Returning to her cozy nest, Bai Xia folded her umbrella neatly and set it aside.
Despite the earlier grim description, her living space, while somewhat outdated and lacking in transportation convenience, wasn’t entirely awful.
The size of the house might have been modest, but it was fully equipped, and since she lived alone, it felt quite spacious.
What was even more reassuring was that the previous tenant had paid the rent for six months upfront, leaving three full months before she needed to worry about finding a new place.
In fact, if she had to consider the rent, she might as well go out to the streets and drink the north wind, at least saving on food. Who knows, maybe a kind-hearted uncle would adopt her?
In any case, to avoid drinking milk every day, she needed to find a way to make money soon.
Upon entering the house, Bai Xia slipped off her slightly damp coat, and the warm indoor environment gently eased the tension on her small face.
She placed the parcel she had just retrieved on a nearby rug, then plopped down onto the sofa and took a few deep breaths.
The parcel, which had been ordered by the original owner half a month ago, had finally arrived, and she wondered what was inside.
The parcel was about the size of a human head, not light, and while it was manageable for an adult, it felt heavy for her current body.
Especially since this body was not only a legal loli but also seemed somewhat frail.
Even a short trip downstairs to retrieve the parcel left Bai Xia’s forehead damp with sweat, and the chilly wind outside made her feel dizzy, giving her the illusion that she might faint.
In short, her body was so weak that even a short sprint would leave her breathless.
‘Legal loli, frail, and glasses,’ she sighed, touching her forehead. Fortunately, her body was weak but not diseased. If it were, she might have truly felt the heavens were against her.
After a moment of daze, Bai Xia refocused her mind and finally turned her attention to the parcel she had struggled to bring home.
Looking at the parcel, she hesitated for a moment before deciding to eat something first.
Although her body showed signs of frailty, her appetite was surprisingly large. She often wondered how such a small body could eat so much and still get hungry so quickly.
She leisurely ordered some takeout, using the time to take a hot shower and shake off the chill.
Initially, she had been reluctant to bathe, but as a light recluse with a touch of OCD, she couldn’t hold out for long. After three days, she finally gave in and took a shower. To her relief, she found no attraction to her slender, childlike figure, and soon she was showering daily without resistance.
She timed her shower to finish just as her takeout arrived.
With everything ready, Bai Xia shoveled a few bites of her chicken cutlet rice into her mouth, then used a small knife she had found to tear open the sealed parcel.
Inside the larger package was a slightly smaller box, cushioned with plenty of shock-absorbing foam.
Bai Xia took out the box, but it only confused her more.
‘What is this?’ she wondered, tearing open the mysterious black box to reveal a pile of sci-fi-looking metal objects.
She blinked, completely bewildered, and found a thick manual at the bottom.
‘Um… Fantasy Dream’s limited edition, next-gen full-holographic game, ‘Strange World,’ with various accessories? What the hell is this, a full-holographic game?’
In this world, there were full-holographic games, but they weren’t as convenient or immersive as in novels. You couldn’t just put on a headset and gloves to ‘transcend’ into a new world. The reality was closer to a VR headset upgrade.
By installing various devices, using holographic projections, and sensory simulators, players could feel like they were in the game, but the experience wasn’t entirely pleasant.
The virtual was still virtual, and some high-difficulty games were hard to execute. Players had to perform various actions, which could be tiring after prolonged use.
So, despite their high-tech appearance, full-holographic games in this world were neither hot nor cold.
Why not just sit comfortably at a computer and be a happy otaku? Who wants to play a game and end up as tired as a dog, especially when you need the right environment?
The inconvenience was the main reason for their lack of popularity.
When Bai Xia saw that the parcel contained such a device, she felt a pang of disappointment. She had hoped for something better and had even bathed and changed into fresh clothes in anticipation.
But now, she realized it was all a lie. Or not entirely a lie, as this login device was probably worth a decent amount of money.
Her eyes lit up as she quickly opened her Tianxin device and logged onto the network.
Tianxin was similar to a smartphone but more powerful, with earbud and glasses designs, using special holographic projections to realize various functions.
Bai Xia’s glasses were actually her Tianxin device, and she didn’t need them for vision.
With a few swipes, she found the price of the full-holographic game login device and…
‘What? The standard version costs over $4,000, the upgraded version is double that, and the limited edition is $16,000 each?’
Bai Xia fell into a deep silence as she realized she had less than $2,000 left to her name!
$16,000? Wait, was the original owner so poor that she saved up to buy this thing?
Although she felt she had uncovered the truth, why did it feel so frustrating?
In that moment, any guilt Bai Xia felt for occupying the original owner’s body turned into raw anger.
If she still had her manhood, she would have pinned the original owner to the bed and given her a good spanking!
Spending $16,000 on a game, Bai Xia was speechless. Surely, you could easily return such a thing, right?
Before planning to return it, she decided to research the game online, curious about why the original owner was so extravagant.
What she found was astonishing. Almost every gaming forum was buzzing about this game!
Through various posts and articles, she learned that the full-holographic game login device the original owner bought was completely different from the usual full-holographic games.
Ordinary full-holographic games used visual and tactile senses to create a sense of reality, but they had limitations and weren’t entirely convenient or immersive.
However, Fantasy Dream’s ‘Strange World’ was something else. It used advanced brain-wave technology!
This technology had been in development for years, with recent breakthroughs allowing it to be combined with online gaming, offering a truly immersive experience!
‘This sounds pretty impressive, but brain-wave technology? Why does it sound a bit dangerous?’
Thinking of real online games, Bai Xia remembered a legend about a man who had to climb a hundred floors. Was this game going to trap players inside and only let them out if they dressed up as girls?
Well, since all the information was from the internet, the true nature of ‘Strange World’ remained to be seen.
But this thing seemed pretty impressive. Should she return it? Looking at the pile of gaming equipment, Bai Xia felt torn.
Returning it would bring in a large sum of money, ensuring she didn’t have to worry about food for a long time. But… the game sounded so tempting. How could a true gaming otaku resist?
In the past, she could only dream of such things in novels, and now they were right in front of her, within reach. It was almost too enticing to resist.
So, should she focus on eating or gaming? That was the question.
‘In the end, I can’t resist the allure of the game,’ Bai Xia thought. ‘I was a gaming addict once, after all.’
So, after quickly finishing her almost-cold takeout, she gathered all the equipment and brought it to her bedroom, following the manual step-by-step to install it.
Fortunately, despite the many parts, the installation process was straightforward, and she finished quickly.
However, when she tested it, nothing happened. After searching online, she discovered that the game’s public test wouldn’t start for another two days, and the login devices wouldn’t activate until then!
Bai Xia felt a mix of frustration and determination, deciding not to disassemble her hard work. Instead, she searched online for more information about the game.