Lucky Cat

1 : A Lucky Cat is Born

"Ding! Player Bai XiaoYu's iris and fingerprint IDs are set. Full-body scan complete. Bank of Earth bank account bound. Do you wish to continue to Character Customisation now?"

"Yes." Bai XiaoYu lightly tapped on the "Yes" button in the dialogue box before him. He only saw that everything around him whirled into a blur.

When he adjusted his vision, a huge mirror was standing right in front of him. The him in the mirror looked exactly like him in reality except he would definitely not wear the novice equipment he's wearing now - a white t-shirt with suspender shorts.

"Please adjust your appearance and height, with a difference of up to 50% either way." The cold voice of the server rang out once more. Beside his reflection in the mirror, there appeared a whole bunch of plus and minus symbols. Bai XiaoYu thought, these are probably used to adjust his appearance.

However with the many buttons for adjusting his appearance all tightly packed together, Bai XiaoYu was so overwhelmed that his vision blurred. If he really wanted to adjust each and every minute detail, he'd probably spend more than an hour.

"Do not adjust." He who hated troubling himself promptly chose not to adjust anything. He had essentially zero friends in real life anyway. Even if someone has seen his real appearance before, no one would even come forward and talk to him.

"Please enter your game ID." In the blink of an eye, the mirror disappeared. A blank text box and a transparent keyboard materialised in front of him.

Bai XiaoYu didn't pause for a single moment and instantly entered the username he had chosen before entering the game, "LuckyCat".

"ID: LuckyCat. The name is available. Confirm?"

"Confirm."

"Player Bai XiaoYu. Game ID: LuckyCat. Account created. Do you wish to enter the game?"

"Yes."

"Welcome, LuckyCat, to Asgard Online. The system will send you a random gift. Please check your mailbox. As LuckyCat is using a smart game pod, 800 Earth Dollars will be automatically deducted from the player's bound bank account every 30 days.

When the account's balance is insufficient, the system will kick the player out of the game. Players can look up their bank balance through the System Menu. Happy gaming!" (Since smart game pods require a nutritional solution, the monthly fee is 800 ED. The monthly bill for gaming beds is 300 ED. )

A series of strong and blinding white rays flashed by. Bai XiaoYu had to shut his eyes. When he opened them once more, he found himself standing in the middle of a meadow.

To be exact, he stood on a floating oval piece of land that is roughly as large as a football field with only a 10 metres-long bridge leading to a castle on another similar floating island. This should be the Novice Training Camp mentioned in the introduction.

A cool breeze blew around him. XiaoYu shivered. It's probably because he's standing in the middle of the sky while wearing such light clothes. The emptiness all around him felt exceedingly eerie and desolate.

It's not an unusual sight. The game has already been launched for over a year. Other than those who commit suicide to start over again or those who'd just come of age and be legally permitted to play online games, there shouldn't be any more new players.

Naturally, it's rather improbable for people to appear on this floating Novice Training Camp. It's not that the other players don't want to come here, rather they can't. Once a player completes the Tutorial Quests, they would be immediately teleported to the Newbie Village - only there would the game actually begin - but there are no portals that lead back to here from the village.

Bai XiaoYu rubbed at the non-existent goose bumps on his body -it's just his mind running wild - then pumped himself up and began walking on the only bridge towards the Novice Training Camp. From today onwards, he must start to learn how to be a professional gamer. He had got to work hard.

In the technologically advanced 23rd century, virtual reality games are something nearly every household and every home has set up. The average white-collar worker might not afford an expensive smart game pod but they are still able to buy a gaming bed.

Those with a higher could choose the more comfortable smart game pod. The game company would send professionals to connect the plumbing for nutritional solutions.

This way, the company can ensure the players' bodies are not affected in any way even if they don't log off for a long time. Due to how expensive the pods are, they're not very popular.

And our protagonist, Bai XiaoYu, actually shouldn't be able to afford a game pod.

First, the Bai family can only be considered an ordinary household. In a car accident one year ago, Bai XiaoYu's parents passed away. In the modern period where smart cars are everywhere vehicle accidents ought to be very rare, unless an A.I. malfunction occurred.

It just so happened that that accident occurred because the driver did not send the car's A.I. in for maintenance on time. It resulted in a malfunction in the system and crashed into the Bai couple who were crossing the road at the time, leaving their only son Bai XiaoYu who'd just entered university.

Even though the court case was won in half a year with XiaoYu being paid a large sum as compensation, he was already exhausted through and through. He chose to quit and stayed at home. A very important reason being that tragedy left an emotional scar in him.

As soon as he saw an automated vehicle on the road, he'd be terrified that it'd get out of control and crash into him. He also had no living relatives left, and his inherent introverted nature did not make any close friends. Thus there was no one around to counsel and console him. This scar can be considered to be deeply rooted in his heart.

Supermarkets these days all have an online shop. You can just buy any food or necessity you want online and it will be sent straight to your door. And so Bai XiaoYu would not leave the house, not even a single step out the door.

Day in, day out he'd be nested in his home playing online games or reading. After all with that compensation money, plus his inheritance from his parents and the government's monthly allowance of 600 ED, he'd have no issues if he lived frugally.

The of age Bai XiaoYu could already play virtual reality games. When Asgard Online first launched, he thought of buying a gaming bed. At that time, he'd just become an adult legally and was admitted into university. This game felt like it was maturing with him. How could he not be excited?

It's a pity that the above chain of events happened before he bought one. This led to the days of virtual reality games being pushed back indefinitely.

By now the game has been online for a year. Going in as a new player would burn not only 300 ED monthly, but the cost of buying a gaming bed and the game itself would also be a rather large initial cost. To Bai XiaoYu who planned on huddling in his home for his whole life, wherever he can save he will.

Even now with the bank interest and the government's allowance, he could just about balance out the month's bills. It's not possible for him to go to work.

At the sight of streets full of automated vehicles, his legs turn into goo. Don't even bother to mention sitting down. If he accidentally spends too much, it'd lead to his later years having as much food as a mountain after a year of drought. He really wouldn't know how he should continue living then.

It was the day when he'd head online to buy some food and essentials again. As the reserved XiaoYu disliked interacting too many times with other people, he would buy a month's supplies in one go. That way, the courier would only come to his door once a month.