Chen Lun carefully examined the inscriptions on the broken stone tablet, then gently stroked it with his index finger to identify it.
"… In the 13,325th year of the Fourth Era, the buried old man Bankrotf used his divine power to plot against the Star God Cult, disintegrating the Kingdom of Anita from within, causing civil strife. Killing and chaos filled the continent for hundreds and thousands of years, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and eventually causing human civilization to fall apart… The hard-won unity collapsed in an instant, and the Anita royal family split into three major families: Trisul, Matthew, and Silber…"
Chen Lun silently read the words written on the stone tablet and was secretly shocked.
Although he knew that the only human kingdom at that time, "Yanitar", would eventually split, he did not expect that it was the God of Death, the Old Man Buried in Bones, who was behind the scenes.
Chen Lun didn't know the purpose of the old man burying the bones, nor did he know what happened at that time, but even from this lightly described narration, he could imagine what a terrible era it was.
"… In the 15,623rd year of the Fourth Era, the number of followers of the Old Man Burying Bones was so small that he lacked an anchor of faith and reason. Over a long period of time, he squandered the power of mythology and eventually lost his humanity. He was completely reduced to a mythical creature, weaving a web in the Spider Web Hell of the Kingdom of God without stopping, executing his final will, attempting to connect the spirit world, the dream world, the astral world, the nether world, and the real world into one… No one knew the ultimate purpose of the Old Man Burying Bones, and no one could predict whether the consequences of this move would be good or bad… But she angered the Lord of Fate, Huan Gong, and on June 15 of the following year, people realized a truth, that is, the god of death will die, and even death has an end."
Chen Lun stared at the broken stone tablet quietly. The cold scratches gave him a burning sensation. After calming down, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Huan Gong... killed the God of Death alone?! "
He originally didn't know much about the god at the end of his path, but from the bits and pieces of information he had heard from various sources, Duke Huan was definitely one of the most powerful true gods.
At the same time, the stone tablet also mentioned the two worlds of "ghost world" and "star world". Chen Lun had never heard of them. He secretly wrote them down and continued to read along the handwriting:
"… From the perspective of past history, I personally believe that all the actions of the old man who buried the bones will eventually bring great disasters to the world, or even destruction. Duke Huan killed him to save the world. I will carve this monument to commemorate Duke Huan's great deeds—the writer of history, the engraver of time, the witness of great deeds, Sid Mitchell."
'It turns out that this is a stone tablet specially used to record the great deeds of Duke Huan... No wonder it is called the 'Monument of Destiny'. '
Chen Lun suddenly understood.
'The name of the carver of the stone tablet is Sid Mitchell...'
He looked at the signature at the end and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He saw the familiar name again.
At the Simon Family Museum in Peacock City, I once found a travel manuscript of Sid, which recorded some travel experiences, including some about the hometown of Saint Ai.
Sid also hopes that he can spend his old age in that small town in the future.
'Could this person really have witnessed that ancient and secret history? If so... She is most likely an angel from the Earth Faction, otherwise how could she have lived so long.'
Chen Lun thought of the last accident caused by the turbulence in the spiritual world, so he took a team of investigators to the Land of Saint Ai, where they encountered a small incident.
'It seems that there is a high-ranking person hidden in the town of Saint Ai. Now it seems that it is really possible that it is the ancestor of the Mitchell family, Sid...'
The little white snakes he left there to observe were "kidnapped" by the strange high-ranking person, and Chen Lun was not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.
'The writer of history, the engraver of time, the witness of great deeds... this really seems to be a three-part honorific title, and the position of power is probably not low.'
Chen Lun became more and more certain.
At the same time, he also saw from the handwriting on the monument of fate that this "Sid" seemed to have an inexplicable respect for Huan Gong...
"Assuming it is as I speculated... then an angel from the Earth Faction is actually a 'little fanboy' of the True God of Destiny? He even carved a monument to commemorate him?"
Chen Lun complained a few words with a strange expression on his face.
*
*
*
Because there were less than ten days left before the 2.0 version update was completed, Chen Lun did not run around during the following period. While waiting for the players to come online, he was preparing for the Western War.
Based on his vague impression of his previous life, he recorded many key events in the course of the Western War and memorized them over and over again.
This is also to help him profit from it when the time comes.
'After all, the gaps in experience points and popularity still need to be filled...'
Chen Lun thought to himself.
