Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
As time slowly passed, the game’s countdown finally entered the countdown-to-zero stage. All game players had already entered the game login interface. On the bow of the ship, despite changing direction and one leg, Shu Xun, who still couldn’t escape the same-hand-same-foot movement, had long stopped his antics.
Countless pairs of eyes silently stared at the final countdown. The conspicuous timer finally reached zero, and the players on the wooden boat disappeared at the same time. The screen only showed an endless sea and the slightly swaying small boat.
Shu Xun had once again entered the familiar landing process, and at the same time, the game system’s voice rang in his mind. “Welcome to ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ Transporting into the game world. Now conducting basic scans of player data. Scan complete. Race: Completely Awakened Human C1. Age: Nine months. Gender: Male. Height: 5.3 cm. Weight: 30g. Special reminder, be careful not to be stepped on…”
Shu Xun: “…”
Three minutes later, the game finished loading. “Loading complete. Game participants will be randomly placed into game scenes. This game uses the player’s real body instead of a virtual one. Death in the game means death in reality. Please prepare yourself. The game system will ensure the normal functioning of the logout feature. Other than that, no responsibilities will be assumed. About to enter teleportation. Teleportation countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”
After the countdown ended, the game system’s voice disappeared, and the world seemed to fall into complete silence for an instant. However, soon a feeling of weightlessness came, followed by the darkness receding, and in an instant, they fell into a world of light. Shu Xun instinctively squinted his eyes, but in his peripheral vision, he saw a pure crystal-clear blue color.
The entire field of vision was filled with this azure hue, and a wordless astonishment instantly enveloped his heart. In the deep sea, it seemed like something was emitting a faint light, perhaps because of its extreme clarity, allowing them to see deep into the depths of the sea. At this moment, Shu Xun finally began to understand why the game developers named this game “Deep Blue Sea.”
Deep Blue Sea was not just a stretch of seawater; it was the entire world!
This was a liquid planet composed entirely of liquid water! The entire planet resembled a bright deep blue gem, embedded in the vast universe, radiating dazzling brilliance. If one were to see the panoramic view of this planet from a distant space, it would likely create an illusion of a semi-transparent celestial body.
Not only the entering players but also the audience watching the live broadcast fell into a long silence and awe. Although they were aware that the universe never lacked miracles, witnessing it firsthand delivered a powerful blow to their hearts. A deep blue planet, almost entirely composed of liquid water, a planet with a crystal-clear world. At just one glance, regardless of what you saw, even if it was a grain of sand, it became a beautiful scene because this planet was eloquently embodying the word “beautiful.”
After the shock, game players began to realize that they were in free fall, and their speed was increasing, getting closer to the water’s surface. Some players, with luck that could be seen as good or bad, were rapidly approaching the scarce land on this planet.
Fortunately, the game system quickly kicked in. The one-time anti-gravity device automatically sensed the players’ landing distance and rapidly eased their descent speed. The teleportation landing proceeded without any mishaps, and all players landed safely. However, the majority of them ended up randomly landing on the sea surface, with no land in sight.
In the official live broadcast:
“Why is the landing point so high this time? Is there any specific reason?”
“Most players have landed, but Shu Xun is still floating, haha!”
“I feel like Shu Xun can float for a year. Add more sea breeze, and he can circumnavigate the world with the wind!”
“This planet is so breathtaking. Developing it into a realistic travel game would definitely be a hit!”
“Hey, don’t forget this is a survival game, and probably an apocalyptic planet. Honestly, I can’t imagine this beautiful planet has reached the point of destruction and caused so many aircraft disappearances.”
“Suddenly feeling a bit terrified.”
The audience’s reactions in the live broadcast room echoed the thoughts of most modern gamers. The serene and tranquil feeling of the deep blue world gives the impression of normalcy. However, at this moment, in the control room of StarPlay Entertainment’s game headquarters, the holographic image of the entire planet was flickering with red light at a specific location, accompanied by the blaring of the system alarm. “Warning! A player’s logout option is out of control, losing the player’s trace. Scanning the Deep Blue Sea… Scan complete, player’s trace not found!”
“What’s going on? Wasn’t it said that there were no loopholes? Who is responsible for this area?” A man standing in front of the holographic map asked urgently.
“Boss, it’s my responsibility. The incident occurred in the instant of teleportation to the Deep Blue Sea. I feel that not only our power and the Deep Blue Sea planet’s power were at play, but there were also two other forces interweaving. The four energies created temporal turbulence. Coupled with the players’ small size, it led to the teleportation going out of control.” A woman in work attire expressed confusion and seriousness, clearly taken aback by the sudden turn of events.
“Attempt to lock on again.” Meng Muyu’s deep black eyes stared relentlessly at the holographic projection.
