Previously, it was mentioned that the development and operation of the game "Sword Maiden OL" were driven by two main objectives. The first objective was to alleviate the mental stress of a large number of idle people, enriching their lives in a virtual world. The second objective was to identify and cultivate the pillars of human society: the Sword Bearers. A virtual world was created to hone their combat skills, as the mortality rate in real battles was too high, with only 50% of Sword Bearers surviving their first five real battles.
To recreate the true combat environment and process as accurately as possible, all the battle instances in "Sword Maiden OL" are based on historically significant and well-known battles. Every scene, building, landscape, enemy, and NPC in the instances is based on real historical battles, not the whims of a group of otaku.
For example, the beginner instance where Guhan is located, "The Sword of King Goujian," is a story known to everyone in human society, much like the stories of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, or the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han. No Earthling is unaware of this story, as it marks the end of one era and the beginning of another.
"The Sword of King Goujian" takes place in the year 2024, almost a thousand years ago, when the dimensional barrier between the third and second dimensions inexplicably developed countless cracks. A large number of beings from the second dimension poured through these cracks into the third dimension, initiating a brutal war that lasted over a thousand years.
Humans named these enemies from the second dimension "Yuan Kuo," a name filled with anger and sorrow. Why "Yuan Kuo"? Perhaps because "Er Kuo" (Second Kuo) sounds too silly, and "Ci Kuo" (Secondary Kuo) sounds too inferior.
The war began with a complete and utter defeat for humanity. As beings from the second dimension, the Yuan Kuo were naturally immune to all third-dimensional attack methods. They could be seen by human eyes, but their bodies seemed to exist in another world. No matter how many bullets or missiles were fired, they would pass through their bodies without causing any harm.
As the U.S. Secretary of Defense put it at the time, these Yuan Kuo were like ghosts and spirits—visible but untouchable. Our brave soldiers emptied tens of thousands of magazines, but could not inflict even the slightest damage.
However, these ghosts and spirits could harm us. Their swords could easily pierce our bodies; their guns could fire endlessly without needing ammunition; they could even transform into magical girls and unleash devastating super magic. Dear members of Congress, I must admit, it is time for us to meet our God.
In just five days, the entire world's defense system collapsed. Countless cities were reduced to ruins by various attacks, and countless humans were brutally killed by the Yuan Kuo. According to statistics, in just five days, the Earth's population of 7 billion was reduced by two-thirds, leaving fewer than 2 billion people.
Just as all humans were preparing to close their eyes and face destruction, the Sword Maidens appeared. They appeared so suddenly and so powerfully, confronting the powerful Yuan Kuo in life-and-death battles. Ultimately, this led to a world where, a thousand years later, humans, based in eight super base cities, fought the Yuan Kuo for the right to survive.
The Sword of King Goujian was the first Sword Maiden to appear in this world. The "Sword of King Goujian" instance recreates the story of the Sword of King Goujian and her first Sword Bearer, Liu Nianli, a man revered by later generations as the Sword Ancestor, as they fought and defeated the Yuan Kuo for the first time.
This is a story known to all, a tale that has been widely sung and is familiar to every human.
The main characters of the story are two: one is our Sword Maiden, the Sword of King Goujian; the other is her first Sword Bearer, Liu Nianli, a man later revered as the Sword Ancestor.
In the instance, Liu Nianli, the Sword Ancestor who has been celebrated for a thousand years, is still a cowardly ordinary person, hiding in the family-run "Honest Man's Grocery Store," living a life of idleness without any sense of being a savior. Guhan's task is to find this man and guide him on the path to becoming a savior.
Liu Nianli is not hard to find, as his location has been marked countless times in various guides, and the fastest route has also been marked countless times.
Guhan followed the standard route marked in the guide, rather than trying to throw a coin and hope to be led to Liu Nianli... There is no shortcut for this task... Guhan spent ten years and found no clues.
Fortunately, this route does not take much time.
Although the front door of the grocery store was open, Guhan did not enter through it, as the path inside was blocked by collapsed plywood. The only entrance was on the side of the store, in a small room used as a warehouse. The security bars on the window were half-peeled off, and the window could be easily opened.
After entering the warehouse, Guhan found it in a state of chaos, as if it had been ransacked.
This was normal, as the one who ransacked it was Liu Nianli himself. In the end times, storing valuable food and water is knowledge that every otaku possesses, which also indicates that the warehouse leads to where Liu Nianli is.
Pushing open the door to the warehouse, the stairs were blocked by fallen rocks, and a hole had been made in the ceiling. Guhan leaped up, grabbed the edge of the broken ceiling, and with a pull-up, easily made his way to the second floor of the grocery store.
Liu Nianli's hiding place was easy to find; it was the only intact room on the second floor.
"Stop! Who are you? Don't come in, I have a gun!" Guhan heard a threatening voice from inside the room as he prepared to knock on the door. The voice was so nervous that it was almost breaking.
