Chapter 1: The Magical Game Console, the Battle of Kunyang

2025, winter, Jiangsu Province, Nanjing City.

Thursday.

Winter in Jiangnan is pure magical damage.

Gu Yi had curled up entirely under the blankets, relying on the electric blanket's meager magic resistance to quickly reach out and snatch his phone from beside his pillow into the bedding.

So fast, it bordered on conceptual divinity.

The moment his fingers touched the phone, he buried his head under the blankets and eagerly turned on the screen.

【My long-distance girlfriend of five years cheated on me; I'm just fifty yuan short of buying a ticket—send me fifty, I'll film my revenge for you.】

【One move wipes out your Moments, submit to win prizes】

【How simple it really is for men to replenish qi and blood.】

【.】

Scanning through over a dozen app pop-ups and confirming no expected message had arrived, Gu Yi let out a deep sigh:

"Finding a job is really hard."

He had graduated nearly three months ago.

If pre-graduation Gu Yi was "My fate is mine to command," then present-day Gu Yi was "You say three thousand, I say three thousand."

Recent graduates are required to have work experience.

Could a human even say that?

Thinking of it, Gu Yi let out a quiet sigh.

He tossed the phone aside idly, turned on the air conditioner, and then stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling only a profound uncertainty about the future.

He remained frozen like this for a long time.

Only when the warm air from the air conditioner filled the entire room did he finally prepare to get up.

Gu Yi's parents were both educators, and their daily routines were extremely regular.

Living in such a household,

Gu Yi naturally absorbed the habit and rarely slept in.

Walking into the living room, compared to the cramped bedroom, the living room was far colder.

His parents were out on their morning run and not at home.

In this era, middle-aged and elderly people are all in better shape than ever, while the young are all like dried seaweed—crumble at the slightest touch.

Gu Yi was already used to this; he shivered as he headed toward the bathroom to wash up.

But just then, he suddenly noticed a prominent delivery box on the living room dining table.

Huh?

Gu Yi froze for a moment.

Gu's father and mother were classic cultural types who preferred shopping in person over online purchases.

They rarely bought things online.

What did they buy?

Gu Yi walked over curiously, checked the delivery slip—and suddenly realized this was his own package!

"Huh?"

"I haven't bought anything recently. Who sent this?"

Gu Yi was baffled; the delivery slip listed only his name, nothing about the contents.

He picked up the box and shook it.

It was surprisingly heavy.

Filled with curiosity, Gu Yi couldn't be bothered to find a box cutter, went straight back to his room, grabbed his keys, and slit open the package along its transparent tape.

Inside the elegant packaging was a strange game console.

It looked exactly like a Switch.

But unlike other game consoles, this one had only a single power button, no cartridge slot, and no other control buttons.

"A model?"

Gu Yi frowned and tentatively pressed the console's power button.

The black screen instantly lit up.

A desolate background image appeared immediately, accompanied by two bold, powerful Chinese characters.

【Clan】

Below it were several options.

【Start Game】、【Game Achievements】、【Clan Information】、【Notes】、【End Game】

It wasn't a model!

Gu Yi was startled.

Who sent this?

Had his parents suddenly changed their ways and given him this as a graduation gift?

But why a game console?

According to the online stereotype of everyone being a millionaire, shouldn't it have been car keys?

Gu Yi didn't dwell on it; staring at the screen, what he truly wanted to know was what kind of game this was.

Although he never got addicted to games,

as a young man living in this information age, he was well aware of any major new releases.

He hadn't heard of this game at all recently.

Could this be a game that hasn't been officially released yet?

Gu Yi tentatively tapped the "Start Game" button on the screen.

A loud "Boom—" echoed.

The barren background image shattered instantly; the entire screen turned black again, then a series of prompts flashed forth.

【Reading player ancestral information…】

【Player information read successfully.】

【Time: Di Huang Year 4, Geng Shi Year 1】

【Location: Kunyang】

"Extract ancestral information?"

Gu Yi stared intently at the screen; from this prompt alone, he had already guessed the general type of game.

It must be a simulation survival game like Hunger or Ghost Valley: Eight Wastes.

Such games always display similar prompts during loading.

"Geng Shi Year 1?"

"So it's set in ancient history?"

"Big production!"

Gu Yi waited like this for several seconds.

Sure enough, as he expected, the prompt vanished automatically.

The game console's speaker suddenly blared.

A howling wind poured out, the sound effect far superior to what he'd imagined, as if it were truly happening.

Along with the howling wind, the central screen gradually revealed an image.

