Chapter 001: Unemployed, Yet Free

June, 2079.

It was morning, and the blazing sun hung high in the sky. Its scorching light poured through the gap in the curtains, landing directly on Li Zhan’s face, who was sleeping soundly. On the bedside table stood four or five empty beer bottles, and a half-empty bottle had toppled over, the remaining beer trickling from the nightstand to the floor, filling the entire bedroom with a heavy stench of alcohol.

Feeling the heat on his face, Li Zhan scratched absentmindedly at his cheek, mumbling as he turned over. Before he could slip back into his dreams—

Ring ring ring...

Li Zhan shot up from the bed. A glance at the alarm clock: nine thirty.

"Damn it! Why did I set the alarm so late?!" he cursed, scrambling out of bed and hastily pulling on his clothes, grumbling to himself, "This is it, this is it—the old fox has been dying to catch me slipping, and now he’s got me. There goes my entire bonus for the month..."

His muttering abruptly ceased, as did the motion of his hands. His eyes locked onto a sheet of paper lying on the floor—three bold characters at the top: Termination Notice.

Silence.

...

Suddenly, Li Zhan burst into wild, manic laughter, his expression twisted and bizarre.

"I’m free! I don’t have to go to work anymore! I’ll never be exploited or oppressed again!"

He grabbed the half-empty beer bottle from the table and raised it to his lips, gulping it down. Then—"Pah!"

He spat the beer out, drenching the floor before him. "Damn, this tastes like piss!"

With a loud thunk, he slammed the bottle down on the nightstand and shook his head vigorously, his mood slowly settling.

"Hmph! Just a lousy sales manager job. You think I care? I could find a hundred better jobs with my eyes closed! If this place won’t keep me, somewhere else will. No place can keep me down!"

Cursing under his breath, Li Zhan stomped on the termination letter, grinding it under his heel as if it were the wrinkled face of the general manager, only stopping once the paper was creased and torn in several places. He let out a long breath.

Glancing down, he caught sight of the alarm clock on his computer desk and frowned, searching his foggy memories from yesterday. If he didn’t need to go to work, why set an alarm? And not at the usual seven, but at nine-thirty? Was there something he was supposed to do?

He slapped his head hard, but the answer wouldn’t come—the alcohol hadn’t quite worn off. He decided to let it go for now and wash his face.

Pushing open the bathroom door, he immediately spotted the square box of the gaming helmet tossed in the corner. Memory flooded back: right, at ten o’clock this morning, the virtual reality game "Empire Age: Rise of Empires" was set to begin its open beta. He’d just hooked up the helmet yesterday and planned to dive in during his unemployment to enjoy himself.

Li Zhan had deep feelings for the "Empire Age" game series. When he was in elementary school, he’d smuggled "Empire Age II: The Conquerors" onto the low-end computer his parents had bought him, playing in his room for hours on end whenever they weren’t watching. He’d tried every mode the single-player game offered: full-tech, unique-tech, campaign, team play, duels—all of it.

But after entering middle school, as his studies piled up, he found less and less time for "Empire Age." By high school, he hadn’t touched it at all, and then came college and work. Yet, the joy of childhood lingered in his memory. When he learned the open beta for "Rise of Empires" was about to begin, he immediately ordered a gaming helmet online. Originally, he’d planned to relive his childhood nostalgia during his off-hours, but now, with no job, he could immerse himself in those memories all day if he liked.

Li Zhan was no professional gamer, nor was he an addict. What’s more, his mood was at a low point. So even knowing the open beta was about to start, he wasn’t in a rush—he brushed his teeth, washed up, and returned to his bedroom. It was 9:52.

He turned on his computer, pulled the gaming helmet from under the desk, and put it on, then lay down on the bed. According to the manual, once the helmet was on, players could enter the game via brainwave signals—whether you were able-bodied or disabled, standing or lying down, as long as you had brainwaves, you could play.

