The timeline in Blue Star was quite similar to that of the dream world.
Only some minor details differed.
And Young Master Cao had no intention of deliberately accelerating the progression of the timeline.
Because he understood very well that foresight gave him an advantage—the less he changed, the better his life would be.
But that wasn’t the main reason.
The main reason was that for Cao Cheng alone to alter the course of an entire world and speed up its development was far too difficult and exhausting.
Even with a system at his disposal, it was still an incredibly daunting task.
Especially when it came to technology.
Take this as an example: if you traveled back to ancient times, say the Tang Dynasty, and happened to know a bit about technology, wouldn’t it seem simple to invent a spinning jenny or a power loom in that era?
But here’s the problem.
The trouble begins.
With a broken technological chain and a missing technical ecosystem, trying to introduce modern textile machinery to suppress fabric prices and benefit the masses in that era would be pure fantasy.
First of all, inventions like the spinning jenny or water-powered looms were products of the industrial age, requiring a complete technological infrastructure.
The material challenges alone were immense—iron smelting, steel refining, precision gears, bearings, rubber conveyor belts… and so on!
This was a matter of upstream and downstream industrial chains.
Then there was the power system, whether hydraulic or steam, which required supporting infrastructure like water conservancy projects or steam technology.
No commercial technology exists in isolation.
The same applies to the modern era. Despite its apparent advancement, introducing futuristic technology now would still face significant hurdles.
Take this gaming helmet, for instance. Would it have been useful if introduced ten years ago?
Absolutely not.
Forget about the rest—5G didn’t even exist back then.
Want to connect to the internet? Forget it.
Of course,
if the system cheated hard enough to provide an entire industrial chain, it might work, but there would still be countless issues.
Take the loom, for example.
Even if the system solved the problems of steel, bearings, precision gears, rubber, hydraulic power, and steam, an even bigger challenge would arise.
Cotton ginning technology, dyeing techniques for fabrics, post-weaving processes…
To put it bluntly, without widespread cotton cultivation techniques, such a loom would be practically useless.
So,
to truly benefit the people, you’d also need to solve problems like cotton breeding, farming, and ginning to ensure a steady supply of raw materials.
Not to mention the resistance from local interest groups.
And it’s not just bureaucratic opposition.
There’s also pushback from the grassroots.
If you succeeded in introducing high-tech machinery, countless traditional artisans would lose their livelihoods.
That era wasn’t like modern times.
Many crafts were passed down through generations, and losing their trade meant starvation.
The emergence of something entirely new requires reform.
Only the scale of reform differs.
……
Long story short,
it’s just too much trouble.
This is why Cao Cheng didn’t want to interfere with the timeline.
Leaving it untouched benefited him.
Meddling with it brought no advantage—only exhaustion.
Any rational person would choose not to act.
Besides,
given how the timeline was progressing, the Eastern District would inevitably rise to the top eventually. Why bother intervening?
If something unexpected happened and disrupted the natural course… it might even backfire.
That would be disastrous!
……
So,
whether it was the Immortality Club or other technologies, Cao Cheng remained restrained.
He didn’t reveal everything.
Otherwise, the Immortality Club wouldn’t have remained stagnant for years with little progress.
If he really wanted to push for development, Cao Cheng could become the most powerful person on the planet within a year.
He could even recruit a bunch of foreign lackeys.
But he chose not to…
What’s the point of foreign lackeys? They stink.
As for the current gaming helmet,
it’s not a big deal.
At its core, it’s just a game.
Only slightly more advanced than the average one.
A handful of people could sense its potential threat.
But even if they knew the gaming helmet might pose risks to their industries or even their nations…
the immediate benefits were too tempting to ignore.
Especially for capitalists—they couldn’t care less about national interests. All they cared about was how much money this game could make them!
……
……
When various gaming companies began promoting virtual reality games, fans were stunned at first.
Then, within moments, the topic skyrocketed to the top of trending lists.
Excitement was through the roof.
Even those who didn’t usually play games—middle-aged folks drowning in stress—took the time to check it out.
“Holy sht~~~ Is this for real~~~ cutting-edge tech?”
“Gaming helmets are actually a thing now?”
“I just read a VRMMO novel, and now… this? Am I the protagonist? Where’s my cheat ability?”
“You’re just an NPC—why would you need a cheat?”
“Damn…”
Within just a few days,
everyone knew about it—whether they wanted to or not.
To put it simply, the hype never died down.
Every hour, every minute, people were scouring the internet for details or posting questions.
Some asked about the price.
Others, inspired by VRMMO novels, wondered if becoming a god in the game would make them a god in real life.
There were even questions about whether in-game currency could be exchanged one-to-one with real money.
After all, that’s how most gaming novels portrayed it.
In those stories, the game became life itself—players could earn salaries just by joining a guild.
Some asked about the realism of the experience.
Would doing that in the game feel just as good in the brain?
Or would they… finish in real life too?
In short…
No question was too bizarre.
The sheer enthusiasm made it clear—once the game launched and the helmets went on sale, it would trigger a buying frenzy.
……
……
Fortunately,
Cao Cheng didn’t keep people waiting too long.
After the initial marketing blitz, the hype still hadn’t faded after about ten days.
Then came the day—
The online press conference.
This event had no physical venue and no invited guests.
It was simpler this way.
After all, it was just a product launch.
Call it a press conference, but wasn’t it just glorified live-streamed sales?
Cao Cheng saw no difference.
8:30 PM.
The livestream began.
Multiple streams were set up to prevent lag from overwhelming traffic.
Thirty-eight channels in total.
Each with a slightly different angle.
But all focused on the same screen.
……
This time, Young Master Cao made a personal appearance.
Adding more prestige to the helmet’s launch.
The screen flooded with comments like “Hubby’s here!”
Even the trolls held back.
Cao Cheng opened with a brief introduction.
“Today’s event is a bit rough around the edges… and somewhat rushed.”
“Originally, I planned to hold it after the New Year, once everyone had celebrated properly—a proper offline event, inviting industry peers, partners, and some fans to attend in person…”
“But.”
“We’ve seen your excitement over the past few days.”
"So after discussing it among us mid-level managers, we figured selling sooner or later makes no difference... Since everyone’s eager to know, we’ve decided to launch sales today."
"That’s also why today’s announcement is being held online—a bit rushed, but we hope you’ll understand."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
spital. Good news: I've bound a system. Bad news: I'm still a baby. "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, do not bully the middle-aged for being poor — Divorce Comeback System." "Your marriage may have failed, but your luck in love has never run dry. Your childhood sweetheart, out of contact for twenty years, reappears. Her beauty remains, yet her eyes are brimming with tears." [Listen to the childhood sweetheart's sorrowful story.] Chen Zhi looked down at the diaper he was wearing, then at the little childhood sweetheart crying her heart out beside him, and fell into deep thought. Can anyone relate? I'm having a midlife crisis at an age where even rolling over is a struggle.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
