Some, suspecting alien abduction, panicked and called the police, almost getting dismissed as delusional. Others, more nonchalant, simply followed the prompts and entered the game.

Jiang Nan had dropped out of high school to become a game streamer. The top streamers on the platform appeared glamorous, raking in money just by playing games, inspiring countless naive youths to dream of a similar life.

Only after entering the industry did he truly understand the meaning of separating the wheat from the chaff. Everyone believed they would be the shining gold, but in reality, 99.9% were merely grains of sand tossed by the waves, with only 0.1% of the fortunate few emerging to be seen.

After two years, Jiang Nan hadn’t amassed many fans, and his health was deteriorating from his inverted sleep schedule. He had just fallen asleep when he was drawn into the game.

“Welcome to Bugs World. Please create your nickname.”

Bugs World? Jiang Nan immediately recalled that viral app. Though it couldn’t be uninstalled, his phone was practically empty—what was there to fear? As long as it didn’t interfere with his gaming, it wasn’t a big deal. He’d never expected to dream about it today.

Thinking he was dreaming, Jiang Nan followed the prompts and entered his usual streamer name—Jiangnan.

After setting his nickname, the screen suddenly went black. His body felt indescribably strange, as if he were stuffed into an airtight bottle, with a faint sense of suffocation.

“The rainforest is fraught with peril. The Queen Bee, having left the hive, has constructed her own nest. You are the larva nurtured by the Queen Bee, the future of the swarm. Please bite through the cell cap and complete your metamorphosis.”

“Task: Bite through the cell cap and successfully metamorphose.”

“Reward: Recognition from the Queen Bee.”

This dream felt remarkably real, Jiang Nan thought, judging it to be a role-playing game where his character was a bee.

The suffocation intensified. Following instinct, he raised his head and, with a few quick bites, broke through the so-called cell cap.

The world instantly brightened. The loud buzzing of bees mingled with the faint sounds of wind and birdsong. Just as Jiang Nan was marveling at the dream’s realism, he suddenly heard a panicked scream nearby.

“Ahhh! I’ve turned into a bee! Help—”

The bumblebee crying for help crawled out of its cell and bumped heads with another bumblebee nearby. In a flash of inspiration, they blurted out in unison: “You too?”

“Bugs World?”

As they spoke, another player crawled out nearby, hearing the commotion. Its antennae stiffened like an antenna finally connecting after a lifetime of wandering: “Did you also click on that insomnia ad and get infected by the Bugs World virus?”

As more players logged in, they gathered under their game names, comparing notes, unsure what to say. It felt just like a dream—too real, yet too unreal.

Jiang Nan, who had been convinced he was dreaming, was now truly shocked. Could this not be a dream?

Finally finding comrades and realizing they weren’t alone, everyone felt much more at ease. Their minds, initially paralyzed by this scientifically inexplicable experience, began to function again.

“We all have game names, and I even have a task interface… Is this really a game?”

“Impossible.”

“Even if holographic technology has reached this level, there should at least be a game helmet or something. Logging into a game just by downloading an app on your phone? That’s too far-fetched.”

“Right. Logically, a collective transmigration would make more sense than this being a game.”

“Maybe we’ve been captured by aliens for experiments.”

“Wasn’t there already a theory that the world is just a game run by a higher civilization, and we’re NPCs controlled by aliens? This just confirms it.”

“If it’s a game, can we log out?”

…

Tears welled up in their eyes—finally, they had found their “fellow villagers.”

Shen Yi hid among the busy bee swarm, observing secretly. The more he listened, the more something felt off. Well, well. These “fellow villagers” would rather believe they were abducted by aliens than accept that this was a groundbreaking holographic game.

He had been racking his brains lately, trying to figure out how to keep the players in line. But he never expected the logged-in players to be so timid, catching Shen Yi completely off guard.

Seeing the players fumbling with the interface, about to try logging out, Shen Yi could no longer hide. He immediately stepped forward, pretending to be an NPC, to interrupt their attempt to exit.

“Warriors, greetings. Welcome to the swarm.”

Hearing the voice, the players immediately turned to look.

Shen Yi was amused by the synchronized movements of the fluffy bumblebees, but he couldn’t let the Queen Bee’s dignity slip in front of the players. “Little ones, come to me.”

Shen Yi mischievously demoted the players in seniority.

The players exchanged glances. Piao Xue, hiding behind the swarm, whispered, “Is this an NPC?”

“Look at its name. It’s the Queen Bee.”

“So it’s the highest authority in the swarm? It’s asking us to go over. Should we?”

Qingshan had been silently observing since logging in. After crawling out of his cell, he tried vibrating his wings, twisting his antennae, and moving his two extra legs compared to a human. It was incredible. All his senses felt brand-new, as if he had truly become a bee.

He bit down lightly on his foreleg. There was a slight pain, but it was minimal compared to the force he used. If this were a game, the players’ pain sensitivity was likely reduced to some extent, suggesting the game was relatively friendly toward players.

The details of the hive, the scents, the sounds—everything about this scene felt real from every angle.

After confirming there was a logout button on the game interface, he proactively crawled toward the Queen Bee. “Your Majesty, the Queen Bee.”

“Queen Bee Favorability +10”

The players needed a little push. Shen Yi came up with an idea on the spot: “Qingshan, the scout bees seem to have spotted traces of hornets recently. Are you willing to search for the hornet nest and eliminate the threat to the swarm?”

After all, there were indeed hornets in the forest. As for the reward—he’d have to think of something cheap yet impressive to make other players envious…

“Random Task: Track down the hornet nest. No time limit.”

“Task Reward: Random.”

Qingshan accepted the task without hesitation.

