C30 The Internet Explosion

The decision for the host to abstain from joining was a wise one.

In the game's early stages, players from many races were dissected.

Some races were spared, while others, not unlike humans, were sliced up for research by certain nations, whereas others opted to trust their citizens.

Hey host, I checked out other Dragon Kingdom players' streams. They weren't deceiving you; those who entered the Dragon Pool really did receive those perks.

So, isn't the host at a loss for not joining?

Not necessarily. No matter what the Dragon Kingdom offers, it can't be brought into the game. The space grid only stores materials acquired within the game.

Rights and responsibilities are balanced; there's no question of being at a loss.

It's a shame, though. The host ranks among the elite of all human players.

Many high-level human players possess firearms and other advanced weaponry. Honestly, their ability to bring such items along, even a bed, seems quite unfair.

Yet, the host still dominates them all, in terms of equipment, Spirit Beads, or bound guardians, solidifying his position as one of the human frontrunners.

Luckily, this was just a widespread bug in the beta test. Once the game hits open beta, exploiting bugs won't be an option.

...

Is this really a bug?

Xiao Hao pondered as he read the chat. The space grid couldn't collect items from the real world, which he had already tested today.

But the ability to travel with a bed, Xiao Hao didn't consider that a bug.

He saw it as a privilege granted to beta testers by the game, designed to keep them from dying off too quickly.

The absence of such perks in the public beta was due to the beta players providing valuable game feedback. With a reduced death rate, the need for such benefits naturally fell away.

Xiao Hao intended to keep scouring the chat for more insights, but...

The netizens from Alien Land were just as relentless as their human counterparts, seamlessly shifting the conversation from exploiting bugs to exploiting... well, everything.

If only the game would introduce an admin.

With a scowl, Xiao Hao shut down the game panel and resumed his research.

Given the animal mutations, his first order of business was to investigate the habitats within the Dragon Kingdom and to brush up on his biological knowledge.

He wasn't sure if these precautions would be useful in the future, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

...

As the morning sunlight streamed in, Xiao Hao sat at his desk, his face clouded with frustration. After the chaos of yesterday, he couldn't believe they were expected to show up for work today.

The company's callous leadership had driven many employees to resign or strike, leaving the office abuzz with hushed conversations about the previous day's events, with little interest in the day's work.

Xiao Hao joined in the lackluster effort, donning headphones and scrolling through news reports on his computer.

The news was dominated by several incidents of individuals with superpowers causing harm, quickly quelled by the Dragon Pool's intervention.

Seizing the moment, the Dragon Kingdom issued a reminder to all players: superpowers or not, the rules must be followed.

While superpowers captured the public's attention, the Dragon Kingdom unveiled a new game, diving into an explanation of essential gaming knowledge.

Xiao Hao learned from the broadcast that there were ten types of survival games, including deep-sea, desert, Cretaceous, space, fog, glacier, Floating Island, nightmare, EverNight, and catacomb survival games.

This meant that there were 10,000 beta testers and 100,000 for the open beta. These numbers might seem substantial, but they were a drop in the bucket compared to the nearly ten billion people worldwide.

Following this revelation, officials outlined strategies for surviving in the game, noting that each type of survival game had its unique challenges.

The internet was set ablaze with this news, and the trending search list was overtaken by game-related keywords, pushing celebrities out of the spotlight.

Netizens also unearthed the fact that players from other countries were generally outperforming those from the Dragon Kingdom.

The discrepancy was attributed to the Dragon Kingdom's gun ban, which inadvertently gave foreign players an edge, as if they were "cheating" in the game.

Calls for lifting the ban echoed across the internet, but the ban remained firmly in place. The safety of society was paramount, and concessions could not be made for the few.

In response, numerous foreign netizens even bypassed internet restrictions to mock the Dragon Kingdom, laughing at its decline: "Hahaha, the Dragon Kingdom is regressing more and more!"

"I'm lucky to be born in Bull Kingdom where guns aren't banned. Now, I cuddle up with my gun every night before I sleep."

"In Bear Kingdom, we boast over 200 players, with a solid dozen at level 10."

"We've got our share of level 10s in Bull Kingdom too!"

"Ahem, as for level 10s, Tiger Kingdom has exactly ten, no more, no less."

"Does Dragon Kingdom have ten?"

"I doubt they even have five!"

"Looks like Dragon Kingdom is trailing behind the other ten major countries!"

"Ha ha ha..."

Dragon Kingdom netizens were seething with frustration, unable to come up with a comeback, while some trolls were left furiously pounding on their keyboards.

The facts were undeniable, leaving no room for argument.

"Did you know that Dragon Kingdom's wealthy Wang Li Fang has already relocated to our Bull Kingdom?"

"And their big star Fan Ruoruo made a beeline for Lion Kingdom overnight."

"Ahem, let's extend a warm welcome to Dragon Kingdom's 'White Boy' band, now part of Tiger Kingdom!"

Foreign netizens pointed this out, prompting Dragon Kingdom's netizens to notice that many of their rich and famous had fled the country overnight.

It was almost as if they had a heads-up, preparing since yesterday and arriving in their new homes today, with some even adopting new nationalities.

In an attempt to blend into their new surroundings, some celebrities went as far as to claim that the air abroad was "exceptionally sweet," which only served to infuriate the netizens even more.

Many 'White Boy' fans and fangirls finally saw the true colors of their idols, losing the fervor they once had to defend them online.

On Weibo, numerous affluent celebrities flaunted their new firearms, showing no concern for the fans unfollowing them, even ridiculing those who did as being overwhelmed with envy.

The internet was in disarray. Xiao Hao watched as foreign netizens and celebrities continued to boast about their guns, biting his tongue in hesitation.

