The western district of the starting town, the sun was setting, it was already past five in the afternoon.
It was getting late, and after a busy day, the three of them planned to rest.
Ling Feng and Klein sat on the ground, propping themselves up with their hands, leaning back.
Kirito, on the other hand, stood to the side with his arms crossed, looking like a master.
"Hey, Ling Feng, why are you so unlucky?"
Klein chuckled.
Klein was referring to Ling Feng, a new player, becoming a red-named player due to a game bug.
Not long ago, Ling Feng had encountered Kirito and Klein. Due to his red name, Ling Feng had to expend considerable effort to "dispel" their concerns.
Afterwards, Ling Feng joined their party, and they started hunting monsters together.
Although he was red-named, it was just a status for players, not like NPCs who would immediately attack him.
"It's just my luck, I guess."
Ling Feng shook his head helplessly.
Although he knew the reason, he had to pretend he didn't. But he wasn't lying; it was indeed his luck.
Still, it was frustrating to be chased by the city guards all afternoon.
"Ah, thank goodness I didn't encounter this bug. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to play this game from the start."
"Unlike you, Ling Feng, who's so good at fighting."
"With weapons in our hands, we're not as good as you, who's empty-handed. You must have trained."
Klein shivered as he recalled how he and Kirito, despite having weapons, were utterly dominated by Ling Feng, who fought bare-handed.
"Mhm."
Ling Feng smiled faintly.
"No wonder... that makes sense. Your skills are that formidable. Teach me a move or two when you get a chance."
"No."
Facing Klein's earnest request, Ling Feng shook his head.
It wasn't that he didn't want to teach, but he didn't know how.
Apart from his spear techniques, which he learned from Xiao, all his current fighting skills and combat experience were gained through his own efforts.
It was like when he used to teach others math problems. He would explain his thoughts, but the other person just couldn't grasp it.
Therefore, Ling Feng had stopped teaching others, and his usual response to their questions was a few words: "It can only be understood, not conveyed."
His level was too low to teach others.
"Why?"
Ling Feng simply shook his head.
Klein knew Ling Feng had his reasons and didn't press the issue further.
"Ling Feng, you can try asking the administrator about this red-name bug."
Kirito said softly, looking at the red cursor above Ling Feng's head.
Ling Feng shook his head upon hearing this and replied,
"It's no use. I already asked the administrator, but they weren't there."
Kirito didn't say anything more. Besides asking the administrator, he couldn't think of any other way to resolve the red name.
"It's normal. It's the early stages of the game, so bugs are bound to happen. Not every game is perfect."
Klein said with a smile, not mocking Ling Feng at all.
"Still, no matter how many times I see it, it's hard to believe this is a game. The person who created this is truly a genius."
Klein sighed, looking at the barely discernible beauty of the sunset. The scenery here was something not found in the current world.
"This is virtual reality technology; it's amazing. Speaking of which, is this your first game using NerveGear?"
Kirito asked with a smile.
"Yeah, we bought the equipment in a hurry just to play this game. To be honest, getting one of the first ten thousand shipments was incredibly lucky."
"But Kirito, being selected as a beta tester is ten times luckier than us."
Klein said with a hint of envy.
"It's alright."
"Hey, where did you go during the beta test?" Klein asked curiously.
"In two months, I only reached the eighth floor. This time, one month will be enough."
When it came to clearing levels, Kirito was very confident.
Beta Test
"You're quite addicted."
"Honestly, during the beta test, all I thought about was SAO, walking through this world. Even though it's a virtual world, it felt more real than the real world."
Kirito explained word by word.
Ling Feng nodded in agreement. Indeed, full-dive games were almost impossible to stop playing once you started.
"Are we going to hunt monsters next?"
Kirito looked at Ling Feng and Klein.
"No, I'm hungry. I'll log off for a bit. I've already ordered a hot pizza for 5:30."
Klein first patted his rumbling stomach and shook his head with a smile.
"You're really well-prepared. How about you, Ling Feng?"
Kirito smiled knowingly and turned his gaze to Ling Feng.
"I'm fine with whatever."
Ling Feng said faintly.
It was getting late. If he wasn't mistaken, Kayaba Akihiko was about to hold a general assembly for all players.
"Huh? There's no logout button."
"How could that be? Isn't it at the very bottom of the menu? Huh..."
Ling Feng was about to speak to the two when a bell suddenly rang out across the world.
Klein looked at the bell in confusion, while Kirito's eyes widened as he realized something, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
"So soon?"
Immediately, the scenery before the three of them changed. When they opened their eyes again, they were back in the starting plaza.
The once empty plaza was now filled with people, and more and more were being forcibly teleported there.
Everyone in the plaza had expressions of confusion or panic.
They were probably wondering why they suddenly appeared there.
Ling Feng calmly observed everything. He looked up and saw a warning in the shape of an octagon appearing in the sky, very conspicuous.
Then, as if infected by a virus, it began to spread outwards.
Soon, the entire sky turned crimson.
A colossal figure clad in a red robe then appeared above the plaza.
"Welcome, everyone, to my world."
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba."
"I am now the only human who can control this world."
Ling Feng heard this.
*Right, right, right.*
He ignored Kayaba Akihiko's introduction and started chatting with the system.
"System, do you think you can snatch away his control over this world?"
*That's a piece of cake.*
"There's a gift I've given you in your item storage. Please confirm."
Hearing this, Ling Feng stopped chatting with the system and came back to his senses. He looked around, ready to watch the show.
This was what netizens called a "large-scale makeup removal scene" and a "netizen meetup."
Sure enough, after a while, everyone's bodies began to glow.
At that moment, everyone turned into light.
Of course, everyone except him, as he was using his original appearance and didn't need to change.
After the light faded, the crowd began to stir.
"You're a guy!"
"Your seventeen years old was a lie too!"
"You're a guy! You lied to me!"
"You're no better! You said you were 1.78 meters in reality, but you're only 1.6!"
"Ah! Little Snow! You were a cross-dresser!"
"Pervert! Slap!"
The crisp sound of slaps echoed through the plaza.
Some people, in fear, clutched the girl beside them. After the light faded, they saw that the "girl" beside them had turned into a burly man, almost scaring them to death.
Ling Feng also spotted the classic pair from the anime.
Listening to the various complaints from those around him and observing their changed appearances,
Ling Feng, fearing he would be punched to death by the surrounding people, suppressed his laughter, though internally he was roaring with mirth.
Have you ever experienced a situation where you wanted to laugh but couldn't dare to?
I have.