001 I've Become a Sandbox Creator God?!
*Ring-ring...*
*Ring-ring...*
A phone's ringtone echoed through a sparsely furnished rental room.
"Who on earth would be calling me this early in the morning?"
Jian Feng, clad in a white sleeveless T-shirt, groggily opened his eyes.
Instantly, the light pierced his vision, forcing him to shut his eyes once more.
"Damn it—I forgot to turn off the lights last night."
*Ring-ring...*
The phone rang again. He reached toward the head of the bed, fumbling around until he finally located the incessantly ringing device.
*Beep!*
Relying purely on muscle memory, he tapped the "answer" button.
"Feng'er, are you coming home for the New Year this year?"
The moment the call connected, a man's voice came through. It was a soft voice, and his tone clearly betrayed a sense of extreme caution.
That single sentence snapped Jian Feng wide awake. He instantly threw his eyes open, sat up slightly to lean against the headboard, and fixed his gaze upon the phone screen.
For the caller was his father.
Just then, the man's voice spoke again. "Feng'er, have you run into some trouble lately? Why haven't you returned a single one of my calls, even with the New Year upon us? Is it...?"
Hearing the voice on the other end, Jian Feng pursed his lips, then immediately replied, "Dad, don't you worry. I promise I'll come back next year. Just rest assured."
Upon hearing his voice, the person on the other end of the line suddenly perked up:
"Great! You absolutely *must* come back next year, then. I've already found a blind date for you—she's the daughter of the neighbor of the neighbor of the third uncle of the best friend of the daughter of your great-aunt's second aunt! Her personality is exactly like yours; you two have the perfect look of a married couple!"
"Right, I got it. You just focus on getting ready for the New Year..."
With those words, Jian Feng hung up the phone, pressing his lower lip tightly together. A blind date? With what means was he supposed to go on a blind date?!
He felt a sudden wave of utter helplessness wash over him. He had been working in this strange city for two and a half years, yet he had accomplished absolutely nothing. Just last week, he had been laid off by his company, and now he had no idea where to turn next.
Lost in thought, he tapped his phone screen a few times. Gazing at the display, he closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh.
[Balance: 600 Yuan]
If he were still a student, seeing that 600 yuan right now would surely have him so excited he wouldn't be able to sleep all night. But now, his monthly rent alone cost 500 yuan—and it was due tomorrow. If he couldn't find a job within the next few days, then the only thing awaiting him would be...
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion startled Jian Feng so violently that his entire body gave a sudden jolt, sending him tumbling off the bed and onto the floor.
A blinding flash of light instantly engulfed the entire room!
*Boom!*
Following a second massive boom, the light vanished completely.
In his eighteen years of life, Jian Feng had never experienced anything like this before. He swiftly cast his gaze toward the source of the explosion he had just heard. "What?!"
The laptop he had left closed on his desk had inexplicably sprung open and powered on; right now, several lines of dazzling text were glowing on the screen!
[The Sandbox Simulator invites you to become a Creator God!]
[Accept] [Decline]
Witnessing this scene, Jian Feng felt utterly dumbfounded. He distinctly remembered closing the laptop lid with his own hands just last night—and shutting it down completely, too!
Had the laptop not been closed, he might have simply assumed it had caught a virus given its current state; but he had *definitely* closed it yesterday!
Puzzled, Jian Feng slowly rose to his feet, clapped his hands together, and gazed with burning intensity at the text displayed on the screen.
"What on earth is this? I'll just click it and see what happens—it'll only take a few seconds, anyway."
No sooner had the words left his lips than he reached out his right hand toward the mouse, guiding the cursor over to the [Accept] option.
*Click!*
As the sound of the left mouse button clicking rang out, the display on the computer screen shifted.
[Welcome to the Sandbox Simulator. You will now select a location for the placement of the Sacred Altar.]
[Grassland] [Desert] [High Mountain] [Forest]
[Ocean] [Jungle] [Snowfield] [Snowy Mountain]
[Bamboo Forest] [Canyon] [Island] [Swamp]
[Tropical Rainforest] [Tropical Savanna]
Staring at the mass of text on the screen, Jian Feng felt somewhat speechless. They were asking *him*—someone who suffered from chronic indecision—to make a choice like this?!
He scanned the entire screen but found no "Skip" button anywhere. Left with no other choice, he casually clicked on the very first option: [Grassland].
*Click!*
Following the sound of the mouse click, another line of text appeared. [Sandbox World: Loading and Creating...]
