A teammate glanced back, quickly pulling him along, "Yes, that's him. That man's insane. Keep your distance. Last time someone accidentally bumped into him on the street, he dragged them out of town and beat them to death. Did anyone dare intervene? No."

Song Jinan felt a mix of fear and excitement. If he could befriend this young master Wang, he wouldn’t have to worry about vendettas. But with such a volatile temperament, one had to tread carefully.

Zhou You received a call from Zhou Huajin during lunch, a brief chat that seemed like a routine check-in. He could guess Zhou Huajin's intent: feeling guilty and wanting to make amends. Unfortunately, he didn't need it.

Chapter 123: Ranking Matches

After lunch, Shao Qi received a call that their gaming equipment had arrived. The group eagerly returned to test it.

As the car approached the Litchi Villa, from a distance, they could see a shadowy figure lurking near the main gate. As Qin Lifeng honked, the man, startled, hid his face and leaped over the nearby fence, clearly with ill intent.

All eyes turned to Su Ting'er. They had only recently arrived at the Yangcheng Base and had barely gotten to know anyone, let alone make any enemies. Perhaps the intruder was targeting the previous owner.

Su Ting'er accessed the surveillance footage, clearly identifying the man's features. After a quick phone call, the man's identity was revealed.

"Someone from Qianji Hall." Su Ting'er was taken aback upon learning this. He knew Wang Mang—why would he send someone to spy on his villa?

It seemed to be just a low-level thug, and no one took it too seriously. A truck soon delivered ten sets of gaming equipment, which was what everyone was eagerly awaiting.

Su Ting'er set up a gaming room on the first floor with ten devices lined up. Each station was spacious, complete with a luxurious massage chair and an ultra-high-definition body monitor to ensure players' safety during gameplay, alerting in case of any health anomalies.

While technicians were still setting things up, Zhou You examined one of the helmets, marveling at its capacity to interface directly with the brain's neurons.

Once the first device was ready, Zhou You was the first to try it. Putting on the helmet and activating it, from the outside, all one could see were auxiliary devices lighting up. But Zhou You could distinctly feel his brain being touched, and a display in his mind read: "Welcome to the virtual world. Please complete the basic information within one minute for verification."

Without manual input, Zhou You only needed to think of the answers, making the registration process intuitive and user-friendly.

"Verification successful! Please close your eyes for scene transition. Transition time: three seconds..."

Zhou You spent most of the day immersed in the game, even skipping dinner. The others, too, were so engrossed that they didn't want to leave and surprisingly, met each other in the game's main hall.

The avatars were based on real facial features, but adjustments were possible. Age, height, and physique could be modified, turning almost every player into idealized versions of themselves.

Zhou You chose the username "Zhou You's World" and added five centimeters to his actual height, revealing a touch of insecurity about his stature.

Among the group, only Li Yunxi underwent a significant transformation, switching genders in the game and adopting the name Li Hongxi, perhaps as a precaution due to her comparative lack of prowess.

After avatar creation, players chose weapons. Zhou You picked a gun, a crossbow, and throwing knives—similar to what he used in real life. Everyone else selected their preferred weapons too, approaching even this game with serious intent.

Zhou You created a game group chat and asked, "Which game mode are we choosing?"

The unanimous reply was, "Ranking matches, of course!" which was the main reason they'd started playing.

They checked the leaderboard. This holographic game had been on the market for less than a month and was only available at the Yangcheng Base. Nonetheless, there were already hundreds of thousands of players, with rankings constantly changing. They only paid attention to the top ten, especially the top three, as they were surely martial arts masters.

Zhou You messaged Shao Qi, asking how many martial artists there were in Yangcheng.

Shao Qi replied, "Around half a million. Most are beginner-level warriors. Here, martial arts are taught from elementary school. To graduate from middle school, one must earn a junior warrior's certificate. Many only attain this level and struggle to progress further."

This highlighted the emphasis Yangcheng Base placed on martial arts education. Schools typically couldn't hire highly skilled martial arts teachers, as the truly talented students were often recruited by various factions, representing the elite.

After understanding the game rules, Cheng Yuran remarked, "This isn't just about individual combat prowess. It's a comprehensive survival challenge. Whoever designed it is genius!"

Shao Qi added, "The idea originated from wanting a learning tool that wasn't as strenuous as real-world training, especially since not everyone can venture out to combat mutants. The game emulates survival in the post-apocalyptic outside world, intended to enlighten those unfamiliar with such harsh realities."

"Still, it's fundamentally a game and can't replace actual training. It provides theoretical knowledge, but real practice requires going outside. There's a limit to in-game time, so keep track," Zhou You noted.

Zhou You had seen this—announcements reminded players of a daily three-hour online limit.

"What are we waiting for? Shall we start?" Miao Miao glanced at the constant notifications on her screen, revealing countless mentions of hunters slaying mutated beasts. An itching desire welled up within her to jump into the fray.