["The barrier on the Watchman's room is peculiar, it can only be opened from nine to twelve in the morning. The method of opening it involves speaking the password 'If you don't open, I'll poke your eyes out!' to the face on the wooden door!"]
Mu You muttered to himself, 'what an "aggressive busting" password,' as he silently pressed his pocket watch.
[Time flows, your fifty years of lost life span is completely restored, returning you to before you made your last choice.]
[The scarecrow's eyes were still flashing with a greedy light, asking you in a tempting voice, "Will you immediately give up 50 years of your life to get the lock opening..."]
"No!"
Scarecrow: ???
[You interrupted the scarecrow's proposal. The excitement in the eyes of the scarecrow's button turned into confusion: "Adventurer, are you sure you don't need to purchase the lock opening method? Now only forty years of life are needed to buy it! Adventurer, I know you are already moved, so, if you're moved, then act..."]
"I said 'no'!"
[You once again firmly chose no, interrupting the scarecrow's marketing spiel.]
[You saw the scarecrow's forehead begin to break into a faint sweat, it forcibly squeezed out a dry laugh: "Alright adventurer, let's compromise, I will only require thirty years of life span to tell you how to unlock it. Moreover, I must remind you solemnly, without my unlocking method, no one can enter the watchman's house, yes, no one! You better think it through carefully..." ]
"Heh, I'll come back tomorrow."
Mu You selected 'no' once more, then selected 'leave immediately' from the sub-menu.
[You leave under the Scarecrow's resentful gaze, and head towards the inner village.]
[The roads in Peaceful Village are winding and complex. For you who have just arrived, you are not familiar with the layout of the buildings in the village. - There are three roads in front of you, leading to the east, west, and south respectively. Which direction will you choose?]
There are three options [East][South][West].
The watchman's house is at the eastern end of the village, so naturally, the choice here should be to go east.
However, Mu You did not directly choose east, but first tried the other two roads.
[You chose to go west.]
[Once you walked a distance, a canteen appeared in front of you.]
[This is a restaurant run by the village cook, selling some simple magic food. It can replenish your magic and strength. If you're hungry, you can go in and eat something ——provided that you'd willing to pay with your life span.]
A canteen that replenishes magic and strength. 'Strength' here, Mu You is guessing, refers to action points, thus meaning that the game's action points could indeed be restored through other means.
However, despite this, Mu You would definitely not go in and eat, after all, both magic and action points could be restored over time and spending life span for them didn't seem worth it.
[You turned back time and returned to the former fork in the road.]
[This time you chose to go south.]
[Once you walked a distance, you saw a steaming Ironforge standing tall in the snowy ground ahead. This blacksmith shop is run by a dwarf with a big beard. The dwarf race, passionate about forging, have superb casting skills. If you have any equipment you want to create, you can bring the materials here. Even if it's scrap iron, the dwarf blacksmith can turn trash into treasure for you —— of course, the precondition is that you're willing to pay with your life span!]
"So the canteen where you can replenish your action points is to the west of the village entrance, and the blacksmith shop for crafting equipment is to the south.
Mu You pressed the pocket watch and turned back time, then took a piece of white paper and drew the relative positions of the village entrance, the canteen, and the blacksmith shop.
It seems like this village is designed just like a real-world town. Since there is a canteen and a blacksmith shop, there will surely be other stores catering to every aspect of daily life as well.
However, what bothered Mu You was that every choice he encountered in the game so far consumed his life span — you lose life span when killed, for purchasing items, and even for asking questions...
In this world, life span appeared to be the most basic currency.
The problem was —— up till now, he had not found any method to increase his life span!
Even if his Time Pocket Watch could greatly slow down his consumption of life span, there would eventually be a day when it runs out if he continues to just use it up without replenishing...
In any case, life span is a problem that is insolvable in reality, so he could only find a solution in the game. Mu You shook his head and continued the game.
[Time has turned back, you are once again at the fork in the road at the entrance of the village.]
[This time, you chose the path to the east.]
[Walking along the edge of the village for some time in the east, you finally arrive at the eastern end of the village.]
[This place is already near the border of the village, hardly visited by anyone. There's only a dilapidated wooden house standing alone amongst the trees. Because the owner of the wooden house passed away, it's now an unclaimed cottage.]
[Would you like to enter the 'Watchman's Cabin?']
Arrived on the first try!
Looks like the Village Gate is not far from the eastern end of the village.
Mu You tried clicking 'Enter' first.
[You got to the front of the wooden house and tried to push the door open, but you were repelled by the barrier on the wooden house.]
[On the front door of the wooden house, an eerily twisted pumpkin face materialized quietly. It glared at you and said, "Apart from the owner of the room, anyone skipping the right time and the correct password cannot enter the wooden house!"]
A dialog box pops up right after the text.
"This is a facial recognition and double password unlock function..."
Mu You felt amazed at the mysterious 'Magic Lock' while raising his head to check the time.
9:12 in the morning.
According to the scarecrow, this wooden house could only be opened between nine and twelve in the morning. If both worlds keep the same time, it seems to be just right now.
Mu You typed 'If you don't open, I'll poke your eyes out' into the dialog box and clicked send.
[You uttered the correct password, the pumpkin face disappeared with a twist, and the long-sealed doors slowly opened for you.]
"So the time in the two worlds do correspond?"
Mu You nodded and clicked 'Enter'.
[You have entered the Watchman's Cabin.]
[This is a house built of cypress wood. As it has long been unoccupied, the air inside is filled with the smell of rotting and moldy wood. There's a thin layer of dust covering the floor and the few remaining pieces of furniture. The windows and doors show a dreary, worn-out color, making it seem more like a haunted house.]
[You did some exploring inside this ruinous wooden house and eventually found something of value.]
[You received 'Watchman's Pumpkin Lantern' one, 'Watchman's Backpack' one, 'Watchman's Skin' one set.]
"Well well?"
Mu You's eyes light up.
Seeing the description of the cottage, he thought that there was nothing there. After all, it looked like an abandoned empty room, but surprisingly he actually found something!