At this moment, Jian Feng felt a twinge of anticipation, wondering just what exactly this game—which had appeared so inexplicably on his computer screen—would turn out to be.
One minute passed...
Three minutes passed...
"What on earth is going on? Why is it taking so long to load?"
He had been staring at the screen for ten minutes straight, yet it remained frozen on the "Loading" text, showing absolutely no signs of change—none whatsoever!
"Forget it. I'll just go brush my teeth and wash my face first. For all I know, this really might just be some kind of virus."
Muttering to himself with a shrug of resignation, Jian Feng turned to head toward the bathroom.
Suddenly—just as he was turning around!
*BOOM!*
A deafening roar shook the room, making his entire body shudder!
When he spun back around to look, he was startled to see several new lines of text had suddenly appeared on the computer screen.
The words now displayed on the screen instantly piqued his curiosity.
[Please enter the nickname for the Deity of the Divine Travel Altar—that is to say, your own nickname.]
[_______________________]
"My name? I'll just pick something at random!"
Jian Feng walked back over to the computer screen and took his seat.
*Thud!*
He plopped down onto the chair in front of the desk, placing his fingers on the keyboard.
*Click-clack, click-clack! Click-clack, click-clack!*
The crisp, distinct clicking of the keyboard's blue switches rang out. There were eight distinct clicks—corresponding to eight Pinyin syllables—forming a two-character name!
[Feng]
*Click!*
With one final press of the Enter key, the selection was confirmed! La~ la-la~ la~ la-la~
A bizarre, inexplicable humming suddenly rang out, sending a sudden chill down Jian Feng's spine!
"Why did this creepy, underworld-style music suddenly start playing?!"
[Sandbox World Loading... Creation Successful!]
Just as he was about to unleash a string of profanities, a beautiful scene suddenly appeared on his computer screen.
As far as the eye could see, there was a vast grassland; situated right in the center was a massive, open-air circular platform—crafted with such exquisite detail that it was truly a feast for the eyes.
"How magnificent! This must be the altar! The graphics in this game are incredibly realistic; surely, even many modern AAA titles don't boast this level of visual fidelity!"
Gazing at the stunning scenery displayed on his screen, Jian Feng swallowed hard.
Suddenly, two lines of text popped up on the screen:
[Contract]
[Confirm View] [Cancel View]
"I have to sign a contract just to play a damn game?!"
Upon seeing the word "Contract" on the screen, Jian Feng felt a surge of indignation; what if it was filled with unfair, draconian clauses?
*Click*~
The sound of a mouse click rang out. However, moments later—after he had clicked "Confirm View" and actually read the contents of the contract—his agitation quickly subsided.
The terms of this contract were surprisingly—almost comically—trivial!
[Article 1: Must be online for a minimum of one hour per day.]
[Signature: ______________________]
Jian Feng narrowed his eyes, feeling utterly speechless; seriously, could this be any more ridiculous?
Nevertheless, he went ahead and cheerfully typed in his name. After a few rapid keystrokes, he had successfully signed the contract.
[Congratulations!] [Great Creator God, from this moment forth, it is you who shall create everything for this world!]
[Reward for the Great Creator God: The first installment of game startup capital—5,000 Yuan.]
A line of text materialized, then vanished just as quickly, and the breathtaking scene from moments ago reappeared on Jian Feng's screen.
Just as he was still wondering what that 5,000 Yuan was all about, his phone—which he had set aside—suddenly chimed. It was the most beautiful sound in the world!
[Balance Update: 5,000 Yuan received~]
"What?!"
A look of utter astonishment washed over his face. He snatched up his phone and stared at the screen—and was left completely dumbfounded!
"Holy crap! This... 5,000 Yuan just appeared out of thin air?!"
Startled, he cried out repeatedly and hurriedly tapped to check the sender details, desperate to see who had transferred the money.
"Why can't I find it?!"
After scrolling through his transaction history several times, he still couldn't identify who had sent the funds; all he saw were his previous records of incoming payments and expenditures. Yet, that 5,000 Yuan was undeniably, tangibly real.
Adding it to his previous balance of 600 Yuan, his account now held a total of 5,600 Yuan. His entire monthly salary had previously been just over 3,000—and now, suddenly, he was 5,000 richer!
"This... this game is just... it's just too realistic!"
Jian Feng clenched his hands into fists in sheer excitement, his gaze fixed upon the computer screen.