“This is a fishing machine.” Lin Wan pointed at one where several children were playing.
On the large table-like screen of the fishing machine, dense schools of underwater creatures swam about. A single cannon shot went boom, spreading a net that caught a big sea turtle, turning it into a score number that added to the player’s total.
“This is racing.” Lu Zheng nodded toward five side-by-side simulated driving seats nearby.
Four of the five seats were occupied, one adult and three children, all fully absorbed in the race, twisting their bodies along with the steering wheels, completely immersed.
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan led Si Lingxi and the other two women on a rough circuit of the amusement arcade.
Shen Ying clapped and laughed. “Fun, really fun. I never expected such entertaining things here. Lu Lang, why didn’t you bring any of this over before?”
Lu Zheng was speechless. “These things are far too conspicuous. If I took them over, it would be like openly revealing everything!”
“What is that?” Liu Qingyan pointed to one side.
Everyone looked over and saw several young people seated, holding special joysticks, wearing blindfolds that covered their eyes and headphones.
“That is VR equipment, a kind of immersive gaming experience.” Lu Zheng explained briefly, then added, “You will understand once you try it.”
He led the women to the entrance of the VR experience zone.
“Is it separate payment here, or included with the arcade card?” Lu Zheng asked.
“Separate payment.” the attendant replied.
“What games do you have?” Lu Zheng asked.
“There are quite a few…” The attendant could not help glancing at the four stunning beauties behind Lu Zheng. “For racing types, we have polar skiing, car racing, sword flight, interstellar flight. For combat, there is star wars, return to Jurassic, biohazard crisis, mecha battles. Others include horror town, doomsday gold rush, that sort of adventure game.”
“Sword flight?” Si Lingxi suddenly showed interest.
“Er, yes!” the attendant answered quickly. “That game has official licensing from The Legend of Sword and Fairy. It features classic scenes from the game. It is a racing game, perfect for five people to compete.”
“Then let’s do one round.” Lu Zheng nodded and took out his phone to pay.
“Excellent, this way please!”
The attendant immediately led the five to a row of empty seats, had them stand in fixed positions, secured their feet and lower legs, fitted the VR headsets, and handed them controllers.
“At the start there will be a tutorial. Just tilt the controller to steer and control speed.”
Once everyone nodded that they understood, he turned back to the computer and launched the game.
The complete darkness in front of their eyes suddenly turned to full colour. They were surrounded by clouds, mist, and immortal mountains. A cyan dragon coiled nearby. Faint arrows guided the path ahead, with flashing spirit stones along the way. This greatly amused Liu Qingyan and the others.
Not just them, even modern people accustomed to many things were captivated the first time they tried VR. It had sparked huge popularity and even a brief capital frenzy.
However…
“An illusion array?” Liu Qingyan asked.
“Not an illusion array.” Si Lingxi shook her head lightly.
“Far inferior to an illusion array!” Shen Ying said with a pout.
Lu Zheng, “…”
Fortunately, the tutorial ended quickly. Everyone selected their avatars, and the game soon began the competition phase. They could look around and even see each other.
“Not bad, quite enjoyable.” Liu Qingyan’s standards were never high.
But Shen Ying was rather speechless. “This sword flight is actually just standing on the sword?”
As if she had never seen how Yan Hongxia truly wielded a sword. Clearly it involved a sword glow enveloping the body.
Standing on the sword to fly… was that a joke?
“Ahem!” Lu Zheng cleared his throat. His divine sense had already “seen” many onlookers gathering because four beauties were playing, crowding around the front monitors. He quickly reminded them, “Get ready, everyone. It is about to start. Let’s race and see who comes first!”
A single VR session cost dozens of yuan but lasted barely ten minutes, hardly cheap. So when people played these motion-sensing games, quite a few spectators gathered.
They enjoyed watching the screen while also seeing players scream and react, especially now with four beautiful women playing.
The instant Lu Zheng finished speaking, the game began!
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
On the monitors, the five figures shot down from a mountain peak on flying swords. In reality, the platforms under their feet tilted forward.
Ordinary people would already be screaming from the sensation of falling, but…
Including Lin Wan, all five remained completely silent.
“These four girls are impressive! Just watching the screen made me feel weightless for a second!”
“Awesome, awesome!”
“No rush, there are more scenes coming. General’s Tomb, Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, Water Demon Beast, you know what I mean.”
Yet as time passed…
“Holy crap?”
“They haven’t lost a single point?”
“Insane skill!”
“Bloody hell, are they pros?”
The game was reasonably well-made. Though the overall direction was the same, it branched into many paths, some short, some long, some easy, some hard, some safe, some dangerous, all freely choosable.
The five did not take identical routes, but they all collected every visible spirit stone for points, avoided every monster that would deduct score, maximised gains, and reached the finish.
There was no helping it. For the five of them, the reaction speed this game demanded truly did not exceed their abilities.
In the end, first place went to Shen Ying, because she got lucky and chose the shortest route.
Removing the headsets, Lu Zheng smiled. “Play again?”
Si Lingxi shook her head. “No need. Too simple.”
Everyone, “…”
Once they understood what VR was, the women’s curiosity faded. Though they were mildly interested in other game styles, they had no desire to be gawked at.
Leaving the VR zone, they lost interest in other game types too, but eventually stopped in front of a row of claw machines.
“So cute!” Liu Qingyan’s eyes turned heart-shaped as she gazed at a cartoon plush rabbit inside one machine.
Shen Ying nodded repeatedly in agreement, and even Si Lingxi’s gaze lingered on the plush toys.
Just then, a young couple nearby moved the claw and began a grab.
“Got it!”
The girl cheered, only to watch the claw wobble as it lifted, then the doll dropped back down. The claw automatically returned to start position and gently opened.
“Ah…” Both sighed together.
