Chapter 138: A Contrast

After completing the final movement setting of the game, Jian Qi glanced at the date and let out a long breath.

“I made it in time.”

He reviewed the game once more to ensure there were no issues, preparing to release it and then approach Qingzhu for a contract. Unexpectedly, upon opening the game assistant’s backend, he saw a message from Yin Jian himself.

“You guys are pushing me: How’s the Sect Leader Jian Qi’s game coming along?”

Without much thought, Jian Qi quickly typed back.

“Sect Leader Jian Qi: The game is finished and about to launch. How’s your game doing now?”

“You guys are pushing me: Over fifty players, pretty disappointing.”

“Shen Huang: Ah… Versailles?”

“Dandan, oh Dandan: The big shot’s dream of failure.”

“Sect Leader Jian Qi: Noobs are awesome!”

...

After chatting casually in the group for a while, Jian Qi felt much of the fatigue from making the game melt away. However, just as he was about to release it, hesitation crept in.

After a long pause, he closed the game assistant and opened the Qiyou platform, searching for Yin Jian’s game.

“Infinite?”

Seeing the game’s title, Jian Qi picked up a nut from the table and popped it into his mouth. As he chewed, he pondered the meaning behind Yin Jian’s choice of name.

The reason he hadn’t immediately launched his own game but instead opened Yin Jian’s was to see the quality of the game ranked around the fiftieth position—to compare and get a sense of where his own stood.

Since the title revealed little, Jian Qi turned to the game’s description.

“Do you want to understand the meaning of something? Do you want to truly live?”

Jian Qi: ???

He couldn’t quite grasp it.

“This shouldn’t be. With noob-level skills, it’s rare to make such a basic mistake as having a vague description.”

Being a fellow developer, he felt this more keenly.

After reading the description, Jian Qi looked at the game’s rating.

This was a special system Qiyou set up for games participating in the contest, allowing players to rate based on their preferences. The final score was a composite.

9.4

Out of ten, a score above nine indicated an excellent game.

Infinite’s rating spoke volumes.

After checking the score, Jian Qi didn’t delve into the player reviews.

Simply put, most players were laymen, judging too superficially.

Their comments held little meaning.

To truly understand the game, one had to play it.

With this in mind, Jian Qi stood and lay down in his game pod.

He then entered Infinite through the pod.

...

Thick black fog enveloped an ancient city.

Only towering dark silhouettes could be seen, twisted by the fog into monstrous shapes.

Jian Qi scanned the opening scene, then focused on a string of white mist forming prompts ahead.

Normal Mode

Full Immersion Mode

As he hovered over the choice, the pros and cons of each mode appeared.

“Temporarily blocking memories for a more realistic game experience?”

Jian Qi frowned, thought briefly, then decisively chose Normal Mode.

From the entrance alone, he sensed the game had horror elements, and choosing Full Immersion would be asking for trouble.

With the mode selected, the white mist instantly dispersed.

A new prompt, again composed of white mist, appeared.

“Do you want to understand the meaning of life?”

Yes

Yes

Seeing the options, Jian Qi shook his head. “Still playing tricks here.”

He immediately confirmed his choice.

Building character attributes...

Character creation complete.

A silent breath escaped his lips as he viewed the attribute panel:

Name: Sect Leader Jian Qi

Age: 26

Number of Reincarnations: 0

Life Tier: First Tier

Strength (affects attack power and damage): 7

Constitution (affects health, defense, and stamina): 8

Speed (affects burst and agility): 5

Spirit (affects duration of negative mental states and perception): 13

Note: Base attributes for an average person are 10 points

Talent: None

Skills: None

Items: None

Reincarnation Entry Ticket: None

Reincarnation Treasure Chest: None

Having scanned the attribute panel, Jian Qi roughly understood the gameplay.

“A dungeon-crawling type?”

Thinking so, he began the game.

Life is only once; there are no do-overs in life.

The prompt vanished, and the scene before him shifted.

When he regained awareness, he found himself in a small room.

Floating before him was a blue orb of light suspended midair.

You are someone who has lost hope in life.

Without hesitation, he chose:

Yes.

Opening his eyes again,

You find yourself in an unfamiliar place...

“Reincarnator, please select your mission.”

As the prompt disappeared, a cold voice whispered in Jian Qi’s ear.

The voice was electronically synthesized, impossible to discern its gender.

Frowning, Jian Qi looked toward the blue orb floating at head height—it was the source of the voice.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Who are you? Where is this place?”

“Reincarnator, please select your mission.”

Jian Qi tried asking several more questions, but the response remained the same.

It seemed the orb lacked intelligence or had yet to meet some condition.

After pondering, he finally asked, “How do I choose my mission?”

At this, the orb ceased silence, and its cold voice sounded in Jian Qi’s ear:

“Please choose one of the following three missions to accept.”

With that, three beams of light shot from the orb, casting three cards before him.

?

Difficulty: F

?

Difficulty: F

?

Difficulty: F

“A blind box?” Jian Qi thought. This scene was too full of absurdities; he wasn’t sure where to start complaining.

Since all three options looked identical, he didn’t hesitate and chose the middle card.

The moment his finger touched it, the card gradually became clear.

Time-Sharing Train

Difficulty: F

Description: A train with only seven days of time.

Mission One: Survive seven days.

Mission Two: Find the killer.

Mission Three: Kill the ghost.

Just as Jian Qi finished reading, the card instantly crumbled to dust, and his vision plunged into darkness.

...

“Clang... clang... clang...”

The distinctive whistle of a steam train sounded in Jian Qi’s ears.

He sat up, realizing he was lying on a table.

To his right was a train window, outside which stretched a green forest.

Though bathed in sunlight, it cast a somber, gloomy atmosphere.