edge of pure land

Chapter 1 National Carnival
  Lu Fuji fell ill again.

His headache felt like it was about to split. It seemed as if thousands of steel needles were piercing into his nerves at the same time. His body seemed to be cracking and collapsing inch by inch. He took a deep breath to endure the pain and managed not to cry out, even though he was sweating profusely. , nails embedded in flesh.

He subconsciously wanted to reach for the medicine, but then he remembered that he had been off the medicine for a week.

With a crash, the empty medicine bottles piled on the table were knocked down by his wave, and they were scattered everywhere.

The dormitory was silent. The closed windows trembled in the cold wind. Outside the window were the mottled building walls, the worn-out air conditioner still dripping water, and a bird's nest on the top of the dry old tree.

It took him a long time to recover, and he lay on the bed panting heavily, his eyes blank.

The palms that were released were filled with blood.

A yellowed calendar hangs on the wall, with eye-catching red circles drawn on it.

Today is January 2046, 1 in the solar calendar, Lu Fuji’s 17st day of fighting cancer. After stopping the medicine, he has to endure the severe cancer pain every day. He doesn’t know how long he can hold on. , in theory, when his anti-cancer drugs are stopped, he will be close to death.

"Brother Lu, let's go."

There was a knock on the door outside the dormitory. He Sai popped his head in to take a look and asked worriedly: "Is it really okay for you to stay alone at school? If it doesn't work, why don't you stay at my house? I'll go back and tell my mother that we can still do it." Let's wait for the open beta of "Pure Land" together, haven't you been waiting for a long time?"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Fuji.

"Okay, there's nothing wrong with the dormitory, just go back."

For Lu Fuji, this is the only friend in the world who still cares about him, so he can't trouble others: "I will go to the Internet cafe to find you tomorrow. If you don't leave the dormitory, it will be closed."

He Sai scratched his head and finally sighed: "Okay, see you tomorrow."

He waved and turned to join his brothers at the end of the corridor.

The playground outside the window was empty, and darkness was gathering in the night.

Now Shika Fuji is the only one left in the school. After the final exam, it is winter vacation. Everyone will leave school and go back to reunite with their families. No one wants to stay in this iron cage and go to jail.

In particular, the meteorological observatory warned that tonight there may be a severe storm that is rare in the past century. The distant skyline was shrouded in thick dark clouds. There was a faint flash of hot lightning, which seemed to tear a hole in the darkness, and there was a sound of thunder. Faintly rolling.

It was about to rain, and you could smell the strong earthy smell through the windows on the first floor. The strong wind blew up the dust and fallen leaves on the playground, threatening to swallow up the whole world.

Lu Buer went back and closed the dormitory door, only to find some bags at the door, which contained a bunch of fast food and daily necessities. They were piled high.

"This kid..."

In fact, he doesn't have much time left, and he doesn't want his best friend to waste time or money on himself, a dying person, because it makes no sense.

Fortunately, this should be the last time.

I went back to the bathroom and washed my hands. I saw myself in the mirror as pale as a paper man. There were red and swollen pinholes all over the back of my right hand. It was shocking just to look at it.

The palms of his palms were pricked with scars, and there was a stinging sensation from being washed with cold water, but it was nothing to him who was used to cancer pain. He had long been numb to the pain.

New-age treatment technology, coupled with a healthy diet and daily hard exercise, allowed his body to maintain good health, but it could not eliminate the pain caused by cancer.

Over the past ten years, he has gradually adapted to this painful life. He has become accustomed to squeezing the subway to work during morning and evening rush hours. He has become accustomed to the smell of disinfectant in hospitals. He is no longer surprised by the sky-high medical bills. Gradually, he became indifferent to his own life and death.

He will spend the last period of his life in the school dormitory.

Because Lu Buer no longer has a home, his parents' photos have been hanging on the wall for ten years, from the large flat floor then to a rental house and a leaky attic, and finally to this small dormitory.

I still remember that when he was five years old, he was diagnosed with a shadow in his brain. He had obviously undergone surgery to remove the tumor, but he did not expect that the thing would grow back the next year, which stumped the attending doctor at the hospital. After comprehensive consideration, the risk of further surgery is too great, and only conservative treatment can be adopted.

The price is to burn a lot of money.

Lu Fuji's parents worked as chief researchers in a network technology company and could afford treatment. However, they did not expect that they both died in a car accident during a business trip.