Leaving aside whether these guns could even be taken into the game, with a one in a hundred thousand chance among a billion people, isn't it premature to be flaunting firearms?

There wasn't even a one in ten thousand chance of being selected as a player, especially with beta testers among the ten thousand contenders. And what good were guns without a stroke of luck?

They were so confident about being chosen?

It's common knowledge that the Dragon Kingdom's social environment is far safer than other nations. Rushing to leave the country now, Xiao Hao thought, was like lambs scurrying to the slaughterhouse – a move he could only regard with a mix of admiration and disbelief.

Sure, leaving the country might mean access to firearms, but if you have them, so does everyone else, making the real world all the more perilous.

What they failed to realize was that in the next transmigration, only their person would pass through. Beds and personal effects would be left behind, nothing more than relics in the real world.

Their current jubilation would soon turn to awkwardness by next week.

Foreign players among the beta testers might currently have an edge, but Xiao Hao knew this advantage was fleeting.

After a week-long survival game, he doubted they had many bullets left in their interspatial rings.

Besides, bullets were only good for taking down low-level creatures. Against a beast like the mantis shrimp, they wouldn't even scratch the surface.

With the impending game update and level cap increase, their firearms would soon be obsolete, barely more effective than slingshots.

Lost in thoughts about the game, Xiao Hao was unaware that Chief Inspector Liu had approached him.

"Xiao Hao! Who gave you permission to look at this stuff on the clock?"

Chief Inspector Liu had leaned on Xiao Hao just the day before, but with time to stew, his irritation grew.

He had wet himself in front of his colleagues!

In light of Xiao Hao's composure and bravery, Liu's resentment festered.

He conveniently forgot his own actions, rationalizing Xiao Hao's lifesaving response as superfluous since the police were already on the scene.

Xiao Hao unplugged his earphones, and the computer's speakers immediately broadcasted the news.

"Whether you're at work or school, heed the Dragon Pool commander's directive: tune into Central News TV and diligently learn survival game strategies..."

Xiao Hao looked up at Chief Inspector Liu, blinked, and seemed to say, "The Dragon Pool commander's orders are to watch. What about you, Chief Inspector? Do you outrank the commander?"

Chief Inspector Liu's face was so red it looked like it might burst. Xiao Hao, eager to be fired as quickly as possible, fanned the flames, "Awkward, isn't it?"

"Pfft..."

"Pfft..."

Some colleagues in the room couldn't contain their laughter, which they quickly stifled behind their hands.

In front of Chief Inspector Liu, they held their tongues, but behind his back, they laughed until their sides ached. Sure, they were scared, but not to the point of wetting themselves. The mutated cockroach incident from the day before was frightening, but thankfully, no one was hurt.

Even the female colleagues managed to cover their mouths and steer clear of the cockroach, unlike Chief Inspector Liu, who had bellowed, "A single cockroach has you this terrified?" before collapsing and wetting himself the next moment.

Chief Inspector Liu was well aware that he'd become the company's favorite gossip. He'd been nursing a grudge, and now Xiao Hao's jab had set him off.

"Xiao Hao, you no longer need to come to work!" he snapped.

On the outside, Xiao Hao appeared nonchalant, but internally, he was elated. Yes! While resigning might seem more dignified, the benefits of being fired without cause far outweighed those of quitting.

Xiao Hao had been through enough in this world to know when to put pride aside for the sake of profit.

Struggling to keep a straight face, Xiao Hao feigned annoyance, "Then let's settle my salary, and I'll be on my way."

Chief Inspector Liu felt a twinge of satisfaction, "Collect it from the Finance Department!"

Xiao Hao remained seated, his tone steady, "The company has terminated me without the required one-month notice. By the regulations, I'm entitled to compensation, aren't I?"

'N' stood for the number of years worked, with each year warranting a month's salary in compensation.

After two years with the company, that meant three months' extra pay.

Chief Inspector Liu, biting back his fury, conceded, "Fine!"

Yet Xiao Hao stayed put, adding, "I've got unused annual and compensatory leave. With the annual leave paid out at triple and the comp leave at double, I could leave right now if that's agreeable."

Veins throbbed on Chief Inspector Liu's forehead as he burst out, "Xiao Hao! The company has been good to you, investing tirelessly in your development for the past two years. To think we've raised an ingrate! How can you be so callous!"

Xiao Hao's fingers twitched, tapping lightly on the desk.

Was that a personal attack?

Maybe he should just cut him loose?

He had just saved this guy yesterday, and now he's being called heartless?

No, it's not worth getting worked up over a revealed scumbag.

"So nurturing means overtime? Oh, and thanks for reminding me—I'll be including those two years of overtime pay as well."

Chief Inspector Liu was speechless, feeling like he had shot himself in the foot.

Unfazed by Liu's grimace, Xiao Hao pressed on, "I'm only asking for what's fair. If that's not acceptable, then it's time for labor arbitration. You wouldn't want the company's dirty laundry aired out, would you?"

Was the company's dirty laundry about mistreating employees, or was it about yesterday's fiasco?

Chief Inspector Liu shook with rage. It had been ages since he'd been this furious!

A blatant threat!

"Fine, take it! Now get out!"

Xiao Hao raised an eyebrow, shut down his computer, and went to collect his pay with a spring in his step.

Thanks to Chief Inspector Liu.

His monthly salary was a mere three thousand.

But the severance? A cool twenty thousand.

It just showed how much unpaid overtime Xiao Hao had given them.

The end times were nearing, and Xiao Hao wasn't sure what value money would hold.

But getting one over on Chief Inspector Liu, a staunch advocate of 'wolf culture,' felt pretty good.

Walking home, the air seemed sweeter than ever.