December 31, 2048
Mo Tan dragged his exhausted body home and watched wooden crates being carried into the living room by several burly men. He stared blankly as they worked briskly for half an hour.
Throughout the process, he merely sat quietly on his not-particularly-spacious sofa, watching the employees of the "Innocent" corporation work with dedication.
Their job was to assemble the first mental-simulation product developed by the company—the dedicated gaming pod for Innocent World.
After the assembly was complete, Mo Tan politely saw off the sweating technicians. He turned around and dropped himself into the expensive contraption that took up a considerable amount of space and had made him queue for most of the afternoon. His right hand unconsciously tapped the glossy black shell of the pod lid. After a while, an ambiguous smile appeared on his face.
Clearly, Mo Tan was not exactly a normal person. In fact, he was quite abnormal...
Patients with multiple personality disorder were extremely rare in every era. There was no effective treatment, and because the symptoms themselves were so dramatic, countless movies, novels, and other works of art had used them as gimmicks and selling points. Under normal circumstances, as long as they were not too terrible, such works sold fairly well.
By now, everyone had probably realized that twenty-one-year-old Mo Tan was such a patient. The reason he could still be preparing to log into the latest virtual online game at home instead of muttering to himself at a mirror in some psychiatric hospital was mainly due to two things.
First: he had diagnosed the condition himself. After consulting a massive amount of information and comparing it with his own situation, Mo Tan had confidently confirmed the diagnosis when he was thirteen.
Second: he was very clever. Thus, despite suffering from such a special and difficult-to-control illness, Mo Tan had hidden it extremely well. No one had noticed anything unusual. As for just how clever he was, one fact should suffice.
Incidentally, the information Mo Tan had consulted was not basic knowledge one could find by casually searching on a phone. It belonged to major medical institutions, both domestic and foreign. To gain a more detailed understanding of various cases, he had even hacked into police databases more than once.
Of course, he had never been arrested.
In short, it was a long story~
Rather than launch into a lengthy explanation here, I would prefer to reveal his circumstances gradually over the course of the story. So let us return to the story...
Do you want to try living in another way? Here, you can become your truest self!
Mo Tan repeated the words on the pod lid—the same words used in Innocent World's advertising—in his mind and could not help laughing self-deprecatingly. "As a cash-strapped mental patient who doesn't believe in sales pitches, what on earth was I thinking when I bought you...?"
He stood up and stretched his body a little. Then he muttered, "All right, let's begin the experiment. If the official claims weren't exaggerated, we'll know soon enough..."
With that, he opened the gaming pod, but did not lie down immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly and began taking deep breaths.
After a while, unlike the unrestrained air he had always carried before, Mo Tan's expression became gentle and peaceful. The change was so drastic that we could tell at a glance... The boy had probably split.
And that was indeed the case. Mo Tan's personality had truly changed. However, this personality was somewhat special. It could almost be called the product of him giving up on self-treatment and simply smashing the jar. It was also the personality he used most of the time over the years—his primary personality.
He then lay inside the gaming pod, set his sleep and wake-up times, changed the AI's voice to that of a calm, soothing woman, and closed his eyes.
Your mental connection has been detected. Synchronizing personal information...
Innocent World welcomes you. Character creation will begin shortly...
After a brief period of light sleep, Mo Tan found himself standing on a platform carved with countless patterns. Nothingness surrounded him on all sides, while countless dazzling, multicolored designs flickered within it. After observing for only a short time, he discovered many familiar constellations, vegetation, human outlines, and things he had never seen before, such as geometric arrays and phantom images of strange beasts...
"Hmm, the realism is quite impressive." After briefly evaluating the space and his current physical sensations, Mo Tan murmured, "It said 'character creation will begin shortly,' rather than 'please create a character.' So it really is more or less what I expected..."
Before he finished speaking, nine spots of light in different colors suddenly appeared in the void. Accompanied by a rushing sound that was not particularly harsh, they grew larger and larger. By the time Mo Tan reacted, a circle of towering, imposing gates had appeared around him.
