The massive transport ship had carried several million people to the frontlines of War Zone 8. But once they stepped out of the exits, they were split into different areas.
Zhou Tong came out through Exit 88. Before his eyes was a camp brimming with frontline atmosphere—armored vehicles rolling by and squads of mecha infantry, the game's protagonists, making players envious. They just didn't know when they themselves would get to pilot a KT-01.
Turning back, Zhou Tong froze again. That ship behind him was enormous. "I just came out of that?"
Others were just as stunned by the massive colossus. Compared to it, the camp they stood in felt like child's play. And each exit had a camp just like this.
"Where do we go now?" someone in the crowd asked.
"Obviously to the battlefield. It's a war game—what else would we do? But damn, looking around, it's almost all male players. I knew war games were dominated by guys, but this is overkill."
"Yeah, but war really is something women should stay away from."
There were tons of players, but the battlefield was even bigger. After splitting through different exits and camps, they boarded armored cars or transport planes. By the time they were fully divided, Zhou Tong's group had less than 30 players.
Inside the armored vehicle, Zhou Tong glanced around at his squadmates. All men. Everyone chatted casually, not saying much, just passing the time. From the start of the game until now, about 20 minutes had gone by, and still no real action. The environment felt so real that people forgot about the long introduction.
Suddenly, the vehicle lurched, speeding up. Players felt it bouncing violently.
"We're under Zerg attack!" the driver shouted. "We need sup—"
Before he could finish, the vehicle flipped over. Players were tossed around, helpless.
"The game's starting! Classic crash scene. I can't wait to kill some monsters." For seasoned gamers, this trope was all too familiar. The overturned vehicle was the cue—the unarmed players were about to truly begin.
They crawled out of the wreckage. Around them stretched a barren wasteland, with only the occasional dead tree.
The Zerg creature that had rammed their vehicle lay not far away, motionless.
"This game is insane—too real," said a player named "Qiao Dadi" beside Zhou Tong. "So… what do we do now?"
As soon as he asked, the driver also dragged himself out of the wreck, weakly saying, "Privates… northwest of here there's a supply point. You must go there to get weapons and medicine. I can't move anymore. Can you make it?"
"Of course—it's a quest trigger."
Naturally they'd go. Why wouldn't they? No weapons meant no way to fight.
"Here, I've uploaded the map to your personal computers. Check it if you need."
Every player's personal computer was implanted behind the ear, functioning like an organ. Using it was as simple as thinking about it.
The quest marker lit up. Time to move.
On the way, they discussed game mechanics. "I bet this game has ranks. We're privates, but that driver's a corporal—he can assign quests."
"Yeah, looks like we can't pilot mecha right away. Wonder what weapons we'll get first."
The supply point wasn't far. After about 7–8 minutes of walking, they spotted a small automated fortress. Don't bother asking why there was a fortress here—this was a game, after all.
The players entered easily, stocked up on weapons and ammo, and armed themselves for real.
Their first weapon was a plasma rifle. Unlimited ammo, but it could overheat—and if it overheated, the gun would break. So they had to keep an eye on the heat levels while firing.
"Come on, bugs, I can't wait to use this thing!" But no Zerg showed up. Didn't matter—they could still fire.
Since it was a game, players started blasting anyway. "Zzz-zzp! Zzz-zzp!" Blue plasma bolts shot out. "Damn, this thing's awesome." One shot could shatter a rock. The firepower was insane.
"Let's head back and save our driver."
Sure enough, the driver wasn't dead yet. After using some medicine, he felt a lot better. "Now we have to move forward on foot. But lone Zerg might appear anytime, so be careful."
"Got it."
"This mission's probably escorting the driver safely to the destination. Not bad." Zhou Tong had played plenty of games. Even though Mecha Infantry didn't have quest markers, the objective was obvious.
The 30-man squad set out. But numbers didn't mean safety. The driver had warned that lone Zerg could pop up behind the lines. Still, these were gamers. Afraid of monsters? No way. In fact, they were hoping for it. They wanted Zerg to show up.
They formed up around the driver and advanced quickly. The frontline was already in sight. But, of course, before reaching it, there had to be a wave of mobs.
"Roooaaar!" A lone Zerg burst out of the ground. That was their specialty—digging tunnels to ambush, making air support useless and forcing ground troops to fight.
"They're here! They're here! Go all out! Pick your positions!" The players shouted with more excitement than the Zerg itself.
"Zzz-zzp! Zzz-zzp!" Plasma rifles lit up, carving glowing wounds into the beast's hide.
But its skin was thick. Even after taking hits, it didn't die—it charged straight at the squad. Zhou Tong kept shifting positions, firing nonstop. The thrill of it was incredible. The immersion was unreal.
"Watch out!" someone beside him shouted. Zhou Tong didn't dodge in time. A Zerg spat a glob of slime on him. The moment it hit, he felt everything collapse. The spit was highly toxic to humans.
Zhou Tong died. His first in-game death. But it wasn't so bad—just a blackout. Honestly, he realized he'd gotten rusty from not gaming in so long.
When his vision cleared again, he found himself floating in liquid.
"Repair complete." A graceful female voice finished speaking, and Zhou Tong suddenly slid down like on a water slide, dropping out of the repair pod.
The respawn point was actually pretty cool. The pod was suspended in midair, and after recovery, you slid down into the nearest safe zone. He landed right in front of the previous supply point, the closest respawn to the battlefield.
'If I run over there, the fight will probably be over. Might as well hit the supply point again for gear.' That's how the game worked: you could respawn, but equipment never carried over. He'd already lost his plasma rifle, so it was time to restock.
"Attention all units, converge on Area A. Massive Zerg sighted. Massive Zerg sighted."
It was the comm system. He'd seen it earlier but didn't know what it did. Now he heard a clear order, and on his map a black marker appeared. Go or not? Sure, it was just a game, but it gave you tons of freedom. He could run anywhere—even skip battles entirely.
The glowing marker clearly indicated a mission area. He didn't know the specifics, but it had to be tied to Area A. Should he head back to the frontline camp or take the risk and go there?
'Unknown areas are always dangerous,' Zhou Tong thought. 'But the rewards are usually worth it. If I stock up on guns and medicine, I might pull it off. Gotta try it. Games are only fun if you play them differently.'
Decision made—he was heading for the new mission point.