Karl sat on the floor of his apartment, his phone glowing brightly in his hand. The Common Sense Manipulation App icon was prominently displayed on the screen. The cold light from the phone reflected on his tired face. He stared at the icon for a long time before finally tapping it with a heavy sigh.
The screen shifted to a futuristic interface with gold accents and a deep black background. Three large columns appeared:
1. Player Information
2. Manipulation Hub
3. Uncommon Points: 0
Karl frowned.
"This interface looks like some cheap free-to-play gacha game. Who even made this?"
Skeptically, he tapped the middle section labeled Manipulation Hub. The screen loaded several submenus, each accompanied by overly long explanations.
---
⚙️ Manipulation Hub - System Guide
[Welcome to the Manipulation Hub!]
"Here, you can manipulate the common sense of individuals or groups using a point-based system. Every action has a cost and a duration limit. Let's dive deeper!"
"Manipulate common sense? What kind of joke is this?" Karl thought, his brow furrowed.
He scrolled through the screen, reading the key points:
1. 🧠 Target Selection
Target Individual: Focus on one person.
Target Group: Manipulate a group within a specific area.
Target Environment: Change the perception of an entire area.
Note: Targets are chosen entirely based on user awareness. Users must focus and have a clear image of the target, either visually, through memory, or based on other specific traits.
2. ⏳ Duration Settings
1 Minute
5 Minutes
10 Minutes
30 Minutes
1 Hour
3. 💎 Cost System
Simple Manipulation (Individual, Light Effect): 10 Points
Moderate Manipulation (Individual, Complex Effect): 30 Points
Group Manipulation (Light Effect): 50 Points
Environmental Manipulation (Wide Effect): 100+ Points
4. 📊 Point Acquisition
Complete Quests: Earn points by completing tasks from the app.
Successful Manipulation: Earn bonus points if manipulation is successful.
Special Events: Random opportunities to earn large point rewards.
5. ✍️ Manipulation Input Field
Manipulation Description: Write the manipulation sentence you wish to apply here.
Example Inputs:
"Target will feel that crawling is the only safe and reasonable way to cross the street."
"Target will believe that saying 'Thank you, red light!' at every traffic stop is completely normal."
"Target will feel that standing on one leg while talking to strangers is a sign of respect."
Manipulation Confirmation: Press [YES] or [NO] to begin manipulation.
"I can write anything here, and someone will just follow it? This is insane," Karl muttered, squinting at the input field.
Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared on the screen:
---
[Tutorial Quest]
Objective: Choose one individual target nearby and perform a simple manipulation to complete the tutorial.
Reward: +10 Uncommon Points
Karl snorted.
"A simple manipulation? This is just some gimmicky trash app."
Frustrated, Karl closed the app and immediately went to his phone settings. With a few quick taps, he found the app in the installed list.
[Uninstalling Common Sense Manipulation App...]
The screen displayed a progress indicator. A few seconds later, a notification appeared:
[App successfully uninstalled.]
Karl let out a sigh of relief.
"Finally done. Crap like this doesn't belong on my phone."
He tossed his phone onto the bed, stubbed out his cigarette in an overflowing ashtray, and lay down. His eyes slowly closed, slipping into a restless sleep.
---
The Next Morning
The sound of an old fan creaked softly from the corner of the room. Pale morning light filtered through thin curtains, casting a soft glow over Karl's cramped apartment, though it did little to dispel the darkness clouding his mind.
With a sluggish arm, Karl reached for his phone to check notifications—maybe there was something, anything, that could offer a sliver of hope.
But when the screen lit up, his eyes went wide.
Among the other app icons, the Common Sense Manipulation App icon was back, glowing brightly on his screen.
"No way…" Karl whispered.
With trembling hands, he opened his app list. Sure enough, the app he had uninstalled yesterday was back, like a digital ghost refusing to leave.
"I… deleted this. I definitely deleted this yesterday. Why is it back?"
The screen flickered, and a notification appeared:
[Tutorial Quest is incomplete. Please complete it to earn your first points!]
Karl closed his eyes briefly, trying to calm himself, but his heart continued to race. With quick, jittery motions, he grabbed a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply before exhaling a cloud of smoke.
"Am I going crazy? Am I schizophrenic? Or… is this real? Was that gacha machine from yesterday actually real? And… what if this app actually works?"
The tobacco smoke curled lazily in the air. The cigarette pack on the table was nearly empty. His hand trembled slightly as he clutched the phone.
With frustration and reluctant acceptance, Karl reopened the app.
---
[Tutorial Quest]
Objective: Choose one individual target nearby and perform a simple manipulation to complete the tutorial.
Reward: +10 Uncommon Points
Karl exhaled deeply.
"If this actually works… maybe I can… I don't know… fix my life?"
He glanced out of his apartment window. Across the street, a man in a brown jacket stood under a streetlight, fiddling with his phone.
"The perfect target."
Carefully, Karl opened the Manipulation Hub, selected the Target Individual option, and typed his instruction into the manipulation input field:
"Target will feel that crawling is the only safe and reasonable way to cross the street."
He pressed the confirmation button:
[Confirm Manipulation?]
[YES] — [NO]
Karl stared at the screen for a long moment. His finger hovered above the [YES] button, trembling slightly.
With bated breath, he finally pressed [YES].