The setting of "Dreamland" closely resembles the real world, but with one key difference—a formidable adversary called the Insect Beasts, in addition to the human race. When players create their characters, they have three races to choose from: Gods, Demons, and Humans. Gods can choose professions related to healing and tanking, while Demons specialize in long-range attacks. Humans, on the other hand, are more balanced and can choose from various roles, although none of them excel significantly. Generally, most casual players opt for the Human race.
Ye Zhizhou, clad in a robe and wielding an ancient sword, stood in a modern village, his hair tousled by the wind. It was truly baffling how this mishmash of a game setting had come into existence, yet so many people were playing it. It was beyond belief.
A middle-aged woman, walking her dog, passed by the village entrance. She stopped beside him and greeted him warmly, "Oh, a new adventurer, perfect timing! My daughter is bringing her boyfriend home soon, and I need to rush back to prepare dinner. Could you please take Wangcai for a walk?"
[Triggered Quest - Aunt Wang's Request: Walk Wangcai outside the village and feed him. Will you accept?]
This scenario was just too much to handle...
He chose to accept the quest and took the leash from Aunt Wang's hand, walking towards the outskirts of the village with a grim expression.
Walking the dog was straightforward; he strolled by the river outside the village a few times and completed the task. However, feeding Wangcai was a challenge. As a complete newbie, he didn't even have any basic gear. After searching around outside the village for a while, he extended his sinful hand towards the fish in the river and the wild chickens in the woods. Half an hour later, he had successfully fed Wangcai with freshly grilled fish and roast chicken, and he obtained a skill book: Beginner Cooking.
So, awakening cooking skills was not that difficult, huh? He read the skill book, returned Wangcai to Aunt Wang, and received a new quest—prepare a satisfying dinner for Aunt Wang's family. He recalled the protagonist's all-powerful cookbook and quickly prepared a truly exquisite meal with the ingredients Aunt Wang had provided.
[Player Ye Zhizhou triggered a Holy-level quest - Awakening of the Culinary God. The game is about to undergo a mandatory update. Please log out within 30 minutes. Estimated update time: 12 hours. The new version is coming soon. Stay tuned.]
Just as Ye Zhizhou was about to turn in the quest to Aunt Wang, he was blinded by golden text suddenly appearing in mid-air. Then, a semi-transparent panel popped up from the lower right corner, with text scrolling frantically.
LoverOfCrayfish: Damn! A Holy-level quest! Isn't that a hidden quest? Can hidden quests trigger a game update directly?
Angel'sWings: Who is Ye Zhizhou? Is he some foodie god? Is this an alt account of our beloved Jing Shu?
LeakyUnderwear: Gentlemen Pavilion is opening a branch in M City today. Jing Shu must be too busy to log in.
...
CulturedRascal: Inside information - After completing the Culinary God Awakening quest, all food in the game will come with additional attributes. Jing Shu won't be the only one anymore. So, Brother Ye, please work hard and complete the quest quickly!
...
Buttface: What?! All food with additional attributes?! Oh my god, this is amazing!
Ye Zhizhou looked up at the still-hovering golden text and pondered the storyline for a moment, his lips twitching. In the original plot, food with attributes was always unique. Has there never been such a quest before? Is the power of culinary arts really that great?
Suddenly, a flurry of game notifications filled his ears, and a multitude of friend requests popped up, surrounding him like a dense shield, blocking out the light.
World Channel.
LoverOfCrayfish: Damn! It turns out a newbie triggered the quest! I checked, and this Ye Zhizhou is only level 1! A Holy-level quest seems to involve defeating the Queen of the Insect Tribe, and he's only level 1... Damn!
CulturedRascal: What?! Level 1?
...
Buttface: No way! Can we get help for this quest? Is there a time limit? Please, all the experts on the leaderboards, help us!
Another panel appeared, filled with private messages from players. Ye Zhizhou wiped his brow, quickly found the game chat panel, closed it, and turned in the quest to Aunt Wang. Then, he chose to log out. This development was nothing like what he had expected; he needed some time to think.
After a moment of mild disorientation, the game screen in front of him turned into the dim ceiling of the game capsule. He removed the connecting cables and sat up, grabbing his phone to check the time. It was only 4 PM, and he furrowed his brows. The original owner, who was supposed to be diligent and composed, was playing games at 4 PM? This was highly unusual.
Leaving the game capsule, he sat on the bed and opened the system information to check the timeline of events. A minute later, he flopped back on the bed, using a pillow to cover his face.
No wonder the original owner was playing games. The Fu family was in dire straits due to the female lead and a few male leads. The original owner must have wanted to find a way out in the game... In other words, the protagonist was already in an ambiguous relationship with several male leads...
All the harem members had been established, how could he unravel this situation?
He tossed the pillow aside and sat up again, reopening the system to look at the storyline of the world's destruction.
