"Hah... hah... hah..."
Matthew Ho gasped for air, clutching his throat as if he'd nearly suffocated. In a way, he had—the psychological weight of taking a life threatened to crush him entirely. For a man who'd never even slaughtered a chicken, killing a human being should have shattered his mind. Only the abrupt change of scenery had jerked him back from the brink, forcing his attention outward before panic could consume him.
Where the hell am I now?
Matthew scanned his surroundings with exhausted disbelief. First an impromptu time travel, now this? If this was another hallucination, his subconscious had a cruel sense of humor. He pinched his arm—sharp pain confirmed reality.
He stood inside a cylindrical stone tower, its walls stretching upward into mist-shrouded heights. A spiral staircase wound along the perimeter, passing intermittent doors that vanished into the fog above. At the tower's center stood an anachronistic eyesore: a massive LCD display embedded in a medieval stone table.
Who the hell designed this? Matthew circled the monstrosity, torn between awe and aesthetic offense. Since when did brutalism get a tech upgrade?
His internet-novel-honed instincts screamed two possibilities: either this was the universe finally compensating for his lifetime of misfortune... or an elaborate death trap for disposable side characters. The thought stung—he'd long abandoned childhood dreams of being the protagonist. Even his old rival Jiang Xiaochong had outshone him, and Little Bird Dong had shed his timid, chubby-kid persona years ago. As for his first love... best not to dwell.
Shaking off memories, Matthew focused on the glowing display. Despite the intriguing doors lining the walls, his unreliable sixth sense insisted the screen held answers.
No buttons. No switches.
Touchscreen?
His fingertip met glass—
Ripple.
Concentric waves spread from the contact point, revealing lines of text:
[Portable Armory (v1.0.11689_beta) Initializing...]
[Sample Testing Ground: Loading...]
[Product Inventory: Loading...]
[Special Skills Arena: Loading...]
[Basic Training Field: Loading...]
[Storage Room: Loading...]
[Guest Quarters: Loading...]
[Prison Block: Loading...]
[Bounty List: Loading...]
[World-Link System: Loading...]
[All modules loaded. System operational. Welcome.]
Portable Armory?
Memory flashed—last night's drunken ice pop with Dong. The "Grand Prize" printed on the stick... the strange dizziness before blacking out...
Before he could process further, the display transformed into a futuristic UI: colorful tiles labeled System Status, Blacklist, Product Catalog, even Skill Library.
No tutorial? No manual? Matthew scowled. What if I crash the whole damn dimension?
Retreating from the table, he approached the nearest door. Inscribed above its frame:
MAIN WORLD
2000-05-19 12:00:00
Matthew's breath caught. That date—his date. The day everything went wrong.