Chapter 1 The strange era has arrived
“There is only one day left until the countdown.”
“Dear residents of Linjiang City, please believe that we will have a beautiful tomorrow!”
"This is just a game..."
"When the countdown ends, what we usher in is not the end, but a new beginning."
"Everyone must be full of hope and work hard to live!"
In Linjiang City, at seven o'clock every morning, everyone opens their eyes to the familiar sound of the radio.
At this time.
As long as someone looks out the window, they can see a round of bloody words hanging above the sky——
[23:59:59! 】
The bloody words were like a dark cloud that was about to collapse, oppressing the sky above the entire Linjiang City, as if a sword of judgment was about to fall, pronouncing everyone's fate of death!
“Ah, yes, yes!”
“Tomorrow in the future, when you open your eyes, you will see this deadly thing!”
“A new beginning is for everyone. Are you going to go to heaven? "
In a small rental house of only about 30 square meters, Chen Ye crossed his legs and faced the computer in front of him, shaking his head and smiling.
What is displayed on the screen is a simple text document, similar to a timeline, recording recent important events——
[On October 31, 2004, a game called "Strange Era" ’s virtual game has officially launched open beta. With the theme of weirdness, perfect CG picture performance, and subversive professional gameplay, it is popular all over the world! 】
[On December 1, 2004, the Black Sun event occurred. An island in the East China Sea was within the range of the Black Sun, and the whole world disappeared! And this is the first scene of the CG screen of the game "Strange Era". 】
[On December 3, 2004, the CG scenes of "Strange Era" continued to come to reality, officially entering the Strange Era. About one-third of the people disappeared, causing global panic. 】
[On December 15, 2004, a bloody countdown appeared in the sky over Linjiang City. The entire city was isolated from the outside world, and the Internet, telephone and other media methods were limited to the urban area.
Linjiang City fell into chaos, and after a month of turmoil, order was barely restored.
In addition, contact with the outside world is completely cut off, and the rest of the situation around the world is unknown. 】
【April 1, 2025, the last day of the countdown! 】
The event book has ended here.
The last line of words,
It was exactly what Chen Ye just typed today.
He stared at the bloody words in the sky and murmured to himself:
"Is it finally going to begin!"
Today is the last day of the bloody countdown.
Many experts have made various speculations about this, but when the countdown is completely over, no one knows what it will be like.
The growth of life always starts with parting, and we have to face countless "last moments".
When the bloody countdown appeared, people in the whole city thought that the last moment of their lives had arrived. Their hearts were broken and despairing. The world was destroyed and there was no hope. The whole city There is chaos and everyone is crazy.
But after such a long time, this countdown has unknowingly accompanied the people here for nearly four months.
Many people are used to this.
The order in Linjiang City gradually returned to normal.
People found that in addition to being unable to contact humans outside the urban area, a huge barrier similar to a border appeared in the city, covering the entire world. Even airplanes and rockets could not leave here...
But the power of mobilizing the entire city , order is still stable, and daily life is guaranteed.
I can get by just fine.
At least, you won’t die for the time being, you can still live!
From the apocalyptic turmoil at the beginning of the countdown, to witnessing the chaos of the entire city, to calm...
In just a few months, Chen Ye had seen almost everything in the world.
Now, he quietly watched the countdown come to the last day, with peace of mind.
It seems like countless days and nights, facing the desperate countdown, knowing that there is no hope in life.
This state may seem like a breakdown at the beginning, but later on, you will gradually get used to it and there will no longer be any turbulence in your heart.
The only pity is...
Chen Ye is not a native of Linjiang City, but a recent college graduate.
He is addicted to virtual games, has little contact with his classmates, and rarely has friends in the real world. During the four years of college, I was almost alone, living outside the home. I only occasionally went back to reunite with my family during the Chinese New Year.
Chen Ye's eyes were calm. Since the countdown incident occurred, all communication methods in Linjiang City have been unable to transmit to the outside world.
In the last attempt, what I wanted to say still failed to be conveyed.
But Chen Ye feels that he is lucky. He has seen too much separation in the past few months.
At least...
After being cut off from the outside world, in my heart my parents are still there, and there is still hope for the future.
Chen Ye put away unnecessary negative emotions, and his calm eyes showed more determination.
He is not afraid of the end of the countdown. Many experts have previously analyzed through various information and intelligence that when a region falls into the "Strange Era", the people there are actually not dead yet.
Because, once an area falls into "Strange Era", it will be suspended in the sky and turned into a huge screen projection.
Like the bloody text, people can see the picture on the huge screen when they look up.
Some people who had disappeared have shown signs of activity on the screen.
So, many people speculate that when the countdown ends, it is likely that everyone will not die, but will enter the game of "Strange Era".
But this game is no longer virtual reality, but real reality!
There is no exit button for players.
Chen Ye's heart is actually more filled with excitement and expectation.
He spent four years in college eliminating all useless social time, spending almost all of his time in virtual online games, and became a well-known online game boss.
One year before the open beta of "Strange Era", Chen was given a place in the internal beta test.
The quota is only for a few hundred people!
He is one of the few game developers in the world besides the staff who developed the game "Strange Era".
Has more sources of intelligence than others.
Chen Ye knows that this game is mainly a strategy game that focuses on selection, collection, and raiding dungeons.
Players need to collect the characteristics in "Weird Era" to become more and more powerful Weird, thereby strengthening themselves and gaining a higher living space.
Of course, in order to increase randomness, the identity, items and talents initially obtained by each player will be very different.
According to the acquired identity, items and talents, formulating the next strategy and developing steadily is the secret to continuous survival and upgrading!
"As long as I can clear this game, maybe I can leave here and gain the ability to protect my family!"
Chen Ye said silently in his heart.
At this time.
He closed his eyes and recalled all the details of "Strange Era" in his mind.
The huge settings, complex feature applications, and strategy routes...
One after another, they turned into fleeting glimpses, flashing before our eyes like a kaleidoscope.
When I opened my eyes again.
The sky has completely darkened.
That string of bloody words only has the last few minutes left.
【Countdown:】
【3 minutes! 】
【2 minutes! 】
【1 minute! 】
【0……】
At this moment, the bloody words in the sky suddenly spurted out and turned into a bloody curtain, immediately covering the entire city.
The vision suddenly became dark.
It seems to have become a "lightless place".
Can't see anything!
In the dark.
Chen Ye suddenly felt a violent falling sensation in his body, and with countless wailing and shouting sounds coming from his ears, his consciousness gradually disappeared, and finally seemed to disappear into nothingness...
I don’t know how long it has been. time.
Finally, a bright light broke through the darkness, and consciousness reawakened.
Hazy, Chen Ye saw in the center of the light curtain, a line of blood-colored text slowly reflected in his eyes——
[Welcome to the strange era! 】
(End of this chapter)