Fool

Outside the Wonder Pet Store in K City's development district.

Mu You shoved the large dog cage in his hands into the back of the van.

"That's the last cage, sir. I'll transfer the delivery fee to you later."

"No problem, Boss Mu. If you have any more cats or dogs to sell, give me a call anytime!"

"Will do."

After watching the driver leave with a van full of cats and dogs, Mu You turned back toward the now half-empty Pet Shop and silently lit a cigarette.

Two years ago, his parents had died in a car accident, leaving him this Pet Shop.

To fulfill their wish, he had quit his job and returned to his hometown to devote himself to the store, hoping to get the Pet Shop back on its feet.

Unfortunately, times were changing too quickly. With the pandemic taking its toll, running a brick-and-mortar business had become hellishly difficult.

For the past few weeks, the Pet Shop had been operating at a loss. A day's earnings couldn't even cover the cost of feed. Left with no other choice, he had sold all the cats and dogs in the store, planning to switch to selling birds, fish, insects, and plants, which cost less to maintain.

"Hopefully things will turn around."

He stubbed out his cigarette and went back inside.

As soon as he entered, he saw a girl with a ponytail and an apron standing behind the counter, staring blankly at the rows of empty cages.

"What's wrong, Xiao Ya?"

The girl's name was Shen Ya, and she was the Pet Shop's only remaining employee.

"Boss..." Xiao Ya looked at Mu You, hesitating. "Our store isn't... going to close down, is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

Mu You tapped her on the head and said with an amused smile, "We're just narrowing our range."

Seeing her clutch her forehead with an aggrieved expression, Mu You sighed.

Xiao Ya had been hired back when his parents ran the store. All told, she had worked here for four full years.

Over the past six months, the other employees had quit one after another. She was the only one who had stayed.

When it came to affection for this Pet Shop, Xiao Ya's feelings ran every bit as deep as his.

"Don't worry. Unless I really have no other choice, I won't sell the store."

The store was a keepsake his parents had left him, and the place he had grown up in. Of course Mu You wouldn't let it close so easily.

Besides, his business wasn't limited to offline sales.

He ran content accounts on all the major video platforms. By regularly posting pet videos, he earned a sizable monthly income, so keeping things going wouldn't be difficult.

"Oh, okay! That's a relief!"

Only then did Xiao Ya brighten up. "I'm going to scrub the turtles' backs!"

Watching his adorably ditzy employee run into the pet bathing room, Mu You walked farther inside. His gaze swept across the counter, and he suddenly paused.

"Xiao Ya, is the USB drive on the counter yours?"

"USB drive? No!" Her puzzled voice came from the bathing room.

"Did a customer leave it behind?"

Mu You didn't think much of it and was about to put the USB drive in the lost-and-found box.

But when he picked it up, he discovered a note underneath.

"Open it, and you'll discover a new world."

Mu You paused as he read the words on the note.

What did that mean? Was this USB drive meant specifically for me?

Curious, he sat down behind the counter and plugged the USB drive into the computer.

When he opened it, he found only two files on the 16 GB drive.

One was an app file named "Fool (Closed Beta Version 2.41)," and the other was a TXT file labeled "Game Invitation Code."

"A mobile game?"

Mu You wore a strange expression.

Were mobile games going this far to promote themselves now? Download a game and get a free USB drive?

Curious, he ran a scan with his antivirus software. After confirming there were no viruses, he transferred the app to his phone.

He installed it and registered an account with practiced ease.

Then he entered the activation code and launched the game.

The rousing background music and gorgeous game cinematics he had imagined never appeared.

Instead, an utterly bare-bones rectangular interface popped up.

There were no images or sounds, only white text on a black background. The characters appeared on the screen one by one, as though someone on the other end were clumsily typing them out.

[On a snowy night, you awaken in a forest blanketed in snow.]

[Cold winds howl through the woods, and owls call out one after another. Chilly moonlight spills at your feet. Every dead tree around you seems to bear a twisted, weeping face.]

[Amid the drifting snowflakes, you slowly begin to recall the past you once forgot.]

[This is a magical world known as the Star Spirit World. Werewolves, vampires, elves, witches, broom-riding wizards, heartless tin men, talking mirrors, ghosts in ancient castles... together, these legendary magical beings make up this strange, dark world.]

[Long ago, your people also lived on this continent. But because your ancestors could not wield magic, the wizards mockingly called them "Fools."]

[The arrogant Wizards' Association refused to share a world with the Fools. They waged war, gathered the magic, and built the "Great Wall," separating ignorance from true knowledge. A rain that erased all remembrance wiped away your memories, and your people were forever sealed within the magicless Land of Forgetting.]

[Now, by a stroke of luck, you have slipped through a crack in the "Wall" and returned to your ancestral homeland.]

