The forest in the early morning is always accompanied by vibrant scenes.
After a night of rest, the animals emerged from their dens, beginning their day's efforts for survival.
Jiang Hao also stepped out of his makeshift shelter.
After washing up, he picked up a few unknown fruits, ate them for breakfast, and at the same time looked at the light screen in front of him.
"Only fourteen people signed up?"
Seeing the number of sign-ups, Jiang Hao was a little disappointed, but then he immediately laughed out loud.
"Heh heh, you will regret it later."
After speaking, he immediately began to check the information they had filled out.
"Old Jiang is here too, hmm~ we're old friends, so I'll pull some strings for you and count you in."
"This person is good, select him for the first batch of beta Players."
Soon, Jiang Hao finalized the first five Players.
He didn't choose randomly; he selected people with professional or relevant backgrounds based on current development needs.
For example, those who can make tools, have wilderness survival experience, or enjoy outdoor activities.
Although there were none of these in the first batch, he was still picking the best of the bunch, selecting the cream of the crop.
"Lilith."
"I am here."
"Don't talk like a voice assistant."
"Oh~"
"These five will be the first batch of Players. I'll leave it to you to deliver the helmets to them."
"No problem, Master, but each helmet costs fifty Soul Power," Lilith said, still looking innocent.
Jiang Hao's eyelids twitched involuntarily; he hadn't expected that delivering helmets would also consume Soul Power.
"You should hang your boss on a lamppost; I'm completely working for him, and he still charges a fee!"
Jiang Hao complained, feeling dissatisfied.
As for who Lilith's boss was, of course, it was also his boss—the Earth Will.
But Lilith didn't mind Jiang Hao's complaints and still looked at him with that adorable face.
That look already made it clear that there was no room for negotiation.
"Forget it, there's no gain without pain. The Players will earn it back for me in the future."
Jiang Hao could only comfort himself with this reasoning.
"Then send them, but don't deliver them immediately. It's best to wait a day; you can refer to Earth's express delivery methods to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Jiang Hao did not forget to remind her again.
What if Lilith made the game helmets suddenly appear in front of the Players? That would scare them to death.
After explaining everything, Jiang Hao also finished his breakfast and walked to the corner to pick up his weapon and go hunting.
But as soon as he picked up the spear, he suddenly froze, his body rigid in place.
Lilith was still flying beside him.
However, seeing her Master's unusual behavior, she also looked at Jiang Hao with curious eyes.
Jiang Hao turned to Lilith, his expression a mix of anticipation and caution as he asked, "Lilith."
"Is there anything else Lilith needs to do, Master?" Lilith immediately flew in front of him.
Jiang Hao swallowed, then asked again, "Since you can spend Soul Power to send things to Earth, does that mean you can also send things from Earth here?"
"Yes, Master," Lilith immediately confirmed.
But before Jiang Hao could rejoice, she revealed another cruel reality.
"However, transferring items from Earth Will cost more Soul Power. For example, a cubic meter of an item, first, it must not be a living organism, and it requires a thousand Soul Power."
Hearing that it was actually possible, Jiang Hao was overjoyed, even though the cost was a bit high.
But he was now practically unarmed, as primitive as could be.
If he had the chance to get support from Earth, this cost would be nothing.
Thinking of this, Jiang Hao immediately grabbed his other equipment and walked out.
He now only had 250 Soul Power points left, so he had to hurry and hunt some prey.
Replenishing Soul Power was one aspect, and at the same time, he needed to prepare enough food for the upcoming Players.
He also didn't forget to continue asking Lilith about her abilities and other uses of Soul Power.
Having been tricked twice already, Jiang Hao wouldn't assume Lilith would voluntarily reveal these things.
...
"Ah, an all-nighter passed so quickly. As expected, playing games at an internet cafe is the best," Ye Lei yawned as he walked out of the internet cafe.
He bought a few Jianbing Guozis by the roadside, took one out, and walked towards his dormitory while eating it.
As a sophomore student, he had plenty of free time, so he would relax on weekends.
And his way of relaxing was to play games all night at an internet cafe, then go back to the dorm for a good sleep.
As soon as he pushed open the dormitory door, several heads poked out from their beds.
"Time for breakfast, sons!"
He greeted them, casually tossing the Jianbing Guozis he brought for his roommates onto the table.
"Woohoo! I smell the aroma of Jianbing Guozis!" The three roommates immediately cheered and jumped out of bed, each grabbing a Jianbing Guozi and starting to eat.
Ye Lei didn't bother with them; after an all-nighter, he was very tired. He had been fine outside.
Now that he was back in the dorm, the sleepiness intensified.
But just as he was about to turn to wash up, his roommates, who were eating Jianbing Guozis, called out to him.
"Leizi, you have a package. I put it on your desk."
"A package? I didn't buy anything," Ye Lei, who was about to wash up, turned to see a cardboard box about fifty centimeters long on his desk, feeling confused.
The three people eating Jianbing Guozis gathered around Ye Lei's desk, still eating. "I opened the dorm door this morning and saw it at the entrance. It had your name on it."
"Maybe it's a gift from a girl who has a crush on you? There's only recipient information, no sender at all. Hehe, spill the beans!" Another classmate immediately said with a mischievous smile.
Ye Lei glared at him, annoyed.
"Our school is famous for being a Shaolin Temple; there aren't many females. Do you think a girl would send me a gift?"
The others weren't embarrassed and immediately egged him on to open it and see.
Ye Lei didn't refuse, pulling out his key to use as a knife, cutting open the tape, and opening the cardboard box.
He vaguely saw a black, spherical object wrapped in plastic film.
It looked like a helmet.
Seeing this, Ye Lei's heart skipped a beat.
"Holy crap! This, this, this... Could it be true? That sign-up wasn't a joke?"
Ye Lei immediately ignored his friends, grabbed the helmet from the box, and violently tore open the plastic bag.
Suddenly, a shiny black, very sci-fi-looking helmet appeared before them.
"What is this?"
"Why did you buy a motorcycle helmet?"
"It's not a motorcycle helmet, is it? It looks more like an armor helmet. Look at the eye part, just a white line. Leizi, are you playing cosplay?"
The three roommates discussed the strangely shaped helmet.
Only Ye Lei held the helmet, too excited to speak.
It was his roommate who saw him still standing there, holding the helmet in a daze.
He nudged him, waking him from his shock.
"What exactly is this thing?"
Ye Lei blinked, then said in a somewhat dazed voice, "A 100% immersive gaming helmet."
"What?" The three roommates didn't understand what he said.
Ye Lei swallowed, held the helmet in his hand higher, and repeated excitedly, "This is a helmet for a 100% immersive game!"
"Tch, fine if you don't want to say. I'm going to catch up on sleep. Be quiet when you guys play games later," one of the roommates, seeing him still looking dazed, immediately didn't want to dwell on it anymore.
As for what Ye Lei said about a 100% immersive gaming helmet, he just thought the guy was joking.
The other two were much the same, finding excuses to slip away.
"It's true, you believe me!" Seeing them about to leave, Ye Lei immediately explained how he found out about the game's beta test in the group yesterday morning and how he filled out the information.
His roommates, seeing how seriously he spoke, again looked at the helmet in his hand with skeptical eyes.
After Ye Lei finished explaining, he ignored their gazes and immediately put the helmet on his head.