"Huh?" Mo Tan had not heard any system prompt, so he froze for a moment. Then he looked around and muttered, "Do I have to choose one and enter myself? If so, how is that different from choosing actively?"
He said this because he had already seen that each gate bore four exceptionally conspicuous characters. Each one also corresponded to a different aura emanating from it.
Without the slightest hesitation, he walked toward the nearest gate. It was dark red, faintly shrouded in black fog, and resembled the entrance to hell. Skeletons and pools of blood filled both sides, making it an exceptionally cool gate.
"Come on, I'll create a character, experience the thirty-thousand-yuan purchase, and then log off to return it." Muttering, Mo Tan reached out. Yet when he gave the gate a completely feeble push, it produced a deafening roar. Then...the gate collapsed.
It felt like some creature that had realized it was trapped and, unable to bear the humiliation, had blown itself up in a final act of defiance!
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mo Tan looked down at the horrifying rubble, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Isn't this a bit much...? How badly did you not want me to enter? You could have just locked yourself and made it impossible for me to push open. Did you really have to explode!? How much do gates hate me!?"
Despite his words, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. The scene had not made him annoyed or disappointed. On the contrary, if Mo Tan had been able to push open the gate marked Chaotic Evil, that would have disappointed him.
He continued forward and arrived before another black-and-white gate. He had just reached out his hand when—
BOOM!!
"Hey..."
Mo Tan rolled his eyes at the gate lying facedown in front of him, not knowing what to say. Just now, the thing had suddenly toppled forward, apparently trying to crush him beneath it.
This was a gate filled with an unstable aura and marked with Chaotic Neutral.
"What a wonderfully distinctive alignment~" Having received the answer he wanted, Mo Tan rolled his shoulders and walked to a gate that was entirely golden and decorated with white patterns. He asked, "I suppose you won't open for me either, will you?"
The gate marked Lawful Good shifted slightly backward, subtly yet politely expressing its rejection of Mo Tan's ugliness... Er, politely refusing him.
"All right, I admit that this incredibly distinctive D&D rule system has caught my interest." Mo Tan moved several steps to the left, placed his hand against the pure-white gate, and gently pushed it open. Then he walked in as a matter of course.
After his figure disappeared, the gate representing Absolute Neutral slowly closed amid repeated rumbles.
Your alignment is—Absolute Neutral. This alignment can never be changed. Calculating your initial talents, race, and abilities...
In the darkness, Mo Tan heard the system's voice again.
As he had expected, the official information for Innocent World contained a notice telling players that their initial alignment would follow their characters forever. Its specific effects would have to be explored further by the players...
The fact that the race and talents, which the official announcement had not mentioned, were also determined by the system surprised Mo Tan somewhat.
Calculation complete. Your initial character information is:
Race: Human Gender: Male Level: None Alignment: Absolute Neutral Talent: Affinity (Slightly increases the favorability of all creatures with no strongly defined personality toward you) Base Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Intelligence 7, Constitution 5 ※Hyperlink※ Strength—Increases physical attack power, carrying capacity, and damage from certain skills Dexterity—Increases movement speed, maximum evasion rate, theoretical hit rate, and damage from certain skills Intelligence—Increases magic damage, mana capacity, and magic resistance Constitution—Increases maximum health, maximum stamina, and physical resistance Note: What you see is merely the tip of the iceberg
"All right~ One note basically negates everything described above." Uncertain where he was, Mo Tan closed the hyperlink with his mind and continued reading.
Mental Attributes: Eloquence 5, Charisma 2, Knowledge 8, Leadership 0
"Knowledge is probably high because I understand D&D rules so well. Charisma and leadership... All right, I admit I have no presence." Although Mo Tan did not open the hyperlink, that did not stop him from making a casual complaint.
Combat Attributes: None
Please name your character.
Mo Tan thought for a moment before saying the two words, "Hei Fan." He knew that the version of himself who served as his primary personality most of the time was not really Mo Tan at all, so he casually took part of his real name, modified the "Fan" in "ordinary," and came up with this slightly self-mocking name.
