December 31st, 2048.
Mo Tan returned home, his body weary, and watched blankly as several men carried a large rectangular cardboard box into the living room, then busied themselves for half an hour with swift movements.
During this process, he merely sat quietly on his not-so-spacious sofa, watching these employees of the 'No Wrongdoing' company work diligently.
Their job was to assemble the dedicated game pod for the company's first mental simulation product—the “Innocent World.”
After the assembly was complete, Mo Tan politely saw off the sweating workers, then turned around and plopped down onto the expensive, space-consuming contraption for which he had waited in line for half a day.
His right hand unconsciously tapped the glossy black shell of the pod's cover, and after a moment, a smile of unclear meaning appeared on his face.
It was evident that Mo Tan was not a normal person; in fact, he was quite abnormal…
Multiple Personality, or Dissociative Identity Disorder, has always been an extremely rare condition in any era, with no effective treatment methods.
Furthermore, due to the legendary nature of its symptoms, it has been used as a gimmick and selling point in countless movies, novels, and other works of art, generally selling well as long as the quality isn't too poor.
Presumably, by now, everyone has realized that Mo Tan, 21 years old this year, is such a patient with multiple personalities.
The main reasons he can still prepare to log into the latest virtual online game at home instead of muttering to himself in a mental hospital are twofold.
First: The diagnosis was his own; through extensive research and self-assessment, Mo Tan had confidently diagnosed himself at the age of thirteen.
Second: He is very intelligent, so even with such a unique and difficult-to-control illness, Mo Tan has hidden it very well, and no one has noticed anything unusual.
As for how intelligent he is, you can refer to the previous point.
Incidentally, the information Mo Tan consulted was not basic knowledge readily available on our phones, but rather exclusive data held by large domestic and international medical institutions.
To understand more cases in detail, he even infiltrated shallow police databases more than once.
Of course, he has never had a record of being arrested.
In short, it's a long story~
Rather than elaborating here, I prefer to gradually present his situation in the subsequent story, so let's return to the narrative…
“Do you want to try living in another way? Here, you can have your truest self!”
Mo Tan repeated the words on the game pod's cover, which were also the slogan for Innocent World, and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly: “As a penniless, skeptical lunatic, what was I thinking when I bought you…?”
He stood up, stretched a bit, then murmured, “Let's test it now.
If the official claims weren't exaggerated, we'll know right away…”
With that, he opened the game pod but didn't lie down immediately.
Instead, he gently closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply.
After a while, unlike his previous uninhibited demeanor, Mo Tan's expression became gentle and serene, a change so profound that we could immediately notice… this guy probably split.
In fact, that was the case; Mo Tan's personality had indeed changed.
However, this personality was somewhat special, almost a product of his giving up on self-treatment (no error) and embracing a 'broken pot' mentality, and it was the primary personality he had mostly used over the years.
He then lay down in the game pod, set the sleep and wake times, and changed the AI's voice to a peaceful and soothing female voice before closing his eyes.
…
“Your mental connection has been detected, personal information is being synchronized…”
“Innocent World has opened for you, character creation process is about to begin…”
After a short period of light sleep, Mo Tan found himself on a platform adorned with countless patterns, surrounded by nothingness.
Countless colorful and beautiful patterns flickered in the void; in just a short observation, he discovered many familiar constellations, plants, human silhouettes, and never-before-seen geometric arrays, ethereal images of exotic beasts, and other entities…
“Hmm, the realism is very high.”
After a brief assessment of the space and his current physical sensation, Mo Tan murmured to himself, “It said ‘character creation process is about to begin,’ not ‘please create a character,’ so it's pretty much as expected, isn't it…?”
Before he finished speaking, nine light spots of varying colors suddenly appeared in the void, then grew larger with a not-too-harsh whistling sound.
By the time Mo Tan reacted, a circle of seemingly majestic, towering gates had appeared around him.
“Huh?”
Mo Tan, who hadn't heard any system prompts, paused slightly, then looked around and murmured, “Is this telling me to pick one and go in?
