hours 13 minutes and 55 seconds until the launch of "Future Horizon. Cyberpunk 2075. Test Version 0.1 - Wild Town"
Sun Yifeng was first startled, quickly took off his helmet, returned to reality, looked at the world around him to make sure it was real, then put the helmet back on. After trying several times between his family’s puzzled looks, he remembered something and quickly ran to the study to log into the chat group on the computer.
As expected, the group was already exploding, because the official website had updated, and the helmets of the other three people had all been delivered.
[Potato Without a Neck: I received a delivery text message, but I couldn’t find the delivery code on the package, and when I asked the delivery station, they didn’t know either. Scanning the QR code on the box directly led to the website.]
[Assassin is Not Brother Ni: It’s even more exaggerated here. After work, I came home and it was on my doorstep like I’d seen a ghost. I never even entered my home address. I’m definitely installing a camera at my door in the future.]
[New-Style Chicken Poor Warrior: Whoa! Box!]
[Brother Dao: Seriously, you guys aren’t colluding to hype this up, right? The winner list was just announced in the morning and it arrived by evening. Do you think this is some fast delivery service?]
[It’s a Wig, Not Gui: Check the website! Quick, look at the website! It just updated!]
Sun Yifeng didn’t have the time to chat with people in the group and quickly opened the official website.
Besides the initial simple promotional video, the website now featured a gallery and functionality for forums and a creative section.
The gallery included [Map] [Characters] [Gangs] [Companies] [Cyberware] [Weapons] [Vehicles] [Buildings], and so on, along with a blurry map.
However, most sections had question marks, with only the main category name listed, and the subcategories were not unlocked. The only entry in the map for Stone Ridge Mountain was illuminated, and upon clicking, there were photos of Stone Ridge Mountain and an abandoned town, accompanied by a brief introduction.
[The gallery’s content will unlock in sync as players expand their exploration range.]
[This is an abandoned site outside Night City. The former owners have abandoned the past and everything here for a new life and have never returned. However, today this forsaken land might welcome new visitors.]
And in the image was a photo of Stone Ridge Mountain Town taken by Lin Miao.
In the endless desert mountains stood an abandoned town, with a faint city in the distance and advertising projections shooting skyward. Occasionally, hovercrafts zipped through the sky, and at the foot of the mountains, arrays of solar panels glinted in the sunlight.
This seemingly distant other world finally lifted a corner of its veil to the players.
There were also plenty of comments below the Stone Ridge Mountain entry, all timestamps recent, with some familiar names too.
[Wildman Punch: Whoa, is this actual in-game footage? I don’t believe it. How could it be real?]
[New-Style Chicken Poor Warrior: The wilderness, the desert, the mobile trailer-style town—feels a bit like the United States. Could the game be set in a future United States?]
[Brother Dao: This modeling is way too detailed; what kind of configuration would you need to run it?]
Numerous players flooded into the forum, with many people constantly tagging Lin Miao, hoping he would open up a batch of test user slots. Naturally, Lin Miao pinned a post on the forum.
[Water Everywhere: Thank you to all the players for your enthusiasm and eager reservations. The official plan is to open a second batch of test slots shortly after the server opens. Stay tuned.]
[Brother Dao: You have to give me one. If it’s real, I’ll go convince my department head to collaborate with your company and provide you with promotional channels.]
[Silver-Haired Natural Curl: I hope the officials will honestly develop content we love, like bubble baths, maid cafés—beautiful girls are treasures of humanity; if we lose them, middle-aged men will go bald!]
[Madao: How’s the freedom in the game? Can I set up a bowl and beg or play dead? No one’s going to fight me for the discarded newspapers by the roadside, right?]
[Assassin is Not Brother Ni: You guys keep chatting. I’m going to lie in bed and prepare to travel. After I play, I’ll come back and tell you what the real experience is like.]
[Potato Without a Neck: +1, don’t envy us. This machine is awesome—it’s insane how immersive it feels, just like the real thing.]
[New-Style Chicken Poor Warrior: Please, stop talking. Have you ever thought about how we poor souls can only watch you enjoy from the side? No, you don’t care; you only care about yourself.]
[It’s a Wig, Not Gui: Not being able to enter the game feels like having Sakurajima Mai crawling on me.]
Soon, the topic among netizens shifted to a slew of chaotic banter, with many newcomers. During this time, many in the forum questioned the game’s authenticity, suspecting the promotional images were CG composites taken by people in the United States for post-production processing. They considered Wildman’s comments and the uploaded helmet photos as mere hype.
Because before the server opened, the helmet itself didn’t have a live-stream or recording function, so even if they wanted to argue, they couldn’t. This helmet only turned on once they put it on; plus, the space was just right, unable to accommodate head-mounted cameras.
While some had already donned their helmets and lay in bed, on the other side, Lin Miao was prepared to welcome this first batch of players.
He found a good spot. The bar in the center of the town had a basement, quite spacious, at least over 200 square meters, over three meters tall, probably used for stocking drinks, food, and employee rest, but when Lin Miao entered, it was a mess, completely empty—no drinks, not even a shelf was left, not a strand of hair for later arrivals.