Chapter 1: Welcome to "Sky Island Paradise"

“Hey guys, let’s get off work early today and play a few rounds of Changhai 3C tonight?”

“I’m in! It’s been ages since I last played. Let’s ask Han Xing to join us.”

In the city of Xinyang, inside an office building, two men were chatting.

Han Xing heard someone call his name, but he didn’t respond right away; instead, he kept his head down. He was engrossed in a pixel-style survival adventure game on his phone called “Sky Island Paradise.” The graphics were refreshing, the music light and cheerful. Players started out on a floating block, exploring other drifting islands to scavenge supplies and expand their territory.

But as he played, Han Xing realized the game was far more complex than it first appeared. During exploration, players would unwittingly trigger various side quests, each with multiple choices that seemed to steer the direction of the story. When strung together, these side quests formed a vast, overarching narrative. Beyond the abundance of side content, the in-game character dialogues were vivid and lifelike. When speaking with the protagonist, these digital figures displayed such genuine emotion that Han Xing sometimes wondered if he was conversing with a real person.

As he followed the quests, long-buried histories were gradually unearthed...

All this left Han Xing questioning: could such depth really exist in a pixel game under 100MB?

He was completely hooked.

Just then, a notification appeared on his phone screen:

[The game will undergo maintenance in ten minutes. New version content is about to be released. Please look forward to it…]

Maintenance? Hadn’t the game only been in beta for a few days?

Han Xing was puzzled, but then a well-built man appeared beside him.

Cheng Jianyong clapped Han Xing on the shoulder, squinting with a grin. “Whose pretty girl’s videos are you watching? Didn’t even hear us talking to you.”

Han Xing put away his phone and said, “I heard you.”

“I’m just surprised—our department hasn’t hit its performance targets this month, and that idiot Chen Ergou is watching us like a hawk. You really dare skip overtime?”

Cheng Jianyong chuckled, full of bravado. “Overtime? Screw that!”

“For that kind of pay, he thinks I’ll slave away for him every day? Even if a god showed up, I’m leaving early today!”

His tone was resolute, but Han Xing looked at him skeptically.

Nearby, a man in a suit laughed. “Han Xing, don’t listen to his big talk. He got shackled by marriage right after graduation—unlike us, free and easy bachelors. If he doesn’t work overtime, who’s gonna feed his wife and kid?”

This man was Shen Yun, who had graduated from the same university as Han Xing and Cheng Jianyong. The three had shared a dorm for all four years, bonded over common interests, and after graduation joined the same company—Han Xing’s only two friends.

Being exposed, Cheng Jianyong looked a little sheepish on his weathered face. “It’s just one night—no big deal…”

Seeing his reaction, Han Xing and Shen Yun exchanged a smile.

“It’s true, we haven’t played a game together in ages,” Han Xing remarked.

Shen Yun’s face softened with nostalgia. “Yeah, I really miss our college days…”

Just then, a figure appeared behind the trio.

“If you miss school that much, why don’t you just go back?”

Hearing this voice, all three felt a foreboding chill.

It was their department manager, Chen Huaibo.

Privately, Han Xing and his friends called him Chen Ergou—the boss’s loyal lapdog.

Chen Huaibo wore a scowl as he demanded, “What are you three plotting? Performance targets unmet, and you’re thinking about games?”

“A useless bunch—complain about a few days of overtime like you’re pampered princesses. Tell me, are you quitting? If you want out, get lost! Don’t just warm a seat and do nothing.”

“There are plenty of fresh graduates out there without jobs. If you won’t work, others will! Shameless freeloaders!”

Shen Yun stepped forward, his voice low and steady. “Watch your mouth.”

Though not loud, his tone brooked no argument.

The office fell silent. A few cautious colleagues peeked out, hardly believing someone dared talk back to Chen Huaibo.

“What did you say?” Chen Huaibo’s face darkened. “You think I won’t call the boss right now and have you thrown out?”

Shen Yun was about to speak when Han Xing waved a hand to stop him.