At the same time, he also invested nearly 100,000 gold pounds to purchase various extraordinary materials from the Silver Dragon Chamber of Commerce for research and development and forging by team members.
After being promoted to Sequence VI - Night Watchman, Floin became more adept at using the Sunward Pot and became more skilled in forging strange objects using the "Moon Craftsman".
She is now able to forge C-level monsters. Although the probability of producing top-quality ones is still as low as ever, the quality is still there. Most of the "defective and useless" ones were taken by Chen Lun to the Tribunal Building and exchanged for low-level merits.
Compared to putting things into blind boxes and selling them to players, he now needs experience points more.
The inventory of the Inquisition Building contains a large number of low-level mysterious books, which can provide Chen Lun with a lot of experience points. After all, he has the blessing of "Knowledge Collector LV2" and can gain more experience points through reading.
Maggie's research and development of the "low-profile version of True Sight Potion" was methodical. Under Chen Lun's gold pound offensive, she had everything she wanted, and all her requests for hardware facilities were met... Fortunately, she did not disappoint Chen Lun. She made new progress in just a few days, and even boasted to him that she would be able to prepare a sample within the next month.
As for Connie, Chen Lun did not make too many requests, but just asked her to continue forging the original models of weapons and equipment... Once the Western War officially begins, the players' demand for weapons and equipment will be huge, and he can make a lot of money at that time.
The circus cadres were like precise gears, running at high speed with the Kangkai Church area as the axis.
Of course, this does not include Alex, the "idler", nor Antonio, the "free cow". Besides eating, drinking and having fun, they just bask in the sun together in the square of the church area.
Maggie had protested loudly more than once, saying that Alex was not even as useful as the little hedgehog Ding Ding... But usually, this would lead to Alex's angry rebuke and rebuttal, and then the two sides would start a confrontation like a shrew scolding in the street.
Whenever this happened, the Golov trio and the Black Cat Squad would tacitly move their chairs and watch quietly.
Chen Lun just smiled at this, and sometimes he would express his admiration to Fuluoyin about the great team atmosphere.
*
*
*
Time flies and it is May 11, 4420 in the solar calendar.
"Mysterious Age" is about to usher in the 2.0 version iteration.
In reality.
Azure Federation.
Gorgeous city.
In a corner of the North District Market, a young man in plain clothes was bargaining with the stall owner.
"Auntie, can you make this Bud White cheaper? 1200 credit points is too expensive, how about 500?"
"500?! You, Qitou, thought these were the 'technological green vegetables' from the Doug Consortium! These are what I grew day and night in my own vegetable garden! Do you know how much natural water and natural light cost per unit now? This is the Gorgeous City, not some remote village in the mountains. If you go to other places at this price, you can only get two rotten leaves. Be content!"
The proprietress, who looked to be in her forties, had long pink hair, silver lipstick and an e-cigarette dangling from the corner of her mouth. She scolded him mercilessly.
"Besides, who are you calling auntie?! How rude! Can't you tell I'm in my early sixteens?! Lose your star!"
After saying that, the proprietress took out her personal terminal and started watching short videos.
"Everyone, look carefully, this man is called Xiao Shuai..."
On the screen of the personal terminal, the scene of "Mysterious Age" is displayed. A player is exploring the natural forest of Wonderland and is going on an adventure with the AI narration that is so realistic and emotional.
Polaris saw the proprietress eating with great relish, but he shook his head helplessly.
Taking advantage of the few days of the 2.0 version update, he moved with his grandmother to the prosperous city of Gorgeous City in the Federation. Even though he had already made a lot of money in the game, his frugal habits from childhood allowed him to get up early every day to buy groceries, and then go home to cook for himself and his grandmother without wasting even a single credit point.
But just like the country bumpkins coming to the city in the old days, he and his grandmother have not yet adapted to the environment here. In addition to some unfamiliar high-tech infrastructure, the most important thing is... the people here don't seem to be easy to get along with.
"Well... Miss, 1200 is 1200, give me one box, and can you give me two boxes of beef as a bonus?"
Polaris gritted his teeth and continued pulling.
Unexpectedly, the proprietress glared at him fiercely while holding her e-cigarette.
"Who are you scolding?!"
"Forehead… "
Polaris suddenly found that the stall owners around him turned their heads to look at him, and he was a little confused.
"Call me pretty!"
The proprietress put her hands on her hips and waved.