“Attempting to lock on again… Locking failed. Unable to determine the current location of the player, unable to capture the logout signal of the player.”
“Boss, what should we do? If not in the Deep Blue Sea, the system cannot activate the anti-gravity and logout systems. The player might fall to their death.” The woman in work attire sweated on her forehead, continuously attempting to relock the missing player.
Meng Muyu fixed his gaze on the still flickering red point. “Give me the personal information of this person, as well as the coordinates of the missing point. I will personally go to the game world.”
“Yes!” The nearby staff, though thinking it might be too late, refrained from saying anything and swiftly submitted the well-organized data to Meng Muyu, who was already prepared to depart immediately.
“The missing player is a human, game ID: Shu Xun, nine months old, height 5.3cm. Boss, this height is not easy to find, you need to watch your step. He weighs 30g, so if there’s a natural wind effect, he might still be floating in mid-air…”
“Shu Xun? The Shu Xun who teamed up with Ye Qian?” Meng Muyu, clicking rapidly on a virtual keyboard, paused in his actions.
“Yes, Boss! So if we can’t find back little dumpling, our headquarters might suffer a catastrophic disaster.” Another elegant-looking man calmly replied.
Meng Muyu sighed. It wasn’t a possibility but a certainty. Thinking of that persistent poker-faced individual, Meng Muyu suddenly felt an immense headache. His hands kept moving, quickly locking onto the coordinates where Shu Xun disappeared for a moment. Then, he turned and headed towards a nutrient pod, apparently preparing to log into the game, and his figure quickly disappeared into the nutrient pod. After Meng Muyu left, the central control room of StarPlay Entertainment fell into a brief silence. After a long while, voices began to speak.
“Do you think if Shu Xun isn’t found, Boss might be beaten to death by Ye Qian before us?” The woman wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
“I believe in the Boss! Isn’t the Boss known for being able to go anywhere in this world?”
“But it involves four mysterious powers, and that little dumpling is likely no longer in the Deep Blue Sea. If the Boss is covering the front, will we get hit less?”
“I think we can burn some paper for the Boss.” The previously calm and elegant man calmly added.
“Burn paper? Why?”
The elegant man raised the book in his hand. “According to records, in ancient times, humans had the custom of burning paper for blessings.”
Everyone looked around, preparing to find two pieces of paper to burn and pray for their Boss… Meng Muyu, who had already entered the game, obviously had no idea what his group back at home was doing. At this moment, he was also in a free fall, heading straight to the point where Shu Xun disappeared.
Meanwhile, Shu Xun had changed positions and continued his free fall. During descent, Shu Xun was still puzzled. Why was the landing point so high this time? It had been so long since he started falling, even with the natural wind’s effect. Was it supposed to take this long?
The audience in Shu Xun’s live stream room shared the same confusion.
“Any QR codes from other streams? Is there anyone else floating like little dumpling? Something doesn’t feel right.”
“I feel like Little Dumpling has changed almost ten landing poses and still hasn’t landed. Is there a glitch in the game?”
“I’ve prepared to reach out and catch Little Dumpling, but it’s been almost twenty minutes and he’s still floating.”
Finally, a few minutes later, Shu Xun approached the sea level. Similar to other players, in high-speed free fall, something horrifying happened. After reaching a dangerous height, the anti-gravity system surprisingly didn’t kick in. Instantly, the live stream room exploded with panic, expressions of terror flashing across the screen.
“What’s going on? Is it a game glitch? Little Dumpling, quickly log out! Log out! Falling at this speed, no one can survive!”
“Help! Little Dumpling, Little Dumpling! I really want to rush in and catch Little Dumpling!”
“Where’s the official? Force a recall! There’s a glitch in the game!”
In the live stream room, chaos ensued. Numerous audiences immediately contacted the game system, but Little Dumpling continued to descend. Just when everyone felt their breath becoming difficult, a blue light suddenly flashed behind the small character. A pair of large, semi-transparent blue wings instantly alleviated the rapid fall and began to descend slowly. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, realizing that Little Dumpling had awakened the Blue Butterfly’s ability. However, they still couldn’t understand why the anti-gravity system didn’t work.
In the control room of StarPlay Entertainment, those closely monitoring Shu Xun also collectively sighed in relief. The few remaining here had never expected that the missing Shu Xun’s live stream would still be in operation. Although the live streaming function was much more stable than the teleportation function, both were developed by StarPlay Entertainment. The elegant man wore a pensive expression. “Boss, there must be some force connecting the two worlds. Through this force, we can locate the position of the missing player. But Boss… Oh, right, he’s already in the game. What should we do? There’s no way to notify the Boss.”
The people in the control room exchanged glances, pretending as if they hadn’t said anything just now, and continued watching the live stream.
