Chapter 395 The Release of the Virtual Illusion Platform (Part 1)
Time flies like an arrow; in the blink of an eye, a year and a half has passed.
For the past year and a half, the world has seemed to be operating normally and in a regular manner, but the internal turmoil has been surging higher and higher.
On June 8, 2008, S Company launched a public beta test of its first-generation BC Virtual Reality system and its supporting hardware. Test servers were set up in computer malls, sales and repair outlets across the country, allowing customers to personally experience the immersive experience of the virtual reality system. S Company also announced that it had established comprehensive standards for the virtual reality system and was in deep collaboration with hardware manufacturers such as IBM, Dell, AMD, Intel, and Cisco to jointly develop the potential of the virtual platform. Furthermore, S Company welcomed hardware and software manufacturers worldwide, as well as television broadcasters, film companies, and game developers to join them.
This public beta test will first be conducted in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Testing overseas will have to wait two weeks—the reason given being that they're not ready… This single sentence has sparked a frenzy of support from Chinese netizens—especially World of Warcraft players, many of whom are moved to tears. How long has it been for them to wait for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion? Now, overseas players are finally experiencing the agony of waiting… Many players are even calling for the overseas testing to be postponed indefinitely—if that were done, how would Company S make any money?
But then again... the advisor who came up with this idea was a die-hard WoW player.
Upon the release of this news, US tech stocks as a whole fell by several percentage points, with only a few companies mentioned in the report escaping the downturn and instead becoming more resilient.
Chinese netizens, however, paid no heed to any of this. They flocked to computer malls and the rapidly springing sales outlets of Company S's BC platform across the country, eager to experience the virtual reality platform that had been touted by countless media outlets as an immersive experience.
For a time, the whole country was practically deserted as people flocked to these outlets, forming long queues to wait for a firsthand experience.
Although this outcome was anticipated, and the number of BC platform clients deployed in various cities was considerable, it still fell far short of meeting the demands of avid gamers. While each person could only operate on the BC platform for fifteen minutes, the vast majority were willing to queue for five or six hours just to experience those fifteen minutes.
Because this is something that all the media are trying to praise with the most effusive words, but they can't quite capture its essence.
Virtual reality platforms are all about creating an immersive experience. While you can export screenshots of the game content, it's still a 2D thing. It's nothing like the thrill of experiencing it in person.
Moreover, the BC platform has a wide range of uses. As Company S said, it has epoch-making significance in television media, gaming entertainment, movie viewing, and even the unspoken military field.
"It's amazing, I can't believe it!" As soon as the first user came out of the door, he was immediately surrounded by netizens and reporters who had been queuing up like crazy: "You have to try it to know! Who would have thought that technology has advanced to this level?! How can I describe it? It's like being in a real world. What you see, what you hear, including the touch and the pain, are all exactly the same as the real thing..."
"When I first went in, I thought I'd been kidnapped... Goodness, this is too unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, I was in another world. It's impossible for an ordinary person to react. But am I an ordinary person? Do I look like an ordinary person to you?"
"I'm so damn ripped off! I thought this virtual reality system would be like entering another immersive world, but who knew it would be this real? I was completely mesmerized by the beautiful AI girl explaining the system to me. By the time I came to my senses... damn it, no time left, I have to get back in line. And this girl is ridiculously beautiful. How am I supposed to live in this virtual world for long? Reality is like the Jurassic Park!"
Comments like these are constantly appearing online and in the news media, with people's biggest question being: When will the BC platform be officially launched?
A group of people are waving banknotes in their hands! They're not afraid of you charging a high price, they're just afraid you won't sell!
The scene... wow, just thinking about it is spectacular.
Company S responded that the development of the first generation of the BC platform is now complete, and hardware manufacturers around the world are working at full capacity to manufacture it, with a current inventory of 70 million units. However, this number is far from sufficient to meet demand.
However, although Company S has already collaborated with major media and internet companies, and the current BC platform is sufficient to support functions such as watching TV programs and browsing the web, the starting point of the BC platform is different from that of the traditional PC platform. The traditional computer was invented primarily for computing work, while the greater role of the BC platform is entertainment.
Therefore, simply having the functions of watching TV programs and browsing the web is far too basic for the BC platform. At the very least, it needs a game to fill the gap.
The BC platform version of "Conquer the World" has been successfully ported, and all users will retain their account data. The game can be played on both BC and PC platforms. It is currently in the final stages of development, and will be fully released on the BC platform on June 20th.
