Chapter Two: The Deep Sea Game

In his memory, the entrance to the Deep Sea Game was a swimming pool.

A very strange way to log in—players had to strip naked and dive into the "Deep Sea Aquarium." When the water rose above their heads, they would enter the world of the Deep Sea Game.

Pushing open the door, the house was empty. The original owner’s mother had already gone to work. The cramped little room was cluttered with all sorts of things, even some junk the mother had picked up to sell.

Right in the center of the living room, there was no coffee table—only a roughly five-square-meter blue square pool. This was the login portal to the Deep Sea Game.

Without hesitation, Chen Lai stripped off his clothes and leapt into the pool.

Splash!

His body plunged into the water, but the translucent blue water did not spill over the edges. Instead, it rewound like a tape, sealing the hole Chen Lai had made.

However, Chen Lai couldn’t see this; all he felt was cold.

Cold! So cold!

The icy water flooded his pupils, the extreme chill seeming to freeze his very soul. When the water covered his head, everything in the mortal world faded away.

[Welcome to the Deep Sea Game]

A vast, magnificent voice rang out before him, and the iceberg and sea surface grew clearer.

“This game is way too realistic,” Chen Lai murmured, feeling a bit uneasy. Even in his previous life, VR games had never felt this immersive.

An ice floe drifted beneath his feet, the crystals formed at zero degrees refracting transparent light under the sun—it had come to fetch him.

“Ray tracing, so awesome!” Chen Lai exclaimed.

He stepped onto the ice floe, which instantly moved, carrying him toward the iceberg.

Beyond the iceberg lay the true global player community—a… penguin island.

The ground was covered in pure white snow, countless penguins waddling side to side. They exhibited various anthropomorphic behaviors—laughing and playing, drinking and smoking, even some eating boxed lunches.

“Hey buddy, want to grab some fries at the dock?”

A penguin spotted Chen Lai and came over, patting him on the back with its flipper.

Chen Lai’s expression was indescribable. Had the game developers lost their minds? Why would they think of turning all players into penguins?

“Hey, buddy! Can you hear me?”

The penguin, displeased with Chen Lai’s reaction, gave him another hefty pat.

“I hear you, I hear you. Who might you be?” Chen Lai wriggled his rotund penguin body and turned to face the newcomer.

The penguin who greeted him was an emperor penguin with a pale yellow neck. Seeing Chen Lai’s awkward expression, it smiled.

“Oh, friend, looks like you haven’t logged in for a while. Each season brings different player skins. Spring was cyberpunk-themed, with neon lights bright enough to blind you. Now it’s winter, so naturally, we have a winter theme.”

“Enough chit-chat. Have you checked out the new dungeon? Want to join me and snag some fries?”

As he spoke, the emperor penguin elegantly produced a packet of McDonald’s fries, picked one up with its beak, and swallowed it.

Chen Lai was speechless. If not for the original owner’s memories, he’d have taken “snagging fries” literally.

“Snagging fries” was gamer slang for “gold farming”—a way for veterans to exploit newcomers. Every summer and winter break, waves of “fries” flooded into the Deep Sea Game, where players could kill others in dungeons to steal gear and sell it.

“No thanks. I just want to search for something and get out safely. If I come out unscathed, that’s a win.”

Chen Lai declined the emperor penguin’s offer; he only wanted to make real money from the original storyline, not petty gains from messing with other players.

The emperor penguin looked a bit disappointed but quickly found a new target and waved goodbye.

“Buddy, wishing you a lucky run with gold and reds—get rich overnight!”

“Thanks for the luck,” Chen Lai replied, nodding.

“Gold and reds” meant rare items worth millions or tens of millions in-game, enough to declare financial freedom.

“Okay, playing a real-life Delta Force mission in another world now. Time to start the grind!”

After bidding farewell to the emperor penguin, Chen Lai couldn’t help but complain.

Just then, a seagull flew over from afar, carrying a letter, which it dropped on Chen Lai’s head.

[Message from Kouyi Bian Nan: Insider news on the Shibuya Incident. Cursed Spirits are far stronger than sorcerers. You can choose to exchange for Cursed Spirit abilities to gold farm. The big event should start in December.]

[Bonus tip: Don’t exchange for that 150,000 main weapon, “Heaven and Curse Binding.” The last person who did lost a fortune!]

It seemed this was the insider information the original owner had bought for 20,000 yuan—truly top secret.

Chen Lai was speechless. “Jujutsu Kaisen” was a hot-blooded shonen manga; the protagonist was Yuji Itadori... nonsense. The real main characters were Satoru Gojo and the most evil Cursed Spirit, Sukuna!

In the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, there was a mysterious power called cursed energy. Human fears created Cursed Spirits, who were completely inhuman and easily endangered society.

To fight them, sorcerers arose, trained at specialized schools like the one Yuji Itadori attended.

Satoru Gojo was Yuji’s teacher, known as the strongest sorcerer in history, with the “Six Eyes.”

Though the manga’s plot later deteriorated, Gojo’s initial pressure was so intense the author had to kill him off for the story to move forward.

As for the insider tips from Kouyi Bian Nan, Chen Lai couldn’t say they were wrong—only that they were a complete mess.

None of these messages were true.

First, if Chen Lai exchanged for Cursed Spirit abilities, he’d be opposing humanity and would surely be hunted down by sorcerers.

Second, the Shibuya Incident happened in late October and lasted only one night. Since the game’s time flow was one-to-one with reality, if he logged in December, the event would have long ended.

Third, “Heaven and Curse Binding” was indeed a curse in the manga, stripping cursed energy and turning the user human. But it greatly enhanced physical strength—the “Heaven and Tyrant” Fushiguro Toji could even beat special grade Cursed Spirits. Calling it useless was ridiculous.

Tearing up the letter, it dissolved immediately upon touching the snow.

“If you don’t understand how to play, don’t play. Just watch me handle this!” Chen Lai patted his belly and brought up the Deep Sea Game interface.

[ID: Great Mighty Dragon]

[Total Assets: 150,000]

[World Time: Year XX, October 30th, 5:30 PM]

[Deep Sea Leaderboard]

[Deep Sea Game Merchandise]

…

The game information was sparse; the only notable detail was the [World Time].

Each dungeon’s date and time synchronized only by month, day, and hour with reality, with varying years to help players understand when “major events” occurred.

So far, Deep Sea Company had launched hundreds of dungeons, but very few qualified as major events… Every day streamers shouted, “The big one is coming!” but it seldom arrived.

This time, the big one was really coming!

The [Shibuya Incident] secret dungeon would be the first to open for less than a month and spawn a major event!