Apocalypse Forecast

After the Action Officers departed, silence returned to the cabin.

In the anxious wait, only Mr. KP was leaning over the table, writing and drawing on his charts, comfortably humming tunes and occasionally tossing a couple of dice. Soon, a stack of papers piled up on the table.

The middle-aged man who had been presiding watched for a long time, his curiosity finally getting the better of him. "Mr. KP, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Just a game," KP said, looking up. "I wonder if everyone here enjoys games?"

"Hmm?" The crowd looked over, puzzled.

"Since we're all bored anyway, why not try a tabletop role-playing game?" KP tossed the dice into the air, caught them, and introduced cheerfully, "This game is quite popular on the Darknet Border. Though the rules are complex, its freedom and fun are unmatched by any computer game. Once you try it, you'll be hopelessly immersed."

"Hmm?" Someone seemed intrigued. "How exactly do you play? Is it like mahjong or poker?"

"No, no, no, completely different," KP explained patiently. "Simply put, I, as the host, will narrate the beginning of a story. You will each play an Investigator. Together with other Investigators, you'll participate in the story through role-playing and your own choices. You'll explore the narrative, and your goal is to solve the puzzles set by the creator, obtain treasure, or simply survive... Hmm, it's a game that's quite fitting for our current situation, wouldn't you say?"

He seemed to have said something strange, but everyone, in a daze, ignored it. Instead, they were drawn in by his description, eager to give it a try.

After finishing his explanation, KP asked, "So, everyone, what do you say? Shall we give it a try?"

"You tell the story, and we make choices, right? Sounds interesting," an older Inspector inquired. "But how do you determine if we can actually do something?"

"This is where everyone needs to follow the rules of the tabletop game and create their own Character Card," KP replied. "Whenever your character uses a skill, you'll roll dice. Success is determined by the points you invested in that skill when you created your character. If your roll is equal to or less than your skill's point value, your character succeeds in using the skill. Otherwise, they fail. The lower the number you roll, the better your chance of success; the higher the number, the more likely you are to fail."

KP produced two ten-sided dice, smiling. "You see, one die represents the units digit, and the other, the tens digit. Together, they give a result from 01 to 100. For instance, if your skill is rated at fifty points, rolling a forty-nine would mean you've succeeded.

"However, for new players, experiencing it once is more useful than knowing too much. Just now, I've already prepared the Character Cards you'll be using. Please use them carefully, and try to avoid getting your character killed, okay?"

As he spoke, he distributed the Character Cards.

But when it came to Ai Qing, she did not take one. Instead, she silently stared at KP, sensing something was amiss, yet unable to pinpoint the problem.

"My, your 'Insight' is quite high," KP smiled and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"This is a game?" Ai Qing asked.

KP laughed. "Yes, just a game."

"Then, how can we be sure you won't intentionally target us players?" Ai Qing immediately spotted the biggest flaw. "If you wanted to, you could easily create a monster we can't defeat or a challenge we can't overcome, right?"

"Relax, relax. I'm not a 'bad' KP; I'm everyone's good friend!" KP smiled reassuringly. "Besides, reality is often stranger than fiction. This world frequently turns out to be more wondrous than I can imagine."

Saying this, he placed a Character Card in Ai Qing's hands, smiling warmly. "This is your card. Be gentle with it, alright?"

Ai Qing took the card, looked down at it, and then froze.

"What's wrong? Can't understand it?" KP leaned in curiously, examining the information. "Let's see... Huai Shi, male. Occupation: Sublimator. Power 15... hmm, typical First Stage level. Constitution 41—that's a bit excessive, hey! But Sanity is only 23, and with Insight so high, he's practically on the verge of madness. Luck is just 1 point... what an unlucky fellow! His Skills, though, are geared for exploration: Investigation and Listen both at eighty-five. How did Charm and Stealth get to ninety? And that Bluffing Skill is impressively high too..."

Ai Qing quickly snatched the Character Card away, stopping him from revealing more of its information.

"Ah, have you already discovered what makes this game so interesting?" KP nodded in admiration, then suggested, "It'll be quite challenging to use this card well. Would you like to change to another one?"

"No need," Ai Qing refused, shaking her head. "This card is fine."

KP said no more and turned to answer questions from the others. However, while explaining certain attributes, he seemed to notice Ai Qing and the old Inspector listening intently, and his voice rose slightly.

Soon, the busy explanation concluded.

KP clapped his hands joyfully, scrutinizing the 'players' before him.

