Li Zixuan settled into the camp and joined in the new recruit testing mentioned by the instructor. He didn’t leave for several days.

Of course, these "several days" refer to the in-game time. As many players had speculated, a game is still just a game; no matter how much it strives for realism, it can’t be exactly like reality.

In the eyes of the players, this training camp feels more like a novice training base. Every day, the newbie guide—also known as the bearded instructor—would schedule various basic operation training within the game for them.

Inside the camp, there is plenty of information for players to explore, such as a small booklet about information on this planet placed on an NPC soldier’s bed, or certain soldiers might reveal some background story details during conversations.

Based on the information Li Zixuan gained, they are currently in the year 8732 of the Federation Calendar, located on a planet named Desert Dust Star, which is an outpost base for the human federation against the Desert Worm Clan.

To his surprise and delight, the insects in the game are set up to be exactly like the real Desert Worms, meaning he can use the information he possesses in real life to deal with those insects, and he can also apply the data obtained in-game to real life.

However, as an ordinary person, apart from some data about the Insect Race learned in school, he hasn’t encountered any real Desert Worms. So, the information he has in real life is of no practical help—it’s all just superficial armchair strategy.

Like him, most players find the current situation quite vexing. Although they’ve often fantasized in real life about when they could personally wipe out a few alien species like the Anti-Demon Army soldiers.

But now, when truly facing those monsters, most people can’t help but feel timid. Even though it’s just a virtual game, when the realism reaches a certain level, it makes people subconsciously forget it’s all just fake.

Through observation, Li Zixuan discovered that the planet they are currently on should be akin to a dungeon space. After completing basic novice operation training, the system will automatically enter transition mode after a short rest, where the day would turn into night and then day again, moving them directly to the next day without waiting.

In fact, although they have been training here for several days, in reality, only a little over an hour has passed.

Of course, not all players can withstand the pressure brought by the Insect Race. Some older players and some female players chose to quit. When they tentatively asked the instructor to leave, the latter surprisingly didn’t make it difficult for them. Instead, he let them confirm their decision several times, then promptly wrote off their military status and sent them back to the city behind the lines.

Seeing this, Li Zixuan understood that they likely triggered a different side quest. Besides combat professions, there are also life professions to choose from in the game. Those people returning to the city probably embarked on a different path, whether as purely casual lifestyle players or freewheeling mercenaries. Overall, the game’s openness is quite high and didn’t disappoint people.

Most people chose to stay, and Li Zixuan was no different. Even if he doesn’t linger in the Federation’s Mechanical Battle Force in the future, he could organize a force to become a mercenary. At the very least, he has to complete this novice tutorial; otherwise, considering the game’s hardcore nature, developing independently may leave him unable to perform even the most basic combat actions.

Time flew by, and in the game, ten days passed, while in reality, only two hours went by. The players finally completed the basic novice operation training and embarked on their first mission outside.

Many people still felt a bit dizzy at this point. The difficulty of the novice operation trial far exceeded their expectations. The instructor gave them a set of Exoskeleton Armor, which has both automatic and manual operation modes. In such a short time, newbies naturally couldn’t learn manual operation. Even automatic operation requires assistance from the built-in AI assistant in the armor to complete.

Even so, many people stumbled clumsily as they walked, often falling flat on the ground, annoying the bearded instructor to the point where he kept scolding them as useless.

However, despite being berated by the instructor, no one really minded, since, in their eyes, he was just an NPC. Who would bother arguing with an NPC?

Even if some people operated as awkwardly as someone with Parkinson’s disease, it didn’t quench their enthusiasm at all.

It’s simply because this armor is incredibly cool. They have even seen this armor in reality, isn’t it the Qin En Armor Type 3 that the Anti-Demon Army soldiers wear?

Although the Type 3 is an outdated model from many years ago, as the Qin En Battle Armor has been upgraded to the seventh generation now, these ordinary people normally can’t interact with such things. Being able to so realistically experience wearing the Type 3 battle armor in-game is very satisfying.