempting to artificially enhance the cryptobiological ability of tardigrades in extreme vacuum environments through gene editing.
But each time, it causes its genetic chain to collapse at some unknown node.
"Our understanding of the evolution of life is still too arrogant."
Ai Jia took off her goggles and said wearily to her assistant.
What we see is merely a successful "answer" left behind in the long river of time. We know nothing about the "process" that led it to this point.
Just then, her personal laptop email sent a soft "ding" sound.
It was a direct invitation email.
The sender is unknown, and the source cannot be traced.
Aija's professional instincts made her immediately want to mark it as a virus email.
But the email's subject line made her stop.
[To Dr. Aijia: A real, zero-based ecosystem awaits your exploration.]
For some inexplicable reason, she clicked on it.
The contents are very simple, containing only the promotional slogan for "Asem Online" and a unique invitation code.
"Here, there are no main quests, no system prompts... just a real world that breathes and evolves."
An ecosystem that has not yet been "polluted" by humans and is evolving naturally.
A "sandbox" where you can witness firsthand how life adapts to the environment and how species compete and are eliminated.
This was a fatal temptation for a biologist who had dedicated his life to exploring the mysteries of life.
This might be a scam.
Or perhaps, it is a door to a new world.
Aija accepted the invitation from the unknown almost without hesitation.
In the last section of the application questionnaire, she wrote:
"I don't care about good or evil, nor do I care about winning or losing. I just want to know the species, habits, and specific position in the food chain of every blade of grass and every insect in that world."
……
A private fighting club on the outskirts of the city.
Chen Kai executed a clean and decisive over-the-shoulder throw, easily bringing down the burly man in front of him who weighed over 200 pounds.
He pressed one knee down on the other person's throat, and only released his grip after the other person slapped the ground in surrender.
"You have too many flaws."
Chen Kai stood up and calmly gave his assessment.
For him, who was once one of the most elite blades on the battlefield, this level of confrontation was like an adult playing a game with a child.
Life after retirement is stable, but boring.
In his view, those so-called hardcore action games on the market are just a bunch of laughable things made up of data and judgment boxes.
He casually refreshed a post in a high-end gaming community, and a screenshot caught his attention.
It was a recruitment advertisement for "Asem Online".
"100% authentic?"
"The cost of death may be heavier than you imagine."
For the first time, a spark of interest rekindled in Chen Kai's eyes.
What he needs isn't a game, but a real battle that can make his adrenaline surge again.
He was almost instinctively drawn to the provocative slogan.
When he filled out the question about the "broken leg," he gave a cold laugh.
"On the battlefield, any cost is for completing the mission; the question is irrelevant."
The answer was concise, yet filled with murderous intent.
……
Municipal Hospital, sterile ward.
Li Yao lay quietly on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the sky outside the window, which was fragmented by buildings.
The regular beeping of the life monitor was the only sound in the room.
She hadn't felt the taste of "being alive" for a long time.
Muscle atrophy, difficulty breathing, every swallow feels like torture.
For her, death might be a relief.
Her brother, with red eyes, sat on the edge of her bed, holding a tablet computer and awkwardly typing something.
"Yaoyao, look, this is a new game. They say it's... super realistic. Shall we give it a try?"
He forced a smile, his tone full of cautious flattery.
Li Yao didn't have the strength to answer, she just blinked slightly.
The older brother took this as tacit approval.
At the end of that bizarre questionnaire, with trembling hands, he typed out his sister's only, and most extravagant, wish.
"I don't have any complicated ideas, nor do I want to slay dragons or conquer the world."
"I just want to... run freely and healthily one more time in the game."
……
An old house in the countryside, in the basement.
Xu Ye leaned back comfortably in the rattan chair, looking at the final four-person list selected by the Heavenly Dao System, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
A perfect cast.
Historian Wang Xuan, biologist Ai Jia, and hardcore warrior Chen Kai.
And that terminally ill patient, Li Yao.
Xu Ye's gaze deepened.
Her extreme desire to survive will unleash an energy that no one can imagine.
She is that spark that can start a prairie fire.
This is the most moving opening chapter of this epic.
"The spark of inspiration is ready."
"Then, let's begin."
Xu Ye's will issued instructions through the Heavenly Dao System.
Four black packages bearing the mysterious emblem "Asem" were precisely delivered by the Builders through an untraceable logistics channel.
Apartments, research institutes, clubs, hospitals.
The four people, each with their own distinct feelings, opened the package.
The futuristic stealth helmet and hovering host dispelled their last remaining doubts.
Wang Xuan approached the task with a research-oriented mindset.
Ai Jia possesses the rigor of scientific research.
Chen Kai yearns for a real challenge.
Li Yao's brother, trembling as if grasping at a last straw, personally put the cold helmet on his sister's head.
"Asem, activate!"
With Xu Ye's command.
The blue light strip in the center of each of the four helmets lit up simultaneously.
The whole world was thus detached.
……
Li Yao regained consciousness.
The first thing you'll smell is no longer the unpleasant smell of disinfectant.
It has a unique smell that is a mixture of the fragrance of soil and decaying fallen leaves.
In the distance, I could hear the calls of unknown birds and the faint chirping of insects.
A gentle breeze brushed against my cheek; the feeling... was so real.
She tentatively moved her fingers.
That long-lost, even somewhat unfamiliar, sense of power came from my fingertips.
Li Yao saw her own hand.
A pair of healthy, rosy hands, with even a little dirt stuck in their fingernails.
Rather than her pale, thin hands covered in needle marks.
She struggled to sit up from the bed covered with hay.
In her past memories, this action required all her strength and was accompanied by heavy breathing.
But now, it's so easy.
She took a deep, greedy breath, forcefully.
Fresh, slightly damp air filled her chest, without any coughing or stinging.
The shackles that had long bound her were shattered.
Clear, hot tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down a completely unfamiliar, yet equally young and healthy face.
Just then, a light blue, semi-transparent interface quietly appeared in the lower left corner of her field of vision.
Welcome to Asem Online! The world is opening up to you.
Li Yao was immersed in great joy when she suddenly realized that there were other people in the thatched hut.
A woman wearing glasses and exuding an intellectual air was squatting on the ground, picking up some soil to examine it carefully.
A burly man with a buzz cut scrutinized the structure of the shack with a critical eye.
There was also a young man who looked like a student, who, like her, had just sat up from the haystack.
They looked each other up and down.
Almost simultaneously, they both saw the virtual ID floating above each other's heads, composed of a pale blue halo.
Historian
【scholar】
【warrior】
【newborn】
The game has begun.