If so, how is it different from actively choosing?”
He said this because he had already seen four exceptionally clear large characters inscribed on each door, which also corresponded to the different auras they emitted…
Without the slightest hesitation, he walked directly to the nearest door.
It was a dark red door, faintly emitting black mist, resembling the entrance to hell, flanked by skeletons and pools of blood—an exceptionally cool door.
“Come on, let me create a character, experience it for thirty thousand yuan, then log off and return it.”
Mo Tan muttered as he reached out, only to find that his seemingly powerless push caused a deafening roar, and then… the door collapsed…
It felt as if something, realizing its dead end, chose to self-destruct rather than suffer humiliation!
“Hey, hey, hey!”
Mo Tan looked down at the horrifying rubble, his mouth twitching as he said, “This is too much… How much did you not want me to go in!
Couldn't you have just closed yourself tightly so I couldn't push you open, did you really have to explode like that!?
How much do doors hate me!”
Despite his words, a hint of a smile appeared on his face.
This scene just now didn't make him annoyed or disappointed; on the contrary, if Mo Tan at this moment could have pushed open this gate labeled 【chaotic evil】, that would have disappointed him.
Continuing his steps, he arrived before another black and white door, and just as he was about to reach out…
Boom!!
“Hey…”
Mo Tan rolled his eyes, staring at the door 'lying' on the ground, unsure what to say, because just now, the thing had suddenly lunged forward, trying to pin him down.
This was a door filled with an unstable aura, labeled 【chaotic neutral】.
“What a characterful alignment~”
Having gotten the answer he wanted, Mo Tan swung his arms and walked to a door that was entirely golden with white patterns, asking, “I suppose you won't open for me either, will you?”
The door engraved with 【lawful good】 subtly shifted backward, politely but implicitly expressing its… rejection of Mo Tan's 'ugliness'.
“Alright, I admit this super-individual DND (Dungeons & Dragons) rule has attracted me.”
Mo Tan moved a few steps to the left, placed his hand on the pure white door, gently pushed it open, and then, as expected, walked inside.
After his figure disappeared, this door, representing 【Absolute Neutral】, slowly closed with a series of rumbling sounds.
…
“Your alignment is — Absolute Neutral; this stance is irreversible.
Calculating your initial talents, race, and abilities.”
In a complete darkness, Mo Tan heard the system's voice again.
Still as he expected, there was a piece of information on the Innocent World official website stating that players' initial alignment would forever follow their characters, and its specific effects were left for players to further explore…
As for what the official site didn't mention, the fact that race or talent was determined by the system somewhat surprised Mo Tan.
“Calculation complete, your initial character data is:”
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Level: None
Alignment: Absolute Neutral
Talent: Affinity (Slightly increases the favor of all creatures with indistinct personalities towards you)
Basic Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Wisdom 7, Constitution 5
※Hyperlink※
Strength — Increases physical attack capability, carrying capacity, specific skill damage
Dexterity — Increases movement speed, extreme dodge rate, theoretical hit rate, specific skill damage
Wisdom — Increases magic damage, magic power limit, magic resistance
Constitution — Increases HP limit, stamina limit, physical resistance
“Note: What you see is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Alright~ a single note basically negated all the content above.”
Mo Tan, unsure of his whereabouts, consciously closed the hyperlink and continued to scroll down.
Civilization Attributes: Eloquence 5, Charm 2, Knowledge 8, Leadership 0
“High knowledge should be because I understand DND rules well, charm and leadership… well, I admit I lack charisma.”
Although Mo Tan didn't click the hyperlink, it didn't stop him from casually making a sarcastic remark.
Combat Attributes: None
“Please name your character.”
Mo Tan pondered for a moment and spoke the two characters 'Black Vatican', because he knew that this self, who mostly acted as the main personality, was not 'Mo Tan' at all.
So, he casually took parts from his real name and modified the 'Fan' from 'Pingfan' (ordinary), coming up with a name that had a slightly self-deprecating quality.
“Character Name: Black Vatican, please confirm.”
The two characters 'Black Vatican' appeared at the top of the character data.
