Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1022: Chapter 1021: Fooled Into a Limp

To Tokitani Naoya, it’s just an ordinary day.

Waking up in the morning, having breakfast, then heading to the dojo for practice, followed by school, where she spends a pleasant day laughing and playing with her newfound friends.

If there’s anything different, it’s that she has lost her brother—Tokitani Kazuto.

In fact, when Naoya opened her eyes, she had almost anticipated this. After her parents tearfully informed her that her brother had died, Naoya accepted this fact faster than she imagined. After all, she had already guessed in the game that her brother might be dead, and now her parents just confirmed it for her.

Thinking about this, Naoya couldn’t help but find it ironic that she, who knew nothing about games and rarely touched video games, survived, while her brother, who always stayed at home and could talk endlessly about games, died in the Game World...

”Naoya, let’s go shopping around the plaza today. I heard there’s a new pastry shop that opened there.”

Walking alongside Naoya was a brown-haired girl with a cute ponytail, who cheerfully suggested it, and Naoya nodded.

”Sure, I want to check it out too.”

Walking alongside Naoya was her classmate Keiko Ayano, also a member of the Dark Moon Sword Guild. Her in-game ID was ”Silica,” and she was part of the Combat Group. Naoya had known her for some time now, and she was considered a very good friend of Naoya’s.

Of course, speaking of good friends...

”You’re going to eat more? Aren’t you afraid of getting fat?”

Walking beside them, Shinong adjusted her glasses and sighed helplessly, while Silica froze for a moment, then shook her head.

”No, I won’t get fat! I’m currently in recovery... Yes, recovery! The doctor told us to eat more to gain weight, didn’t they?”

”Gaining weight is basically getting fat, isn’t it?”

”Ugh... Ugh...”

Facing Shinong’s words, Silica was at a loss for words, while Naoya smiled wryly.

Just as the group walked and chatted, a TV in a shop window displaying the news caught their attention.

”Dear viewers, as you know, it’s been two years since the Death Game event. Currently, debates in society about the future of fully immersive technology are still ongoing. What direction will it take next? With these questions in mind, we visited the new CC Corp and interviewed CC Corp’s president, Fang Zheng.”

Upon hearing this name, the three of them immediately stopped and looked at the TV through the window. Soon, the TV screen changed, and a familiar and handsome face appeared in front of them.

”Hello, Mr. Fang Zheng. As we know, you were also a victim of the Death Game. What prompted you to make the decision to venture into this domain?”

”The technology itself is neither right nor wrong.”

On the screen, dressed in a suit, Fang Zheng appeared spirited and handsome. Facing the reporter’s question, he answered with a smile.

”In fact, I had concerns about fully immersive technology right from the start, which is why I personally entered the game to investigate. But what I didn’t expect was the Death Game event occurring at that time... However, this also served as an alarm for us. Indeed, fully immersive technology itself isn’t problematic, but it’s not ideal for most people, and can even be dangerous. Therefore, after this, I made the painful decision to enter this arena through AR technology.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, the female reporter nodded and posed another question.

”Since the Death Game event happened, there have been constant calls in society to completely seal and discard fully immersive technology. What is your view on this? What plans does CC Corp have for fully immersive technology in the future?”

”I can understand this sentiment, but I don’t agree. Indeed, for general entertainment purposes, the risks of fully immersive technology are too high and unsuitable for ordinary people. But fully immersive technology has many application fields, and in fact, we are collaborating with medical fields globally to create a new fully immersive treatment system.”

”Treatment...?”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, the female reporter was visibly surprised, and Fang Zheng nodded.

”Yes, as I mentioned earlier, fully immersive technology has little significance for physically healthy ordinary people, and can even cause certain physical and psychological impacts. However, it is very useful for physically disabled patients, including those who have lost the ability to care for themselves or work, enabling them to regain a normal life through fully immersive technology. Moreover, we will integrate our current AR equipment research with fully immersive technology, so that patients who are homebound and unable to go outside can still enjoy the fun of outings with family and friends through fully immersive technology...”

As a game designer, Fang Zheng knew exactly how to speak to ensure maximum public relations coverage. To Fang Zheng, Kayaba Akihiko was basically an idiot. He could have utilized fully immersive technology across multiple fields before making a game. But for some unknown reason, this brainless individual, after inventing such technology, chose to first use it to make an online game, causing so many troubles.

As for why Kayaba Akihiko did this, Fang Zheng wasn’t interested in caring or investigating. In any case, the person was already dead, and that’s enough.

”Next, we will introduce CC Corp’s new product, the revolutionary AR equipment—Illsion!”

As the reporter’s words fell, the screen started playing an advertisement for Illsion. A few people smiled as they picked up the headphone-like equipment, put it on, and pressed a button. In the next moment, the mundane world transformed into a beautiful world of their dreams. In their eyes, the plain and simple road became a sci-fi track, and the originally lifeless buildings on both sides transformed into quirky yet captivating artworks.

Then suddenly, several cute, adorable little Monsters emerged from the corners around them, jumping, crawling, or running to the players’ side, fighting alongside them.

”Go, Pikachu!”

Soon, a young man wearing a red and white cap extended his hand and pointed forward with flair, and the yellow cutie beside him immediately engaged in battle with the wild Elf opposite. After fierce fighting on both sides, Pikachu struck the wild Elf with a lightning bolt, knocking it out, and the young man promptly threw a Master Ball, capturing the wild Elf.

”So cool... I really want to play this game soon. I wonder when it will be released.”

Gawking at the game’s advertisement on the screen, Silica was practically drooling, and the others weren’t much better. After all, while VR brought them a virtual world, AR felt like embarking on an adventure within the real world, where ordinary sights transformed into colorful and charming scenes through AR technology.

This made all three quite excited, yearning to play this game soon.

However, at that moment, a voice sounded from behind them.

”If you want to play, you might have to wait another month. Currently, Illsion is undergoing global review, and we plan to launch globally once all reviews are complete.”

”Huh?”

Hearing this voice, the three were stunned. Then, they turned around, and upon seeing the figure in front, Silica and Naoya immediately showed excited smiles.

”Mr. Fang Zheng!!”