There stood a tall, sharp-eyed man staring intently at him.

Behind him stretched an endless army, with banners fluttering in the wind.

Each banner bore different large characters.

Gu Yi could roughly make out two of them.

One read "Han";

The other read "Liu."

The scene was incredibly realistic; even through the screen, Gu Yi felt an inexplicable aura of grim slaughter.

"Which company's work is this?"

Gu Yi was stunned; though the game hadn't even begun, just this single image had already made him sense its extraordinary quality.

But how was this game supposed to be played?

There weren't even any control buttons on the machine.

Gu Yi reached out and tapped the screen—no response.

At that moment, the man on the screen directly looked at him and spoke.

"Will you all follow me, Liu Xiu, to charge toward Kunyang?"

Liu Xiu?

Emperor Guangwu?

Charge toward Kunyang—this must be before the Battle of Kunyang, when Liu Xiu was gathering troops?

Gu Yi's history knowledge was decent; he still remembered at least some textbook facts, and memories instantly flooded his mind.

But precisely because of this, his shock deepened.

Damn, this game starts with such a massive scene right off the bat?

According to historical records,

the Xin army at the Battle of Kunyang numbered at least several hundred thousand.

They're throwing this huge scale right at the start?

Gu Yi suddenly felt a flicker of anticipation and silently awaited the tutorial.

The next moment, another prompt popped up.

【Detecting player as new, granting new player gift pack.】

【New player gift pack opened successfully.】

【Draw count +1,】

【Draw immediately?】

"Draw?"

Gu Yi never expected such a prompt to appear before the game even started.

Although gacha mechanics have become a hallmark of domestic games,

usually they let players enjoy themselves a bit first before popping up these draw prompts, right?

This game is really too ruthless.

The anticipation he'd just felt instantly dimmed, yet Gu Yi still tapped "Draw Immediately."

After all, no one refuses free loot.

【Draw successful.】

Not even a gacha UI appeared—the prompt flashed instantly.

【Congratulations! Player has obtained: Divine Item—Celestial Phenomenon Card, stored in inventory.】

【(Divine) Celestial Phenomenon Card: After use, triggers various celestial phenomena at irregular intervals; duration varies by effect. Specific effects unpredictable. (Examples: meteor shower, mountain collapse, solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, etc.)】

【Successfully opened the beginner's gift pack.】

【No achievement points required to integrate this role. Would you like to integrate immediately?】

【Note: Integrating this role means the game has officially begun. During this time, you cannot pause or restart until the game fails.】

"No pause, no restart, and it's even got a lottery—but no UI animation for the lottery at all?"

"It's just forcing people to spend money, isn't it?"

Gu Yi lost all remaining fondness for it.

He could already guess exactly what would happen next.

It would surely involve some so-called divine item, paired with an emotionally stirring animation.

Then, using the game's hardcore feature—no pause, no restart—to pressure players into spending money on the lottery.

Just the old tricks of operators.

Gu Yi naturally wouldn't fall for it.

"No wonder they didn't launch any big marketing campaign—otherwise they'd be torn apart."

He casually tapped "Yes," then without waiting for the screen to change, he directly opened the inventory interface.

He selected the only item card in his inventory.

Without the slightest hesitation, he chose to use it.

This kind of game was clearly unsuited for him, who didn't even have a job right now.

Rather than spending nothing and letting the elites crush him, he might as well freeload off the operator.

Forget everything else—first, have some fun!

Let's see how they'll try to pull something off.

【Successfully used.】

The prompt reappeared, but no anime animation emerged as Gu Yi had expected.

Everything remained perfectly calm.

At this moment, the Liu Xiu on screen, seemingly noticing Gu Yi's continued silence, grew even more anxious and spoke again:

"My comrades."

"Wang Mang is unjust, having usurped the throne and harmed the people."

"My elder brother has yet to capture Wancheng; if Kunyang falls, within a day all our units will be destroyed one by one."

"Why not fight to the death?"

"How can a true man fear death?"

Liu Xiu was already strikingly handsome, and with his battle armor, he appeared especially heroic and extraordinary.

Most crucially, this scene was clearly researched by the development team.

The instant Liu Xiu finished speaking,

a single ray of sunlight pierced through the dark clouds and landed precisely on him, illuminating him brilliantly, as if he were a god.

Murmurs erupted instantly around him.

It seemed the soldiers were debating whether to follow Liu Xiu.

Though Gu Yi no longer felt the earlier anticipation, he still waited, hoping to see the choice appear and observe the next development.