As the computer booted up, the helmet, already wirelessly connected, came to life. Several indicator lights blinked, showing various statuses. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of last night’s drinking, but Li Zhan was already snoring softly—he’d drifted off to sleep.

...

"Dear player, greetings. I am your in-game guide for the China region, GB10032. Thank you very much for your enthusiastic support of 'Rise of Empires.' I will now help you with some basic game setup to ensure your journey goes smoothly."

As a sweet, pleasant voice sounded, a classic Chinese beauty appeared before Li Zhan. With ninety-five percent realism, her every smile and gesture was natural, even the flutter of her hair vivid and lifelike.

The setup process was simple: account lock, civilization selection, and character creation. To ensure fairness, "Rise of Empires" did not, as many gaming novels describe, give every player wildly different starting stats. Regardless of age or gender, everyone began with identical attributes.

But, as in life, there was no absolute equality. Starting stats might be the same, but as players gained skills, their growth would diverge, and some quests offered rewards to boost stats. Of course, any task that upset game balance was exceedingly rare.

Character creation was quickly completed. Li Zhan used his own name for his character and chose China as his civilization.

A flash of white light—and Li Zhan found himself standing on a vast plain. Around him stretched wild grasses; in the distance were forests and mountains, the terrain undulating.

As Li Zhan gazed into the distance, a man’s voice sounded behind him:

"Chieftain, shall we build the tribal center here?"

Startled, Li Zhan spun around. Two villagers—a man and a woman—stood before him, looking to him for direction, empty-handed and simply dressed.

"You two... are my villagers?" Li Zhan asked. He regretted not reading the game’s official introduction and now found himself clueless.

"Yes, Chieftain. We should build the tribal center quickly, so we can produce more villagers and grow," the male villager replied.

As he spoke, Li Zhan quickly checked their stats:

Villager [Male]
Name: Zhang Chong
Civilization: China [–]
Title: None
Level: 0
Attributes—Potential: +5; Constitution: 8; Strength: 7; Intelligence: 5; Agility: 2; Loyalty: 75; Approval: 45
Leadership: 3; Attack: 2+0; Defense: Armor 0+0 / Shield 0+0; Speed: 1
HP: 15; MP: 10
Skill—Basic Fishing and Hunting (skilled at fishing and hunting)

Villager [Female]
Name: Zhou Min
Civilization: China [–]
Title: None
Level: 0
Attributes—Potential: +6; Constitution: 6; Strength: 6; Intelligence: 7; Agility: 3; Loyalty: 65; Approval: 38
Leadership: 2; Attack: 2+0; Defense: Armor 0+0 / Shield 0+0; Speed: 1
HP: 12; MP: 14
Skill—Basic Farming and Weaving (skilled at farming and weaving)

A quick scan of both villagers’ stats and skills gave Li Zhan a clear picture. He immediately understood why it was always Zhang Chong making suggestions, while Zhou Min stood by indifferently—the difference lay in their loyalty and approval ratings.

Looking closer, apart from their matching levels, their attributes and skills differed, suggesting villagers’ stats were randomized—unlike the player’s. Randomness meant there would be outstanding villagers, a fact Li Zhan understood well.

――――――――――

Note:
1. Civilization Selection: In this setup, players in a country with an associated civilization can only choose their own civilization. Players from countries without a civilization in the game may choose any of the twenty-two civilizations, but cannot develop unique technologies. For example, Chinese players can only select China, Egyptians only Egypt; players from Vietnam, Myanmar, New Zealand, etc., can choose any civilization, but cannot unlock unique techs.

2. The Twenty-Two Civilizations:
China, Korea, Mongolia, Xiongnu, Japan, India, Persia, Saracen, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Teuton, Byzantine, Frank, Viking, Spain, Goth, Britain, Indian, Aztec, Maya.

Each civilization has its own unique troops. For details, see the "Settings" section in the story-related tab.