Chapter 67: The Rise of the Little People

Huaxia, Su Province, Ningcheng University.

Haozi was in high spirits, sharing the delivery notice for his newly ordered virtual network access helmet on his microblog. Watching his microblog transform from a deserted wasteland to a sudden surge of hundreds of thousands of followers, his grin stretched wider than ever before.

He truly felt lucky—fortunate that he’d made a snap decision to pre-order the helmet on the official website. Otherwise, given his somewhat shifty appearance, how could he possibly have attracted tens of thousands of fans on his microblog in such a short time?

Reading the comments and messages below, he felt as though his life had reached its peak. Some demanded a photo diary of the entire process, others offered ten times the price to buy the helmet from him, and, astonishingly, several girls were willing to trade three days of their time for it! Everyone knew what those three days signified. Haozi scanned through the offers and discovered that among these girls were stunning beauties whose looks and figures were both extraordinary, feeding his vanity and making him seriously consider the exchange. Yet, his eager anticipation for the virtual network ultimately triumphed.

He firmly rejected all offers, embarking on the agonizing process of waiting. Fortunately, the virtual network company was located right in Ningcheng, so the shipment was dispatched from there. To his delight, just two hours later he received a call that the package had arrived. So anxious was he that he didn’t even bother with shoes, sprinting barefoot to the campus gate as if racing the hundred-meter dash.

At the gate, reverent and trembling, he received the parcel from the deliveryman, then dashed back to his dorm with equal fervor.

He was likely among the first batch of recipients. He wondered how much his follower count might climb if he uploaded photos of the helmet now—maybe, if luck smiled upon him, he’d make it to the trending topics.

Haozi’s ambitions weren’t lofty; if he could make the trending list just once in his life, he’d be satisfied.

Sure enough, after uploading a photo of the futuristic helmet, the internet went wild. His follower count exploded—one million, two million… five million!

It kept climbing, finally slowing at over eight million, but still steadily rising, showing no sign of stopping.

Eight million followers—most domestic celebrities probably couldn’t achieve such numbers!

Haozi felt dizzy. Had he… turned his life around?

He never imagined he’d ever see a day like this.

Despite his skyrocketing excitement, he forced himself to focus on the helmet—a sleek, sci-fi marvel. He knew this was the real core; he had to be the first to review the virtual network.

He tossed his phone aside, cradled the helmet as if it were solid gold, carefully placed it on his head, and pressed the bright silver button at its center.

“Beep. Dear user, please wait. Iris lock in progress, identity verification in progress…” A sweet female voice sounded in his ears; before he could react, his vision went black for a second, and the next moment, he found himself in a room reminiscent of a futuristic world.

The room was about thirty square meters, furnished with sofas, tables, and chairs, none resembling anything currently on the market; every inch exuded an aura of tomorrow. On the front wall, a transparent screen over two meters tall was embedded, beside which a dazzling circular light spun rapidly, its purpose unknown.

As he stood bewildered, a three-inch-tall figure materialized before him—a delicate, beautiful face, who smiled gently and spoke in that familiar sweet voice, “Mr. Yuan Hao, hello. I am your exclusive assistant. I will guide you through your introduction to the virtual network.”

“You… you, are you artificial intelligence?” Yuan Hao—known as Haozi—asked in astonishment.

“Yes, Mr. Yuan Hao,” the little figure replied with a sweet smile. “I am your exclusive assistant. You may name me as you wish.”

“Um… how about I call you Xiaowei?” Yuan Hao randomly thought of the girl he’d always secretly loved, unconsciously giving the assistant her name.

“Very well, Mr. Yuan Hao. Next, Xiaowei will guide you through your initial setup.” Xiaowei nodded and continued sweetly, “Please name your little house. This will be your exclusive room; without your permission, no one may enter.”

“Oh, okay… wait, what do you mean? ‘Without my permission, no one may enter’—so if I permit it, others can come in?” Yuan Hao was stunned, his heart racing at the thought. He hurriedly asked, “No matter where they are? They can come in?”

“Yes, Mr. Yuan Hao. As long as the other party is connected to the virtual network, wherever they are, if they know your room number and you grant permission, they can enter your room and meet you,” Xiaowei said matter-of-factly.

“Impossible… is this real? In the future, won’t there be no distance between people at all… My god! This is madness! Watching that video, I thought the virtual network company had already reached the pinnacle, but I still underestimated them… This is nothing short of miraculous!” Yuan Hao was completely overwhelmed, awed by the company’s godlike methods.

“Mr. Yuan Hao, please name your room. Your room number is 41909. Once you confirm your room name, your friends can find you via the number or name. The room name is unique—once set, there cannot be another identical name, and it cannot be changed. Xiaowei reminds you to consider carefully,” Xiaowei said after a pause.

“Um… then… let’s go with ‘Celestial Palace’?” Yuan Hao mulled it over, landing on this cliché name.

“I’m sorry, ‘Celestial Palace’ has already been taken,” Xiaowei said regretfully.

“Uh… then let’s keep it simple, ‘Yuan Hao’s Little House’,” Yuan Hao said, frustrated.

“Sorry again, ‘Yuan Hao’s Little House’ is also taken, but ‘Yuan Hao’s Little House Bar’ is available,” Xiaowei replied with perfect seriousness, though her words made Yuan Hao chuckle.

“Haha, sure, ‘Yuan Hao’s Little House Bar’ it is, that’s fine,” Yuan Hao chuckled and shook his head. He honestly didn’t care about the room name; this was good enough.

“Very well, room naming successful. Next, would you like Xiaowei to introduce the currently available functions of the virtual network?” Xiaowei asked cheerfully.