But just then, the door suddenly opened, and his mother's voice calling him to eat came from outside.

Seeing no choice prompt had appeared, Gu Yi casually said:

"I'll go with you, I'll go with you."

"Who else would I follow but you, Liu Xiu?"

Saying this, he tossed the game console onto the bed, picked up his phone, and walked out.

At the dining table.

Gu Yi sipped his porridge while scrolling through TikTok.

"Have you heard of the legendary thousand-year family?"

At this moment, Gu Yi came across a video from a public account, introducing a family.

Though Gu Yi didn't know if it was true,

he still kept watching.

That was the charm of public accounts—designed purely to grab attention.

But as soon as the video ended, he heard his father's voice beside him.

"How can a family of just a few hundred years be blown up like this?"

Gu Yi turned to his father in surprise—he never expected his father would even engage with such talk, and explained:

"Families with clear records spanning several hundred years are already rare."

He'd only spoken this offhand.

But his father, upon hearing it, became even more serious, setting down his bowl with great solemnity.

"A few hundred years is enough?"

His father stared at Gu Yi with intense seriousness, "Our Laozu followed Emperor Guangwu in conquering the realm!"

Huh?

Gu Yi froze instantly.

Followed Emperor Guangwu in conquering the realm?

Why had he never heard this before?

His father's personality wouldn't make up something like this.

But our family's Laozu Sect ancestor? How did I not know about this?

Gu Yi was a little dazed.

Old Gu seemed to read the oddness in Gu Yi's expression. A proud look crossed his face as he went on:

"Our family's Laozu Sect ancestor was originally a Captain."

"You know about the Battle of Kunyang, right?"

"Just before the Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu was scrambling for troops everywhere. Our family's Laozu Sect ancestor decided to help Liu Xiu at that very moment."

"At the time, the Han army only had a few ten-thousand men, while the Xin army had a full several hundred thousand, claiming to be a million-strong host."

"Our family's Laozu Sect ancestor began to rise to prominence at that very moment."

The more Old Gu spoke, the prouder he became.

Gu Yi stared at him blankly, completely dumbfounded.

He knew that, given Old Gu's temperament, Old Gu would absolutely never joke about something like this with him.

But if he wasn't joking, why had he never heard Old Gu mention it before?

After all these years, Old Gu couldn't have been hiding something like this from him the whole time.

Besides, why did this storyline feel a little familiar?

A Captain?

Before the Battle of Kunyang, decided to follow after Emperor Guangwu had scrounged for troops?

Gu Yi silently turned his head to look at his own room, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening at that moment.

"Dad, does our family's Laozu Sect ancestor have any other deeds?"

"After rising to prominence, then what?"

He asked again.

"After so many years, a lot of things have long since been lost."

Old Gu sighed softly, his expression somewhat forlorn. "Some things, ah, only exist as rumors among us descendants now."

"You know how the Book of Later Han records the Battle of Kunyang, mentioning a meteorite, right?"

"According to the rumors passed down through our family from generation to generation—"

"That meteorite seems to have some connection to our family."

At the very end, Old Gu also wore a doubting-life expression.

After all, this was a scientific society, and this rumor had been passed down through the family from generation to generation; he could only treat it as the ancients' wild imaginings.

But to Gu Yi's ears, these words sounded like thunder!

A meteorite connected to our family?

Once again he turned his head to look at his bedroom, his heartbeat growing faster and faster.

Without the slightest hesitation, Gu Yi immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks, ran back to his room, picked up the game console, and tapped the family information on the screen.

【Gu Clan】

【Current Generation of Inheritance: 1】

【Current Years of Inheritance (from when the player entered the game): 0 years】

【Family Head: Gu Xiao】

【Family Members: 5 people】

【Achievements Currently Unlocked: None】

"Gu Xiao?"

After confirming the name, Gu Yi walked back into the living room, stared fixedly at Old Gu, and asked:

"Dad, do you still remember our family's Laozu Sect ancestor's name?"

"Didn't I tell you before?"

Old Gu immediately looked at Gu Yi, his brow slightly furrowed, very displeased. "You forgot your ancestor's name?"

"Remembered."

"The ancestor's name, tabooed, was Xiao."

"Our family's Laozu Sect ancestor's name is Gu Xiao!"

──────────

"At night a meteor fell into the camp; in the day a cloud like a collapsing mountain descended over the camp and fell, scattering before it reached a foot above the ground, and the officers and soldiers were all prostrated in awe." — *Book of Later Han*, "Annals of Emperor Guangwu"

(End of this chapter)