Everything collapsed at once.

In the end, Lu Buer was left alone, relying on inheritance and compensation to struggle alone until today, at the end of his rope.

Some people say that there is only one disease in the world that is the most difficult to treat, and that is poverty.

That man was right.

Lu Buer could no longer afford expensive anti-cancer drugs, and the cancer cells had already spread. Last month, a quack doctor recommended that he try the ancestral Fu Huishui, which almost made him laugh out loud.

It's true that cancer cells can't survive after drinking that stuff, but the corpses also attract flies.

All I can say is that some diseases are life-threatening.

So he accepts his fate and begins counting down the days to his life.

He is not afraid of death, he just doesn't want to live like a zombie.

There was one more thing he had to do before his life ended.

"Brother Lu, don't forget the open beta of "Pure Land"."

Jose sent a message to remind him.

The time was 6:45 in the evening, and there were still 15 minutes left before the open beta of "Pure Land". The discussion among the classmates about that cross-generational online game was in full swing. They had already pre-ordered virtual helmets connected to neural networks and were already at home. Debugging started.

Everyone seems to be living a good life, but they are far away from Lu Fuji's life.

Lu Fuji lay on the bed, looking out the window in a daze.

In just half an hour, the bustling long street has become empty, and all the small shops on the street have closed down. Not even a single person can be seen in the usually noisy night market.

Residential buildings in the alley turned on their lights one after another, and tall buildings lit up in the darkness.

It was like the dark world was lit up in an instant.

The public beta press conference of "Pure Land" has begun.

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  In the dark haze, Lu Fuji's calm face was illuminated by the screen of his mobile phone.

"This is the punishment for transgression. They disturbed the tomb of the god, and the blood of the god spread to the earth, and disasters came. Natural disasters, terrestrial disasters, plagues... They buried the bones of the gods in the soil, and poured the sacred trees that reached the sky. This opens the gates of heaven and saves a broken world.”

The person in charge of Aurora Technology appeared on the screen, his voice was like a torch lighting a mine, and a mysterious aura filled the air: "This is the origin of the disaster and the beginning of a new era. Every civilization will not experience destruction unless it is destroyed." There is no way to usher in rebirth.”

This live broadcast is being broadcast on screens all over the world, and the face of the person in charge of Aurora Technology appears on every TV set or on everyone’s mobile phone.

Lu Buer silently watched the live broadcast. In the lonely dormitory building, he could hear the roaring and tsunami-like cheers coming from the community outside. The official live broadcast was even swallowed up by the overwhelming barrage.

It clearly describes a terrible disaster, but it can make people's hormones burst.

Because this is the expansion pack released during the public beta of "Pure Land", it has been watched by 2 billion people on the Internet, and 195 countries are paying close attention to it. It is simply a national carnival.

"It's all because of that mysterious ancient tree." "According to legend, on July 2046, 7 in the solar calendar, an Arctic research ship from Aurora Technology broke through the ice and broke into a place that no one had set foot on for hundreds of millions of years. The forbidden area. At the end of the world, they discovered a mysterious ancient giant tree and accidentally touched the truth of the universe!"

"About gods, about demons, about the origin of life and the existence of consciousness."

"This is the beginning of a new era. Humanity has ushered in an unprecedented technological explosion. We use God's legacy to open the door to the kingdom of heaven, and use God's gift to change the entire world!"

"But disasters also followed. On the way to heaven, mankind also opened the door to hell. Humanity spent hundreds of years clearing away disasters and rebuilding the Tower of Babel of the new era in the ruins, a glorious civilization The light illuminates a beautiful new world!"

This is the cross-generational online game "Pure Land". It is the ultimate masterpiece released by Aurora Technology in ten years. It achieves perfect neurosensory simulation, creates a virtual world that can replace reality based on the concept of the metaverse, and makes full use of sleep time to provide players with An experience like sleepwalking into another world.

Even abandoning the real world, reshaping life and changing destiny in the virtual space.

Whether it is the redistribution of wealth or the rerealization of self-worth.

It’s no longer a luxury.

Not only that, this technology can also effectively treat human mental illness and is very helpful for brain development. In a sense, it is the key to evolution.

This will trigger a nationwide carnival.

"Can the virtual world change your destiny? What you say always sounds so nice."

Lu Buer didn't think so. The reason why he paid attention to this press conference was simply because Aurora Technology was the company where his parents worked during their lifetime.