Han Xing looked at Chen Huaibo and said, “Cut the act. Isn’t your real goal to kick us out so you can sneak in your own relatives?”

“Chen Huaibo, don’t think we don’t see right through you,” Han Xing scoffed.

“You—”

“Oh, spare me. Go ahead and call the boss if you have the guts. See if he’ll fire us.”

Han Xing had no fear. Even if the department was underperforming, the three of them were the top contributors.

Chen Huaibo shook with rage. He never expected the usually low-key Han Xing to stand up to him.

He stepped forward, ready to grab Han Xing by the collar, but Cheng Jianyong suddenly blocked his way.

“Chen Ergou, you think you’ll get away with starting a fight here?” Cheng Jianyong’s squint carried a threat, his imposing frame radiating intimidation.

Chen Huaibo’s hand withdrew. Facing the united front of the three friends, his expression soured as if he were about to burst.

Han Xing tugged on Cheng Jianyong to pull him back, about to tell him not to start anything, but before he could speak, everything went black.

In that instant, a system notification echoed in everyone’s ears.

“The update for the new game version is complete. In three minutes, every human on Blue Star will be entered into the game.”

“Game instructions: This is a world with no land. Countless islands of varying size float in the sky, each hiding both opportunity and peril. But first, you must find a way to survive.”

“Each player will soon be given a floating plot of land. This is your core territory—the foundation upon which your sky island will be built. If it is destroyed, you lose everything.”

“You can navigate your territory through the air to contact cloud-shrouded islands, explore them, gather survival resources, or occupy them to expand your domain.”

“Opportunities and dreadful dangers lurk on every island. Every player has only one chance to live—failure means death. Choose wisely…”

“The elderly and children, as vulnerable groups, will be placed with their relatives after one month of gameplay…”

“Now, welcome to ‘Sky Island Paradise.’”

When Han Xing regained his sight, he found himself floating tens of thousands of meters in the air. Looking down, he saw only emptiness—no land in sight.

High above the world, a gentle breeze blew; clouds drifted lazily by.

A massive wave of terror swept through him.

At that moment, a personal status panel appeared before Han Xing.

[Name: Han Xing]
[Race: Human]
[Class: None]
[Level: LV0]
[Strength: 3, Agility: 2, Spirit: 4, Stamina: 5]
[Skills: None]
[Talent: None]

Then, the system’s voice sounded again.

“Please choose your class system.”

“There are currently five systems: Warrior, Mage, Cleric, Hunter, and Rogue. Once players reach a certain level, they can advance their class using a job scroll.”

Han Xing froze for a moment. His panic faded, replaced by wild joy.

He could choose a class!

Not only that—these five class systems were exactly the same as in the mobile game he’d played!

He hadn’t played the mobile version for long, but compared to others, Han Xing understood the classes more deeply.

Just by their names, it was clear: warriors excelled at close combat and could later become Swordmasters or Berserkers, then advance to Sword Saints or Warlords…

Mages manipulated elements to deal damage, and could later become Elementalists or Illusionists, progressing to Elemental Sages or Weavers…

The other three classes were similar, each with two advancement paths and further progression.

Barring surprises, most people would only be able to pick from these ten classes.

“I played Hunter before. I should choose Hunter again to maximize my advantage.”

“Most importantly, when I played the mobile game, I heard from an NPC about a hidden Hunter class…”

That hidden class was called Wild Ranger!

If the early stages of the game matched what he’d played on his phone, he’d have a head start in claiming this hidden class!

Han Xing made up his mind. Just as he was about to select Hunter, a solemn prompt echoed in his mind.

[Detected: Player ‘Han Xing’ is uniquely attuned to this world. Personal talent ‘Divine Artisan’ has been activated.]

[Divine Artisan (SSS, Unique Hidden): You will never fail when crafting any item. The chance of producing high-quality items is greatly increased.]

Han Xing stood there in shock, utterly astonished. “What the hell???”