This Text Adventure Game is Absolutely Toxic

  Chapter 1 The Fool

  K City Development Zone, in front of Troll Pet Shop.

   Mu You stuffed the large dog cage in his hand into the trunk of the van.

   "Master, this is the last cage, I will call you after the shipping fee."

   "No problem, Boss Mu, if there are cats and dogs for sale in the future, please feel free to contact me!"

"good."

  …

  Watching the driver leave with a car of cats, cats and dogs, Mu You turned his head, looked at the half-empty pet store behind him, and silently lit a cigarette.

  Two years ago, his parents died in a car accident and left him this pet shop.

  In order to fulfill his parents’ wishes, he quit his job and returned to his hometown to run the store with all his heart, hoping to start a pet shop again.

  It's a pity that the times are changing too fast. Under the impact of the epidemic, it is now difficult to do physical business.

Since a few weeks ago, the operation of the pet store has been beyond its means, and the daily income can’t even make up for the money for feed. In desperation, he had to sell all the cats and dogs in the store, and prepared to switch to a lower-cost flower and bird business. Fish shop.

   "I hope it gets better."

   Stuffed out the cigarette, Mu You turned and went back to the shop.

  As soon as I entered the door, I saw a girl with a ponytail and an apron standing at the front desk, staring at the rows of empty cages in the store in a daze.

   "What's wrong, Xiaoya?"

  The girl's name is Shen Ya, and she is the only employee of the pet shop.

   "Boss..." Xiaoya looked at Mu You, hesitated to speak: "Our store is going to close down like this..."

   "Say what?"

  Mu You tapped her head with his finger, and said amusedly, "It's just shrinking the business scope."

   Seeing the girl hugging her forehead in grievance, Mu You sighed.

  Xiaoya was recruited when her parents opened the store, and she has been working in the store for four full years.

  Other employees have resigned one after another in the past six months, but she is the only one who has been sticking to it.

   In terms of feelings for this pet shop, Xiaoya is no worse than herself.

   "Don't worry, I won't sell the store unless I'm really desperate."

  This shop is a dream left to him by his parents, and it is also a place where he grew up with him. Of course, Mu You will not let it close easily.

   What's more, he doesn't only do offline.

  He has self-media accounts on major mainstream video sites, and by regularly posting some pet videos, he also earns a lot of money every month, so it is not difficult to survive.

   "Oh, that's good!"

  Xiaoya finally smiled: "I'm going to wash the turtle's back!"

  Watching this cute employee run into the pet bathroom, Mu You walked into the store, glanced at the front desk, and was suddenly taken aback.

   "Xiaoya, is the USB flash drive at the front desk yours?"

   "U disk? No!" A girl's doubtful voice came from the bathroom.

   "Could it be left behind by a guest?"

   Mu You didn't think much about it, and was about to put the USB flash drive into the lost and found box.

   But after picking up the USB flash drive, I found a note under it.

   "Open it, and you will discover a new world."

  Looking at the words on the note, Mu You froze for a moment.

What's the meaning? Is this U disk specially for him?

   Curious, he sat back at the front desk and inserted the USB drive into the computer port.

  After opening, there are only two files in the 16G USB flash drive.

   An APP file named 'The Fool (Internal Beta Version 2.41)', and a 'Game Invitation Code' in TXT format.

   "Mobile game?"

  Mu You had a strange expression on his face.

  Mobile games nowadays are so hard for publicity, downloading the mobile game comes with a USB flash drive?

   Curious, he turned on the anti-virus software and checked it. After confirming that there was no virus, he imported the APP into the phone.

   Skilled installation, registration.

   Then enter the activation code to start the game.

  The imaginative exciting background music and exquisite game CG images did not appear.

   Instead, an extremely simple box interface pops up.

   There is no picture, no sound, only words on a black background and a white surface one by one, as if someone is clumsily knocking on the opposite side, one by one popping onto the screen.

  【Snowy night, you wake up in a snow-covered forest. 】

  【The cold wind howled in the forest, the owls hooted one after another, the cold moonlight fell on the feet, and every dead tree around seemed to have a twisted and crying face. 】

  【In the scene of falling snowflakes, you gradually recall the past that you have forgotten. 】

[This is a magical world called 'Astral World', where werewolves, vampires, elves, witches, wizards riding brooms, heartless tin woodmen, talking mirrors, ghosts in castles... these legendary magics Creatures together make up this treacherous and dark world. 】

  【A long time ago, you were also residents of this continent. But because your ancestors did not have the ability to release magic, they were dubbed "fools" by wizards. 】

  【The proud wizard association refuses to be in the same world as the fools. They waged wars, collected magic power, and built a 'high wall' to isolate ignorance and truth. A heavy rain that wiped out your memories, and you are forever locked in a forgotten place without magic power. 】

  【Now, you are lucky enough to pass through the crack in the 'wall' and return to this homeland. 】

  【Here, you are a person who is hated, and you are not tolerated by this world. Every step you take next needs to be careful, and every choice you make will directly affect your destiny...]