"I'll give you two boxes of Doug Corporation's 'Hen Huo'. You'll definitely be full. In this day and age, meat is worth eight cents."
Polaris saw this and immediately called her a beautiful girl, which immediately made the lady boss smile. She skillfully picked out a box of lush green vegetables and paired it with two boxes of beef rolls, packed them into vacuum-sealed bags using a machine at hand, and handed them over.
Polaris paid the bill using his personal terminal, put his bags on the accompanying transporter, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and left quickly.
But soon after he left the market, a reminder sounded on his personal terminal.
Polaris raised his arm and operated it, and a projection screen appeared in front of him. On it was a window similar to a group chat, and the IDs were all familiar words.
"Hey, Polaris, are you okay? The version update will be finished in an hour, don't be late!"
Su Keying's window reveals her pink room, with all kinds of cute dolls and figures placed on the bed and in the cabinet behind her.
She seemed to have just gotten up. She was still wearing cartoon pajamas and her hair was not combed, making it look a little frizzy.
"I just bought some groceries and was about to go back to cook. It might take some time... But don't worry, I'll be online on time."
Polaris pressed the "auto-navigation" button on the transporter, sat down on it, and chuckled.
"I say, you are a rich man, but you are still so frugal. What kind of life are you living? Why don't you just open a new account and play ascetic monk with us?"
A mature young man wearing glasses appeared in the window in the upper left corner and said jokingly.
"Dongyang, you don't understand this, right? The reason why Brother Beizi is more successful than us is because of his rare character... If he were really like us, how could he be number one on the list?"
Goutoujin is a yellow-haired young man with tattoos on his face and ears, and an obvious mechanical structure on his neck.
Ma Ren, Kuang Ben Kuang, Long Wang, Chen Xi and others showed up to communicate. This group of high-level players had held an offline gathering after Polaris moved to the Gorgeous City, and they would also deepen their relationships through video group chats on weekdays.
Now everyone is like old friends, joking around all the time, and Polaris has gotten used to it.
"I'm almost home, let's talk after I start playing the game."
Polaris looked up at the spacious and bustling suspension track and the tall buildings at the corner, and spoke to the projection screen.
"Okay, that's it for now. Also, say hello to grandma for me."
Dongyang smiled gently.
After the others said a few words, Polaris smiled and turned off the projection screen.
He took a deep breath, got off the transporter, and pushed open the door to the apartment building.
After swiping the card, performing iris authentication, and being scanned by the machine security guard at the booth, Polaris was able to enter the elevator.
Every time this happened, he couldn't help but sigh. Although there were many rules and regulations in the Gorgeous City, and even entering and leaving the residence was inconvenient, the environment here was countless times better than that in the Tower City, and he didn't have to worry about him and his grandmother being robbed outside.
"It was the game "Secret Era" and Mr. Jack that changed my destiny..."
Polaris smiled and shook his head.
After a moment.
Grandma used her sophisticated mechanical prosthesis to clean the table and urged kindly:
"Abei, go play video games. Your friends should be waiting for you. I'll take care of these things."
Polaris glanced at the virtual clock on the windowsill, thanked his grandmother, and then returned to his room.
He took a deep breath and lay down in his newly purchased brand new sleeping cabin, the latest model "Casca 2000".
The base, customized according to Polaris's body data, perfectly conforms to the principles of ergonomics. Combined with the high-tech nanomaterials of the "Dancer" Consortium, he instantly feels extremely comfortable.
As the colorless and odorless nutrient solution gradually flowed over his mouth and nose, the data cable connected to the interface behind his head.
User "Polaris" requested access to…
The game "Secret Era" is connecting...
Connection successful!
Data is loading...
Loading successfully!
Wow!
Polaris suddenly felt a white light suddenly appear in the pitch-black vision.
Under a kerosene chandelier, in the dim light, a familiar wardrobe and full-length mirror appeared before his eyes. He walked forward with anticipation and read his character data.
Immediately, there was a loud bang!
Polaris instantly found himself on a fierce battlefield, surrounded by densely packed troops and cavalry, as well as countless artillery shells and bullets, which were streaking dense trajectories in the air.
He was not panicked, and even showed excitement on his face.
Because he knew that this was the 2.0 version of the opening CG!
Soon, Polaris discovered a familiar voice, the female narrator from the 1.0 version public beta test—
"War... War never stops. On May 11, 4420 of the solar calendar, the war between the Trisur Empire and the United Kingdom of Anlong began..."