He opened his eyes.
The basement ceiling came into view above Xia Lun.
He sat up, stretched with satisfaction, then braced his right hand on the armrest and vaulted out of the Game Pod.
Unlike the past few Scenarios, this one had been short despite its intense moments. Several Shallow Dream loops and an adventure in a deeper dream had taken less than twelve hours in total.
In other words, it was the shortest Scenario he had ever experienced.
Xia Lun didn't feel as though he had returned from another lifetime. If anything, he wanted more.
Having White Line as a teammate really is great. We work well together, she has plenty of items, and she gets things done. She even has that unbeatable Psychological Invisibility, Xia Lun thought. If Renee were here to do my thinking for me, it would be even easier.
Wait, what am I thinking? I'm a puzzle-solving Player who relies on Intelligence. How can I want to avoid thinking?
As the two sides of his brain argued, Xia Lun glanced toward the wall out of habit.
The clock's hour hand pointed to two, and its minute hand pointed straight up. It was exactly two in the morning. One hour had passed in reality. The Scenario had been short, yet more real time had passed than in any Scenario except "Pilgrimage of Despair."
This Scenario took place in the same world as Sea Battle Royale and Looping Island, but the time ratios were completely different. That's strange.
Xia Lun stared at the clock for a while, then remembered the special exchange offered during the fourth Scenario: Anchoring Different Worlds' Time. *It seems that without it, time in different worlds doesn't line up at all. The next time I enter this world, I might end up back