"Is this Liu Nianli? Don't misunderstand me, I am here to find you, sent by Aunt Zhang Yaru!" Guhan replied according to the standard answer in the guide.
"What? You are sent by my mother?" There was a burst of joy from inside the room. "Is my mother okay?"
"Of course, she is fine. Your mother is the police chief. She is protecting a large group of civilians in the underground storage room of the museum, which is very safe. She asked me to bring you there."
As described in the guide, upon hearing that he was sent by his mother, Liu Nianli did not hesitate to open the door.
Only this answer could make Liu Nianli lower his guard and open the door. Do not underestimate these few words; if they were wrong, Liu Nianli would not open the door, and the only option would be to wait an hour for the system to force the door open.
"System notification: Task updated, Task 3: Find Liu Nianli completed."
"System notification: Task updated, Task 4: Gain Liu Nianli's trust and lead him to the Jingchu Provincial Museum."
"Uncle... Brother... Please come in. Would you like something to eat? I have quite a few instant noodles, let's have a bowl to fill our stomachs!" Liu Nianli, who expected an uncle-level person, was surprised to see a brother not much older than himself.
However, this brother's face, with four fierce scars, looked terrifying.
"Is this the young Sword Ancestor?" Although he knew it might raise suspicion, Guhan couldn't help but carefully examine Liu Nianli's appearance. This was the young Sword Ancestor, different from the countless photos and paintings of the Sword Ancestor standing with a sword, facing thousands of Yuan Kuo without flinching. At this moment, the Sword Ancestor's face was filled with "immature and unreliable" and "naive and innocent."
"What, is there something dirty on my face?" Liu Nianli felt that Guhan's expression was like seeing a panda in a zoo.
"Yes, there's a small piece of vegetable leaf on the corner of your mouth!" Guhan casually wiped Liu Nianli's mouth. "Come on, let's go see Aunt Zhang, she's almost worried to death."
"Okay, wait a moment, I'll pack my things and come." Liu Nianli had no doubts about the brother who came to pick him up and happily returned to the room to pack his luggage.
"Liu Nianli, don't bring any food," Guhan quickly said when he saw Liu Nianli heading for a large pile of food in his room.
"Why? My mother is saving so many people, they must need a lot of food!" Liu Nianli was puzzled.
"You don't know, the streets are full of Yuan Kuo. Their noses are as sensitive as dogs. If you carry food, they will track you by the smell, and your life will be in danger. In the past few days, I have seen many people killed by Yuan Kuo because of the food they carried," Guhan said sadly.
Actually, he was lying. Whether you carry food or not, the Yuan Kuo don't care. However, if Liu Nianli packed food, it would waste a lot of time and slow down the journey.
"Heaven, how can this be!" Liu Nianli had no doubts about Guhan's words and immediately threw away the food in his hands, then turned to his wardrobe to pack some clothes.
"Liu Nianli, you can only carry a backpack-sized item!" Guhan quickly said. "The underground storage room of the museum has been blocked, leaving only a very narrow entrance. If you carry too many bags, you won't be able to get through."
"Only a backpack?" Liu Nianli began to hesitate, unsure what to pack.
"Quick, let me help you!" Guhan didn't have time to let Liu Nianli hesitate. He quickly entered the room and, in less than forty seconds, found over fifty items, including a toothbrush, towel, notebook, pen, iPad 11, iPhone 14, and more, and stuffed them into Liu Nianli's backpack.
Liu Nianli watched in amazement as the brother stuffed items into his backpack. The brother seemed to know his room better than he did, finding items he had forgotten where he had placed them or that had fallen under the bed or in the gaps of the table.
Upon closer inspection, the items the brother packed were exactly what Liu Nianli wanted to take, without missing a single one. Liu Nianli couldn't think of anything else he needed to bring.
"Thank goodness, no mistakes!" Liu Nianli was amazed, and Guhan also breathed a sigh of relief. It took him a month to memorize the fifty items and their locations in the guide. If he had made a single mistake, Liu Nianli would have refused his help and packed his own bag.
The guide clearly stated that if Liu Nianli packed his own bag, it would take twenty-five minutes... completing Task 4 within an hour would be impossible. Therefore, Guhan had to find all the items quickly and accurately in one go.
Guhan only had one chance. If he failed, Liu Nianli wouldn't let him pack again, and forcing it would cause a conflict, raising suspicion and wasting more time.
"Brother, let's go, I can't wait to see my mother!" Liu Nianli, now with his backpack, stood at the door, urging Guhan.
"Liu Nianli, can I borrow your sword?" Guhan pointed to a long sword hanging on the wall. It was just an ordinary sword, but it played a crucial role in Liu Nianli's plan.
"Sure, no problem," Liu Nianli agreed readily.
"Let's go!" Guhan closed the door firmly and led the naive Liu Nianli, unaware of the dangers ahead, out of the Honest Man's Grocery Store.
At this point, only three minutes had passed in the instance.