There was no one else in the house. Then who just spoke?
Han Xiao’s eyes snapped open.
Gone was the familiar interior of the gaming capsule(a full-immersion pod used for virtual reality gaming.). In its place was a blinding white ceiling. The sterile metal walls around him gleamed coldly under harsh lights, giving off a distinctly futuristic atmosphere. The room resembled a high-tech intensive care unit.
He lay on a metal table, shirtless, with several electrodes and wires attached to his body. His bare back pressed against the freezing metal surface, the cold biting straight into his bones.
Several lab coat-clad researchers stood around him, all staring with expressions as if they'd just seen a ghost.
“Didn’t I just take a job boosting a new account? It was supposed to be a normal starter route. What is this place?”
His head throbbed. A chaotic jumble of memories rushed through his mind—as if someone had forcefully stuffed new data into his brain. His last memory was of logging into Galaxy, about to create a new character... then came a strong smell, like burning flesh or scorched meat.
“Quick! Notify Ms. Hila. The test subject is alive!”
“Call security—contain the subject immediately!”
The white coats started shouting in a language he had never heard before. And yet... somehow, he understood them perfectly. Words like “test subject,” “survival time,” and “security” made his stomach drop.
From outside the room came hurried footsteps. Someone was coming.
Stay still? Or make a run for it?
He hesitated for only a second—then bolted.
Han Xiao ripped out the wires attached to him, rolled off the metal bed, and stumbled toward the door. The researchers scrambled back in panic, making no move to stop him.
BANG!
He slammed open the door and burst into a long, sterile white hallway.
From both ends, armed security guards in black tactical uniforms were rushing in, wielding stun batons. Han Xiao's eyes caught the emblem on their chest—a half-grown sapling.
He drew in a sharp breath.
“The Germinal Organization from version 1.0 of Planet Aquamarine?! Weren’t they wiped out already?!”
A guard swung his stun baton at him. Reflexively, Han Xiao raised an arm to block. Pain exploded through his entire body as electricity surged into his nerves—his bones felt like they were cracking.
“Why does this pain feel 100% real?!”
Galaxy only allowed pain feedback up to 40%. Anything beyond that could damage the nervous system. The game capsule was supposed to monitor vitals and force disconnects if anything went wrong.
Could it have malfunctioned?
A dozen burly guards overwhelmed him. Han Xiao experienced the feeling of being pressed down by muscular men. They dragged him into a small, dimly-lit holding room. The heavy door slammed shut behind him. The guards left without a word.
The room was pitch black, and Han Xiao was now alone.
Groaning, he clutched his wrist and tried to work through the lingering pain. Another sharp throb hit his head—this time, it came with a flood of chaotic information.
"...I transmigrated into... Galaxy?"
Galaxy was a fully immersive MMO with servers all over the world. Its universe was procedurally generated through advanced AI. Massive beyond belief, it could host hundreds of millions of players simultaneously. Gear could sell for real-world prices in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The game maintained balance through competitiveness. It gave slight advantages to paying players, but skill still reigned supreme. Professional leagues, elite players—everything came with it.
Han Xiao wasn’t a pro. He was a solo account booster. And he was good—top 50 in the Huaxia(China Nickname) server. Still, he never joined a pro team. Boosting was just more fun.
“The Germinal Organization... Version 1.0... Planet Aquamarine.” Back in his old life, Galaxy had already run for over a decade. He was now back at the very beginning.
…There goes my 300 bucks for the repair, he thought bitterly.
He slapped himself. “Idiot. You transmigrated, and you're still thinking about refunds?”
His memories were fragmented—no details about this body’s past, not even a name. But he did recall some basic knowledge.
Year 687 of the Galaxy Calendar. The official beta would open in 688.
Back in 1.0, the Radiance Federation, Crimson Empire, and Arcane Church still maintained galactic peace. The Silver Revolutionary Army didn’t exist. Superpower Calamities hadn’t started. Planet Aquamarine’s region, the Shattered Ring, was still quiet.
Galaxy borrowed heavily from an old MMO called Mount Yama(named after a mythic god of death). Every update was a catastrophe. And now Han Xiao was living it.
Compared to future planetary wars, the Germinal Organization was a small problem—but for him now, it was fatal.
“Planet Aquamarine is like Earth. Germinal’s Valkyrie project used brainwashing. Test subjects became cannon fodder.”
This body… was one of those subjects. Memories were broken, but fragments of imprisonment and experiments remained.
Age: about twenty. Looked like his old self. The researchers had injected him with Valkyrie Solution—a gene serum with a 70% fatality rate.
Suddenly, a blue prompt appeared:
[You have been injected with Valkyrie Solution.][+1 Endurance Potential][New Trait: Hyperfocus][New Trait: Minor Mental Fortitude]
“System interface!” Han Xiao was overjoyed.
A translucent blue panel appeared:
yaml
Name: Han Xiao
Species: Carbon-Based Human (Yellow)
Template: NPC
[Public Beta Countdown: 358 Days, 11 Hours, 3 Minutes]
Level: 1
EXP: 0
Main Class: None
Sub Class: Civilian Lv.1 (0/50)
Stats:
STR: 2 AGI: 2 END: 3 INT: 3
MYS: 1 CHA: 2 LCK: 1
Free Points: 0
Energy: 0 (Lv.0)
Power Level: 1~2
Tier: F (Mortal)
HP: 23/30 (Sprained)
Stamina: 36/36
Traits:
- Hyperfocus: +10% to learning & crafting speed
- Minor Mental Fortitude: +3 to Will checks
Skills: None
Talent Points: 0
Skill Tree: Locked
Fame: 0
Equipment: None
[Combat Power: Trash Tier. Any street NPC can beat you up 100 times.]
It was real. It worked.
And it had just begun.
He listed the facts:
-
This world was real. Death was permanent.
-
He had an NPC body—but with a player’s panel. That meant potential.
-
The beta countdown confirmed: he’d returned to pre-launch Galaxy.
-
Most critically—he was in deep, deep danger.
Other transmigrators had easy starts—resources, allies, maybe a childhood sweetheart.Han Xiao?
Solo start. Surrounded. No do-overs.
Even so, his reaction wasn't “I must survive!”
It was: What a waste if I died now.
“Why am I the only one stuck in a Sword Art Online scenario?” he muttered.
No matter what he truly was—flesh, data, or something else—he had one goal: survive.
He had one year before the players descended.
CLANG.
The metal door opened.
A group entered, silhouetted by light. Leading them was a curvy figure.
“What’s the status of the subject?” the woman asked. Her voice was husky and smooth, like rich black coffee—sensual and lazy.
“Seems stable,” replied Lin Weixian, his gaze heated, like inspecting a personal toy.
“Who are you?” Han Xiao rasped.
“Memory loss?” the woman raised an eyebrow.
“Expected side effect from the Valkyrie serum,” Lin said.
As Han Xiao’s vision adjusted, he finally saw her clearly—and was stunned.
Wine-red curls, black combat uniform, a body that screamed danger and desire.
East-meets-West features. Like a venomous, seductive viper.
If Cleopatra looked like this, Caesar would’ve built her a space palace.
“Hila. Site supervisor,” she said calmly. “Take him for bloodwork. I want results immediately.”
Two elite guards grabbed him by the arms. Their holstered pistols made any resistance suicidal.
Han Xiao recognized her: Red Serpent Hila, boss of the Valkyrie Lab scenario.
In version 1.0, she’d made countless noobs ragequit. Later, she’d become the feared Goddess of Death.
He gave a bitter smile.
Cold start?
This was Ice Age on Nightmare mode.