"Oh, right, Boss, what was that watch you mentioned just now?" Xiaoya asked, coming back to her senses.
"Oh, nothing. I was just joking..."
Mu You quickly composed himself and slipped the pocket watch into his pocket without drawing attention. "We probably won't get any more customers today. You can head home. I'll clean up the rest later."
"All right, I'll clock out, then. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
Only after watching Xiaoya leave did the smile on Mu You's face gradually give way to a serious expression.
He pulled up today's security footage on the computer at the front desk.
With something as bizarre as time reversing happening right before his eyes, he had no interest in doing anything else. He had to find out who had left that USB drive.
Mu You fast-forwarded through the footage, but there had been nothing on the front desk all morning.
Not until 4:15 p.m. did a USB drive suddenly appear on the desk out of thin air!
Yes, out of thin air!
No one had approached the front desk. One second, the desk had been completely empty; the very next frame, a USB drive abruptly appeared!
Growing increasingly certain that something was wrong, Mu You tried searching for the name "The Fool." But all the results were unrelated. There was no record of this game anywhere online.
"Something's definitely wrong..."
Mu You frowned and decisively abandoned the idea of tracing the game's origins any further. Given what this supernatural game could do, if it didn't want to be tracked down, any effort he made would probably be wasted.
Besides, the game was currently labeled as a closed beta, which meant it would very likely enter open beta later.
In other words, one day in the future, everyone on Earth would be able to download this game...
Mu You didn't dare follow that thought any further. If that day really came, this game would undoubtedly bring enormous changes to the world!
For now, he had simply been lucky enough to encounter the game before most people. That made it all the more important to actively explore its contents and gather as much information as possible before the open beta.
[Under the moonlight, you emerge from the thorn bushes and step onto a forest path.] [Snow-covered leaves cry out beneath your boots. Even the slightest sound startles flocks of birds into calling, while the cries of owls rise and fall, sometimes distant, sometimes close. All of this reminds you that danger lurks everywhere in this forest. The longer you remain here, the greater the danger. You had better find a nearby village as quickly as possible.]
Two options appeared: [Set out] and [Stay here].
Mu You chose "Set out."
[Guided by the moonlight, you begin your journey.] [Three paths appear before you.] [The path on the left is dotted with fireflies, their glow mingling with the moonlight to create a dreamlike scene. In a daze, you seem to see a winged fairy perched on a branch ahead, calling softly to you: "Come here, adventurer. I can grant your wish."] [A burly, drunken man lies on the middle path, holding an axe and a bottle of liquor. He wears a striped prison uniform-he is likely a dangerous escaped convict. You had better stay away from him!] [The path on the right is desolate, without a soul in sight. The winding trail stretches deep into the darkness. Though nothing blocks your way, your instincts warn you that an even deadlier danger may lurk within that darkness.] [So, Fool, which path will you take?]
Mu You looked at the three options below: left, right, and middle.
Rule out the middle first!
The description of the escaped convict on the middle path practically guaranteed a vicious fight.
Meanwhile, the description of the left path seemed to hint that a fairy who could grant wishes awaited him.
Mu You was actually quite suspicious of such an unbelievably lucky option appearing right at the start. It looked more like a trap.
But he could rewind time, couldn't he? Trying it wouldn't cost him anything.
His pocket watch could rewind time by five seconds, and its cooldown was also five seconds, forming a perfect loop. In other words, as long as the current option's text took no more than five seconds to appear, he could loop endlessly within that choice and try out every possible result.
Mu You selected [Left].
[Brave adventurer, you choose to answer the fairy's call and take the path on the left.] [Full of anticipation, you tread across the glowing snow toward the graceful figure perched on a branch.] [But as you approach, you discover that the figure is not a fairy, but a nightmare bat hanging upside down! Nightmare bats love creating illusions at night to lure passing travelers closer, then sucking out their brains.] [You realize this is a trap and try to flee, but it is too late. The nightmare bat flies toward you.] [The nightmare bat bites you to death!] [You have died! Lifespan -1. Remaining lifespan: 57 years.]
Fuck, I knew it wouldn't be that easy!
Mu You cursed inwardly, but the first thing that caught his attention was the final notification: remaining lifespan, 57 years!
That lifespan couldn't mean my actual lifespan... could it?
With any other game, Mu You would never have made such a baseless connection. But with this bizarre game, nothing would surprise him.
So I have 57 years left to live?
And if that guess was correct, it meant every death in this game would permanently cost him a year of his life...
An actual pay-to-play-with-your-life game!
He had wondered why the game was so generous, handing him an absurdly powerful magical pocket watch right at the start. So the price was gambling with his life!
Mu You drew a breath. These thoughts had flashed through his mind in an instant. Seeing that the five seconds were nearly up, he hurriedly pressed the pocket watch's button.
Everything around him reversed again, instantly returning to its state five seconds earlier.
The game's options also returned to the previous fork in the road.
However, the game seemed capable of detecting that the pocket watch had reversed time. Instead of simply reverting, the text quietly changed.
[Lucky Fool, your relic saved your life and prevented your death.] [Time flows backward. You return to the junction from before. Please make your choice again.]
The same three options remained below: left, middle, and right.
Knowing there was a bat on the left, Mu You certainly wasn't going to throw his life away again. This time, he chose the right.
[You choose to take the desolate path on the right.] [Nothing blocks your way ahead. The journey seems smooth.] [A black-spotted spider suddenly darts out from the roadside. A sticky web flies at you, leaving you unable to move.] [The black-spotted spider bites you to death!] [You have died! Lifespan -1. Remaining lifespan: 57 years.]
Shit, wrong again?
Mu You was dumbfounded.
The escaped convict in the middle was actually the right answer?
...Or was even the convict a wrong choice? Was there no right answer at all, with every option leading to death?
Whatever. Rewind first!
[Time flows backward. Once again, you return to the familiar three-way junction.] [Repeated deaths and setbacks have not broken you. So, Fool, which path will you take this time?]
With trepidation, Mu You clicked "Middle."
[You choose to approach the escaped convict in the middle, calling for help from a distance and hoping he can take you back to the village. But the escaped convict is on edge, seeing danger everywhere, and anyone approaching him now only makes him more agitated. He lifts his axe and looks at you with murderous intent...]
The moment this text appeared, Mu You had a bad feeling. Am I about to get killed again?
Fortunately, it wasn't over yet.
[Unfortunately, this escaped convict is a chickenshit and never quite dares to attack. Seeing you approach, he flees in a blind panic. You survive.]
"Shit, what do you mean, 'unfortunately'? Are you disappointed I survived?"
Mu You cursed under his breath while inwardly letting out a long sigh of relief.
Though the game's writing was a little foul-mouthed, it seemed to have at least some standards. It hadn't actually given him a set of choices that guaranteed death.
Still, these opening choices were far too misleading. Only his ability to rewind time had saved him from losing anything.
Thinking of this, Mu You felt even more pleased with the "Time Pocket Watch" he had randomly received. It seemed he had stumbled into an incredibly powerful relic!
Text adventure games were all about having players make one choice after another through the text, with each choice leading to a different outcome.
And being able to reload endlessly meant that whatever choices he encountered in the game, he could always ensure he made the best one!
Was there any ability better suited to this game?
Before you continue