Traveler of the River of Time and Space-Chapter 531 - 15: A Real Game?

Once again entering "Steam Punk: Desire City".

This time, Su Ziyu neither attacked Sheriff Johnson nor followed the plotline. Instead, he wandered on his own within the city. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Following the plot in this broken game leads to a dead end. Su Ziyu had already asked Jian; others survived at most until the morning of the second day. The wave of attacks at night was just the beginning. After the clown appears, sea sirens and other monsters show up, leading to a bloody massacre at the docks. By daytime, the police come to clean up the mess while all survivors are locked in prison and inexplicably die there.

Within the Rebel Army, the way to play this game is actually different.

For instance, in front of Su Ziyu’s eyes.

A slightly dilapidated old house appears in front of Su Ziyu, located between the slum and the business district, about three hundred meters away from the dock.

Facing him are alleys lined with women heavily made-up.

"Do you want to come in for a rest?"

"Only 6 shillings." A pretty woman, around twenty years old, flashed a smile at Su Ziyu and lightly tugged down the neckline of her dress.

This is the correct way for the Rebel Army to play the game.

It’s also why this game, despite being so hard and nearly impossible to follow through the plot, remains the most popular.

Because the realism level is extremely high, even indescribable things in this game carry a feeling of seventy to eighty percent; they come to play to relax their spirits, erasing the negative effects of mind whispers. Instead of following the normal plot and getting bloodshed, they prefer to indulge in other activities for fun, as it is just a game for them.

Of course.

If one doesn’t follow the plot, the protagonist still won’t live past the third day because on the second night, the protagonist will suddenly die.

Furthermore, beginning the second day, since not going to the docks, the protagonist is seen as a traitor and hunted by local gangs. Hence, effectively, the gameplay time is still only one day.

The protagonist carries one pound and twelve shillings.

The Rebel Army’s form of entertainment is figuring out how to safely obtain more money within that day and then happily spend it on this street.

Of course.

One shouldn’t be too blatant because being too conspicuous will bring Old Shark over at night.

Su Ziyu knows so much because when it gets dark, the lounge becomes crowded, and using a psychological suggestion technique, he extracted a wealth of information from a Rebel Army captain.

After sharing this, the Rebel Army captain chuckled.

This street hosts a total of thirty-seven prostitutes; the whole city contains five red light districts, totaling one hundred and twenty-one people. The lower town ones cost between 3-6 shillings, while business district ones go for about 10 shillings. The prices in the noble district are the highest, with the most beautiful starting at one pound. Unlike other NPCs, they allow deeper interaction.

This is the correct way to open the game.

However, some have researched the normal gameplay and encountered a few insights.

For instance, if the protagonist ventures through the alley into the circus camp and stays at the fortune-teller’s hut for a while, a fortune-teller lady will invite him in. By giving her all his money, she will claim the protagonist has been cursed, then she suddenly dies.

Should the protagonist not leave, he will quickly be arrested by police and sent to jail, where he will die within two days.

Leaving disrupts the clues.

The end is still a dead end.

Among the Rebels, the game didn’t seem intended for completion; there are endless ways to die—even sneaking onto a boat will lead to a sea siren encounter.

After gathering this much information, Su Ziyu still decided to try normal gameplay.

He directly cut through the alley, ignoring the beautiful NPCs soliciting customers, reaching the circus camp.

Not far away is the fortune-teller’s hut.

Indeed.

As Su Ziyu approached, an old woman’s voice emerged from inside: "Young man, you seem to be in some trouble."

"Would you like to come in for a rest?"

Su Ziyu pushed the door open and headed inside, facing an elderly woman with a deeply wrinkled face. After a murky gaze at him, she spoke: "Your spiritual light is dim, young man."

"Do you need me to do a fortune-telling for you?"

"Just one pound and twelve shillings."

"Surprised I know you’ve got that much money? It’s just a small magic trick."

"To show you I’m not one of those deceitful people."

According to the subsequent plot, after handing over the money, the old woman would pick up the crystal ball for fortune-telling. She would declare the protagonist cursed, then directly die with a gasp.

Su Ziyu took out the money.

But he didn’t hand it to the old woman. Instead, he curiously surveyed the surroundings, the scene feeling incredibly real, with a tinge of eerie atmosphere under the dim light. He picked up a scroll of parchment on the table. After unfolding it, he saw an array diagram of a hexagram star. Initially, this should just be part of the game’s scene setting, but after examining the pattern closely, Su Ziyu’s spirituality trembled slightly.

This seems like a real array.

At the center of the hexagram star array and six distinctive characters, resembling runes. As Su Ziyu saw these characters, his spirituality reacted.

"Young man."

"Don’t touch my things!"

"Otherwise, get out!" The old woman angrily snatched back the parchment, glaring at him.

Su Ziyu raised his hand, tossing over the money: "Here’s for you."

With astonishing agility, the old woman caught the money, her previous angry expression turned into a smile. She placed her hand on the crystal ball: "Sit down. Focus your spirit. Let me help you enter a meditation state."

Exactly as those said, after fortune-telling, the old woman claimed the protagonist cursed, then tilted her head, directly spewing blood and dying.

"Just like that, dead?" Su Ziyu looked at the corpse before him, then picked up the parchment again.

According to the plot, police would arrive within half an hour.

Su Ziyu moved the corpse aside, rummaging through the cabinet found below, discovered some money, a rag doll, miscellaneous trinkets, and a hand-written, withered yellow manuscript page.

As he idly flipped the items, suddenly the Space-Time Monitor System’s prompt appeared:

"Discovered magic model ’Secret Magic Mark’, add to skill tree?"

"Discovered ’Meditation Technique’ entry-level, add to skill tree?"

"Discovered unknown magic potion recipe, record?"

The prompt startled Su Ziyu, leaving him astonished as he gazed at the withered yellow manuscript, murmuring: "What the heck?"

"Is this thing for real?"

.........