Chapter 1: Holographic Online Game [New Release Seeking Support]

The beginning of the year 2818.

Tang Shen stood at the center of the school sports field, his gaze somewhat vacant as he stared at the city surrounding the school, now utterly transformed.

Towering buildings gleamed with a metallic sheen, rising perfectly straight into the sky. Vehicles floated above like drifting clouds. All around the school field, students and teachers had gathered, as if awaiting some great event. Most were whispering among themselves; Tang Shen was just an insignificant figure among the crowd.

But none of them had any idea what Tang Shen had just been through.

An hour earlier, he had been in this very school district, gathering intelligence—but it was the school of eight hundred years ago. There had been an explosion, and Tang Shen, who happened to be nearby, was caught in the blast. When he awoke, he found himself here.

He had traveled through time, arriving in a world eight centuries into the future.

Tang Shen had been standing here for an hour. Even after assimilating the memories of the person who shared his name and appearance, he still struggled to believe what had happened.

The maps from both souls merged in his mind, revealing that their locations were exactly the same—one eight hundred years ago and one in the present. Now, he was a high school student.

Whether it was coincidence or not, the memories he inherited revealed that on the very day of his death, a mysterious virus had leaked and spread across Earth, bringing about the apocalypse. The world had been upended. Humans, once the undisputed rulers of the planet, were dethroned in a matter of days. The virus swept through humanity like a plague, decimating the population. But beasts, in contrast, began to mutate—transforming into savage monsters. The oceans fared even worse, giving rise to sea creatures as vast as mountains.

A small fraction of humanity also mutated, becoming the first generation of gene warriors. Their bodies grew stronger, their agility, constitution, and even lifespans vastly enhanced—like superhumans from the movies.

As the beasts advanced, humanity resorted to extreme measures—nuclear bombs, hydrogen bombs, all manner of weapons. While many beasts were destroyed, even mightier ones emerged. Strangely, the Earth did not break apart under the repeated bombardment. Instead, it seemed to become more stable.

Tectonic shifts expanded the continents. Sea monsters crawled from the oceans to claim territory, devouring humans. Human mortality soared; armed forces around the world collapsed.

In 2021, less than three years after the initial outbreak, beasts occupied half of Earth’s land. The space left for human survival continued to shrink.

By 2041, after more than twenty years of struggle, organizations of first-generation gene warriors launched small-scale counterattacks.

In 2218, two centuries of relentless flight and battle allowed the first gene warriors to establish the very first city among the ruins—called "Origin."

By 2418, another two hundred years later, more cities were founded. Nineteen cities dotted the globe; together they formed the War Alliance, restoring order and providing humanity with a stable foothold against the beasts’ assault.

In 2610, humans could finally rival the beasts, even gradually expanding their territory.

At the end of 2800, the last first-generation gene warrior—the "God of War"—passed away. Before his death, he shocked the world with an announcement: the path of gene warrior evolution had been a mistake. Yet, in his final moments, he discovered a new path for human advancement.

...

And now, at the dawn of 2818, after seventeen years of effort, the War Alliance had announced that they had at last perfected this new method of evolution, and today it would be revealed to the public.

Behind the school stood an Age Square, crowned with an enormous screen. The square was packed with throngs of people. Suddenly, static flickered across the screen, then a spirited old man with white hair appeared, facing all of humanity and said:

"Today marks humanity’s most crucial moment—a pivotal turning point in our history. We stand on the threshold of a new era, with the chance to once again become the true masters of Earth.

Our hero, the ‘God of War,’ spent his life forging this path. We now call it the ‘Second World.’ New power, new means of evolution—all await within the Second World. Eight hundred years ago, our planet conceived a concept: the full-immersion game. In this virtual world, our real selves grow stronger as our avatars do, achieving a synchronicity of ten to twenty percent. In the Second World, anyone can become powerful, regardless of their physical limitations. Every person can be a hero."

"This Second World has another name: ‘King of the Seas.’"

As he finished, the screen cut to a promotional video for the game "King of the Seas." It showed people transforming into flames, summoning lightning with a wave of their hand, kicking out beams of light, even splitting the sea itself. These individuals soared through the air, displaying incredible powers—a spectacle far surpassing that of the gene warriors.

Already, many were imagining what it would be like to master such abilities—how powerful, how dazzling, how revered by the world they would become.

The video faded, and then a figure in a white robe appeared, standing above all, gazing down as if from the heavens. His eyes seemed to pierce the screen, falling upon every human on Earth. As his lips moved in silence, a line of text slowly appeared across the giant display:

"No one begins life at the summit. Not you, not I, not even the gods themselves. From this moment, I will stand at the pinnacle!"

At that instant, the image froze. In the minds and eyes of humanity, that one figure and that line of text overshadowed all else—engraved forever in their hearts. An invisible seed took root, buried deep within.

A few seconds later, the screen went dark, but in everyone’s eyes, the indelible image and words still lingered. Though unspoken, the message thundered in every heart, causing pulses to race and scalps to tingle. Uncontainable excitement surged from their chests in a tangible torrent; many found themselves unconsciously clenching their fists, trembling violently.

A sensation most had never known flowed through them, flooding every corner of mind and body, while that unseen seed, nourished by a mysterious force, quietly began to sprout.

A yearning rose from their souls, so intense it threatened to burst forth from their eyes.

“What the hell—isn’t that Blue?” someone blurted out.

Tang Shen’s reaction was completely different from the others. His eyes went wide in shock, utterly bewildered. He had already been dumbfounded to learn that this full-immersion game was based on a wildly popular anime from eight centuries ago. But the sudden appearance of that tall, proud figure left his mind blank.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

He couldn’t make sense of it at all. Why had the final boss from Bleach, Sosuke Aizen, suddenly shown up in One Piece? Was this a guest appearance in an advertisement? How much did they pay for that endorsement?