Xu Huo looked down at his hands; sight, touch, and even his posture and body shape were all incredibly realistic—only his skin was slightly improved, and his clothing had changed into the selected game attire.
Like the other four people in the room, he wore the same tailcoat, while the other four were donning lion, tiger, seal, and fox masks respectively.
After exchanging greetings, one of them said, "I don’t even know what the content of tonight’s night tour is, Rong Xin did a good job keeping it secret."
The one who had spoken was the person Xu Huo was looking for, wearing the fox mask.
"I’ve never been interested in games without much substance, but this one’s been hyped up as mysterious. I heard they even invited some big shots to boost the event. Say what you will, but it’d be great to meet some higher-ups," Seal said candidly.
"If that’s what you’re aiming for, I think you’re in the wrong place," Lion said. "At such gatherings, don’t they only recognize power? Either you must be rich, hold power, and have resources, otherwise those snobs won’t even glance at you... Heh, but if you’re good-looking and charming, scoring a couple of rich women wouldn’t be bad."
Seal didn’t argue but chuckled lewdly instead, "Though it’s not real life in the game, ninety-five percent of the real sensation is preserved. Those female players are all prim and proper usually, but there are quite a few here looking for fun—as long as it’s just for kicks, not like we’re using live ammunition."
Lion laughed along as if this was nothing more than a pleasurable hunting-for-women affair.
"With the way you guys look, I guarantee no female player will be interested," said Tiger, who had been silent, revealing herself to be a woman.
All four men in the room looked over at Tiger, who was dressed in a men’s suit, large and broad-shouldered with a buzz cut, not outwardly distinguishable as a woman.
Seal fell silent for two seconds, then somewhat peeved, retorted, "What’re you pretending for? You’re not the kind of woman men want either."
"All right, all right, let’s all calm down a bit, we’re all here to have fun," Fox quickly interjected, trying to defuse the tension. "Shouldn’t we be heading out?"
Just then, the lights in the room suddenly went out, and flames sprung up from the four corners, while music began to drift in from somewhere outside.
"Is the banquet starting?" Lion walked over to open the door, peeked outside, and turned back to report, "It’s really dark out there."
"There are candles here," Seal said, taking the lead and picking up a silver candlestick from a nearby round table.
"Five candlesticks, one for each of us, it seems," Tiger said, also picking one up.
Each person took a lit candlestick and stepped out to find others in the corridor also emerging with candlesticks in hand.
The range lit by the candles was limited, and even with so many, it was not bright enough for the unusually spacious corridor, plus Xu Huo noticed he had lost his night vision capabilities.
"After all, it’s a game; it can’t completely mimic the player’s physical functions," Tiger noted, sensing the shortfall wasn’t unique to her.
"Surely we’re not expected to take a night tour in this pitch darkness?" Seal said. "You can’t even see the reliefs."
Following the crowd moving in one direction, Fox asked, "What’s so interesting about reliefs? Aren’t they all pretty similar?"
"That’s where you’re wrong," Seal replied and deliberately paused, "The art director for the court’s night tour is from the D12 Wormhole Point, brought in by Rongxin Group. They’re quite famous in other gaming worlds. It’s said to be a dying super player’s final work. Every painting and replicated relief imbued with that player’s traits can induce hallucinations in some people." After a pause, Seal added with emphasis, "You don’t know the benefits of experiencing hallucinations, do you?"
"Stop beating around the bush," Fox urged.
"I’ve only heard it said that it can make a person evolve again," Seal intoned mysteriously.
"Could it be Super Evolution?" Lion asked.
"How could that be possible? Even if you saw a Super Player’s true form, you wouldn’t necessarily achieve Super Evolution," Seal said with pride. "It’s said that some players suddenly become very powerful, as if some mechanism in their body was activated."
"How powerful?" someone passing by also leaned in to listen.
"How would I know?" Seal was unwilling to say more.
Nearby, some people couldn’t help but raise their candles to examine the bas-relief murals on both sides of the corridor.
Xu Huo also approached the murals, slowing his pace to examine them closely.
Viewed in sequence, these murals depicted a saga of pilgrimage. The story suggested that a group of believers, while pursuing the sacred, encountered Aliens. When besieged, a divine miracle suddenly descended, and all the believers became brave and skilled warriors. After killing all the Aliens, they finally caught up with the sacred.
But by that time, most of the believers had perished, with only three exceptionally strong individuals surviving. These three received divine guidance and passed the miracle on to many more believers.
The narrative was steeped in intense religious hues, cleverly adapted to the times by substituting traditional religious demons, diseases, and miseries with Aliens.
Xu Huo lost interest after a short while.
This was not surprising.
At its core, religion served humanity as a spiritual guide and pillar. In a game world, where the most terrifying entities became Aliens, it was natural for some to concoct these kinds of spiritual supports to combat fear, especially at Wormhole Points where the game atmosphere was more prolonged. Such religiously tinted narratives were more likely to flourish there.
In places like Zone 014, even within such a short period, a bunch of people popped up to indoctrinate others. The state of other gaming sectors could only be imagined, especially when the players had acquired special abilities and items, making hypnotic suggestions and influence over others even easier.
Combining what Seal said with the content of the murals, it was easy to understand. Players were human too, with instincts of fear, apprehension, and reluctance to fight. Suggestion could diminish these emotions, enabling actions beyond natural human capabilities.
Of course, this influence had both positive and negative aspects. Some cults brainwashed their followers into sacrificing themselves for their faith, and there were real cases of suicide or homicide, akin to madmen, incomprehensible to ordinary people.
Most people were disinterested in these murals, their candlelight flowing together and gradually converging inside a grand hall.
At the center of the hall was a round podium for preaching, surrounded by a crowd of people. Xu Huo and his companions, arriving late, were blocked outside. He glanced at Fox trying to squeeze into the crowd, then turned towards the second floor.
The second floor was a small corridor that wrapped around the outside of the grand hall’s columns. Many who found the first floor too crowded had come up here with a clear view of most of the hall.
Xu Huo kept an eye on Fox and quickly spotted the middle-aged man he was tracking, who wore a Hyena mask and did not approach Fox. Instead, he maintained a distance, watching carefully.
In the bustling crowd, he noticed someone wearing a Black Wolf Mask subtly moving closer to Fox.
After pausing for a few seconds on these three individuals, Xu Huo then looked towards the center of the grand hall at the preaching podium, where the silhouette of a white-haired man was slowly projected.