Chapter 1 A Parallel World

Parallel worlds! That day in class, after hearing a few boys discussing the upcoming holographic online game, Gu Fei suddenly saw a glimmer of hope.

He knew what holographic technology meant. Since he couldn't fully display his abilities in reality, the game should have no restrictions, right? That day, Gu Fei bought a complete set of holographic simulation equipment and decided on a class: Fighter. "A warrior who skillfully uses every part of their body to fight." Just that description alone convinced Gu Fei that it was the most suitable class for him.

Unfortunately, due to Ah Fa's student's little mistake, he became the weakest class in the game, the least suited for close combat: Mage.

Gu Fei was disheartened at first, but after experiencing what just happened, he realized that the class distinctions in the game were only relative to the class skills. For him, it was as if he already had a full set of class skills. As long as he allocated his skill points according to his abilities, it didn't matter which class he was.

Of course, if he were a Fighter, the class's stat bonuses would be more suitable for his kung fu. However, being a Mage didn't mean he was useless. He would just become a kung fu Mage!

A groan interrupted Gu Fei's thoughts. The guy in the corner was struggling to get up.

"Teacher!" Ah Fa didn't dare to go forward, looking up at Gu Fei.

Gu Fei quickly went over to help him up. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" The man stood up, taking a deep breath. Although his face was still bruised, he had the air of a scholar. It was no wonder that such a refined person was chosen as a target. Gu Fei and Ah Fa helped him to sit by the fountain in the center of the plaza. The man turned and scooped up some water from the fountain to wash his face, looking much more refreshed. He turned back to Gu Fei with a smile. "Hello, my name is Hongchen Yi Xiao."

Gu Fei knew immediately that it was his in-game name, and immediately declared his own. "Qianli Yizui." Ah Fa had chosen this name, which sounded like a drunkard, making Gu Fei somewhat depressed. The two shook hands. As for Ah Fa, it was obvious that he was still just a kid, so Hongchen Yi Xiao simply ignored him.

"This is the first time holographic technology has been used in online games. We knew that some unexpected things would happen, but we never expected something like this to happen," Hongchen Yi Xiao said, craning his neck.

"Oh? From what you said, it sounds like you're a game staff member?" Gu Fei said.

Ah Fa perked up. He was a veteran online gamer. Game staff member – that sounded like endless benefits. From leaking inside information to directly helping to get top-tier equipment, players usually despised and condemned such staff members who violated professional ethics; but once they met one, they couldn't wait to treat them like their own father.

Hongchen Yi Xiao nodded towards the sky and said, "Not long after the open beta started today, I heard reports that a group of newbie players were relying on class differences in the game to beat up classes like Mage. I came in to take a look, but I didn't expect to get beaten up myself."

"How will this be handled?" Gu Fei asked.

"I don't know yet," Hongchen Yi Xiao said. "It depends on how the technical team sets it up. There are still many problems with the game, so it seems like it will take some time before it can be officially launched and start charging fees."

Gu Fei and Ah Fa saw Hongchen Yi Xiao constantly looking up at the sky, and also looked up. A drizzling rain was still falling, wetting their faces in an instant. Was this guy still washing his face? Gu Fei wondered to himself, lowering his head.

"What are you two looking at?" Hongchen Yi Xiao asked first.

"What are you looking at?" Ah Fa asked back.

"My nose won't stop bleeding, little brother!" Hongchen Yi Xiao said.

The two were speechless. After a long while, Hongchen Yi Xiao lowered his head, rubbed his nose, and said, "Alright, I need to go elsewhere. What about you guys?"

"I'm going to level up!" Gu Fei said. He was eager to know if his weak Mage body could unleash his kung fu after adding all the upgrade points.

Ah Fa hesitated slightly, then looked at Hongchen Yi Xiao and said, "I want to follow you around."

Hongchen Yi Xiao smiled and said, "Little brother, I'm a disciplined game staff member. Don't expect to get any benefits from me."

Ah Fa's intentions were exposed, his face flushed red, and he said awkwardly, "I didn't mean that. I just want to follow you to familiarize myself with the game."

"Then let's go!" Hongchen Yi Xiao smiled, then turned to ask Gu Fei, "Do you want to familiarize yourself as well?" He emphasized the words "familiarize," making Ah Fa's face turn even redder.

"No need, you guys go!" Gu Fei waved to the two of them.

After parting ways with the two, Gu Fei couldn't wait to rush out of Cloudrise City and head to the leveling area.

