My courtyard shelter

Early the next morning, Xu Dong left Yuhuan City alone and flew to Shanghai and Beijing.

As for Father Xu and others, they need to stay to complete the handover of the company and the subsequent relocation. This matter will not be finished until ten days and a half.

Coming out of the Shanghai-Beijing International Airport, what you see is an extremely prosperous metropolis. Xu Dong has not been here for almost ten years, and everything seems familiar and strange at the same time.

Compared to the great expansion of the metropolitan area.

The administrative divisions of Shanghai and Beijing have not changed much. In the past two or three years, due to the drop in sea levels, the land area has barely exceeded 10,000 square kilometers.

However, this did not delay the development of Shanghai and Beijing at all.

Although the total population of Shanghai and Beijing is less than one-third of the capital, its development potential cannot be underestimated. Especially with the signing of the Asia-Pacific Treaty, it has become the foreign trade and financial center of the entire Western Pacific region.

Seeing the guest staring out the window, the taxi driver couldn't help but asked curiously: "Brother, is this your first time in Shanghai and Beijing?"

Anyone who can afford to fly is a wealthy person.

The driver master didn't dare to underestimate the other party.

"I haven't been here for almost ten years!"

Xu Dong sighed.

"Where are you from?"

"My hometown is Wanzhou, and I now live in the capital."

The driver immediately said with envy: "The capital is great. It's much better than Shanghai and Beijing. Our place is just glamorous on the outside. When we encounter difficult times, even food and clothing become a problem."

"Actually, it's almost the same. The capital was also short of food in the past two years. You're not the only one who's hungry. People across the country are also hungry."

Xu Dong quickly said modestly.

"It's different, it's different!" The driver shook his head repeatedly, "The capital is the largest grain production base in the country. If you just slip a little from your fingers, you can eat and drink enough."

"Brother, don't forget, the capital has a permanent population of 100 million. It would be great if it was as easy as you say."

Xu Dong smiled bitterly.

The driver didn't understand: "Can I still live a hard life by guarding the Jinshan Mountain?"

Xu Dong didn't know what to say, and what he said made sense, so he changed the topic.

"Brother, where do you sell VR helmets here?"

"This thing is very expensive, buddy, are you sure you want to buy it?" The driver was a little surprised.

"How expensive is it?" Xu Dong asked smoothly.

"If you go to a regular store, a set will cost almost 1.5 million."

"What? One and a half million? Money robbery?"

Xu Dong was greatly shocked.

The driver nodded: "You're right, it's just a money grab!"

"Why is it so expensive?"

Xu Dong was a little unbelievable.

If this thing is so expensive, it is basically a toy for the rich. How can it become popular all over the world? To achieve this level, affordable prices are definitely indispensable.

"Oh, the tariff is high! It is said that the price abroad is only 100,000 yuan at most, but when it comes to us, it is more than ten times more, which is more luxurious than luxury goods."

The driver couldn't help but complain.

"Why?" Xu Dong asked curiously.

"I heard that this stuff is very addictive. It is easy for both adults and children to fall into it, so the authorities will strictly control it."

"So exaggerated? Brother, have you ever played with it?"

The driver shook his head: "There isn't even an experience store in the city. Even if you want to experience it, there's no place to go! However, I have a friend who has played it. According to him, this thing is more fun than the current online games. Ten thousand times."

“Where to buy?”

"There is a specialty store in the city. You can check it out, but the store only accepts members. To become a member, you have to pay an additional 500,000 yuan in membership fees."

The driver was very sad.

This is probably the world of rich people!

"Isn't this very profitable?"

"So, buddy, I advise you not to go there. They are clearly cutting leeks! It's better to try your luck on the black market. You might encounter parallel imports, and the price is at least hundreds of thousands cheaper."

The driver strongly advised.

Xu Dong nodded in agreement, but he only had one morning and it would be too late to go to the black market, so he could only be willing to be a leek.

…

More than half an hour later, Xu Dong came to the mysterious VR helmet store.

The specialty store is located in an office building, with a lonely store name hanging on the door:

【New Era】

Other than that, there are no other signs.

The reception at the front desk was quite enthusiastic. They quickly helped Xu Dong get a membership card and arranged a shopping guide. Unexpectedly, it was still a one-on-one service.

"Mr. Xu, just call me Xiao Chen."

Xu Dong nodded and followed the other person into the store.

Somewhat different than imagined.

The store is very quiet. There are no exhibition halls or public experience areas. Instead, there are rows of small rooms.

Shopping guide Xiao Chen opened the door with the room card, then pressed the light switch, and the room suddenly became brighter.

"Mr. Xu, please!"

