1 Chapter 1: The Oracle

"Wu Shaochen, you can settle your salary with the finance department. You don't need to come to work tomorrow."

In the office, a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a beer belly sat on a large leather chair and spoke to the young man standing opposite him.

"Why am I being fired?" Wu Shaochen asked angrily.

Actually, he had a vague idea of what was going on. Wasn't it just because he forgot his keys halfway through when he went home after working overtime yesterday, and when he went back to the company to get his keys, he accidentally caught the boss and secretary in a compromising situation? It wasn't a big deal, was it?

"I can fire whoever I want because I am the boss," the middle-aged man said proudly.

"This guy must be afraid that I will complain to his wife."

Wu Shaochen thought to himself because his wife often came to the company for inspections, and it was easy to bump into her at work. But as long as he was fired, he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

Although he wanted to tell him that he wasn't a nosy person, he later thought it was unnecessary. With a boss like this, even if he stayed, he might have to face various difficulties.

"If you want to fire me, you can, but according to the law, the company needs to compensate me with three months' salary for unilateral termination of an employee," Wu Shaochen said. Since he was leaving, he might as well maximize his benefits.

"You're thinking..." The middle-aged man was about to say something profound, but suddenly realized that if this matter escalated, it would be very detrimental to him. In the end, he could only suppress his anger and say, "What's that little money to me? Hurry up and go to the finance department to collect your money and get lost."

Soon, Wu Shaochen settled his salary with the finance department, packed up his things, and walked out of the company. Looking at the bustling crowd on the street, he suddenly didn't know where to go. It had been two years since he graduated, and he hadn't achieved anything. Now he had even lost his job. In a city like SZ, where money was needed as soon as one opened their eyes, he couldn't even afford to add ham sausage to his instant noodles without any income.

"Forget it, let's go find another job," Wu Shaochen thought to himself.

But at this moment, a poster flew towards him and stuck to his face. Wu Shaochen took it off and saw it was a promotional poster for the popular game "Oracle" that had been sweeping the world recently.

In the past month, the advertisements for "Oracle" were everywhere. It was said that the game's central brain was not a product of the current civilization, but a product from another era. The specific origin of the central brain had not been disclosed. The game was jointly developed by the top five network game giants in the world and could achieve 100% realism, meaning that the five senses in the game were completely identical to those in reality.

"It really is a game from another era," Wu Shaochen sighed, but unfortunately, playing this game required not just a computer, but also a game headset.

"MD, a helmet sells for ten thousand, and I haven't been able to save up to five digits in my bank account after working for two years."

"Hmm, something's not right. I just received three months' salary, which happens to be ten thousand five hundred yuan. Maybe..." Wu Shaochen's heart started to race. This game was completely different from traditional games, with infinite possibilities, something Wu Shaochen, an experienced gamer, could recognize.

Though he had confidence in the game, he lacked confidence in himself. This game would be played by gamers from all around the world. Those gaming gods and wealthy spenders would surely be the first to choose this game. Although he wasn't bad at playing games himself, he couldn't compare to those people.

"This is a high-stakes gamble," Wu Shaochen muttered to himself. After all, for him, ten thousand yuan almost emptied his bank account. With only a few hundred yuan left in a city like SZ, it wouldn't last more than a few days. Apart from the salary he received today, he only had two hundred yuan left on his card. If he didn't earn any money in the game, he wouldn't even be able to pay the rent by the end of the month.

"MD, I'll gamble. Worst case scenario, I'll sleep under a bridge. If things don't work out, I can always find another job. Besides, I've always loved playing games. Now that I have this opportunity, I can't give up."

Deciding to act, Wu Shaochen extravagantly took a taxi to the nearest helmet sales point. Why would he take a taxi when he was so poor? Because "The Oracle" officially launched at 12 o'clock noon today, and it was already close to 10 o'clock. Could he not be anxious? If he had decided to play, he couldn't afford to fall behind others.

Arriving at the sales point, seeing the long queue, Wu Shaochen once again marveled at the game's popularity. The game helmets had been on sale for a month now, and it was said that there were always many people queuing up to buy them every day. Now that the game was about to launch, there were still so many people.

Wu Shaochen waited in line for over an hour before finally buying the game helmet. Checking the time, it was 11:25. He quickly hailed a taxi and rushed home. Throughout the journey, he kept urging the driver to go faster. Finally, he arrived home at 11:50.

Suddenly, he felt hungry. He realized he hadn't eaten breakfast today, and once he entered the game, he might not come out for a while, and his body wouldn't be able to handle it.

At this point, it was too late to cook or go out for a meal. So, he searched around the house and finally found a pack of bread that must have fallen under the bed at some point. Seeing that the packaging hadn't been opened, Wu Shaochen didn't think too much and tore it open in a few swift motions, solving his hunger.

After burping, Wu Shaochen leisurely put on the game helmet. It was 11:55.

"Hmm, why do I feel a bit of stomachache?"

Wu Shaochen quickly became conscious and entered the game. Before him was a grand scene, a battlefield. Countless towering monsters attacked the tiny humans below, while on land, numerous monsters chased and tore apart fleeing humans.

Among the humans, there were also countless powerful individuals resisting the monster's onslaught. There were mages in noble robes hovering in mid-air, casting various elemental attacks on the monsters below. There were archers firing madly at the aerial monsters, shield bearers standing in front like an impenetrable barrier, warriors wielding battle axes, moving in and out of the monster horde, and assassins stealthily harvesting wounded monsters. Behind the crowd, priests dressed in white robes, resembling holy angels, continuously healed their teammates.

These were the six professions in "The Oracle": Mage, Archer, Shield Bearer, Warrior, Assassin, and Priest.

Although there were many strong humans, they couldn't withstand the monstrous legion that blotted out the sky. Eventually, all the humans on the battlefield were wiped out. Countless monsters roared in the battlefield, seemingly flaunting their victory.

Wu Shaochen looked at the scene in awe. The immersive feeling made every pore on his body tingle. It was terrifying, nothing like a game. It seemed like a real event. Could this be more than just an opening animation?

Just as Wu Shaochen was overwhelmed by the shock, the scene suddenly changed. He found himself in a grand hall, and then a system prompt sounded:

"Scanning brainwaves..."

"Scan complete..."

"Extracting blood sample..."

Wu Shaochen suddenly felt a headache.

"What the hell, the game helmet even pricks you?"

After waiting for a while, he finally heard the system prompt...

"Blood sample extraction complete. DNA binding in progress..."

"Binding complete."

"Identity verification in progress..."

Name: Wu Shaochen

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

Age: 24

Nationality: Huaxia

Your bank card has been linked, enabling cash transactions in the game.

...

"This is a game?..."

Wu Shaochen stared at the empty space in front of him as if he had seen a ghost. What the hell, they even check your household registration through a simple scan? Is it really this terrifying?