Since the system synchronized with the player's thoughts, there was no ridiculous situation of homophones with different characters, but it still made one more confirmation.
“No need.”
“Do you want to adjust your appearance?”
The moment Mo Tan heard this, he suddenly saw himself, dressed in coarse cloth clothes, floating in mid-air.
“No need.”
“Character creation complete, Black Vatican of Absolute Neutral, welcome to Innocent World.”
…
The darkness receded, and Mo Tan opened his eyes the moment he regained control of his body.
He found himself lying on a fairly spacious bed.
“Guidance Quest Triggered —”
A translucent small window suddenly appeared in his vision, and Mo Tan quickly read the small script on the quest panel: Leave the Green Lawn Inn, join the Marshall Territory Autonomous Army.
A simple, clear, and straightforward quest.
Mo Tan climbed out of bed, finding his attire exactly the same as when the system asked if he wanted to adjust his appearance.
Then, following the tutorial he had seen in the manual while queuing during the day, he consciously opened the equipment panel.
In Innocent World, character equipment slots total Fourteen: Head, Shoulder, Cloak, Clothes, Pants, Shoes, Bracers, Gloves, Main-hand Weapon, Off-hand Weapon, Rings (two), Amulet, and a special equipment slot.
Except for the last one, it was not significantly different from mainstream games.
Mo Tan currently only had equipment in the Clothes, Pants, and Shoes slots.
Specific attributes won't be listed, but in one sentence, it was: an Linen Set with a total defense of 3.
As for the character and skill panels, he also glanced at them; the former was the same as the initial, and the latter currently had nothing.
Next, Mo Tan did not immediately leave the room, because based on his experience, such places should generally have some loot…
Finally, after three rounds of disappointment—searching under the bed, exploring the wardrobe, and furiously flipping the carpet—Mo Tan finally found something behind a potted plant in a corner of the room.
“A Pack of Basic Potions”
Weight: 0.5 kg
Contents: One bottle each of Basic Healing Potion, Mana Potion, and Antidote Potion.
“Note: Why is it hidden in such a place?”
“I want to know too… why is it in such a place…?”
Mo Tan breathlessly packed the potions into his satchel and left the room; a brief search just now had consumed thirty percent of his stamina.
As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw a humanoid creature with a lizard head jogging past him, carrying an oak barrel.
As it passed, it didn't forget to turn back and pull what was likely a smile at him: “How did you sleep, guest?”
“Uh, pretty good~”
Mo Tan raised a hand in response, feeling that this NPC was quite human-like, then went downstairs to the inn lobby.
The time here seemed to be afternoon, but aside from a golden-haired elf woman dozing behind the counter, there weren't many people on this floor.
Mo Tan thought for a moment and decided to go say hello first, but before he could get close, the tired-looking elf girl's ears suddenly twitched twice.
She looked up and lazily said to him, “You're quite punctual.
The recruitment office should still be open; just turn left outside and keep going, I wish you luck.”
“Ah?”
Mo Tan was a little surprised; after all, he hadn't even had time to ask before she had already answered.
“What 'ah'?”
The elf twitched her ears and used a slender, long index finger to rub the corner of her eye: “Didn't you say last night when you checked in that you planned to try your luck with the Autonomous Army this afternoon?”
Mo Tan roughly understood now and nodded slightly in acknowledgment: “Thank you, I'm just about to leave.”
“You're welcome~”
The young proprietress of the Green Lawn Inn waved her hand: “You don't have to be so rushed; the recruitment will last for three days, so it doesn't matter if you miss the first day.
You can even stay another night here, of course, for an extra charge~”
Mo Tan thanked her again, then turned and walked out of the inn's front door.
The air outside was fresh and dry, and the fragrance of the earth invigorated him.
“At least here, I don't have to worry about losing health due to air quality issues.”
Mo Tan sighed slightly, as if the smog he had inhaled for twenty-some years in reality had shortened his lifespan by many years.
Then he stepped forward, blending into the pale golden afterglow cast by the setting sun.
Chapter One: End