Xu Dong was not polite and strode in.

The furnishings in the room are very simple.

There are two sci-fi VR helmets hanging on the wall, and two sets of exoskeleton equipment are placed in the middle of the room, which look like they are used to fix the body.

"Mr. Xu, have you ever been exposed to VR games before?"

Xu Dong shook his head: "This is the first time."

"Okay, before I experience it, let me briefly introduce it to you."

"you say."

"The VR technology we are familiar with now is actually a complete set of full-body VR immersion system, which can even support multiple people playing together.

In the game, players can be completely immersed in the virtual world. They can see their own and their companions' bodies, and can also pass items to each other.

...

In short, although there are many VR games on the market, there is only one mainstream game, and most players come for this game."

"What kind of game is so awesome?"

Xu Dong asked directly.

The shopping guide quickly replied: "It is a large-scale survival simulation game "New World" developed by Double G Company, which is generally translated as "Meta World" in China."

"Meta World? Isn't this the concept of the metaverse that was popular before?" Xu Dong said in surprise.

"Mr. Xu, you are right. Now this metaverse has been successfully developed, or has achieved initial success."

"Really?"

The shopping guide smiled and said, "This game has attracted hundreds of millions of players abroad, especially in the United States. Nine out of ten people are playing it, and almost everyone, young and old, men and women, are playing it."

"No way? If everyone plays the game, what will happen to the country? Isn't this a mess?"

Xu Dong was stunned.

"Mr. Xu, you are overthinking this. Although this game is fun, it is also very expensive. If you don't have money, you can't even keep your account, so you still have to work as usual."

"Is it a card charge?"

The shopping guide shook his head: "It's much more complicated than this, Mr. Xu, let me tell you this, everything that happens in the meta world, you can treat it as real, and the operating rules in the game are very similar to the real world."

"Virtual parallel world?"

"You can say that."

Xu Dong suddenly couldn't wait: "Can I experience it now?"

"Yes, but before getting on the machine, Mr. Xu needs you to sign a disclaimer. If you have heart disease or other problems, we do not recommend you to participate in this project."

"It's okay, my heart is fine."

Xu Dong waved his hand and signed his name casually.

The shopping guide put away the document and reminded again:

"Mr. Xu, in order to ensure a good experience, I suggest you go to the bathroom to solve your personal problems first, and add some water by the way."

"Okay, wait for me for five minutes."

Soon, five minutes passed.

With the help of the shopping guide, Xu Dong was fixed on the exoskeleton, but his hands and feet could move freely, which was quite interesting.

Then, the shopping guide also finished dressing.

"Mr. Xu, we are about to start. Are you ready?"

Xu Dong took a deep breath: "Ready."

"Okay, please put on the VR helmet."

Xu Dong put the helmet on his head, and then activated the game step by step according to the shopping guide's instructions.

It is indeed high-tech. Even the simplest login interface has an unexpectedly excellent VR effect, which is 100% immersive.

"Mr. Xu, can you hear me?"

The voice of the shopping guide came from Xu Dong's headphones.

"Yes."

"That's good. Now we start logging in. Do you choose to create a new account or use the shared account provided by our company?"

"Shared account!"

Personal identity information is very important, and Xu Dong is still vigilant.

"No problem, I'll give you my account and password, and you can enter them to log in."

"Wait, I can't find the input interface."

"Mr. Xu, don't worry, do you see the keyboard icon on the left front?"

Xu Dong glanced and nodded subconsciously:

"I see."

"You can go over and step on it."

Xu Dong walked over carefully and tried to step on it. Unexpectedly, the touch was quite real.

After stepping on it, a virtual keyboard appeared in front of him. After typing a lot, he finally hit the enter key.

"Xiao Chen, I'm logged in."

"Mr. Xu, the next step is the novice tutorial. You can follow it and learn it. The whole process takes about 20 minutes."

"Got it."

After the novice tutorial, Xu Dong finally understood why this game was so popular, and also understood why the above was unwilling to promote this game.

This thing is really too addictive.

Until now, he really realized what the metaverse is. No wonder the United States has been so quiet in the past two years. It turns out that a panacea has been found.

But speaking of this,

What is honey to others is poison to me.

The national conditions of Daxia are very different from those of the United States.

The population of the United States is less than 50 million. Its domestic science and technology are advanced, and its resources, especially coal resources, are extremely rich. It can be said that it is a gift from God.

But we are different.

Our total population is over 1 billion, which is a huge advantage, but also a huge burden. If all the people are addicted to the metaverse, a little disturbance will lead to a catastrophic disaster.

For Daxia, it is very suitable to say.

Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement!

There is no other way.

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