Before his parents were involved in a car accident, he was the chief researcher of this cross-generational technology, focusing on the transmission of nerve senses and the synchronization of the thinking field, and even explored part of the origin of consciousness.

If not, Lu Buer would not be able to afford Lu Buer's high medical expenses.

If there is anything Lu Fuji must do in his last moments, it is to witness the advent of this era-changing technology with his own eyes.

If my parents were still alive, they would probably be very happy to see this game come out.

Unfortunately, Lu Buer has no money to buy a virtual helmet and cannot participate in the public beta today. He can only wait until tomorrow to go to an Internet cafe and experience it on a temporary rental basis.

It's not that he is addicted to the Internet, he just wants to go in and take a look.

Look at the hard work that parents have put into this half of their lives.

The live broadcast played on the mobile phone was interrupted by a phone call. After the call was connected, a familiar voice with a broken gong sounded: "Little deer, right? Are you still in school? Oh my god, there is a courier for you here. Come and get it right away. It’s raining heavily, I have to go home quickly!”

That was the voice of Lao Li at the school gate, and Lu Buer was stunned.

He hasn't shopped online for a long time, so he shouldn't have express delivery from him.

Lu Buer had no choice but to put on his clothes and go out in the strong wind. The cold wind in January made him shiver. The security booth at the school gate was about to be overturned. Lao Li, who was wearing a military coat, sealed the security booth tightly. I gave him the express box, turned around, got on the electric donkey and left.

The box is heavy and well sealed.

Lu Fuji was stunned. The shipper actually wrote the address of Aurora Technology.

As for the recipient's address, it is really him.

strangeness.

He hurried back to the dormitory, gasped and opened the express box, obviously shocked.

Because in the express box, it turned out to be Aurora Technology's latest virtual helmet.

This thing is not cheap. The market price of the standard version is about 10,000 yuan. There was a large-scale free lottery before, but unfortunately he was not very lucky and did not win.

This latest style has a starting price of more than 100,000 yuan, and it has a price but no market, so you have to grab it.

If scalpers are involved, the price will double.

When He Sai wanted to use the lucky money he had saved to buy one as a gift to him, he was scolded.

"Can't it be bought by this guy He Sai?"

Lu Fuji felt suspicious, but then he thought something was wrong.

Even if that guy wants to buy it for him, he won't buy the latest model.

Unless he is willing to dig in.

"Sent to the wrong address? It shouldn't be. The address is clearly mine... Or does Aurora Technology actually remember the family members of its old employees?" Lu Buer opened the address book on his phone and found that his parents had a close relationship back then. My colleague’s surname is Su, and I used to take good care of him.

It’s just that I don’t know where he has been all these years, and there is no news from him again.

He dialed the phone with an attitude of trying, but unfortunately all he heard was a busy signal.

"really weird."

He doesn’t know who sent him the virtual helmet, but it’s not a bad thing.

Lu Fuji played with the virtual helmet and didn't feel there was any danger. After all, no one in this world would be willing to spend such a high cost to murder a dying person.

The countdown to the open beta server is five minutes and 42 seconds away.

Lu Fuji put on the virtual helmet, plugged the wire into the socket on the bedside, adjusted it slightly so that the nerve hub fit his temple, and lay flat on the iron bed in the dormitory.

The button of the virtual helmet has its own network connection. The green light displayed above the head means that it has been connected to the Internet. Massive data is being downloaded. The whole process is very smooth.

"Please put on your helmet and activate the consciousness data connection."

The city echoed with the excited shouts of the person in charge of Aurora Technology. Players all over the world held their breath, looking forward to that unknown world and that mysterious adventure.

"Let's count down to 321 to welcome that brave new world!"

In an instant, the lights in the entire city went out and the world fell into darkness.

The clock on the wall stopped abruptly.

The world was shattered in Lu Fuji's eyes, and his consciousness was blurred.

What he didn't see was that the city was already shrouded in huge clouds, endless storms enveloped the world, lightning and thunder penetrated the world, and the earth shook.

A towering shadow penetrated the sky and the earth, burning like a torch.

It was a...huge golden ancient tree.

"The human fire preservation system has been successfully launched, the soul matrix is ​​running, vital signs are freezing, body functions have begun to hibernate, and are about to be sealed in a cocoon..."

　Hello everyone, I'm back!
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)