The price of the BC platform varies depending on the configuration—the configuration mainly determines the realism of the virtual images. The top-of-the-line configuration costs nearly 30,000 RMB, while even a low-end configuration costs over 8,000 RMB. Overseas prices are recalculated based on local prices and costs.
However, the price was not surprising. By June 20, long queues had formed early at various sales outlets, with people waving their banknotes and bank cards, determined to bring the virtual reality system home as soon as possible.
In just one day, over 17 million client units were sold nationwide, with the top-of-the-line configuration accounting for 43% of all sales. Many areas experienced shortages and stockouts. Units are being rapidly redeployed from headquarters.
I wonder how much money they've made.
Moreover, the BC platform has very strict copyright protection. With current technology, it is impossible for piracy and viruses to appear on the BC platform. It is a clean world.
Therefore, major game companies are very willing to cooperate with Company S to launch their games, especially companies that produce single-player games—because of piracy, their market has been squeezed out by online games, especially domestic single-player game companies. Although many players are calling for support for genuine products, there are really not many genuine games.
Because of the BC platform, players must play legitimate copies of the game, as those unfamiliar with the BC platform have no idea how to crack it. However, considering the domestic consumer spending level, Company S has also launched a promotion offering legitimate copies for ten yuan.
Many software programs on the BC platform are free, but that doesn't stop some people from offering paid versions... as long as people are willing to buy them.
However, if all software is priced exorbitantly, then very few people can afford to use it.
Given the current popularity and unreplicable nature of the BC platform, Company S's slogan of "ten yuan for genuine products" is perfectly justified.
The slogan is to lower the price of the software for individual users to around ten yuan, making it affordable for ordinary users. This ten yuan may be a monthly fee or a full-time fee, depending on the user's choice.
Ten yuan isn't much. The BC platform has partnered with major banks, so you can pay directly online, which is safe and secure.
In this way, netizens spend relatively little money and support legitimate software, allowing manufacturers to profit because the large number of buyers lowers the price, but they earn even more. It could even be argued that a major reason for the high prices of many domestic software products is rampant piracy, forcing manufacturers to raise prices and make legitimate users pay for pirated software.
However, if everyone uses genuine software, the retail price can naturally be lowered, and the government has also officially introduced corresponding policies to regulate software prices.
Moreover, over time, this can cultivate users' habit of using genuine software—there's no such thing as a free lunch these days. Don't want to spend money? It doesn't really matter...it just means some proprietary software won't be available, and some games won't be playable—as the BC platform grows, there will be more and more content, and more free things to use.
With the release of the Virtual Reality system, the IPVX standard also began to be updated. However, compared to such a big event as Virtual Reality, only industry insiders would pay attention to this change in the IP protocol. In fact, the earthquake it caused in the industry was no less than that caused by the release of the BC platform.
Following that, Company S released several more products, and the BC platform games developed in cooperation with numerous game companies also appeared online one after another in 2008.
In addition, one million specially designed virtual reality client sets have been fully deployed by the military. The biggest difference between this client set and the civilian version is the addition of a brainwave binding system—like fingerprints and pupils, no two brainwaves are exactly alike in this world. This system has much stronger computing power and is equipped with a first-generation military simulation training system—this system was adapted by Chen Xu from a future military simulation system, deleting some sensitive data, such as futuristic weapons, but retaining the most comprehensive weapon intelligence currently available—this was also with strong support from the military, who gritted their teeth and provided all their current weapon data, all in order to use this system to train elite soldiers who are well-rounded in the sea, land, and air.
Chapter 396 The Release of the Virtual Illusion Platform (Part 2)
This system is extremely secure. The main server is the newly manufactured "Galaxy 7" supercomputer, capable of supporting global campaigns involving tens of millions of participants. Furthermore, some protective measures found in civilian systems have been removed from the system—this is to ensure soldiers take training seriously and understand that while they are playing a game, they are actually expected to fully immerse themselves in the experience, rather than accepting death or injury as insignificant.
Therefore, the sensory simulation in this system is incredibly realistic, far surpassing anything found in civilian client applications. In this illusion, warriors experience an almost entirely real world, where the sensations of injury, bleeding, pain, and even death are nearly identical to those in reality. Of course, Company S also provides hundreds of thousands of sets of mental health treatment equipment, because in such a realistic illusion, the sensations are so real that many warriors might genuinely believe they have been injured. For example, if a limb is severed in the game, the player might believe that the limb is broken. The potential consequence of this is that the brain implicitly assumes the limb is severed, and even upon returning to the real world, that limb is unusable. Even worse, dying in the game can lead to brain death.
