Collapse? No, this is just everyday life.

"Of course, the most important security issues have already been guaranteed. Currently, we are verifying the virtual motion sensing and cross-platform online functions."

"Walter recommended you when he was looking for testers. He said that letting you get in touch with them in advance would help him better port Pokémon to the virtual reality world later."

"So, I can now experience true virtual reality?"

Completely ignoring Dr. Einstein's long speech, Nangong Yu selectively heard only this one thing.

"If that's what you think, then of course you can."

Dr. Einstein yawned, his eyes closed slightly, and his voice became even weaker: "Dr. Tesla has almost finished adjusting the basic settings. You can lie down now."

She pointed to the large iron box in the center of the room and said slowly.

"That......"

Instead of moving forward, Nangong Yu looked back at the three equally expectant figures, then gazed at Dr. Einstein with a probing look.

The meaning was obvious, but the doctor shook his head: "I'm sorry, this is the only experimental machine available at the moment."

"That's it..."

Patting their suddenly dejected heads, Nangong Yu tried to remain calm, but the corners of his mouth, which he couldn't suppress, still made him smile and say, "In that case, I'll experience it for you first."

"Tch, go on."

Not wanting to see Yu's smug look any longer, Bronya nudged him, and he followed the large metal box to it, slowly climbing inside as instructed by Dr. Einstein.

Inside the metal box was a hollowed-out metal recess. Apart from the ring-shaped restraint device, there was only a crude helmet that could be worn. A dense array of data cables were connected to this helmet, creating a rather peculiar scene.

Following the instructions, he lay down at the bottom of the recess and then picked up the helmet and put it on.

The ergonomic design of the bottom made him feel comfortable when lying down, even as comfortable as a soft bed, except that the helmet was a bit uncomfortable to wear.

After adjusting the angle for a while to make the back of her head more comfortable, Nangong Yu signaled that she was ready.

"Ah."

Click.

As Dr. Einstein pressed a button, all the restraints closed, locking tightly to his limbs. Before Nangong Yu could even tense up, she said slowly, "Don't worry, these are just to accurately measure your vital signs and prevent your heart from beating too fast due to excessive stimulation, which could lead to a series of accidents. They are a kind of safety device."

"That's it."

Nangong Yu wanted to nod, but found that her head was also stuck and she couldn't move it at all.

Is this thing still dangerous?

Seele's worried voice came through, but Dr. Tesla quickly reassured her: "Don't worry, this kid is strong and healthy, he'll be fine. This is mainly for people who are physically weak or have cardiovascular diseases. Putting it on him is just an insurance policy. Its safety has been rigorously tested, otherwise Cocolia wouldn't have agreed, would she?"

After comforting Xi'er, Nangong Yu soon saw Dr. Tesla's head peek in from outside the metal box, looking at him and asking, "How are you feeling?"

"It's not bad, but the comfort of this helmet could be improved."

"Oh, it seems like the previous testers mentioned this. Let's have the design students optimize it later."

Not caring much about this, Dr. Tesla glanced at the screen next to him and, after confirming that Nangong Yu's body was fine, finally spoke: "In that case, I'll prepare to start it. Relax."

Relax?

Before he could even think, Nangong Yu suddenly felt a numbness in the back of his head, and then his vision went black, losing all sense of reality.

He didn't faint; instead, he had an indescribable, strange feeling, as if his consciousness was being dragged along by something, slowly rising, rising, and rising in one direction.

After an unknown amount of time—perhaps an hour, perhaps a second—Nangong Yu felt like a drowning victim who had just escaped, lying on the ground breathing heavily.

Wait, lying down?

Realizing something was wrong, Nangong Yu suddenly raised his head. His gaze was unwavering, and he saw a scene exactly as if he were in reality.

This is a small room of about 20 square meters. There is no bed or window in the room, only a full-length mirror placed in front of him and a door.

"This, this, this..."

He stared wide-eyed in shock at the face in the mirror that was exactly the same as his own. He moved closer and saw that even the individual strands of hair were clearly visible. He raised his hand and touched it, and the smooth texture made him wonder if he was actually in reality.

"That's outrageous!"

He muttered to himself, sighing, while touching himself all over.

Suddenly, he remembered something, quickly looked down at the white shorts that had automatically been put on him after he came in, and reached out his hand to him.

Damn, I can't get it off!

It felt like it was stuck to my body. I could feel like I was wearing something, but I just couldn't get it off. No matter how much I pulled, it didn't work.

"Hey, hey, can you hear me?"

Just as he was trying to figure out how to take off his shorts, he suddenly heard Dr. Tesla's voice in his ear.

"I can hear you, I can hear you."

