13: The False God of Time and the True God of Time

ε=(´ο｀*))) *Sigh*

With the help of the young man at the reception desk, Zhou Yan successfully registered and was assigned a room.

Returning to the room, he activated the Formation according to the young man's instructions. Only after ensuring it could isolate the interior from the exterior did Zhou Yan truly relax.

"What kind of mess is this?"

If it weren't for the fear of being targeted by the Demonic Sect and risking his life, he would have been better off not coming at all.

At least Hanning was somewhat normal; it could have given him some time to relax and rest without having to see this cruel world so early.

Zhou Yan felt like everyone in this Sect belonged in a comment section; there were so many 'talents' that he felt somewhat out of place.

"Does practicing cultivation too much really affect one's brain?"

"Forget it, forget it. Since I'm already here, I might as well give it a try. I'll treat it as the price for using fake goods to deceive buyers."

"Open Main Quest."

Chapter One: "The Beginning of Immortal Fate, Stepping Beyond the Mortal Dust"

Creating something from nothing is always difficult. You have completed the first step of Seeking the Dao. Now, write your legend and begin your own new life.

Quest Objectives: Reach Core Formation Stage (0/1), Reach Reputation: Slightly Famous (0/1)

Quest Content: Randomly triggered (Optional)

There was too little content to use as a reference. This crappy online game loved to do these flashy things in the early stages, claiming it wanted players to explore quest content on their own to improve. In reality, they were just too lazy to write scripts and preferred letting players collect the lore themselves.

However, after it merged with this world, many changes had indeed occurred. Perhaps the Main Quest really did have some significance.

Zhou Yan opened his character panel again. Ever since he caused that big commotion last time, he hadn't dared to use the System casually in unsafe places.

It was only because of the security provided by this Sect and this Formation—regardless of whether it actually worked—that he could peaceably check the items he had obtained during this period.

【Zhou Yan】

【Rank: Body Tempering Fifth Layer (723/0). New Rank limit unlocked! (Click for details)】

【HP: 150/150】

【MP: 0/0】

【Stamina: 130/130】

【Equipment: None】

【Title: None】

Reputation: Completely Unknown (You have some fame in certain places)

The panel was still so clean; he actually missed the messy panel from back then. Although it looked chaotic, the solid data was reassuring.

But had his current Rank actually hit the limit? Because he hadn't opened the panel for a while and hadn't had much time to use his physical skills, Zhou Yan hadn't noticed the changes in himself.

After a brief workout in the room, he felt a significant difference in his body. Although the increase in Physical Body strength wasn't huge, his vitality and stamina had greatly improved. He really had to thank his 'Family members' for this.

Right, speaking of Family members, Zhou Yan remembered he still had a gift pack and a lucky draw waiting for him.

"Jie jie jie, time to get excited. Let's see what good stuff is inside."

“Family Management Gift Pack -1: Obtained Money Tree Bonsai *1, Unlocked Idle Pill Furnace *1, Idle Artifact Refining Table *1.”

It's over, why is it this one!

The Family Management Gift Pack... no wonder Zhou Yan had never seen it. He had wondered why he had no impression of it despite it being an early-game gift pack; now he remembered everything.

The game's family system was actually a mishmash of home-building and management simulation games.

This kind of System was inherently huge and complex. It was integrated well enough that it was quite attractive in the early stages, causing many 'whale' players to stop and spend.

However, development was neglected in the Late Stages, leading to fewer people playing it. That's why they started giving away this and that, trying to retain players in this segment.

And this 'Idle Set' was one of the items given away. It was said that this was something only whales who had maxed out the family system through spending would possess.

After all, in the Late Stages of such games, every small function required manual clicking and processing. The more whales spent, the more functions they had, and the more exhausted they became. That's why this gift pack was created.

Essentially, it was meant to reduce the burden. Later, when other players reached the same level as the whales through grinding but didn't have the burden-reducing items, it became one of the reasons for the drop in player traffic.

So, the developers reduced the yields and made these items available for free.

Zhou Yan didn't really like this type of game back then, so he only played a bit at the beginning and stopped paying attention. He only returned to manage it after hearing that the family system was giving away exclusive whale items for free.

Looking at the items before him, Zhou Yan felt like crying, especially when he looked at the family system column: Family Members: 1.

The NPC sprites that were supposed to appear in the Family column had been accidentally 'physically deleted' by Zhou Yan. So, who was going to refine artifacts and pills?

And this crappy Money Tree was also the product of a small bug. When the free gift packs were distributed, many people received them. The problem was that this bonsai item only had the 'scenery' but no 'pot'.

Blank pots were also paid items. Usually, by the time you got this gift pack, you'd already have a pile of blank pots and could customize what to plant.

Naturally, it would be easy to find a spare pot and plant a tree that could automatically produce a large amount of Family Coins, but the free version didn't come with one.

Not to mention, this thing could be placed directly. If placed on the ground, it would become an invisible wall with no actual effect. You couldn't even see the tree's model, and it would block the normal movement of the NPC sprites in the Family home. It was a total bugged item.

However, after the official team handled it this way, it did add some amusement. After receiving bug compensation rewards later on, it became an optional souvenir in old players' inventories.

As expected, the items from the Family gift pack were all meant for the Family. They were useless to him now. After all, him eating a casual meal alone right now was equivalent to a 'reunion dinner'.

Looking at the useless items from the gift pack, Zhou Yan turned his gaze to the side. The 'Daily Joy' lucky draw, which had been spinning for ages, finally stopped.

That's right, this thing had started spinning the moment Zhou Yan began looking at his rewards and only stopped just now.

After all, on Blue Star, a single click on this thing cost hundreds of dollars. If they didn't drag out the suspense for you, wouldn't it seem like those hundreds of dollars weren't worth it?

“Ding! Daily Joy lucky draw has ended. Congratulations on obtaining: time pocket watch.”

【time pocket watch】

【Quality: Epic】

Accelerate or decelerate the flow of time.

Multiplier: 0.1 ~ 18

Range: 0 ~ 9x9x9

The room was dead silent. Isolated by the Formation, no external sounds could be heard, as if the room were empty.

Zhou Yan stood in the center of the room, his body eerily contorted into a strange pose.

It completely violated human physiological structure. Fortunately, his Physical Body had already reached the Mortal limit, making him a peerless master by Blue Star standards; otherwise, his waist might have snapped with such a move.

“Za Warudo! Toki yo tomare!”

A ripple spread out with Zhou Yan as the center, forming a cubic space.

The already silent room lost all sound entirely as the special space expanded, as if he were in a vacuum.

The time pocket watch, a god-tier item for clearing game stories!

The False God of Time uses a skill to restore health and status to their Peak and randomly pauses the player's time—in reality, it's just a crowd control skill.

The True God of Time accelerates time to tomorrow to meet up with NPCs or slows down the story's flow to search for clues.

Because open-world games have stories to complete, and some players dislike watching cutscenes while others like to savor every detail, such an item naturally existed to speed up the plot or slow it down to find details.

Now, this item, which was used in story mode to adjust the flow of time for oneself and NPCs, had received an incredible buff in this world.

Due to considerations for open-world computing power, it would only render a certain range, so it had a range and multiplier limit.

However, this didn't stop Zhou Yan from completing his self-coronation at this moment.

“Rejoice! He is the King of Time who transcends space-time and knows the past and future!”

“Blessing moment! The most benevolent, most kind, supreme, and strongest King! Zhou Yan has arrived!”