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

2025, winter, Jiangnan Province, Jinling City.

Thursday.

The Jiangnan winter is pure magical damage.

Gu Yi curled his entire body inside his quilt, relying on the meager magic resistance provided by the electric blanket, and quickly stretched out a hand to grab the phone by his pillow into the quilt.

The speed was so fast it could be called a conceptual god.

The moment he touched the phone, he immediately buried his head back into the quilt and eagerly lit up the screen.

[My long-distance girlfriend of five years cheated; I’m just fifty short of a plane ticket. Venmo me fifty, and I’ll send you the revenge video.]

[One-shot your social media circle, submit to win great prizes.]

[How simple it is for a man to replenish his Qi and blood.]

[.]

After scanning through a dozen app notifications one by one and confirming there were no messages he was looking forward to, Gu Yi couldn't help but let out a deep sigh:

"Finding a job is really hard."

He had been graduated for nearly three months.

If the Gu Yi before graduation was "my fate is determined by me, not by heaven," then the current Gu Yi was "if you say three thousand, then it's three thousand."

Fresh graduates requiring work experience.

Is this something a human can even say?

Thinking of this, Gu Yi couldn't help but sigh lightly.

He tossed the phone aside, turned on the air conditioner, and then stared blankly at the ceiling, feeling only that the future was a blur.

He stayed like that, dazed, for a long time.

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

Gu Yi’s parents were both educators, and the couple’s daily routine was very regular.

Living in such a family.

Gu Yi was naturally influenced by it, and rarely slept in.

Walking into the living room, compared to the limited space of the bedroom, the living room was much colder.

The old couple was currently out for their morning run and was not at home.

This is how this era is; middle-aged and elderly people have better health than one another, while young people are all like seaweed, shattering at the slightest touch.

Gu Yi was long used to this; he shivered while heading to wash up.

However, just then, he suddenly noticed a very conspicuous express delivery box on the dining table in the living room.

Hmm?

Gu Yi was stunned for a moment.

Gu Ma and Gu Ba were the typical sort of cultured people who preferred shopping in person over online shopping.

They rarely bought things online.

What was bought?

Gu Yi walked forward in confusion and looked at the receipt on the box, only to suddenly discover that this was actually his own delivery!

"Hmm?"

"I haven't bought anything recently, who sent this?"

Gu Yi was a bit confused; the shipping label only had his name on it and didn't state what was inside.

He picked up the box and shook it.

It was actually not light.

Filled with doubt, Gu Yi couldn't be bothered to find a utility knife; he went back to his room, grabbed his keys, and used them to cut open the clear tape on the box.

Inside the exquisite packaging was a strange game console.

It looked exactly like a Switch.

The only difference was that this console only had a power button; there was no card slot, nor were there any other control buttons like other consoles.

"A model?"

Gu Yi frowned and tentatively pressed the power button on the console.

The pitch-black screen lit up instantly.

An exceptionally desolate background image appeared immediately, accompanied by two vigorous, powerful characters.

[Great Clan]

Below it were several options.

[Start Game], [Game Achievements], [Family Information], [Notes], [End Game].

It wasn't a model!

Gu Yi was somewhat shocked.

Who sent this?

Could it be that the old couple had a change of heart and this was a graduation gift for him?

But why a game console...

According to the "everyone on the internet is a billionaire" trope, shouldn't it be luxury car keys?

Gu Yi didn't dwell on this; looking at the screen, what he was truly curious about now was what kind of game this was.

Although he was never addicted to games.

As a young person living in this information age, he was well aware of whether any major, well-known titles had been released recently.

He hadn't heard of this game at all.

Could it be a work from some company that hadn't been announced yet?

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

A "bang" sound rang out.

The desolate background image shattered instantly, the entire screen turned black again, and then lines of prompts flashed out from it.

[Loading player ancestor information...]

[Player information loaded successfully.]

[Time: Fourth Year of the Earth Emperor, First Year of Gengshi]

[Location: Kunyang]

"Extracting ancestor information?"

Gu Yi stared at the screen with interest; based on this prompt, Gu Yi had already roughly guessed what type of game this was.

It should be a survival simulation game like *Don't Starve* or *Tale of Immortal*.

This type of game always had similar prompts when loading.

"First Year of Gengshi?"

"It’s actually set against the backdrop of ancient history?"

"A big production!"

Gu Yi waited for a few seconds just like that.

Sure enough, as Gu Yi expected, the prompt disappeared automatically.

The console speaker suddenly sounded.