"Okay, then I'll keep it short. Swipe down to bring up the virtual menu. You can see the details yourself. In two minutes, you'll be transported to the cross-device cloud platform that we're collaborating with Destiny. You just need to stay there and test the stability."

"Okay, anything else?"

"No...right, the underwear can't be taken off, so don't bother trying."

"...Can you see what I look like now?"

"No, but everyone who was tested before asked the same question. Did you try taking your clothes off too?"

"......No!"

"Okay, good luck. The first test is expected to end in two hours."

Tesla's voice then disappeared, and Nangong Yu, following her instructions, reached out and gently slid down.

Then, a virtual interface, similar to the bar menu in SAO, appeared before his eyes.

"Personal profile, outfits, items, settings, logout".

There are only five simple options. The profile section is self-explanatory, displaying his personal information. The inventory is also empty. However, the settings allow you to adjust some things, such as visual effects and pain sensitivity. The default pain sensitivity is 10%, and the maximum can be adjusted to 50%.

Finally, he turned his attention to the outfit section, expecting it to be empty like his inventory, but the dazzling array of 'equipment' almost blinded him.

Okay, okay, so you're making skins before the actual product is even finished? Are you from Tencent too?

He mentally grumbled a complaint and then began to examine each item one by one.

Hoomu, hoomei, hoola, hoo.......

After looking around, all of them were Houmu series. Tsk, there must be some Houmu fanatics infiltrated into the development team. He randomly picked the most basic Houmu King set, and immediately felt like he was wearing something.

"Aren't there any anime with characters wearing clothes?"

Muttering to himself, he looked in the mirror again.

In the mirror, a foolish figure appeared, entirely yellow, with erect ears, a large head, dull eyes, and a wide-open mouth.

To be honest, Nangong Yu has never been able to understand this aesthetic. How did Houmu become so popular all over the world?

I tried moving around a bit, and to my surprise, I was quite agile. I hopped and jumped around, and even did a Thomas Flair while supporting myself on the ground, just like I had really become a doll, without any hesitation.

"Hmph, just wait, in four or five years, this place will no longer be filled with Homu, but with my Pokémon!"

Just as he was about to remove his disguise, a feeling of weightlessness suddenly came over him. He suddenly remembered Tesla's words: Was it time to teleport?!

"Hey, hey, hey, I haven't changed my clothes yet!!!"

Unfortunately, Teslas operating outside can't hear it at all. Of course, even if they did hear it, they probably wouldn't care.

After feeling his feet firmly planted on solid ground, the blinding light made it difficult for him to open his eyes for a moment.

Just then, a voice filled with surprise and delight rang in his ears: "Wow, it really is Mr. Houmu! Grandpa didn't lie to me!!"

"Ok?"

His eyes had adjusted to the light, and as soon as he opened them, he saw a little girl with white hair excitedly rushing towards him. She was only up to his chest at most, and she jumped up and hugged him, rubbing against him happily.

Looking down at the little head bobbing back and forth, he didn't know where to put his two thick arms for a moment.

What's going on? Why are there little girls throwing themselves at me right away? Does Tesla even offer this kind of perk?

Is he that kind of person?

Although her body did not move, Nangong Yu had already begun to deeply condemn herself.

Just then, the little girl looked up at him, her red eyes as beautiful as jewels, and her delicate and lovely face adorned with a genuine smile of happiness.

"Sigh~"

That's somewhat of a foul.

He raised his arm and carefully placed his handless arm on the little girl's head. She immediately squinted and rubbed against him, her long white hair styled into low pigtails that swayed with her movements.

According to Dr. Tesla, this is a cross-platform cloud platform developed in collaboration between Destiny and Anti-Entropy. So, the young girl in front of him is the person from Destiny who is testing it with him.

But the more I look at that face, the more familiar it seems...

Destiny combined with this adorable face... no way...

The hand that was stroking her head froze instantly. Meeting the girl's somewhat questioning gaze, Nangong Yu braced himself and asked, "Are you Theresa?"

"Ugh?"

The little girl paused for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Mr. Houmu, do you know me?"

It’s true!

Caw! Why is this old woman acting like a virgin?

After opening her mouth, Nangong Yu hesitated for a long time before saying somewhat dejectedly, "I grew up listening to Teriri's songs."

"...Pfft, hahahaha~"

He expected to see Theresa looking embarrassed, but instead she remained clinging to him, laughing inexplicably.

No, he's mocking her for being old, right? Why is he laughing so happily?

"that......"

"Oh, don't worry about that, let's go play!"

His arm was suddenly grabbed, and Theresa pulled him forward.

"Play?"

It was only then that Nangong Yu noticed their current predicament.