Can Shang nodded. “Alright, but with our current strength, it’s impossible to make it flawless.

“I can use the power of the Orderer to cover things up for a while, making most people overlook anything suspicious.

“But as time goes on, someone will inevitably notice something. By then, it’ll be hard to keep this secret under wraps.”

Henry Clark didn’t mind. “It’s fine. If it really comes to that, there will be people in the real world who’ll help us keep this news contained.

“After all, releasing such information would be enough to cause panic and would weaken humanity’s ability to protect itself.

“The most urgent task now is to quickly finish developing this groundbreaking virtual reality game.”

……

Five hours later.

Still in Tiandu City, inside a certain rental apartment.

Self-proclaimed hardcore action game player William Carter had just finished today’s “movie binge” and was idly scrolling through his phone.

Naturally, he couldn’t avoid seeing today’s hottest topic again: all the world’s top news and social media sites had been overrun, flooded with the same information.

So far, the online discussion about this so-called “Orderer’s Notes” had exploded in popularity, with endless speculation and theories.

Yet no one had been able to provide a truly convincing explanation.

However, as William Carter refreshed the latest news, he suddenly noticed a possible breakthrough.

Below those posts, there was now a link to a website!

Curious, he clicked in and found it was an official game website.

“A virtual reality game based on ‘Orderer’s Notes’—‘Dark Sands’—will launch grandly at 10 p.m. tonight! Now recruiting closed beta players, spots are limited, click the [Reserve] button below to join now!”

The page was simple. Upon entering, a promotional CG immediately filled the screen, and aside from that, there were only two buttons.

One was the [Closed Beta Player Recruitment Notice] in the upper right corner, and the other was the large [Reserve] button below.

The promotional CG started playing automatically.

……

It was a high-altitude, bird’s-eye view, piercing through layers of clouds, revealing the outline of the land of Jiuzhou.

Mountains stretched endlessly, peaks rose majestically, great rivers surged eastward into the sea.

The view swept across the beautiful landscape, and a deep female voice seemed to speak right beside the audience, narrating gently.

Accompanying the voice, a grand, epic background score began at just the right moment, its melody shifting with the tone of the narration.

“Vast is Jiuzhou, where all things are born.

“This is the homeland of generations of Orderers, and also the dreamland coveted by demons.

“In the chaotic currents of time and space, ancient sages saw through the demons’ schemes and left behind warnings.”

The scene changed, seemingly to an ancient battlefield between humans and demons.

The demons were defeated, but they went into hiding, ready to make a comeback at any moment.

“Time passes in a flash, but the mission of the Orderers does not lighten with the years—instead, it grows ever heavier.

“Demons hide within the fragments of the past, waiting for their chance.

“The past has already been altered, yet people today remain completely unaware.”

At this moment, scene after scene appeared before William Carter’s eyes: history being rewritten by demons, foreign invaders who should have been repelled instead sweeping in, renowned figures who should have been remembered in history wrongfully killed…

“The sun is already setting, and the usurpers hope it will never rise again.

“In the chaotic, tangled currents of time and space, find the altered slices of history and set them back on the right track.

“And this is the mission of the Orderers!”

The production quality of this promotional CG was truly top-notch, even surpassing the highest-end AAA games currently on the market.

As a hardcore action game player, William Carter felt his blood boil watching this CG.

He immediately clicked on the closed beta player recruitment notice.

“‘Dark Sands’—a virtual reality game surpassing 100% realism—is recruiting closed beta players!

“Game type: Eastern fantasy historical theme, a role-playing game with certain Soulslike difficulty and roguelike elements.

“Requirements: Good mentality, quick reflexes, strong nerves and stress resistance, some knowledge of history, and excellent physical fitness.

“Bonus points: Superb acting skills, preferably at the level of a movie king!

“If your acting is average, as long as you fit the character and can play yourself, that’s fine too.

“Special reward: Among closed beta players, the one with the best simulated completion performance can undergo the ultimate trial. If you achieve a perfect result, your story will be presented to the public as a movie or game—fulfilling your dream of becoming a movie king!”

William Carter read through the promotional CG and recruitment notice twice before finally getting a sense of what was going on.

“So… this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, but rather a unique marketing strategy for a game?

“This so-called ‘Orderer’s Notes’ was just a warm-up for the game?

“But to buy up the top headlines on the world’s leading news and social media sites just to promote their own game—what kind of background does this game developer have?!”

Chapter 3: Closed Beta Qualification

William Carter couldn’t help but marvel at how clever this game company was. Compared to conventional methods, this kind of marketing really did generate a lot of buzz!