A gust of howling wind came from it; the sound effects were far better than he had imagined, as if it were happening for real.

And accompanied by the gusts of wind, the screen in the middle gradually displayed an image.

He saw a man with a tall, upright figure and handsome features staring tightly at him.

And behind him was an endless army, along with banners fluttering in the wind.

Each one had different large characters written on it.

Gu Yi could roughly recognize two.

One character was "Han";

One character was "Liu".

This image was extremely realistic; even through the screen, Gu Yi felt an inexplicable aura of slaughter.

"Which company's work is this?"

Gu Yi was greatly shocked; although the game hadn't started yet, this single image alone made Gu Yi feel the extraordinariness of this game.

But how is this game played?

This machine doesn't even have any control buttons.

Gu Yi reached out and tapped the screen, but there was no reaction.

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

"Are you all willing to follow me, Liu Xiu, and charge toward Kunyang?"

Liu Xiu?

Emperor Guangwu of Han?

Charging toward Kunyang—was this when Liu Xiu went to bring reinforcements before the Battle of Kunyang?

Gu Yi’s history was quite good; at least he remembered some of the knowledge from books, and corresponding memories immediately flooded his mind.

But precisely because of this, his heart was even more shocked.

Good heavens, the game starts with such a grand scene right from the beginning?

According to historical records.

In the Battle of Kunyang, the New Army had at least several hundred thousand men.

Are we starting off with such a massive scene right at the beginning?

Gu Yi suddenly felt a glimmer of anticipation for this and silently waited for the tutorial for beginners.

The next moment, a prompt popped up again.

【Detected that the player is a beginner; issuing a beginner's gift pack.】

【Beginner's gift pack opened successfully.】

【Draw count +1.】

【Would you like to draw now?】

"A draw?"

Gu Yi never expected that such a prompt would pop up before the game had even started.

Although draws have now become a staple of domestic games.

But generally speaking, shouldn't they let the player have some fun before popping up these draw prompts?

This game is being way too heartless, isn't it?

The anticipation he had just felt instantly diminished, but Gu Yi still clicked to draw immediately.

After all, no one would refuse a freebie.

【Draw successful.】

There wasn't even a draw UI displayed; the prompt popped up instantly.

【Congratulations to the player for obtaining: God-tier item—Heavenly Phenomenon Card, already stored in the backpack.】

【(God) Heavenly Phenomenon Card: After use, it can trigger various heavenly phenomena at irregular times. The time spent each time will vary depending on the effect, and the specific effect is uncertain. (e.g., falling meteors, landslides and ground fissures, solar or lunar eclipses, etc.)】

【Beginner's gift pack opened successfully.】

【This character integration does not require achievement points; would you like to integrate immediately?】

【Note: Integrating the character means the game has officially begun. During this time, it cannot be paused or restarted until the game ends in failure.】

"Cannot pause, cannot restart, it even has draws, and the draw doesn't even have a UI animation?"

"Is this just purely forcing people to pay-to-win?"

Gu Yi no longer had the slightest bit of goodwill left.

He could even guess the subsequent development directly.

It was nothing more than using some so-called god-tier item to produce a moving animation.

Then using the hardcore feature of the game being unable to restart or pause to milk money, making players pay for draws.

It was just the old routine of the operators.

Gu Yi naturally would not fall for it.

"No wonder they didn't do large-scale promotion; otherwise, they'd be cursed to death."

He casually clicked 'Yes', and without waiting for the screen to change, Gu Yi clicked directly into the backpack interface on the screen.

He selected the only item card in the backpack.

He chose to use it without the slightest hesitation.

This kind of game was destined to be unsuitable for him, who didn't even have a job right now.

Rather than not paying and actively letting the big spenders bully him, it was better to take a freebie from the operator.

Regardless of anything else, enjoy it first!

Let's see what kind of trouble he can stir up.

【Use successful.】

The prompt popped up again, but there was no animation as Gu Yi had guessed.

Everything remained calm and tranquil.

At this moment, Liu Xiu in the scene seemed to see that Gu Yi had not responded, the look of anxiety on his face grew deeper, and he spoke again:

"Everyone."

"Wang Mang is devoid of Dao, usurping the country and harming the people."

"Now that my elder brother has yet to succeed in attacking Wancheng, once Kunyang falls, within a day, all our units will surely be defeated and annihilated by the enemy one by one."

"Instead of this, why not fight to the death?"

"How can a great man be greedy for life and afraid of death?"

This Liu Xiu was naturally very handsome, and coupled with that suit of battle armor, he appeared exceptionally heroic and extraordinary.