However, Company S has taken very strict safeguards. Once an abnormal brainwave is detected, the player will be forcibly removed from the game and an alarm will be issued. The virtual device will also provide immediate mental reassurance. In this way, even if something happens, the player can recover at most through a period of mental therapy.
It is foreseeable that under such systematic training, the military will soon produce a group of truly iron-blooded elites who are proficient in combat in any region, including mountains, snowfields, jungles, plateaus, and plains, and who are also proficient in operating various firearms, weapons, vehicles, and even aircraft, warships, and mechs!
Foreign militaries can only watch helplessly. Without waging war, they can only rely on their own scientists to familiarize themselves with and understand the technology of virtual systems as soon as possible, and develop corresponding products on their own.
However, with many key technologies already in the hands of Company S, this development progress is likely to be a long way off. It's said that many European and American countries have already changed their previously slow-moving budgets, spending exorbitant sums to recruit virtual reality talent to begin research. However, Company S's assessment is that no foreign country will be able to produce a mature military training system within three years. Even if one exists, it will be a very clumsy system, at best resembling many games on the BC platform, completely unable to meet the real training needs of the military. In fact, it might even make soldiers less serious during training.
This was a really harsh blow. Now the entire military is all smiles, putting on airs as they watch as various countries send requests for S Company to lift some of the technology blockades, or to exchange military technologies they never dared to dream of before.
Now they can take things they no longer value, like a clean bone, throw them out, and watch a bunch of guys fight tooth and nail for that poor bone.
Everyone knows that what caused all of this, what reversed the entire world situation, was due to one person, or rather two: that girl, and that boy…
October 1, 2009. The 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
According to the original plan, a military exercise and parade were bound to be held on such a special day.
However, this year's military exercise is quite different. In addition to the parade that is the same as before, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it will broadcast a real combat exercise in the virtual world through a virtual reality system!
Currently, only the Chinese military is fully equipped with military virtual reality systems. However, this live broadcast will be conducted in a special way, making it accessible to both the BC platform and ordinary media.
This has brought the world's attention to the military exercise—especially the militaries of various countries, who are eager to know how much combat power the Chinese military, which has already been equipped with such a system, will be able to demonstrate in the year since their own virtual military training systems were still a long way off.
Of course, there are bound to be those who advocate that the virtual world is, after all, just a virtual world and can never become the real world. They argue that an army trained in such a virtual environment might wet its pants on the battlefield, and so on.
But once the military exercise began, those who said these things shut up.
The military exercise is divided into three major campaigns: the East China Sea naval battle, the southern subtropical jungle land battle, and the plateau operation.
Everyone knows what these three battles represent. The East China Sea naval battle included land operations in Shandong and Northeast China. Except for the Korean Peninsula, which was not included in this battle due to its politically sensitive nature, the other routes were almost identical to the routes taken by Japan during its invasion of China.
The southern subtropical jungles, specifically the area bordering Yunnan and Guizhou, serve as a warning from the authorities to Southeast Asian countries, especially the one that boasts the largest army in Asia.
High-altitude warfare. The region refers to certain separatist forces that are currently causing trouble.
In these three battles, people witnessed incredibly realistic war epics, with the army, navy, and air force mobilized, missiles flying everywhere, and artillery fire raging between more than a dozen mechanized army groups—all of this was simulated based on the current world situation and the scenario of war breaking out.
Such an exercise is something no country in the real world can actually simulate.
This time, the Chinese military made no attempt to hide anything—everyone knew this was an opportunity to establish its authority. When the bloody scenes of war were shown to audiences worldwide, many people subconsciously swallowed hard.
War is cruel, a fact mentioned in countless books and media outlets. However, when witnessing such bloody clashes firsthand, no one is speechless. The scenes of war depicted in films, seemingly brutal, are nothing compared to real war—people die. In war, no one is the protagonist, able to emerge unscathed from a battlefield filled with flying bullets, as if the bullets were deliberately avoiding them.
Similarly, people have witnessed the formidable combat capabilities of the new generation of Chinese troops. Every soldier is proficient in using various firearms, vehicles, and terrains. The high level of military skill displayed by these soldiers in combat is truly astonishing.
People have even forgotten that this is a simulation exercise because it is so realistic.
Of course, the militaries of various countries also confirmed their suspicions... Everyone knows that a veteran who has experienced the brutal battlefield performs far better than a new recruit who has just entered the battlefield. They originally had a glimmer of hope... In this virtual world, you can't feel the real atmosphere of war at all - it's like letting a group of soldiers play CS on a computer. What good is it if they play CS well?