[Here, you are despised, rejected by this world. From this point onward, you must tread carefully. Every choice you make will directly affect your fate...]

[If you are certain you are ready to face all this, tap Start and embark on your journey!]

[Tap "Start" to enter the game.]

"So that's what 'Fool' means..."

Mu You was a little surprised.

He had thought "Fool" in the game's title referred to something within the game. Only after reading the background introduction did he learn that it actually referred to the players.

For all its crude interface design, the game had a remarkably expansive setting. In just a few sentences, it had revealed a strange, dark world of magic.

The players had stumbled into this world by accident. Now they would explore it, hunt for treasure, and take revenge on the Wizards' Association that had once driven them out!

"Start!"

Mu You tapped the button.

[Under cover of wind and snow, you officially set foot on the soil of your homeland.]

[But you exude the unmistakable aura of an "Exile." To avoid arousing the suspicions of the natives, you must disguise yourself as a resident of this world as soon as possible.]

[A floating gift box appears before you.]

[This is a gift the ancestors of the Fools prepared for every returning descendant. Open it to receive a random Ancestral Relic. An Ancestral Relic can conceal your aura as an Exile, preventing other wizards from discovering you. Open it now?]

There were two options: Yes and No.

This must be the beginner's gift pack, right?

With that thought, Mu You quietly tapped [Yes].

[Drawing Ancestral Relic...]

[Draw complete!]

[You have obtained "Time Pocket Watch (Hidden)": press the pocket watch to rewind time, helping you evade dangers lurking in the shadows.]

[Note: when drawing a relic, there is a one-in-a-thousand chance of obtaining a powerful, unique hidden relic.]

"A hidden relic?"

Mu You couldn't help pausing at the text prompt.

There was only a one-in-a-thousand chance, yet he had gotten it on his first draw... His luck was pretty good today!

...Of course, everyone might be guaranteed a hidden relic on their first draw. That was a standard trick in pay-to-win mobile games.

Either way, although this was just a "scrappy little text game," its expansive setting and unusual text-based exploration and treasure hunting gave Mu You a reason to keep playing.

He tapped the screen, about to continue, when he suddenly felt something cold in his right hand, as though he were holding an object.

Looking down, he saw a small, round pocket watch resting quietly in his palm.

It had a copper case, a white face, and a protruding button on top, with a golden chain attached to the button.

Mu You stared at the pocket watch in bewilderment.

Where did this come from?

He didn't remember having an old-fashioned pocket watch like this at home. Besides, how could a watch suddenly appear in his hand?

"Boss, are you reading your palm?"

A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

He looked up to find that Xiao Ya had come over without him noticing. She was leaning on the counter with her chin propped in both hands, curiously studying his open palm.

"Reading my palm?"

Her question prompted a strange thought in Mu You's mind.

"Xiao Ya, can't you see this watch?"

"Watch? What watch?"

"The pocket watch in my hand!"

Mu You even lifted the pocket watch to show her.

"B-Boss, don't scare me... There's clearly nothing in your hand..."

Xiao Ya stared at him as though she had seen a ghost and instinctively stepped back. In doing so, her arm accidentally knocked the glass at the edge of the counter.

The glass fell. Xiao Ya hurried to catch it, but she was too late.

Crash!

The glass, filled with water, shattered, scattering shards and tea across the floor.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." Looking thoroughly ashamed, Xiao Ya instinctively reached down to pick up the broken glass.

"It's just a glass..."

Mu You was about to wave it off, but for some inexplicable reason, his finger pressed the pocket watch's button instead.

The next instant, a flash passed before his eyes, and everything around him suddenly began rewinding at tremendous speed.

The spilled water returned, and the broken glass became whole!

Once everything settled, he opened his eyes and looked again.

The shards and wet patches on the floor had vanished without a trace.

The shattered glass was back on the counter, completely intact.

His right hand was still holding up the pocket watch to show her.

In front of him, Xiao Ya was once again standing beside the counter, staring at him as though she had seen a ghost.

"B-Boss, don't scare me... There's clearly nothing in your hand..."

The familiar words rang out, leaving Mu You frozen. What's going on? Am I dreaming?

The next second, Xiao Ya's elbow struck the glass again, sending it straight down once more.

Mu You's pupils contracted. His right hand shot out like lightning, barely catching the glass in midair.

"Ah!"

Xiao Ya cried out. Looking at the glass Mu You had caught, she patted her chest, still shaken. "Good thing you reacted so fast, Boss. It almost broke."

"..."

Mu You didn't answer. Instead, he stared at the glass in his hand in shock.

He had experienced the same scene twice-and even changed its outcome...

Instinctively, he looked back at his phone screen.

A new notification had appeared in the game interface.

[Time Pocket Watch: a pocket watch blessed by the Time Fairy. Press the button to reverse time, returning to five seconds earlier. Each use has a five-second cooldown.]