And the most critical point was that this segment of the scene had clearly been studied by the development team.

Just as Liu Xiu's voice fell,

A ray of sunlight happened to pierce through the dark clouds and fell right upon him, illuminating him until he shone brightly, as if he were a god.

The sound of discussions all around erupted at this moment.

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

Although Gu Yi no longer had the anticipation he had before, he still thought he would wait for the choices to appear to pick one and see the subsequent development.

However, just at this moment, the sound of a door opening rang out, followed by Gu Ma's voice calling him to eat from outside the door.

Seeing that the choices still hadn't popped up, Gu Yi said casually:

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

"If I don't go with you, Liu Xiu, at a time like this, who would I go with?"

After saying this, he threw the game console onto the bed, picked up his phone, and walked straight out.

At the dining table.

Gu Yi was drinking porridge while scrolling through Douyin.

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

At this time, Gu Yi scrolled to a public account video, which introduced a family.

Although Gu Yi didn't know if it was true or false.

He still watched it.

This was the charm of public accounts; their main selling point was being eye-catching.

Unexpectedly, just as the video ended, he heard the voice of old Gu beside him.

"How can a family of only a few hundred years be bragged about so heavily?"

Gu Yi looked at old Gu in surprise, never expecting that old Gu would actually pick up on this topic, and he explained:

"Families that have been passed down for several hundred years and have clear records are already very rare to see."

His words were originally just a casual remark.

But who knew that after hearing this, old Gu became even more serious, and he put down the bowl in his hand with great solemnity.

"A few hundred years is enough?"

Old Gu stared at Gu Yi with a serious face, "Our family's ancestor followed Emperor Guangwu of Han to conquer the world back then!"

Huh?

Gu Yi was stunned for a moment.

Followed Emperor Guangwu of Han to conquer the world?

Why hadn't he heard of this before?

With old Gu's personality, he shouldn't be joking about such things.

But his own ancestor... why didn't he know?

Gu Yi was a bit bewildered.

Old Gu seemed to have noticed the change in Gu Yi's expression, and with a look of pride on his face, he continued:

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

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

"Just before the Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, was recruiting troops everywhere, and our family's ancestor decided to help Liu Xiu at that time."

"At that time, the Han Army only had tens of thousands of men, while the New Army had hundreds of thousands, claiming to be a million strong."

"Our family's ancestor started his rise at that very time."

Old Gu became more and more proud as he spoke.

Gu Yi stared at him blankly, completely dumbfounded.

He knew that with old Gu's personality, he would absolutely not joke with him about such a thing.

But if he wasn't joking, why hadn't he heard old Gu mention it before?

After all these years, it was impossible for old Gu to have kept such a thing from him all this time.

And why did this plot feel a bit familiar?

Captain?

Deciding to follow after Emperor Guangwu of Han recruited troops before the Battle of Kunyang?

Gu Yi silently turned his head to look at his room, his heartbeat accelerating inexplicably at this moment.

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

"What happened after he started his rise?"

He asked again.

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

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

"You know that the record of the Battle of Kunyang in the Book of the Later Han mentions a meteorite, right?"

"According to the rumors passed down through our family generation after generation."

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

When he finished speaking, Old Gu also wore an expression of doubting his own life.

After all, this is a scientific society, and since this rumor was passed down through the generations, he could only treat it as the delusions of the ancients.

However, to Gu Yi, these words sounded like a thunderclap!

A meteorite is related to our family?

He turned his head once more to look at his bedroom, his heart beating faster and faster.

Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Yi immediately put down his bowl and chopsticks, ran back to his room, picked up the game console, and tapped directly on the family information on the screen.

[Gu Clan]

[Current generation of inheritance: 1]

[Current years of inheritance (from the moment the player entered the game): 0 years]

[Family Head: Gu Xiao]

[Family members: 5 people]

[Current achievements reached: None]

"Gu Xiao?"

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

"Dad, do you still remember the name of our family's ancestor?"

"Haven't I told you before?"

Old Gu immediately looked at Gu Yi, his brows slightly furrowed, quite displeased, "You've forgotten the ancestor's name?"

"I remember it."

"Gu Gong, whose taboo name is Xiao."

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

──────────

"At night, a meteor fell into the camp; by day, there were clouds like collapsing mountains, falling directly onto the camp, scattering before reaching the ground by a foot; the officials and soldiers were all terrified and prostrated." — "Book of the Later Han: Annals of Emperor Guangwu"

(End of this chapter)