CHAPTER 4: CHAPTER 4: WHAT THE HECK!

The street food market in Cai County is brightly lit, usually lasting until two or three in the morning.

Lin Qianxuan casually found a roadside stall and ordered a bowl of red oil three-flavor noodles and a plate of cooked beef.

While waiting, he started playing with his phone.

He watched two edge videos and checked out some current news.

It is now 2031, and for these past few years, there’s been almost constant warfare abroad, with some small countries nearly wiped out.

Xuan Country is better off, not involving itself in these chaotic affairs, relying on its enormous size, it remains stable despite turbulent waves.

Lin Qianxuan felt grateful in his heart that he was born in a peaceful country.

At this time, the two guests at the neighboring table started discussing the topic of moons in the sky using a dialect.

"This moon, there are really quite a lot! Even when the lights are off, it’s this bright."

"I counted them; there were only thirty-two at the beginning of the year, now there are thirty-five."

"Do you think they might be some high-tech satellites, and in case of war, they could directly launch nuclear weapons to kill those foreign fools!"

"What if they were launched by foreign countries?"

"Then we would be in trouble ....."

....

Upon hearing this, Lin Qianxuan looked up again at the many circular moons in the sky.

He was actually very curious about what exactly these moons that have appeared over the years were.

If he remembered correctly, the first extra moon appeared in the sky five years ago.

At that time, he was still studying but was also doing internships.

This event had startled astronomers from different countries, though the moons could be seen, they apparently didn’t have a physical presence.

During that period, there was extensive related research.

However, what left the deepest impression on Lin Qianxuan was that someone from his university said the moon was the Otherworld, and he accidentally crossed over to it for some time before returning.

That person even posted on a forum, weaving the story so convincingly that for a time, it was difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

But later, the police came to investigate, detained him for two days, and it was found that he was spreading rumors, he was a part-time novel writer simply trying to build up hype for his new novel.

If it were just that, Lin Qianxuan wouldn’t have been so deeply impressed.

The main reason was that this guy managed to secure a spot for postgraduate study, and after a period of time, he disappeared, reportedly recruited by a major company to go work in Beijing.

This added an extra layer of mystery to his rumors.

"Your noodles are ready, enjoy!"

"Thank you."

.....

After finishing his noodles, Lin Qianxuan paid the bill.

The balance in his mobile account showed he had fifty-three thousand yuan left.

Over the past three years, his average annual post-tax earnings were actually around sixty thousand yuan.

The reason there’s only this amount left is that a large portion was donated to the Happy Orphanage where he was raised.

As for Lin Qianxuan himself, he had bought a seventy-three square meter house, spent thirty thousand on renovations, and used some money for food and drink.

This was thanks to the housing prices outside the small county town.

If it were the city center, all the money he earned in the past three years would have gone into it, and he might still have to owe some mortgage debt.

Returning to the community, he walked up to the third floor, heading straight for his door, 305.

At this moment, he encountered another man going out.

This was an unkempt man, with a face full of stubble as if it hadn’t been cleaned for months.

He lived next door to Lin Qianxuan in 306, named Ye Mao, who had helped Lin Qianxuan when he first moved in.

Ye Mao was a homebody and an online worker, seemingly in the gaming field, usually stocking up months of living supplies at once, then not going out for several months.

But Lin Qianxuan seldom heard much from him; it was as if Ye Mao vanished once he entered his room.

"Brother Ye, it’s rare to see you; are you going out to buy supplies?"

Lin Qianxuan greeted him.

Ye Mao glanced at Lin Qianxuan, his eyes fierce and aggressive like a wild beast, and his body also made a move indicating an attack, causing Lin Qianxuan to take half a step back.

But immediately, Ye Mao seemed to realize something and restrained that look and movement, saying somewhat dryly, "Yes."

The two then passed each other, Lin Qianxuan casting a somewhat odd look at his back.

How could gaming end up like this?

Maybe it might cause psychological issues.

He can’t let himself be like that.

Even if work requires it, he has to be more active.

He opened the door, entered the room, and seeing it was already late night, decided to rest first and tackle work tomorrow.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next day, Lin Qianxuan washed up and went downstairs for breakfast outside the community.

Then he returned, edited the video, and chose to publish it.

After completing these tasks, he recalled the AI dialogue romance game recommended by Lao Liu last night.

Honestly, this high-quality AI dialogue romance game, if made into a video, would certainly become immensely popular.

It generates images in real-time based on player choices, fully immersive, with intelligent AI characters, not brainless, and rich background stories and contents.

One could say this thing, once released, would definitely skyrocket in popularity.

The only pity is that it appears to be in beta, with limited playthroughs.

