Chapter 3: The Vast Oasis

Wang Bo pushed open the door and walked into the street shop, finding dozens of customers inside, each looking different: humans, half-robots, demons, dark elves, and a few vampires.

Their attire also varied—for instance, an elf wearing an elegant suit, a demon clad in armor fit for a knight.

And those vampires were dressed like priests. Wang Bo confirmed one thing once again:

The people in this world really knew how to have fun.

"Sir, may I help you?"

Just then, a charming beauty in office lady attire approached Wang Bo. Judging by her outfit, she was likely a shop assistant.

From her appearance, figure, and face, she was a beauty worth a ninety out of a hundred.

But Wang Bo wasn't sure if this was her real look and body, since the game allowed face customization—handsome men could become ugly, and ugly women could become stunning beauties.

Even gender could be swapped.

Because when Wang Bo registered, he could indeed create a female character.

In other words, when you thought the person before you was a charming beauty, they might actually be a scruffy guy in real life.

When you thought the foul-mouthed man before you was a rough fellow, in reality, they might be a gentle beauty.

The online world was truly magical—it could make the timid bold and the cowardly fearless. It was like a kaleidoscope magnifying glass, revealing a bizarre and splendid world of chaos.

Wang Bo smiled slightly and said to the attendant, "I need some suitable clothes."

The attendant asked softly, "Sir, what kind of clothes do you need? Casual, sportswear, business, or special?"

Wang Bo understood the first three, but the last one left him puzzled.

Noticing his confusion, the attendant explained that 'special' included armor, protective gear, and cosplay outfits.

Here, you could buy armor and shields, or Superman suits and Batman costumes.

Even Wonder Woman's outfit was easy to get.

But these were just ordinary clothes with similar appearances, lacking special abilities. To get authentic versions, you had to enter corresponding storylines and complete quests.

Or kill the owner—there was a chance these items would drop.

"Give me some casual wear, a few sets of sportswear, and some business clothes, thank you."

The attendant, realizing Wang Bo was wealthy, smiled even brighter and did her best to recommend expensive-looking clothes.

These clothes were pricier than real-world ones, but in the game, they were just data. Yet buyers flocked to them, as they symbolized status.

Wearing these clothes on the street would earn you plenty of awe and envy.

This world was just that amazing.

Wang Bo wasn't short on money; he bought whatever he liked, regardless of price. Before he knew it, several splendid outfits had been added to his inventory.

The attendant, who had been recommending items, was already beaming.

He clicked on a piece of clothing, and with a flash of light, he had changed into a stylish casual outfit.

"This outfit suits you perfectly, sir," the attendant complimented. "I've never seen a man with such presence."

Wang Bo smiled nonchalantly, stood before the mirror, and saw himself in a black T-shirt and straight black trousers.

Simple in appearance, but the material was exquisite. Even though these were just data, the texture they displayed was that of high-end clothing.

A few minutes later, Wang Bo left the shop, found a comfortable outdoor café, ordered a coffee, and opened a virtual webpage to browse.

Although Wang Bo had seen the plot of Ready Player One, it didn't cover much.

Many basic things were unclear to him.

This time, he naturally wanted to figure them out.

As time passed, Wang Bo gradually gained some understanding of the Oasis world.

The Oasis was undoubtedly an incredibly vast world.

When the game first launched, there were only a few hundred planets to explore, all designed by GSS programmers and artists.

GSS was the abbreviation for the company that developed the Oasis.

GSS's programmers and artists designed hundreds of planets, each with different environments—from sword-and-magic worlds to cyberpunk-themed mega-cities, to sewers full of radiation-mutated zombies. Everything was meticulously crafted.

Their models were later widely used in newly developed areas.

AI NPCs populated all planets—these system-controlled characters, beasts, monsters, aliens, and robots interacted fully with Oasis players.

GSS's grandeur was also reflected in its inclusiveness of previous similar works: EverQuest and World of Warcraft were recreated in the game, allowing players to log into Norrath or Azeroth.

Other virtual worlds were also included, not just the virtual reality and the Matrix from The Matrix.

You could even see the Firefly universe next to the Star Wars universe, while the Star Trek world was not far from Star Wars.

There was also Middle-earth, Vulcan, Pern, Arrakis, Starmillora Beta, Ringworld—one crystal sphere after another, one plane after another, one world after another.

For distinction and easy navigation, the Oasis was divided into twenty-seven square sectors, each containing hundreds of different planets—or planes, whatever you called them.

Each sector was exactly one hundred and six light-years long, or ten light-hours, so if you traveled at light speed, you could cross from one end to the other in exactly ten hours.

Such long-distance travel was not cheap; only a very few ships could do it, and you needed enough fuel.

One of GSS's ways to make money was to let people refuel their virtual ships with virtual fuel. Of course, their main revenue came from teleportation fees.

After all, teleportation was the fastest method, though also the most expensive.