"Now that everyone is familiar with their cards, let's begin the introduction," KP said in a deep voice. "The year is 1620. The setting is the vast sea. There's a ship named the Mayflower..."

As he spoke, line after line of text swiftly emerged on the blank paper before him.

The stage was set, and the heroes had all arrived.

The story revolving around the long-lost Philosopher's Stone—the prologue of "Son of Sinful"—thus slowly unfolded.

Well then, let's begin the joyful third playthrough...

Your name is Huai Shi. You are a down-and-out musician, an obscure cellist. After losing your noble patroness, you wandered Rome, living in poverty, all the while yearning for the rumored New World, a land said to be paved with gold, dreaming of striking it rich overnight.

One day, you received a mysterious letter.

A theater in the New World, having heard of your superb playing skills, eagerly invited you to become their lead musician. They offered a wonderful salary, a share in the profits, and enclosed 500 lire and a ship ticket with the letter.

With no other options, you decided to seize this opportunity.

On the appointed day, you went to the dock and, in a tavern, encountered a few 'friends' you had met several times before.

「Introduction begins—」

In a daze, Huai Shi thought he heard someone talking in his ear—BLAH BLAH BLAH. It was incredibly annoying, and it didn't sound like anything good.

But soon, he roused himself from his stupor.

The carriage had arrived.

Near the dilapidated dock, the stench of mud and garbage was pervasive. Huai Shi laboriously carried his luggage and stepped into a pub to rest his feet.

Huh? Why am I going to the pub?

Doesn't the inn next door look much more comfortable?

Forget it. The pub it is then.

Amidst the clamorous crowd, he dragged his luggage to the bar. He opened his mouth to order something from the bartender, but his mind went blank; he didn't know what to get.

Apart from the Cowherd Nightclub, he'd never been to a place like this when he actually wanted a drink. So, what should he order? Can I have a glass of milk?

Huh? Cowherd Nightclub? What's that? Have I ever been to a place like that?

While startled, a familiar female voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "Whiskey."

This strange flash of inspiration was a relief to Huai Shi. He said to the bartender, "A whiskey, please. Thank you!"

His whiskey was served. Suddenly, someone called his name: "Huai Shi? Is that you?"

When Huai Shi turned around in astonishment, he saw several travelers sitting around a table, among them quite a few familiar faces—people he recognized from his days of wandering.

Old Xiao, a boiler worker who had lost his job; Lei Feizhou, a bodyguard whose Feng Ping in the industry was apparently not good; Clement, a knight suffering from tuberculosis...

All five people at the table turned out to be acquaintances.

And it seemed they were also travelers planning to take the ship. Was this fate? How marvelous.

Several people who hadn't seen each other in a long time sat together. After they shared their recent circumstances, a rare camaraderie, born from shared hardships, developed between them, and their relationship gradually warmed.

During their conversation, a voice spoke up not far away.

A hunched beggar with unkempt hair limped unsteadily through the tavern, holding a broken bowl, pleading in a low voice, "Have mercy, sir, have mercy."

But no one paid him any heed. The old, desolate-looking beggar, filled with hope, approached their table and looked at them. Lei Feizhou frowned in disgust and glared. "Get lost, old ghoul! Are you looking for a beating?"

The faint sound of dice could be heard.

The beggar seemed frightened and stumbled backward.

He looked so pitiful...

Huai Shi sighed and beckoned him over. As if granted amnesty, the beggar took a wide berth around Lei Feizhou, avoiding his gaze, and shuffled over to Huai Shi, sheepishly holding up his bowl. "Please help me, sir, God will bless you, please help..."

Huai Shi pulled out his wallet, rummaged through it, and tossed a few coins into the bowl.

The beggar seemed ecstatic. He gratefully gripped Huai Shi's hand and babbled his thanks, "Thank you, kind sir, thank you! God will bless you, God will bless you..."

There was another faint sound of dice, as if someone at the next table was gambling. Huai Shi looked over curiously but suddenly felt a small object being slipped into his sleeve.

The beggar smiled mysteriously, turned, and left.

Huai Shi instinctively clutched it and froze on the spot. He was about to ask what it was when he heard the distant sound of a ship's horn.

The ship was about to set sail.

But did such huge ships really exist in this era?

Huai Shi stood on the dock, staring blankly at the brightly lit steel behemoth, aghast. He was unable to reconcile this majestic creation with the rickety, old, and filthy wooden ships of his memory.

This isn't 1620, is it?

Overcome by a strange sense of anachronism, he blurted out words whose meaning even he didn't understand: "This must be 2020!"