Hai City, as a first-tier city in Zhongzhou Country, boasts incredibly fast delivery services.
By 3 PM the next afternoon, Ye Sangsang had already received the equipment.
She had expected a bulky, head-covering helmet-like device to receive brain signals.
She had even thought about where to hide it temporarily to avoid being discovered by the nurses and caregivers.
To her surprise, the gaming device was incredibly compact—a sleek black neckband.
Once fastened around her neck, it fit snugly, its metallic material surprisingly soft. The silver ring-like device at the back of her neck was the key transmission component.
At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for a piece of jewelry.
Sitting in her wheelchair, she fiddled with the device for a while before setting it down.
She then picked up the box that came with the device, which contained a wireless charger, an instruction manual, and a black card adorned with the official logo of a sword, rose, and scale, its edges tinged with a vivid red hue.
The card bore a line of text.
After reading it, Ye Sangsang smiled.
She had guessed right—the game company wasn’t giving these away for free.
The message on the card was straightforward: beta testers had to agree to have their gameplay livestreamed in full.
If unwilling, Star Ring would reclaim the device.
If willing, all she had to do was sign her name on the card.
Star Ring would receive the information through the card, process it, and send back a confirmation. Once the card’s chip was attached to the device, it would unlock and activate.
Ye Sangsang didn’t mind the livestream, but she didn’t have a pen. When the nurse came to give her medication, she borrowed one and signed her name.
The caregiver would naturally return the pen to its place the next time they came by.
That night, Ye Sangsang successfully logged into the game.
According to the manual, once inside the game, her external body would appear to be asleep. Unless subjected to intense external stimuli, there would be no noticeable physical reactions.
Closing her eyes, she was enveloped in darkness.
Two seconds later, the Star Ring logo appeared before her, and the surroundings brightened. The words "Criminal Files" in black materialized.
[Welcome, beta tester: Ye Sangsang. Please enter your game ID.]
[Note: Once entered, it cannot be changed for 90 days.]
Ye Sangsang looked at the virtual screen in front of her and typed in her name: Ye Sangsang.
[Player ID: Ye Sangsang]
[Mental Strength: 8 (10)]
[Intelligence: 8 (10)]
[Physical Strength: 3 (10)]
[Overall Evaluation: It is not recommended for you to confront anyone directly. Killing a chicken would be a challenging task for you.]
Ye Sangsang stared silently. This holographic game even tested these attributes?
Next came 99 game guidelines, including how to exit in an emergency, warnings about potential dangers in the game environment, and more.
After clicking "Confirm," a white space appeared with a selection of game scenarios.
Below the options was a game explanation. Ye Sangsang skimmed through it.
The rules were simple: once a scenario was chosen, players would draw an identity card.
Based on the identity drawn, players had to role-play and complete the corresponding storyline.
If drawn as an investigator, the player had to solve a case within a set timeframe.
If drawn as a criminal, the goal was to commit a crime, ideally replicating it perfectly.
Victims had it relatively "easier." Their scenarios were somewhat like survival games, with three possible outcomes: being harmed, killed, or escaping alive.
After completion, players would receive different ratings based on their performance, which would determine the game rewards.
These rewards included but were not limited to: hints about the culprit, skipping parts of the storyline, saving progress, increasing in-game stamina, and obtaining additional clues.
In the official version, players could choose their identities, but during the beta test, identities were randomly assigned by the system.
Ye Sangsang figured this was likely to maintain unpredictability and keep the livestream audience engaged.
[Ding, player, your livestream is now active. Please prepare accordingly.]
[The livestream will be hosted on Star Ring’s platform, Star Ring Live. A livestream account has been created and approved for you. You can log in to view it after exiting the game.]
Ye Sangsang was momentarily stunned, then noticed a small screen appear in the upper right corner of her vision, with a flood of comments scrolling below.
[Wow! Instant beauty overload!]
[Did Star Ring pick a celebrity for the beta test? I don’t recognize her. But she looks... fragile.]
[This beauty looks like a total noob at games, especially a deduction game like this. It takes brains to outsmart others. Is she up for it? I bet she’ll freak out at the first sign of trouble.]
The black text of the comments had no borders but was confined to a specific area. Ye Sangsang had to tilt her head slightly to read them.
Noticing the double arrows for collapsing and expanding the comments, she tapped to fold them away.
The livestream screen, however, couldn’t be minimized—it was the live view.
Ye Sangsang began selecting a scenario from "Criminal Files."
Based on the promotional videos and the official website description, these scenarios were inspired by real-life cases. The game’s details were meticulously crafted, with actual case files referenced and enhanced by super-intelligent simulations.
The level of realism was astonishing, with the ability to connect to real-world data for further development and completion.
After browsing for a while, Ye Sangsang found them all somewhat similar and randomly selected one, clicking "Start Game."
A strange sense of weightlessness washed over her.
The first sense to return was her hearing—the sound of rain pattering against the ground and windows.
Opening her eyes, she saw streaks of light and heard the sound of tires splashing through puddles.
In front of her was a steering wheel, and the streetlights cast a hazy glow through the rainy night.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Just as her mind began to clear, the sound of someone tapping on her car window reached her ears.
She turned her head to look.
A face was pressed against the window—a middle-aged man with a stubbly chin, dark skin, and an honest demeanor.
Through the window, Ye Sangsang tried to decipher the man’s lip movements.
She guessed he was saying, "Hey, driver, are you available?"