After living sweetly with the male leads, the protagonist established a game company with substantial funding to create a holographic game of her own. Ten years later, the game officially launched to great success. However, three months later, the first batch of game capsules in the market suddenly malfunctioned, causing all users who had used them to fall into a coma. Another month passed, and all those comatose players experienced brain death. The blame was pinned on the protagonist.
The game urgently shut down, recalling all game capsules and helmets. The protagonist and the seven male leads' company faced a crisis of trust as government authorities repeatedly visited them, turning their lives into a mess.
Panicking, the protagonist, with the seven male leads, secretly sent her abroad to escape the turmoil. Once abroad, she used her protagonist halo to gain the attention of a political figure A and an arms dealer B through her culinary skills. Just when her harem was about to expand again, a twist of fate occurred. The arms dealer B, who was competing with political figure A for the protagonist's favor, inexplicably dropped dead while vying for the protagonist.
The loyal subordinates of the arms dealer B were devastated when they learned of his death and initiated a frenzied revenge against the protagonist and political figure A.
With the ever-present threat of assassination and the jealousy of the male leads from the native country, what was supposed to be a symbol of love became a burden. Her life was in disarray, and the protagonist ultimately abandoned everything, changed her name, and retreated to a small foreign country.
After assassinating political figure A, the loyal subordinates, unable to find the protagonist's exact whereabouts, became unhinged and forged an alliance with a war-mad cult leader, launching a war against the small country where the protagonist was hiding.
With an ample supply of arms, the war-mad cult leader found the taste of victory and, exploiting the fragile state of mind of the loyal subordinates, brainwashed them. Guns had bullets now, and the war showed no sign of stopping. In just a few decades, a localized conflict had escalated to engulf half the planet.
In a few more decades, the loyal subordinates met their end, and the war-mad cult leader went insane, leading his followers to launch suicide attacks that broke the deadlock at the time, plunging all nations into war. Five years later, the world was in ruins.
He lowered his hand from the information, pressing it against his forehead. In the end, war was inevitable, and it would continue until the world was destroyed.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a beautiful woman with her head bowed stood at the entrance, her voice choked with sobs. "Brother, it's useless... Even if we go into the game, it's useless... It's all my fault. If I hadn't offended Jing Shu back then, it's all my..."
Retrieving the person's information from the database and recalling the memories of the original owner, he softened his expression, walked over, and gently stroked her hair while saying, "Xiaoxia, stop blaming yourself. Things will get better, believe in your big brother."
"Brother, let me marry Wang Shu," Fu Xia looked up at him, her eyes red, but her gaze determined. "As long as I marry him, it will save the broken financial chain in the family. You won't have to struggle anymore, and Mom and Dad won't have to beg everywhere. Grandpa's cherished old shop won't have to be sold, as long as I..."
"Shut up!" Ye Zhizhou interrupted her words with a stern face, genuinely feeling the original owner's helplessness and anger. "The Fu family won't resort to selling their daughter to turn things around! I don't want to hear such words again in the future! Wang Shu is scum; you shouldn't even consider marrying someone like him!"
"But what about our family?" Fu Xia stared wide-eyed, fighting back tears as her shoulders trembled. "I heard that Mom and Dad want to sell our ancestral secret recipe for money! It's something the family has held onto and never used for commercial purposes! It's all because of me... because of me... Brother! I don't want this! I don't want it!"
"Then be more determined and stop worrying Mom and Dad!" Ye Zhizhou glared at her with an unyielding face, taking a list from his pocket and stuffing it into her hand. He waved her off, saying, "Go, give this to Mom and Dad. Aren't there still a few old family shops left? Have them add new dishes according to this menu."
Fu Xia hesitated, lowered her head, and opened the list in her hand. She was stunned and widened her eyes. "Brother, it's the Gourmet Recipe, and it's new! Where did you get these?"
He couldn't reveal that he had made them up by comparing them to the real Gourmet Recipe when he had tricked his loved one into playing. Of course, he couldn't answer that way.
"I went out of town not long ago, remember?" He noticed that Fu Xia's gaze was fixed on the menu and couldn't be shifted. He softened his expression further and continued, "Tonight, gather all the chefs from the old shop, and let's study this menu carefully. I'll figure out the financial issues. Give me a few days, and I promise to make up for everything, okay?"
"Brother..." Fu Xia looked up at him, wanting to laugh but crying in embarrassment instead. She approached him and hugged him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. "Why are you my real brother? I want to marry you, Brother... Oh, Brother, you're so kind."
This crying style was just like that of a child... He chuckled, patting her shoulder gently to comfort her. "Alright, you're all grown up and crying like this. It's embarrassing. Everything will pass, so stop crying."
Upon hearing this, Fu Xia simply started wailing at the top of her lungs.
This was... He let go of her and leaned against the door frame, accessing the system information in his mind and looking at the holographic screen that had appeared in the air. Seven male leads, seven flags, and if his suspicions were correct, these flags might all be able to be cleared at once.