  【If you are sure that you are ready to face all of this, then click Start and officially embark on this journey! 】

  【Click 'Start' to enter the game. 】

   "So that's what 'fool' means..."

  Mu You was a little surprised.

  He thought that the 'fool' in the game name referred to something in the game, but after reading the background introduction, he realized that the fool actually refers to the player.

   Not to mention, although the design of the game's exterior framework is very simple, the world view of the story is quite grand. In just a few words, it showed him a strange and dark magical world.

   Players accidentally broke into this world, and then they will explore, hunt for treasure, and take revenge on the Wizarding Association that expelled them!

"start!"

  Muyou click the button.

  【Under the cover of the wind and snow, you officially set foot on the land of your hometown. 】

  【But you exude a strong 'exile' aura. In order to avoid being discovered by the aborigines here, you need to disguise yourself as a resident of this world as soon as possible. 】

  【A floating gift box appeared in front of you. 】

  【This is the ancestor of the fool, a gift prepared for every returnee. After opening it, you can get a random relic of the ancestor. The relic of the ancestor can help you cover the aura of the exile to prevent you from being discovered by other wizards. Do you want to open now? 】

  Two options, yes and no.

   "This should be considered a novice gift package?"

   Mu You thought about it, and silently clicked [Yes].

  【Ancestral relics are being extracted...】

  【The extraction is complete! 】

  【You got the 'Time Pocket Watch (Hidden)': Press the pocket watch to go back in time and help you avoid the dangers hidden in the dark. 】

  【Note: When drawing a relic, there is a one-in-a-thousand chance to draw a powerful unique hidden relic. 】

   "Hidden Relic?"

  Looking at the text prompt, Mu You couldn't help being taken aback.

   There is only a one-thousandth chance of drawing, but he actually got it in one round... It seems that today is a good day!

  ...Of course, it is also possible that everyone’s first draw is hidden with a minimum guarantee, which is a regular routine in krypton gold mobile games.

  No matter what, although this is a "little broken word game", its huge worldview and this special game mode of exploring and treasure hunting through words give Muyou the motivation to continue playing.

  Clicking on the screen, Mu You was about to continue, but suddenly felt cold in his right hand, as if he was holding something.

  Looking down, a small round pocket watch was quietly lying in his palm.

  Copper case, white dial, a protruding button at the top, and a gold chain is fixed on the button.

   Mu You looked at the pocket watch in his hand strangely.

  Where did this come from?

  He didn't remember having such an old-fashioned pocket watch at home, besides, how could a watch suddenly slip into his hand?

   "Boss, are you reading palmistry?"

  A voice suddenly sounded in the ear.

  Looking up, Xiaoya walked over at some point, lying on the front desk, resting her cheeks on her hands, looking curiously at his outstretched palms.

   "Palm reading?"

  When Mu You heard her question, a strange idea suddenly popped up in his heart.

   "Xiaoya, can't you see this watch?"

   "Watch? What watch?"

   "Just the pocket watch in my hand!"

  Mu You also deliberately picked up the pocket watch and showed it to her.

   "Boss, don't scare me... You obviously don't have anything..."

  Xiaoya looked at him like a ghost, and subconsciously took a step back, but her arm accidentally touched the water glass by the table.

  The water glass fell down, Xiaoya hurriedly tried to save it, but it was too late.

   "Boom!"

  The glass full of water was shattered, and glass shards and tea splashed all over the floor.

   "Ah, I'm sorry..." Xiaoya was ashamed, subconsciously going to pick up glass shards.

   "It's just a cup..."

  Mu You just wanted to wave his hand and say it's okay, but his finger accidentally pressed the button of the pocket watch.

  The next moment, he only felt a flash of light in front of his eyes, and everything around him suddenly began to rewind at a very fast speed.

  It can be collected when covered with water, and it can be reunited after breaking the cup!

   Wait until everything calms down and open your eyes to look again.

  The debris and water stains on the ground disappeared without a trace.

  The shattered water glass returned to the table intact.

  His right hand kept pinching the pocket watch to show.

   And Xiaoya, who was in front of her, also stood at the front desk again, looking at him with a devilish expression on her face.

   "Boss, don't scare me... You obviously don't have anything..."

  The familiar dialogue sounded, and Mu You was stunned on the spot: What's the situation? I am dreaming?

   As a result, in the next second, Xiaoya's elbow touched the water glass again, and the water glass fell straight down again.

  Mu You's pupils contracted, and his right hand stretched out like lightning, narrowly catching the water glass flying in mid-air.

"ah!"

  Xiaoya exclaimed, looked at the cup caught by Mu You, and patted her chest with lingering fear: "Fortunately, boss, you reacted quickly, and almost broke it."

   "..."

   Mu You didn't answer, but looked at the cup in his hand in shock.

  He experienced the same scene twice, and the result changed...

  He subconsciously looked at the phone screen again.

   At this point in the game interface, a new prompt has popped up.

  【Time Pocket Watch: A pocket watch blessed by the Time Fairy. Press the button to reverse the time and go back to five seconds ago. There is a five-second cooldown after each use. 】

  (end of this chapter)