Chapter 1 The Beginning

Su Mo opened his browser, just about to search for information about Star Ring.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed outside, followed by a torrential downpour and a gust of wind.

Whoosh~~

The windows in the room were blown open, and rain poured in.

Su Mo got up, walked to the window, glanced at the heavy rain outside, and reached out to close the window.

Then he walked towards the computer, but as soon as he reached the chair, he saw a barrage of advertisements filling the screen.

The application of new ZR technology gives you an immersive experience.

An epic Star Ocean masterpiece takes you on a different life journey, seeking the ultimate truth of life.

One magnificent promotional video after another appeared, showing desolate, modern cities, raging seas, and ice ages.

Then the images shifted, a huge planet began to shrink, and the dazzling stars floated into view, along with countless fleets, black giant cannons, and cold mecha. Then a terrifying phantom of a giant beast covered the fleets...

The imagery was powerful and inspiring.

When the promotional video ended, a line of text popped up: "The team is glorified because of you."

Su Mo was intrigued. If it wasn't a case of false advertising, it looked impressive, and it seemed to be a team-based game.

He continued to browse related information and was increasingly surprised.

This was actually the first global game ever, jointly developed and released by the federal governments of various countries. It had no top-up function, ensuring absolute fairness.

At the same time, the game did not set a currency; the currency would be selected and created by the players themselves.

The gold and silver in the game could be linked to real-world gold and silver at a certain ratio, depending on the version. However, it could only be exchanged out, not topped up.

In addition, officially authorized by the federal government, the first "Cup of the Heavens" competition would be held. The ultimate winner of the Star Ring game, whether individual or team, would receive a cash reward of 1 trillion yuan, as well as all the operating income of the entire Star Ring.

Su Mo was increasingly astonished. A thought uncontrollably popped into his head: "Does this Cup of the Heavens competition seem to have a terrifying reward? And there's a strong scent of gunpowder. Could it be that the countries are preparing to resolve conflicts in the game?"

Before Su Mo could think further, countless pop-up ads appeared.

"Batian Guild, sincerely invites you to join. Our guild has many beauties, good benefits, and provides five social insurances and one housing fund. We are recruiting top combat players, life players, real-world doctors, nurses, butchers, planters, miners, mercenaries, etc., with priority..."

"Brotherhood, those who come are brothers! The boss promises to pay compensation if you are rejected!! Come on!!"

...

Dozens of ads popped up on Su Mo's computer, all recruiting people.

These advertisements were all paid promotions, the kind that stuck like plaster and couldn't be closed until you clicked on them or watched them.

Helpless, Su Mo clicked on one, and a very formal application form popped up, even asking for his bank card number. It also clearly stated that anyone who applied for membership and was rejected would receive 50 yuan in compensation.

These guilds were really going all out.

After much effort, Su Mo finally closed the ads and continued browsing related information.

He found that the official disclosure of game content was very limited. All that was known was that it was a future science fiction game, and civilizations would be gradually opened up according to version upgrades. The specific gameplay was not revealed much, only that the game was said to be the ultimate ZR, with a 100% simulation level.

Su Mo remained skeptical about this data.

Then Su Mo also found Star Ring's social platform, jointly constructed by the largest communication software companies in various countries, specifically for discussing Star Ring intelligence and making friends. The number of online registrations had exceeded 1 billion, and the world population was only 10 billion.

Curious, Su Mo registered an account and entered. The entire forum was super lively. More than 100 million posts had been made online, mostly seeking teammates or guild members.

According to the official announcement, the game would be officially launched in three days.

Everyone was desperately preparing for the game.

The number of participants was estimated to create a historical miracle. Not to mention anything else, just the bounty for the Cup of the Heavens was enough to drive 99.99999% of the world crazy, not to mention that the gold and silver inside could be exchanged.

It was simply a paradise for treasure hunters, miners, and adventurers.

You should know how many people are extremely idle and do nothing all day after completing their assigned work.

Su Mo also silently prayed that it wouldn't be a sham, exaggerated promotion, that would be too boring.

...

The next day, Su Mo was fast asleep in bed.

Buzz~

The phone next to him vibrated.

Su Mo slowly opened his eyes, picked up the old phone next to him, glanced at it, sat up, and answered.

"Uncle Wang."

"Su Mo, I've finished the renovation and equipment budget for the internet cafe. Why don't you come over and we can discuss it?"

"So fast?"

"There's no way around it, I'll tell you the specifics when you get here."

"Okay!"

Su Mo hung up after chatting with Uncle Wang.

He got up, went to the bathroom to wash up, and changed into casual clothes.

The moment he pushed open the door, the wind and rain had disappeared. As far as the eye could see, it was a blue sky. The bright sunshine after the rain shone directly on his face.

"The rain has stopped!"

At that moment, his gloomy mood seemed to ease a lot.

A moment later, Su Mo arrived at the dilapidated internet cafe. Uncle Wang was already waiting at the door.

"Uncle Wang!"

"Su Mo, you're here. This is the budget, take a look."

Uncle Wang took out a handwritten budget and handed it to Su Mo.

"Okay, but Uncle Wang, you don't have to rush so much, take your time, don't think about making a profit right away, your health is the most important thing."

Su Mo opened it and said while looking at it. This budget was obviously done overnight.

"We have to hurry, a while ago, a large Star Game Cafe opened on the opposite street. It is said that the boss is a great beauty, and the pre-recharge is so popular that people are lining up so far."

Uncle Wang explained to Su Mo.

Su Mo turned his head and glanced at the opposite new street, also a little surprised, the business was super hot, and the line for recharging was hundreds of meters long.

"And that game is going to be launched the day after tomorrow, ZR equipment has to be booked in advance, time is too tight, even if we do our best now, it won't be done in a month."

Uncle Wang also felt a lot of pressure.

"It's okay, take your time."

Su Mo replied to Uncle Wang while carefully looking at the budget, the various renovations and upgrades were clearly listed.