Character name: Hei Fan. Please confirm.
The words "Hei Fan" appeared at the top of the character information. Since the system synchronized with the player's thoughts, there was no nonsense about different characters with the same pronunciation. Nevertheless, it still asked for confirmation once more.
"No need."
Would you like to adjust your appearance?
The instant Mo Tan heard the question, he suddenly saw himself floating in midair, dressed in coarse cloth.
"No need."
Character creation complete. Hei Fan of Absolute Neutrality, welcome to Innocent World.
The darkness receded. The instant Mo Tan regained control of his body, he opened his eyes.
Snow-white linen sheets entered his view. He found himself lying facedown on a fairly spacious bed.
Tutorial quest triggered—
A translucent window suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Mo Tan quickly read the single line of small print on the quest panel: Leave the Green Inn and join the Marshall Territory Self-Governing Army.
A simple, clear, straightforward quest.
Mo Tan climbed off the bed and discovered that he was dressed exactly as he had been when the system asked whether he wanted to adjust his appearance. He then used his thoughts to open the equipment panel, following the tutorial he had seen in the manual while waiting in line earlier that day.
The characters in Innocent World had fourteen equipment slots: head, shoulders, cloak, shirt, pants, shoes, bracers, gloves, main-hand weapon, off-hand weapon, two rings, amulet, and a special equipment slot. Aside from the last one, they were not very different from those in mainstream games.
At present, Mo Tan only had equipment in the shirt, pants, and shoes slots.
There was no need to list the exact attributes. If they had to be described in one sentence, they were a linen set with a combined defense of 3.
He also looked at the character and skill panels. The former was unchanged from the beginning, while the latter contained nothing at present.
Mo Tan did not leave the room immediately. Based on his experience, places like this usually had a little loot to be found...
Finally, after searching beneath the bed, investigating the wardrobe, and furiously flipping up the carpet—all three rounds ending in disappointment—Mo Tan found something behind a potted plant in the corner of the room.
One pack of Novice Potions Weight: 0.5 kg Contains: One Novice Healing Potion, one Mana Potion, and one Antidote Potion. Note: Why was it hidden in a place like this?
"I'd like to know that too... Why was it hidden in a place like this...?" Mo Tan hurriedly packed the potions into his bag and left the room. Merely searching around for a while had consumed thirty percent of his stamina.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw a humanoid creature with a lizard's head carrying an oak barrel and jogging past him. As it passed, it turned back and pulled its face into what was probably a smile. "How did you sleep, guest?"
"Uh, pretty well~" Mo Tan raised a hand in reply. This NPC seemed quite lifelike. He then went downstairs to the inn's lobby.
It seemed to be afternoon, but apart from a blonde female elf dozing behind the counter, there were few people on this floor.
Mo Tan thought for a moment and decided to go over and say hello first. Before he could even approach, however, the weary-looking elf girl's ears twitched twice. She raised her head and lazily said, "You got up right on time. The recruitment office probably hasn't closed yet. Turn left when you leave and keep going. Good luck."
"Huh?" Mo Tan was somewhat surprised. He had not even had a chance to ask, yet she had already answered.
"What do you mean, 'huh'?" The elf shook her ears and rubbed the corner of her eye with a slender finger. "Didn't you say when you checked in last night that you planned to try your luck with the Self-Governing Army this afternoon?"
Mo Tan understood more or less what was going on and nodded slightly. "Thanks. I was just about to leave."
"Don't mention it~" The young proprietress of the Green Inn waved her hand. "You don't have to hurry. Recruitment lasts three days. It's fine if you missed the first day. You can stay another night here, too. Of course, you'll have to pay~"
Mo Tan thanked her again, then turned and walked out of the inn. The air outside was fresh and dry, and the fragrance of the earth lifted his spirits.
"At least I don't have to worry about losing health because of air pollution here." Mo Tan sighed lightly, as though the smog he had breathed for more than twenty years in reality had somehow shortened his lifespan. Then he set off, merging into the pale golden afterglow cast by the setting sun.
Before you continue