Infinite Mask Game.

Chapter 397: Get off work
[The agreement has taken effect: Your spiritual body has been fully loaded into the player character "Mr. Gray Rabbit," severing all causal connections with reality during this period; your physical body in reality will be taken over by AI, and your memories have been loaded into the knowledge base; you have received a permanent buff: 100% increased acquisition rate of community resources!]

As part of this test, the agreement will remain in effect until the test concludes.

Game access has been granted normally.

Your duration of presence is currently 0.

Wei Miao calmly watched the system notification pop up, unaware of any changes in herself.

However, on the terminal panel, the "Exit Game" button is grayed out and displayed as "Unavailable".

Clicking the button will bring up a red message: Insufficient time for arrival!

A green icon appeared in the status bar, consisting of three overlapping "^" symbols. This is a community buff.

She switched to the community section and clicked "send".

The system did not execute immediately, but instead popped up a box with many options.

[The following is a guide to community features. Your initial selection will be used every time you enter the community. You can adjust your selection at any time in the terminal.]

[Enable Disguise Mode? Once enabled, your appearance and demeanor will transform into a uniform "shadow figure" (image example). Facial expressions will be transferred to the template's features. You can freely adjust your voice using the voice changer, and choose to keep or hide your outfit.]

Upon closer inspection, Wei Miao realized that the so-called "shadow figure" was a humanoid model dressed in a black bodysuit, standing 175cm tall. The model's body type was selectable for both male and female, and the only parts of its body that were not black were the whites of its eyes and its teeth.

The mask and hood have disappeared, and the face looks like a black shadow model with missing textures.

It was completely black.

In reality, a murderer in a certain anime is often represented by this image.

Wei Miao chose to activate the disguise mode, adjusting the voice changer to a rough, middle-aged man's voice, but selected a slender female character model.

Choose the initial suit as your fashion choice.

[Specify teleportation location? Using the community map, click on a building icon to teleport near the target building. Random teleportation is the default.]

Wei Miao opened the map again and studied it.

To be precise, the four areas divided by the crossroads on the map are not all the same size.

The upper left area occupies only 5% of the entire square map and is marked "Competition Zone"; the lower right corner occupies 55% and is marked "Maze Zone", which is not open and the entire area is shrouded in fog; the lower left and upper right are roughly equal in size, each occupying 20%, with the lower left being the "Entertainment Zone" and the upper right being the "Commerce Zone".

There was no point in agonizing over such a trivial matter, so Wei Miao chose to teleport randomly.

Everything went dark before my eyes, then suddenly light up.

It was almost as fast as the blink of an eye, and I didn't even notice the interruption in my thoughts.

Above us was a vast darkness, but not the deep, impenetrable blackness of night; it was more like a city night that accommodates a variety of light sources.

Wei Miao speculated that because the community's time is synchronized with reality, even in a virtual place, the sky will change accordingly to simulate the alternation of day and night and enhance the sense of time.

She doesn't believe that the community actually exists somewhere.

From a technical and cost perspective, virtual space can meet the requirements of this place and is also easier to manage.

For example, the disguise function actually changes the body, rather than relying on illusions to deceive others. Compared to preparing thousands of real-life model bodies for the transfer of the spiritual body, virtualization is certainly more convenient.

For example, in the existence of the arena, players inevitably get injured during battles. Compared to modifying data and spending real resources to heal players, the former has more advantages, or is more universal.

The most obvious difference is that players don't need to eat, which is a purely virtual feature. The explanation that "a special body can autonomously consume light" is too far-fetched, and it would be difficult to implement various personalized player characteristics.

The only problem is that it requires a lot of computing resources to simulate the effects of various interactions, and it is difficult for Wei Miao to determine how its consumption compares to that of real-world solutions.

However, as players' overall skill level increases, and considering the precious resources needed for repairs in real-world scenarios versus easily obtainable computing resources, Wei Miao still believes the latter is more realistic. Furthermore, since Masquerade is packaged as a VR game, it inherently possesses virtual elements.

Inside the community, Wei Miao stood still, looking around at the strangely shaped buildings of various colors.

This place seems to be an amusement park, with a strong cyberpunk futuristic vibe.

The dazzling neon lights shimmered freely under the night sky, and various facilities were colorful and dazzling. Glass, polished metal, and high-tech mechanical facilities could be seen everywhere.

The floor is made of square, silver-white metal panels that reflect a shimmering, iridescent light. The upbeat music evokes the romantic style of the Belle Époque.

The ride to her right resembled a roller coaster, but strangely, the track was not continuous, with several large interruptions.

For example, if there are two straight tracks aligned vertically, with no U-shaped curve connecting them, Wei Miao finds it hard to imagine how a flying car could make a 180-degree turn in mid-air after derailing from the track, unless the car could actually fly.

There were no staff members in the amusement park.

But Wei Miao realized that she was not alone.

Not far away, a little black man was walking slowly, turning his head very slightly, with a hint of restraint, as if he wanted to look but dared not.

It is a male figure in black.

The other person paused for a moment, clearly having noticed her as well.

Without hesitation, Wei Miao walked straight toward him, waving goodbye along the way.

He stood there silently.

"Hello," Wei Miao greeted politely as they drew closer.

The other person looked at her with surprise, but when they spoke, it was a clear female voice: "Hello."

Wei Miao smiled.

The two transvestites happened to bump into each other.

However, the other party must have entered the community a little earlier than me.

Wei Miao thought she was free of all ties, but she didn't expect someone to be faster than her.

Who doesn't have funeral arrangements to make? Her family circumstances were unique, and she was alone most of the time, which allowed her to be so resolute.

They tacitly avoided asking each other's nicknames and walked side by side on the road.

The two traveled together not because they were lonely, but because they wanted to connect with other players at the same level and find out more about each other.

"Looks like nobody's here..."

Before Wei Miao finished speaking, a cylindrical metal trash can-like object on the road ahead suddenly bounced up, sprouted four thin tubular limbs, and a pair of green electronic eyes appeared on the originally dark disposal opening.

"Buzz~ Dear guest, AN-3306 is at your service!"

The long-barreled robot stood up and was as tall as them, buzzing with a smile.

Despite the peculiarity of the language, the two were able to understand its meaning simultaneously.

"The amusement park opened early, but no one really wants to go to work. I'm the only one who's been pushed out to serve you all. Don't be ungrateful."

After saying the above with a smile, it added, "Sorry, my machine soul just split apart. Please don't mind my words."

"I'll take my VIP guest on a wormhole ride, and then I can go home."

I've finally written a chapter. Regular updates are unlikely, but weekly updates shouldn't be a problem.