The leveling areas around the starting cities were always the lowest level, and *Parallel World* was no exception. Even the monsters were nothing new. They were all seemingly friendly little animals like cats, dogs, and rabbits, which should have been mankind's good friends. Moreover, with the use of holographic technology, the little animals were made lifelike and extremely cute. And these low-level monsters didn't fight back. Only the little pug would whine pitifully after being slapped.

After kicking a certain dog twice, Gu Fei really couldn't bring himself to continue. Looking around, the eyes of the other players were full of hesitation. Some who hardened their hearts and ruthlessly killed the animals couldn't help but stop after receiving the disdainful gazes of the others. In the leveling area, large groups of players stood there blankly, staring at each other, while the cats and dogs frolicked around, rubbing against the players' legs to show their affection.

"How are we supposed to level up like this!" A male player threw his weapon on the ground and sighed.

"Yeah, we can't level up! They're too cute." A female player put away her weapon, picked up a rabbit at her feet, rubbed her face against it, and said angrily, "What kind of plan did the game company come up with! Why did they make the monsters in the leveling area so cute!"

Everyone started complaining about their dissatisfaction with the game's design. Gu Fei joined in the complaints with a few of the guys around him, then walked away alone. If he couldn't bring himself to kill them here, wouldn't it be fine to go somewhere else? That was Gu Fei's plan.

To be honest, he wasn't interested in fighting animals either. The kung fu he had learned since childhood was aimed at people. He had never learned which vital points to attack on a dog. Although that didn't mean he was inferior to a dog, Gu Fei felt that it was a waste of his years of hard training to use his best skills to deal with a dog.

Continuing along the road, he gradually moved away from the city behind him. In front of him were endless mountain ranges. The cute cats, rabbits, and dogs had disappeared. Gu Fei climbed over a hilltop and looked down. It was like a valley or a basin – in any case, it was a place below the hillside. A bonfire was burning brightly, and several repulsive-looking guys were sitting around the fire, listlessly dozing off.

Gu Fei immediately determined that these guys were NPCs, not players. Because even sextuplet brothers wouldn't have the same height, build, clothing, and appearance.

Humanoid NPCs – this was exactly what Gu Fei was happy to see.

*Should be leveling monsters, right?* Gu Fei thought to himself, slowly walking towards the little group.

The six were sitting around the campfire, so of course they should have been watching in all directions. In fact, they should have discovered Gu Fei as soon as he stood on the hillside. But now, they didn't react until Gu Fei approached within a certain distance. Then, the six guys jumped up in a hurry, as if they had been stung by something, pointing at Gu Fei and yelling.

Gu Fei clearly heard what they were saying: "Wow, here comes a fat sheep, catch him quickly!"

If this were an older online game, words would be floating above the NPCs' heads. But now, with holographic technology, sound directly replaced the floating words.

The six rushed up, their movements extremely uniform and their speed completely consistent, so that their formation didn't change at all when they charged in front of Gu Fei.

The NPCs didn't bother with idle chatter. The guy in the lead stabbed with a small meat-cutting knife. Gu Fei dodged to the side and threw a punch, hitting the target.

This was different from the fight in the city earlier. Due to the PK protection, the previous fight caused nothing but the pain simulated by holographic technology. But now, fighting monsters, even for a Mage with the weakest physical attack, this punch would still cause damage.

After taking Gu Fei's punch, the guy only swayed a little. The almost-rusty meat-cutting knife stabbed again. Gu Fei dodged and threw another punch.

The six guys attacked together. Gu Fei moved nimbly among them, his fists and feet landing on the opponents from time to time. Gu Fei didn't know how high the levels of these six guys were, but this fight was easier and more boring than the ordinary brawl with the four players earlier.

Gu Fei was starting to feel somewhat disappointed with holographic technology. It seemed that it only simulated a very realistic scene. But these NPC monsters still had the obvious low AI of ordinary online games. Their repetitive and monotonous attack patterns were no different from having no AI at all in Gu Fei's eyes. And they didn't know how to actively dodge the player's attacks, relying only on hit rate and evasion data for calculations.

It was only a matter of time before he knocked them down. Gu Fei began to consciously distribute his punches evenly among the six guys. After another few minutes, one NPC finally let out a final, unwilling roar and fell. Then, with a few more punches and kicks, the remaining five guys were also knocked to the ground. During this time, Gu Fei leveled up repeatedly. These monsters, of unknown level, helped him level up directly to level 6.