Chapter 974: Promotional Video Leaked
February 11th, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.
The holiday season had passed, and most people had already returned from their hometowns, starting a new year of work.
No one realized that today would become a special day. They might have been complaining about rising prices, griping about work troubles, or browsing online for discounted games and special VR game pods, thinking this would be just another ordinary day like any other.
But the high-definition promotional video that appeared on the homepage of Thunder Game Platform completely changed everything.
"Next-Generation VR Experience: Matrix Game Pod Coming Soon!"
At first, everyone thought this was just like the Matrix Glasses—nothing more than Chen Mo and Le Hui extending their reach from smart glasses to VR game pods.
Most people's first reaction was that this should be a cost-effective domestic game pod, perhaps with some integration with Thunder Game Platform's games, but definitely not too expensive.
But after watching the promotional video, everyone was dumbfounded.
What the hell is this?
Many even wondered: Is this really not false advertising? This kind of next-generation VR technology is already bordering on black tech, isn't it?
...
The promotional video began with a wheelchair appearing on screen.
A young man lying in bed got up, helped by his wife into a wheelchair, left the bedroom, washed up, drank a cup of coffee, and then had breakfast.
As the wheelchair-bound young man passed by a certain room, the camera flashed briefly, allowing viewers to see the exterior of the Matrix Game Pod.
It was quite different from existing VR game pod designs—not only slightly smaller, but its appearance exuded a high-tech quality.
The young man's wife went out to work, while he wheeled himself over to a desk, turned on his computer, and started working from home.
The scenery outside the window changed rapidly. After lunch, the sun slowly set, leaving only the glow of dusk.
The young man finally finished his day's work, stretched, and a smile appeared on his face.
He wheeled himself to the room with the VR game pod, opened the hatch, grabbed the handrails inside, crawled in, and lay down.
Inside the pod, the helmet and restraint systems closed, the hatch shut, and the display outside the pod showed various vital signs.
The scene instantly shifted.
The young man opened his eyes and found himself in a completely new world.
He had transformed into a highly realistic game character, and the surroundings had become a futuristic world full of technology.
On the skyscraper's display screens, there were advertisements for various androids. Pedestrian bridges, elevated roads, vehicles, airships, triangular small aircraft... everything had a unique design, brimming with a sense of technology and futurism.
Bustling shops along the street, an endless stream of pedestrians, postmodern art sculptures in the plaza, and a church that looked quite vintage—this blend of modernity and the future gave a familiar yet strange, unique feeling.
The young man no longer needed a wheelchair. He took a deep breath of fresh air, a look of bliss on his face. Then, he started running, weaving through the crowded crowd, crossing crosswalks, dodging self-driving taxis, leaping over kiosks selling androids...
He joyfully jumped, did backflips, parkoured along railings, freely enjoying the feeling of running without restraint.
But then, he accidentally fell down a set of stairs.
"Hiss..." The young man rubbed his butt. It hurt.
He stood up and noticed that beside the flower bed where he had fallen, there was a patch of blooming flowers. He took a deep breath, a look of intoxication on his face.
Suddenly, a soccer ball flew toward him. The young man reacted quickly, turning to catch it.
Two kids ran over: "Sorry, big brother, can you give us the ball back?"
The young man smiled, looking at the two little brats playing soccer in the plaza. He tossed the ball up and started juggling it.
Each juggle was different—sometimes high, sometimes low, and once he almost failed, quickly adjusting his stance to save the ball.
The two kids cheered around him, their eyes full of admiration.
The young man caught the ball and handed it to the kids.
He looked at the bustling virtual city, a smile spreading across his face.
...
After this promotional video aired, the internet exploded!
If today were April 1st, everyone would have dismissed it as an April Fools' joke.
Neural interface VR has already been made? Get out of here!
Obviously, the video was highlighting this concept: a young man with disabled legs playing a virtual game wasn't surprising, but the key was that he could smell flowers in the virtual world, move freely in any posture, and the immersion completely crushed traditional VR game pods!
Especially the final tagline, which directly told everyone: This is next-generation VR based on brain and neural connection technology!
"Holy crap, is this real or fake? Is Chen Mo just messing with us? Something this amazing—has our country already built it?"
"Neural interface VR? Isn't that basically no different from full-on transmigration? If it can really do that, then it's definitely next-generation VR tech!"
"I... I kind of don't believe it... With such a big deal, wouldn't the Game Committee have something to say? Wouldn't major tech media report on it?"
"Who says there's no reaction? Word is that the top domestic designers have already been briefed by the Game Committee, and many have even started developing for the new VR game pod, but it's all under wraps—few people know!"
"Here it comes, here it comes! The Game Committee and the Fantasy World Game Editor have confirmed it—this is real!"
"Lots of authoritative tech media are reporting it too! This... feels like it's pretty much confirmed!"
"Looks like this news is legit, but I just want to ask: Is this false advertising? Can the effects really be that amazing?"
"How much does it cost? If something like this exists, I'd go all in, no question!"
...
The shock from this news was on a nuclear-weapon level, spreading instantly across the country and around the world.
For a time, speculation about this new device was all over the place, because many people had no idea what its principle was, how good the effects would be, or any specific parameters.
Everyone understood that this would be a new technology that could change the world, but no one could predict exactly what effects it would achieve.