Text Game: It All Began when a Cat-eared Girl Took Me In

[You sensed a bit of urgency in this person's tone.]

[This was the first time you felt someone's goodwill in this world.]

[You wanted to ask this person some questions, but you were slowly losing consciousness due to excessive blood loss.]

[Poor Traveler, you passed out.]

[Your Life Value was draining away...]

[In a daze, you felt as if you were being carried by someone.]

[What awaits you next?]

[Would you like to fast forward to the next event node?]

Below the text, a white progress bar was moving forward very slowly.

Luo Xi dragged it all the way to the end.

X30.

While waiting for the progress bar to climb, Luo Xi reached for the water cup on his bedside table. He hadn't had a drink since last night, and his throat felt as dry as if it was filled with charcoals.

It was then that he finally noticed something strange happening on his bedside table.

"Fuck!"

The no-brand alarm clock he had bought cheaply from Pinduoduo was spinning wildly, at a frighteningly fast speed.

What's happening?

Is the clock broken?

Or is it... caused by this text-based game again?

Luo Xi wondered as he tried to drag the accelerated progress bar in the game back.

X1.

In an instant, the clock's speed returned to normal, ticking away calmly.

Luo Xi was profoundly shocked.

Not only could he take items out of the game, but the game's acceleration also seemed to really affect the speed of time in reality?

No wonder he felt like it had passed midnight so quickly last night after playing the game casually; it must have been because of this text-based game.

No, it wasn't yet certain that the game could truly affect time.

The game might only be affecting him.

It altered his perception of time.

Luo Xi pulled down the status bar on his phone.

The current time on his phone was 15:45, which matched the time shown on the alarm clock.

He remembered that it was just after one o'clock when he had woken up.

All that time in between seemed to have been devoured by the game's acceleration feature.

In a certain sense, this game was indeed a 'time-consuming' tool.

Luo Xi did not continue to choose to accelerate the progress of the game.

Since last night, he had been with an empty stomach and was extremely exhausted.

If he didn't eat something soon, he might starve to death in his tiny rental room.

After getting out of bed and putting on his slippers, Luo Xi didn't expect his legs to give out as soon as he stood up, along with dizziness and nearly collapsing to the ground.

"Too hungry to have strength? No, that's not right!"

This exhaustion of body and mind could not be simply caused by being hungry for one day.

"Is it because of the debuff that reduces all qualities from yesterday?"

The seemingly ridiculous cost of reducing all qualities by 60% had actually taken effect on his real body.

What did this text game with incredible power represent?

Was it officially released?

Or, did the authorities know about it?

Luo Xi remembered the notification stating that there were 100,000 beta test slots worldwide. It was not too many but not too few either, so aside from him, many other people were also playing this game?

With a bunch of questions in mind, half an hour later, Luo Xi sat in a Huangmen chicken rice restaurant near his company.

"Boss, I'll have a large portion of Huangmen chicken rice, mildly spicy."

"Alright, just a moment."

Luo Xi sat on the stool, calming his rapidly beating heart.

Just walking two kilometers made him feel like he had run a 1000-meter test; he had never felt so weak before.

Luo Xi suspected that he might not even be able to beat a primary school student at this point.

On his way here, he had already confirmed that there was no discussion about "Dawn" on the internet.

The authorities might have controlled the flow and distribution of related information.

Luo Xi quickly realized this fact.

So after he searched for 'Dawn,' he also pretended to search for 'Dead by Daylight' and even checked in with a few streamers watching them play games on their live streams.

He hoped to bluff his way through and not get interrogated for it.

Luo Xi now fully realized the situation.

He could take out items from the game.

The progress bar's speeding feature, whose real effect on time flow had yet to be confirmed.

The negative status that affected his own body.

And another question, those shitty talents wouldn't also work in reality, would they?

Thinking back on all the things that had happened since yesterday, Luo Xi's face gradually turned pale.

Damn it, it all really seemed to match up.

Does that mean I have to be broke and unlucky for my whole life?

...

After finishing his meal, Luo Xi entered the office building nearby.

He decided to resign this afternoon; his internship period was almost enough, and there was no need to continue putting up with the nonsense from the team leader. It would be better to return to school and take it easy.

On the seventh floor of the office building, Prosperous Engineering Co., Ltd.

"What did you say? You want to resign today?"

When Chen Chen saw Luo Xi, he had initially wanted to curse him on the spot for ditching work and hanging up the phone, but Luo Xi beat him to it by announcing his resignation first.

This caught Chen Chen off guard.

It was true that Luo Xi was insubordinate, but as a university student, his working and learning abilities were quite strong.

The manager had asked him to keep an eye on this student and preferably keep him in the company with a signed contract after his internship ended. Then, maybe with some promises and PUA for a few months, the company would gain a young and energetic reserve talent.

The industry was not doing well lately, and recruiting was difficult, so subsequent talent reserves were very important.

But now Luo Xi ditched half a day of work and came to resign in the afternoon.

Was it because Chen Chen's words yesterday were too harsh?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Chen Chen denied it was because of his own doing.

It must be because this guy was too sensitive, not being able to take even a few critical words. Even if he got a permanent position, he probably wouldn't last long.

Luo Xi nodded and said, "Yes, write me a resignation letter. I'll leave this afternoon, and also give me my internship certificate."

Chen Chen said sternly, "You haven't submitted a preliminary resignation, and even during an internship, you have to notify the company three days in advance. Leaving like this will cause the company losses, and I will have to deduct from your salary."

"How much?" asked Luo Xi.

"At least 300, and you won't get attendance and subsidies for the month."

"Oh, then deduct it. Give me a copy of the resignation letter."

Honestly, Luo Xi didn't really care about those few hundred dollars right now.

Though he was quite poor, having to pay for his meals using credit, he had some money in a mutual fund. If worst comes to worst, he could just sell some of it to tide him over.

Ten minutes later, Chen Chen, with his hair nearly exploding in anger, stared at the resignation letter Luo Xi had flippantly thrown down.

The reason for resignation Luo Xi wrote was:

—[This team leader is an idiot, I feel like I can't work here anymore.] (crossed out)

—[The world is so big, I want to see it.]