Lin Qianxuan looked at the link Lao Liu gave him, and since giving him this link yesterday, Lao Liu hasn’t been online, nor is he friends with him on chat software, so Lin couldn’t find any way to ask him about the situation.

He gazed at the desktop, where there was a shortcut for "String of Destiny," the icon looking like countless intertwined strings.

After opening the link and playing through it once yesterday, this thing appeared on his computer desktop, seemingly auto-loaded, quite convenient for playing.

Thinking it over, Lin Qianxuan decided to play it again himself and see if he could clear the game first.

He clicked the icon, and strings intertwined on the desktop.

Before long, the same alley appeared in front of Lin Qianxuan’s computer.

Having played it once, Lin Qianxuan was now familiar with many operations.

However, he glanced at the nine remaining [Destiny Restart] attempts left, temporarily shelving some wild ideas.

This game is pretty decent, let’s see if I can clear it first, then try other things later.

After pondering for a bit, Lin Qianxuan decided to gather information first.

See if there’s anything he could use.

First, there’s the current character information; he ought to know the game’s character’s background and origin, right?

(Thinking to himself, my name, and why I came to Chao Li Country.)

[You stand outside the alley and suddenly ponder your background. You remember your name is Lin Qianxuan, a name given to you by the director of the Happy Welfare Institute. You came to Chao Li Country this time because you helped Sharan Studio promote their romance game and brought them back to life, so they strongly invited you to Chao Li Country for a trip...]

Stunned!!

Lin Qianxuan pursed his lips slightly.

Sharan Studio?

If he remembered correctly, the game he played earlier about strategizing a fridge was also by Sharan Studio.

Was it called "Love of Daily Life"?

In the game, various everyday items could suddenly become personified into beautiful girls.

Anything from toothpaste and toothbrushes to slippers and underwear, mobile phones and mice; the gameplay was decent, the storyline had depth, and most importantly, the character illustrations were indeed enticing, with that half-human, half-object feel...

Of course, none of that mattered.

What’s important is, why does such a backstory exist?

Did Old Six preset it for him?

For immersion?

Lin Qianxuan’s expression flickered slightly, suddenly typing the next line of words.

(Thinking about when my birthday is?)

[You recall your birthday. Since you’re an orphan, you’re unaware of when your birthday is, so the director of the welfare institute assigned it to January 1st, New Year’s Day, so you could celebrate with everyone, making it more lively. Many of your friends also celebrate their birthdays on this day.]

Lin Qianxuan fell silent.

This is something only the children at the welfare institute would know.

(Thinking about the girl I secretly liked during university.)

[You recall the youth of your university days. Back then, you developed feelings for a 2D character named Shalan.]

And it even knows this?

He never spoke of this.

Because Shalan was a character from an R18 anime....

He had lived a disciplined life until a university roommate recommended an R18 anime to him. Opening the door to a new world, he was profoundly shaken, leaving an indelible mark on his psyche.

By the way, it was an octopus girl....

His peculiar taste seemed to have accidentally formed around that time too.

But more importantly, is the game character really him?

"Right, let’s check the date."

Lin Qianxuan seemed to remember something and quickly entered a line of text.

(Check what today’s date is, Xuan Country time.)

[You check your phone, which displays the current date as Xuan Country time, June 5, 2031, 7:41 AM.]

Lin Qianxuan looked at his own phone, which showed May 13, 2031.

Next month’s date.

Lin Qianxuan squinted slightly, picked up his phone, opened the notepad, and entered a title "String of Destiny," pinning it to the top, then typed a passage inside.

After doing this, he input another line in the game.

(Open the phone notepad and view the content of the pinned document.)

[You opened the phone notepad and saw in the pinned "String of Destiny" document the words "This document leads to the future."]

"Holy crap!!!"

In an instant, Lin Qianxuan nearly lost his voice.

He stood up, pacing back and forth in place, suppressing the unease in his heart.

Lin Qianxuan clenched his fists tightly; this game exceeded his expectations.

Simulation of the future?

Can it be real?

After a while, Lin Qianxuan regained some composure.

He went to the living room, checked the main door to ensure it was locked, then returned to the bedroom and locked the door as well.

After doing all this, he directly disconnected the computer from the internet.

Unexpectedly or perhaps expectedly.

The game continued to run.

With trembling hands, Lin Qianxuan modified the text in the pinned document in the phone notepad.

Then he repeated his earlier action on the computer.

(Check the content of the pinned document in the phone notepad.)

[You checked the content of the pinned document "String of Destiny" in the phone notepad, which reads "The future is in my hands."]

Seeing this line, Lin Qianxuan’s hands and feet suddenly went numb, and he slumped back against the chair.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!"