The silence in the room was so thick, you could hear a pin drop.

  “What did he just say?”

  “A virtual reality gaming pod? Isn’t that stuff just in novels?”

  “Maybe we misheard him!”

  The brief silence shattered, replaced by a wave of excited chatter.

  Everyone there had at least heard of virtual reality games, usually from novels and movies like Ready Player One.

  But in real life? None of them had ever heard of anyone actually developing it.

  “Hey, boss, we’re all adults here. Don’t try to pull a fast one on us, alright?”

  Jake had expected this reaction.

  If he were in their shoes, he’d probably react the same way.

  After all, virtual reality gaming was a game-changer, something that could rock the entire gaming world!

  Groundbreaking stuff always faces skepticism and misunderstanding.

  Like Galileo back in the day.

  Now, it was Jake’s turn to be in the hot seat!

  “Everyone, hold your horses. Once you’ve tried our virtual reality pods, all your doubts will be answered. Then you can make up your minds!”

  “Hmph!” Someone scoffed in the crowd. “What if you’re wrong? What happens then?”

  “Then today's entire bill is on me!” Jake yelled, "Everybody just go wild, play whatever you want, eat whatever you want!"

  “Alright!”

  “You got a deal! A promise is a promise!”

  “I wanna see if this virtual reality thing is all hype or the real deal!”

  The crowd surged forward, flooding into the virtual reality arcade.

  Jake called out, “Just lie down in the gaming pod, put on the helmet, and the pod will start automatically. Then, you’ll be transported into the game world!”

  Following Jake’s instructions, the visitors lay down in the pods, including the brother and sister.

  As everyone settled in and put on their helmets, the pods started to close and activate.

  "Not gonna lie, this feels pretty cool."

  "Yeah, definitely getting some novel vibes."

  "I don't know why, but I'm starting to get a little excited..."

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  As the gaming pods activated one by one, the crowd's murmur quieted down, and eventually faded away.

  The egg-shaped arcade felt like a spaceship cruising through the vast cosmos, with the crew all tucked into their sleep pods, waiting to be woken up.

  Seeing that everyone had entered the game world, Jake calmly settled into the central control unit.

  By entering the game world through this unit, he could oversee every move the players made, like a god looking down on them.

  Jake's consciousness flickered briefly, then he found himself floating above a collection of colossal stars.

  Below him were vibrant, majestic stars, and wide-eyed players.

  These players floated above the stars, mouths gaping open wide enough to swallow a light bulb.

  Their expressions were varied - some were bewildered, others were shocked, and some were ecstatic.

  "No way this is real, man!"

  "Holy crap, this feels exactly like the real thing. Is this really a game?"

  "Hey, butthead! Why'd you grab my butt?"

  Right now, every visitor was in awe, shocked by the sheer realism of the world before them.

  Even the melancholy guy had abandoned all his negative thoughts, trying to understand and explore this new world.

  "Alright, folks, each of these stars represents a game. Since this arcade is in its trial run, we've only developed one game – Green Hell, a racing game set on that green planet right in front of you!”

  “Just approach the star to enter the racing game!”

  Before Jake could finish, the melancholy guy had perked up the most.

  He jerked his head up, his heart suddenly racing.

  Green Hell might not be a household name.

  But to every racer and race fan, it was legendary.

  Green Hell was a track with complicated terrain, long distances, and all kinds of winding combinations.

  All of those combined factors made this track an immense challenge!

  It used to be an F1 race location, but due to its extreme difficulty and history of accidents, it was removed from the F1 circuit.

  With that in mind, this track definitely lived up to its name, Green Hell!

  Every car manufacturer tested their new models out on the track before release.

  It seemed like the only way to get their car verified as a hit was to be endorsed by Green Hell!

  Green Hell also held high-profile racing competitions!

  Over time, the fame of Green Hell had steadily risen, becoming a pilgrimage location for a majority of racers and race fans!

  To this young man, Green Hell was like his own personal Mecca.

  He had dreamed on several occasions of representing the U.S. and speeding down that track.

  Tears unknowingly formed in his eyes.

  He flailed like a beginner swimmer, floating towards the star in an awkward manner.

  He couldn’t help but be mocked by the rest of the crowd as he clumsily moved.

  But he drowned out the mockery, and was not concerned.

  At this moment, he only knew to pray silently.

  Hoping the Green Hell here was the Green Hell he knew about.

  “Bro, wait for me! Don’t run so fast!” His sister tried to catch up.

  The brother quickly came close to the green star, turning into a beam of light and falling inside of it.

  The other visitors followed close behind, forming their own beams of light.

  The green star looked as though a meteor shower had arrived on it.

  The visitor's figures were sent down to the track.

  The race engineers walked up to greet each visitor.

  The visitors ignored the race engineers, touching the area around them.

  Some were feeling the ground of the race track.

  Others walked into the thick brush.

  A few had even found the NPC women to harass them.

  After a while, every player responded the same.

  This game rocked!

  Besides the game itself!

  The feel of realism that came with it beat out 2077 and Los Santos.

  This wasn't just one against ten. It was one against one thousand.

  Not a single person in this room was opposed to it!

  "This game's frickin' awesome!"

  "This is what games are supposed to be like. What was I doing before?"

  "Someone slap me and let me know this ain't a dream!"

  But the most affected was the young man.

  With tears in his eyes, he kneeled down to kiss the track.

  Unlike everyone else, he was already familiar with Green Hell, and not only by visiting once!

  The feel in this world was exactly like the one he felt in the Green Hell he had been to in the past.

  The air even smelled just as sweet!

  "Racer, what is your name? After registering, I'll help get your car here so you can conquer Green Hell!" The race engineer walked back over.

  PS: Thank you all for the gifts. Remember to like it and urge for more updates after reading!