Chapter Twenty-One: A Day's Time

The so-called fantasy instance is a special scenario created by the system, modeled after worlds of human imagination. In other words, it includes scenes from various movies, novels, or television works.

Each fantasy instance is unique; once triggered, it will never appear again, regardless of whether it is completed or not. However, the task will persist. The next person to trigger it will simply enter a different instance.

Such legendary instances were only something Zhao Nan had heard about, never experienced. Yet now, he felt no excitement at all. Upon entering the instance, he sensed no trace of magical power, and even his equipment had lost its effects. The only thing unchanged was perhaps his innate attributes.

“My wounds are healed!” Finina stood up abruptly, stamping her foot, completely recovered.

Zhao Nan said, “It’s probably because entering the instance clears all negative states. I don’t know if things will return to normal after we leave.”

He shook his head, speaking gravely, “Whatever happens, first we must complete this instance and find the ‘Heart of Time.’”

“Where are we?” Finina looked around curiously.

They were in a simple room, surrounded by old, shabby walls. She walked to the nearest window and gazed outside at unfamiliar buildings. People hurried along the street, their faces anxious.

“What’s this?” Finina cried in surprise. On her left arm, a line of glowing numbers suddenly appeared, and the strangest thing was that the numbers were moving, steadily decreasing.

Zhao Nan’s expression changed. He quickly pulled up his sleeve, and there, too, was a string of conspicuous numbers. The numbers on both their arms were nearly identical.

“00:00:00:23:59:35”

“It’s the time…” Zhao Nan said quickly. “Watching these numbers, once they all reach zero, we’ll die.”

“How can that be…” Finina’s face changed slightly. She blurted out, “How much time is that?”

“One day and one night.”

“But how could we possibly find the so-called ‘Heart of Time’ in just a day and night? We don’t know what it looks like or where it is.”

“That’s why, right now, our first priority isn’t to search for the ‘Heart of Time,’ but to figure out how to extend our time.”

“Is that possible?”

---

Zhao Nan glanced at the pedestrians outside the window and nodded. “Of course… earning time and surviving is the rule of this world.”

“It’s strange—I can actually read these characters!” Finina randomly picked up a sheet of paper from the nearby table, looking at it in wonder.

Zhao Nan nodded. “That’s good. Since there’s no communication barrier, you should familiarize yourself with the information of this world.”

He pointed to a black box in front of them. “That’s a television. Turn it on and you can see many things… This is the remote. The numbers here let you choose different channels; this is the power switch. The rest, you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

With that, he walked straight toward the door.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“To gather some information, and see if I can earn some time. If we stay here and our time runs out, we’ll both die. You stay here—don’t leave. Otherwise, I won’t be able to find you, and if you die, don’t blame me.”

Click.

The door opened, and Zhao Nan vanished from Finina’s sight. Her face paled; instinctively, she checked the time on her arm and walked to the window. Zhao Nan was already on the street…

…

Zhao Nan wrapped his coat tighter; it matched the style of the people on the street, differing only in ethnicity.

This instance had been released as a film several years ago. Zhao Nan had watched a pirated version casually, and now his memory of the plot was vague. He recalled only that a handsome pauper turned the tables on a wealthy heiress, broke into his father-in-law’s vault, and finally liberated humanity enslaved by time.

But in such a world, what exactly was the ‘Heart of Time’?

“No wonder they say that once you’re trapped in a fantasy instance, you might never escape for a lifetime.” Zhao Nan gave a bitter laugh.

There was only one objective, but no hints, no information. How was he supposed to clear this instance?

“Never mind that… first, I need to earn tomorrow’s time.” Zhao Nan clenched his fist.

From his memory, the normal way for people in this world to gain time was through work. There were other means, of course—gambling, robbery, and so on. But this world also had institutions dedicated to managing time, something like a Time Bureau, akin to the police. Cameras were everywhere, and any illegal act could be swiftly detected.

Soon, Zhao Nan spotted a factory recruitment notice. After some hesitation, he entered. The main draw was that the factory paid by the day.

“What do you want?” The HR staff eyed Zhao Nan with curiosity. “Asian?”

“I’m here for a job.” Zhao Nan nodded, feeling somewhat annoyed by the person’s gaze.

---

“You?” The person laughed. “You’re not even of age. Why look for work? Go home and enjoy your time!”

He vaguely remembered that in this world, people’s time counters only activated at age twenty-five—meaning no one had to worry about their life ending before then.

“No, I’m already an adult.”

Zhao Nan revealed the time on his arm directly. More than an hour of his day had already been spent.

“Well, I didn’t expect that…” The staff member was surprised by Zhao Nan’s appearance, then smiled. “During the probation period, you’ll earn twenty-five hours per day; after probation, thirty hours per day. Two meals provided daily. If you have no problem with that, you can start anytime.”

“Can’t it be more?” Zhao Nan hesitated. “I can work overtime.”

“No, no, employee pay is fixed. But we also reward by performance. If you complete your daily quota, you get full pay. If you exceed it, you’ll be rewarded accordingly. So, what do you think? Our factory is a big enterprise—benefits are guaranteed… I see your time, so you probably can’t afford to think too long, right?”

The staff seemed quite accustomed to situations like Zhao Nan’s.

“All right.”

“Register your name now.”

“Zhao Nan.”

“Zhao Nan…” The employee filled out the form, asking, “Identification, please.”

Zhao Nan had checked earlier—his identification was already prepared. The system had arranged for him to appear as a legitimate resident in this instance.

Not long after, a Black man entered. The staff said, “This is Eric, the workshop supervisor. He’ll tell you what to do.”

“Young man, welcome.” Eric flashed white teeth, clapping Zhao Nan’s shoulder heartily. “I hope you can make it through a day’s work—after all, you look a bit frail. Haha.”

“Hello, Eric.” Zhao Nan smiled, unconcerned about Eric’s opinion of him.

The two quickly entered the workshop. It was crowded, heads everywhere. The workers all focused intently on their tasks, no one speaking.

Oppressive, stifling—that was Zhao Nan’s impression. In fact, from the moment he stepped onto the street until now, the entire world felt this way to him.

Time—everyone was chasing after time.