The project was stalled, with no conclusion in sight. Ethan Grant didn’t know if they would dare to proceed with the next steps, but he knew he wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. Fortunately, they wouldn’t keep him locked up; aside from a slightly restricted range of movement, everything else was fine.

Emily Grant, worried he’d be bored, came to keep him company whenever she had time.

One day, after sending her brother back to his hospital room, she was about to go downstairs when she received a video call from her son, saying he was about to join a production team and wouldn’t be coming home. She asked, “Didn’t you say you could stay home for a few days?”

William Bennett replied helplessly, “I ran into Chris abroad, hung out with him for a few days, and then ended up helping out on a variety show, so I don’t have time.” He paused, “Oh right, Mom, do I have a package?”

Emily Grant said, “Yes, it’s been here for a month.”

William Bennett said, “Can you send it to the set for me… Actually, never mind, I probably won’t have time to play with it.”

Emily Grant asked, “What is it?”

“DreamQuest full-immersion equipment,” William Bennett said, frustrated. “It took a lot of connections to get an internal test account. I thought I’d be able to play for a few days at home.”

Emily Grant was taken aback. “DreamQuest?”

William Bennett said, “The game Chris plays. Now there’s a full-immersion version.”

Emily Grant was silent for a few seconds. “I have a… friend who also likes DreamQuest. If you’re not going to play, can I lend it to him for now? I’ll give it back to you when you return.”

William Bennett agreed without hesitation.

Since it was just a beta test, and beta versions usually have a lot of bugs, he only wanted the account out of curiosity. By the time he finished filming, DreamQuest would probably be officially launched, and he could play the full version then.

So Emily Grant went home after work, opened the package, and gave it to her brother the next day.

After waking up, Ethan Grant had checked out DreamQuest. His first reaction was: Thirty years, and this game still isn’t dead.

He also knew the full-immersion version was in beta, but the invitations were only for top players and streamers, with very limited spots. He hadn’t expected his sister to get an account.

Emily Grant said, “This is your nephew’s. He’s busy filming and doesn’t have time to play.”

She paused, reminding him, “Your situation is special right now, you know.”

Ethan Grant said, “Yeah, I’ve signed a non-disclosure agreement.”

Emily Grant was reassured and didn’t bother him further.

Ethan Grant skimmed through the manual at lightning speed, put on the headset, lay down on the bed, and entered DreamQuest.

A familiar yet strangely foreign background music washed over him. His breath caught slightly, feeling as if all the blood in his body was heating up. But then he remembered his current situation—uncertain if he’d ever return to the arena—and felt a bit annoyed.

So, in his annoyance, Captain Grant looked at the blank ID field, randomly typed in a string of nonsensical characters, and entered the beginner’s village.

The DreamQuest continent was divided into three factions: Humans, Demons, and Beasts.

Back when Ethan Grant played, there were only Humans and Demons. Now, the Beast faction had been added, along with several new classes he didn’t recognize.

He still chose Sealer as his class and wandered around the Demon territory, finding everything fresh and new.

Playing through a screen was one thing; being fully immersed was another. Even the wind blowing on his face felt real.

The beta had been open for nearly a month. The first wave of players had already reached the main city. Aside from NPCs, he was the only real player in the area, making it very peaceful. He chatted with NPCs, did a few simple quests to level up twice, then stopped and wandered around.

The scenery in the Demon territory was darker in tone—mostly black, deep purple, and dark blue.

He strolled leisurely to the main square, then suddenly stopped.

In front of him stood a statue of a Sealer, with clothing and accessories that looked extremely familiar.

The base of the statue was inscribed: Chen Huilanle (Ethan Grant 1999-2017), DreamQuest Pro League Season 2 MVP.

The statue was unpainted, standing in pure black—solemn and dignified.

Who knew how long it had stood in the world of DreamQuest, waiting for its player to finally come see it.

Ethan Grant’s feelings were complicated for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few more statues in the distance and went to take a look, quickly noticing a pattern.

They were all MVPs from each year. Otherwise, after thirty-two years of tournaments, if every member of the champion teams had a statue, it would look like a terracotta army. And since the statues were divided by faction, all these were Demons; it was likely that the Human and Beast territories also had statues of their own MVPs.

He finally stopped in front of one statue.

The reason was simple: this person had won too many MVPs, including world-class ones.

——

After retiring, Chris Foster traveled abroad for a while before returning home.

Unlike other games where you just needed an account for the beta, the full-immersion version required special equipment. His equipment had been shipped to his house, so he was only just starting to play.

He thought there wouldn’t be any real players left in the beginner’s village, but to his surprise, he saw one.

He walked over and saw the Sealer standing motionless in front of his own statue. He asked, “Are you a fan of Captain Foster?”

Ethan Grant glanced at him, remembered the non-disclosure agreement, and simply replied, “Yeah.”

Chris Foster hadn’t expected to run into a fan after being late by a month, so he asked another question: “What do you like about him?”

Ethan Grant said, “He’s awesome.”

Chris Foster smiled noncommittally. “Oh? Anything else?”

Ethan Grant didn’t know why he had so many questions and slightly regretted admitting to being a fan, so he just told the truth: “He’s healthy.”