But looking at this realistic battlefield atmosphere, even bystanders can't help but feel as if they are there. Let alone the soldiers who are actually in it? To be honest, looking at the "aggressors" playing the Blue Force in the war, setting aside the differences in weaponry between countries, just in terms of military quality and battlefield adaptability... there are really not many soldiers from the simulated countries who can compare to them.
The exercise was a complete success. After the exercise, other countries could no longer tolerate it and called China one after another, demanding that China open up its virtual reality military training technology. Their words were a mixture of enticement and coercion, because everyone knew that if they missed this opportunity, they would really miss it. In the long run, the gap between the two sides would definitely widen.
Who has ever seen such a training method that treats human life as nothing? In reality, you only have one life, and if you lose it, you're gone. But in a virtual reality world, you can't die. Who can withstand this kind of training? Judging from this exercise, an ordinary soldier is basically no worse than a special forces soldier serving in various countries.
The military had anticipated this situation. In short, opening up war technology is impossible because China is a peace-loving country. However, we welcome everyone to train together, exchange ideas, and make progress together.
In short, the technology itself is not open to the public, but you can come and learn. We have 100,000 slots available annually, which your countries can allocate yourselves. We'll send 100,000 people here and assign them to various military regions where they can train alongside our soldiers. We won't hold back in the virtual training environment—of course, we won't cover their food, lodging, or other military expenses; you'll have to figure that out yourselves. It's not much; the training budget for each person is $300,000 per year.
This move is truly vicious. If China does not open up its technology, then countries around the world that have already sensed the threat may be determined to unite.
However, giving them a chance—it's just a matter of spending money, and the military has no shortage of money. Right now, they'd rather avoid war than fight, and even if war breaks out, no one is confident they can win.
One hundred thousand people is a drop in the ocean for any military in the world. What's a year's training compared to that? The military is guaranteed to make money off this, and it also eases the current tensions—a win-win situation. One hundred thousand foreign soldiers come, dispersed across nine military regions, each with just over ten thousand soldiers. Their weapons are also under strict control; how much trouble can they possibly cause? Moreover, their servers are bound to their brainwaves, and this binding is removed before they leave—no worries about technology leaks.
As for the weapon information in the virtual system, ordinary soldiers are trained with conventional weapons anyway. Also, if your country sends your soldiers here, then you should also get the information on the weapons your soldiers use. This way, you can hold the world's militaries by the throat and make them have no choice but to obey. This move is really too vicious.
Chapter 397 The Guardians (Part 1)
However, it wasn't all good news. At the end of 2008, a major event occurred.
The head of the Yu family, one of the four major Chinese families, died in a car accident.
Immediately afterwards, Yu Zhangjing, who was originally the most promising successor to become the next head of the family, also died mysteriously. A guy named Yu Ze, who was not favored by anyone before, took over the position of head of the family and then carried out a purge of the family.
Everyone knows there's something fishy going on here, but it's ultimately a family matter. Even the powerful Li and Dong families have no right to interfere.
However, according to the message sent, it was very clear that there were traces of cyborgs involved. For this reason, Dong Tianxing, the head of the Dong family, was the most emotional – because if it weren't for Chen Xu, the Dong family would have followed the same path as the Yu family.
Such things have also happened in some other large families, so it seems that Tarot has not been idle during this time.
What puzzled Chen Xu was that there were quite a few incidents involving cyborgs that had been detected worldwide, all of which were orchestrated by Tarot, but what about the X Organization?
Where did they go?
Could it be that it has been absorbed by Tarot?
The most terrifying enemy is the one you can't see. X, Dr. Mildred, where are you now?
On New Year's Day 2010, the construction within the third ring road of Tongchi Island was completed and officially opened to the public.
A year ago, Tongchi Island announced that the construction of its new marine city had reached a critical stage. Due to the need to keep many technical devices secret, the island was closed to the public and refused all visits. The new defense system covering the island also prevented satellites from monitoring the construction progress.
Everything about Tongchi Island has become a huge mystery, and people are speculating about what kind of surprise Tongchi Island, which is always good at bringing surprises to people, will bring this time.
Of course, many people are dismissive—it's just building a city, you could build a 900-meter-tall skyscraper without hiding it, right? Do you think people have never seen anything like it before?
However, how to live on Tongchi Island, what the housing prices are like, the employment situation, and the development prospects became common topics. But Company S dismissed these questions with a polite, official remark.