Simultaneously, other players heard the system announcement: “Congratulations to player ‘Qingshan’ for accepting a random task.”

Shen Yi looked “benevolently” at the bumblebee before him. To motivate the timid “fellow villagers” behind, the first player to step up deserved encouragement.

Using his psychic energy, he lifted a drop of elf blood and offered it to Qingshan, maintaining an air of grandeur: “Brave child, I admire your courage. Before you leave the nest, I give you a small gift. May it aid you.”

“Elf Blood: Enhances inspiration.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Qingshan followed his body’s instinct, extended his long proboscis into the dewdrop-like blood, and drank it all.

“EXP +300”

“EXP +300”

“Congratulations, your level has increased to Level 3.”

At the same time, Shen Yi also received a notification.

“EXP +3”

“EXP +3”

A one percent experience tax—for every 100 EXP the players gain, he only gets 1 EXP. That’s actually not bad, Shen Yi thought to himself. It seems he still needs to increase the number of players as soon as possible.

A faint glow washed over Qingshan’s body, and his stats panel underwent dramatic changes.

Soon, other players noticed Qingshan had leveled up.

“Damn, he leveled up!”

“It really is a game!”

Just moments ago, they were all huddled together for comfort, completely in the dark and helpless. Now, watching someone step up, take a risk, and level up right before their eyes, the remaining players were stunned and felt stabbed in the back, their mood instantly turning sour.

Even the naturally cautious players who still had doubts about the game couldn’t help but feel regret, wishing they had been the ones to step forward earlier.

Jiangnan was the first to react, buzzing his wings and flying straight to the Queen Bee: “All hail the Queen!”

Whether it was a dream or aliens, if there was a game, he couldn’t fall behind. Leveling up meant getting stronger!

“Good child.” Shen Yi took the opportunity to ruffle his fellow countryman’s head, feeling quite pleased.

The other players finally snapped to attention. Though still hesitant, everyone rushed forward, afraid of missing out. After all, whatever’s in high demand must be valuable. In an instant, the players swarmed forward, each fearing they would be left behind.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty…”

Finally, there was a bit of a proper game atmosphere. Satisfied, Shen Yi released his mental energy, enveloped all the players. They instantly felt as if they were inside an invisible force field, and their gazes toward the Queen Bee grew reverent.

Queen Bee—now that sounds badass.

“As members of the hive, you must participate in all hive activities, fight alongside your companions, and work toward the swarm’s rise. Go on, children, I look forward to your performance.”

After speaking, Shen Yi formed his mental energy into a barrier, isolating the players, and covertly watched their reactions.

“Main Quest: Level Up.”

“Reward: Favor with the Queen Bee.”

“Players have unlocked daily quests. You must choose one to complete each day. Please find the corresponding NPC to accept the quest.”

“Your Majesty,” Jiangnan stepped forward to accept a quest but bumped into an invisible wall. “What’s going on?”

“Does the NPC’s guidance end here?”

“Did any of you get a quest? How come I didn’t get any random quest?”

“It must be a hidden quest, only the first one to step up could get it.” The speaker looked at Qingshan, filled with regret. Why hadn’t he been the first to step up?

Unconsciously, the players had begun to feel as if they were truly inside a game.

“Look, the main quest is just leveling up. Since when is leveling up a main quest in an MMO? This is so lazy.”

Shen Yi, listening from behind, tsked in annoyance. I spent 100 EXP to bring you here—did you think this was some village reunion? Now get out there and level up, all of you!

Everyone began discussing the absurd main quest, but Piao Xue, who had been keeping a low profile among the players, suddenly asked hesitantly, “What are you all going to do now?”

Shang Tian Bao You said, “Of course, try logging out first to test it. We need to make sure this is really a game before we can play with peace of mind.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the bumblebees perked up their antennae in realization.

“Then I’m logging out first!”

In the time it took to say this, over a dozen bumblebees dropped to the ground like toys with dead batteries, motionless. Only four players were still moving on the spot.

Jiangnan stepped forward and touched one of the logged-out players: “They still have a heartbeat and are breathing.”

“It seems that when we log out, our bodies remain where we left them. Now we just have to see if they’ll log back in.”

Those who stayed were the clever ones. Jiangnan’s words articulated what everyone was thinking. They still didn’t know what was really going on and couldn’t determine whether this so-called game was good or bad. What if staying here offered some unique opportunity, and logging out meant never being able to log back in? They’d be missing out on a golden opportunity.

So the best strategy was to wait for others to test the waters.

Shen Yi was gaining new insights—all this scheming and calculating just to play a game. Good thing he was the developer.

As if hearing his thoughts, the system suddenly chimed in with a notification for the developer: “Host, tests show that over 90% of players are experiencing abnormal emotional fluctuations, and their player experience is poor. Preliminary analysis suggests players generally doubt the safety of this game. It is recommended that the host take measures as soon as possible.”

Shen Yi also noticed that his fellow villagers were being too well-behaved, completely unlike the troublemaking players he expected.

He had a rough idea of the problem. Clicking on a phone to enter a full-immersion VR game—even he would be scared.

“How about this, System? Can you provide the players with some equipment, like game helmets?”

“Insufficient budget. Please provide energy, Host.”

Shen Yi immediately scowled: “Forget it. In for a penny, in for a pound.”

At worst, he could set a forced one-hour daily login. Once the players realized they couldn’t resist, they’d calmly come to appreciate the wonders of the game world.

He had no money to spare, but he could still come up with zero-cost solutions. He wasn’t the type to be inconsiderate of his fellow villagers.

Shen Yi, filled with compassion, instructed the system: “Prepare a system announcement for the players first.”