A breeze swept past, sending ripples across the water.
Moyu moved the frail old man into the shade of the trees.
After a thorough examination, Moyu confirmed that the old man was in no serious danger. Only then did he stand and head toward the lake.
"December 1998... So I spent a year and a half in there. Has it really been that long?"
Moyu sighed softly.
His immersive training in the ruins had robbed him of all sense of time.
Just one trip in and out, and he had already landed at the tail end of 1998.
"I'll take a bath first, then find somewhere to charge my phone."
Moyu reached the lakeside and stripped off his clothes, placing them on the grass along with his phone and other belongings.
Shortly after he entered the ruins, his phone had run out of battery and shut down.
Over a year had passed. He had no idea whether it would still work.
Moyu waded into the lake.
Just then, Rat Treasure returned to its original form.
"Squeak, squeak!"
It stood on his clothes, waving its stubby arms through a few stretches.
Hearing Rat Treasure squeak, Moyu instinctively looked back.
Rat Treasure finished stretching and leaped forward. Its round body sailed through the air before crashing into the lake, splashing water all over Moyu's face.
Judging by where it landed, that had clearly been deliberate.
Moyu wiped the lake water from his face and shook his head with a chuckle, then began scrubbing himself.
After jumping into the lake, Rat Treasure never resurfaced.
Moyu assumed it was playing and paid little attention.
A little while passed, but Rat Treasure still had not come up.
"Hm?"
Moyu stopped scrubbing and looked curiously at the gently rippling lake.
No way...
A possibility occurred to