She glanced at the right front of the car and the passenger seat. The right front displayed a taxi sign, and the passenger seat had the driver’s information.
In an instant, Ye Sangsang realized she was now playing the role of a taxi driver.
[Player, you have entered the game. Please follow the rules and begin the "Rainy Night Taxi" scenario.]
[Your identity card has been drawn.]
[Criminal]
The word "Criminal" floated in the air for two seconds before dissipating like smoke.
If not for the disappearing text and the game notification, Ye Sangsang might have thought she had traveled to another world.
Instinctively, she pressed the button to unlock the doors. The sound of the doors unlocking prompted viewers familiar with the scenario to erupt in excitement.
[Oh no, the infamous "Rainy Night Taxi" scenario!]
[This poor girl is in for a rough ride. The people in this scenario are brutal.]
[Playing as the criminal? The victim might just turn the tables and kill her instead.]
This case was infamous, having shocked Jiang City years ago.
Not only was the criminal exceptionally vicious, but the victim was no saint either.
The taxi driver, about to end his shift on a rainy night, had picked up the victim, Wang Shun.
Wang Shun was a notorious bandit who would even consider killing a stray dog for a meal. That night, he had set out to rob a taxi driver.
In the early 2000s, surveillance was sparse, and taxi drivers often carried cash. The cars themselves were valuable, making them prime targets. Wang Shun had been prowling Jiang City, targeting drivers late at night, robbing them of their money and vehicles, and often killing them.
This time, he had chosen Ye Sangsang’s taxi.
A weakling with a physical strength of 3, pitted against a seasoned bandit, seemed like a lamb to the slaughter. No matter how clever she was, the audience doubted she stood a chance.
Now that Ye Sangsang had unlocked the doors, allowing him inside, she was about to face her first life-or-death challenge.
[I give her ten minutes before she’s slit throat.]
[Such a pretty girl—she’ll probably quit the game in terror. Hehe.]
[If she can’t handle it, I’d be willing to buy her beta slot at a high price. Women just aren’t cut out for this kind of game.]
As the bandit opened the rear door, removed his black raincoat, and settled into the back seat, the comments section exploded with mockery.
Ye Sangsang had already collapsed the comments, so she couldn’t see them. Even if she could, she wouldn’t have cared.
She placed her hands on the steering wheel, but her eyes scanned the case details provided by the system.
The case overview was vague, offering only a brief biography of the taxi driver, along with the approximate time, location, and method of how the taxi driver had killed the habitual criminal, Wang Shun, in self-defense.
At the end were some photos taken by the coroner after Wang Shun's death, as well as the tools used in the killing.
After reading through it, Ye Sangsang tilted her head slightly and glanced at the person in the back seat. "Hello, where to?"
"Tianjia Dam," Wang Shun replied gruffly, pulling his jacket tighter to conceal the small knife he had tucked away.
Ye Sangsang hummed in acknowledgment and started the car.
She knew how to drive.
Even if she didn’t, the game would make sure she did.
She felt exhilarated, as it had been a long time since she’d experienced such freedom of movement.
Even though the smell of rainwater that had come in when she opened the door, combined with the lingering leather scent in the taxi, was unpleasant, she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
The holographic game truly lived up to its reputation of being ultra-intelligent. Whenever Ye Sangsang wasn’t familiar with the route, it would whisper directions into her ear.
People walked slowly along the roadside under umbrellas, and the streets were illuminated by the glow of streetlights and neon signs.
It felt incredibly real, just like the actual world.
Exactly as the official advertisements had promised.
However, she hadn’t forgotten that a habitual criminal was sitting behind her.
If she wasn’t careful, she could end up dead at the hands of this criminal.
She hadn’t yet experienced the taste of death, and out of curiosity, Ye Sangsang turned her head to look at Wang Shun and asked, "It’s late, and it’s pouring rain. Do you live in Tianjia Dam?" She reached out, feeling around her body and then the storage compartment below the car door. "I’m out of cigarettes, otherwise I could’ve had a smoke."
Based on her observation of her body, she was currently inhabiting a male form—about 175 centimeters tall, lean but fairly strong.
Of course, this was just the appearance. In reality, the game had incorporated her actual physical stamina.
Probably to increase the difficulty for players.
Otherwise, knowing the plot and having ample stamina would make the game too easy, reducing its playability.
Inside the taxi, after Ye Sangsang spoke, Wang Shun took out a cigarette and extended his hand, tapping her right shoulder with it. "Here, have one."
Without hesitation, Ye Sangsang took the cigarette while still driving, tilting her head slightly to light it from the lighter Wang Shun held out.
Her gaze shifted downward, and she calmly turned her head to take a drag.
"Thanks, brother," Ye Sangsang said.
[Ugh, Ye Sangsang is actually making small talk with him.]
[Maybe she thinks she can charm her way out of this, hahaha…]
[LOL, I bet she’s secretly trembling with fear inside.]
The comments section was filled with laughter, eagerly waiting to see Ye Sangsang break down in tears.
Only about 1,500 people in the country had been lucky enough to win the beta test slots.
To the viewers, someone as delicate and beautiful as Ye Sangsang should’ve immediately begged for mercy, quit the game, and handed over her slot to someone else.
The only reason they were still watching her was because of her striking beauty.
The car continued toward Tianjia Dam, and the rain grew heavier, as if a hole had been torn open in the sky.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere inside the car grew tense.
As Ye Sangsang took the last drag of her cigarette, her hand had already reached for the hammer the driver had prepared earlier.
