Chapter 105 – The Ordinary Office Worker
[Puppet Mechanical Hound: Click to summon a small pet. It can assist in combat or simply serve as a decorative companion.]
The Puppet Mechanical Hound required a ton of materials, but honestly, it felt pretty useless for now, so there was no need to make one yet.
Without hesitation, Zhou Ning upgraded his Puppet Alchemy skill to Intermediate, then immediately invested a precious skill point to boost it to Advanced. The game interface responded with a notification:
[Your Puppet Alchemy has reached Advanced level. You have gained a new skill: Resource Saver.]
[You have unlocked a new blueprint: Mechanical Arm.]
[Mechanical Arm: Click to summon a nimble mechanical arm. It must be mounted on a wall or frame and can assist with various tedious tasks.]
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. The newly unlocked "Resource Saver" was quite a useful passive skill—it reduced material consumption by 20%. Not bad at all.
As for the [Mechanical Arm], it made Zhou Ning feel a bit conflicted. This thing was kind of like the robotic arm assistant that Tony Stark used in Iron Man—not that it was bad per se, but the issue was, driven by a basic alchemy array, how smart could it really be?
There was a good chance it would just be a glorified artificial idiot. Worse yet, the materials were absurdly expensive, and the alchemy array was ridiculously complex. A conservative estimate put the cost at close to 600 Vecktas.
That was... awkward, especially for someone as broke as Zhou Ning.
Still, grumbling aside, he had to make it anyway. Who knows? It might end up more useful than expected.
After taking a break for about ten minutes, Zhou Ning started preparing herbs again and completed his daily formula derivation.
[You used 8000 XP, Gastrodia Herb x1, Leech Powder x1, Spotted Tiger Grass x1, Jointgrass x1, and derived a new recipe: Transformation Potion.]
[Transformation Potion: Expert-level alchemy recipe. Requires Gastrodia Herb, Leech Powder, Spotted Tiger Grass, and Jointgrass. After consumption, transforms the user into another person for 30 minutes.]
"What? A Transformation Potion?" Zhou Ning could hardly believe his eyes—his luck must be off the charts today!
No doubt this was the work of his simulated self. It was almost identical to the Polyjuice Potion from Harry Potter—shameless, sure, but extremely practical. A must-have for home and travel. Zhou Ning had been eyeing it for ages.
Over the next few days, aside from producing necessary Devil Fruits, his main focus would be on the Mechanical Arm and the Transformation Potion.
Once everything was done, Zhou Ning opened his pocket watch to check the time. It was only 2:40 PM. As a young man brimming with energy, there was still plenty of time left in the day—and the night had only just begun. Perfect for grinding in the game a bit more.
After the last time he traveled, Zhou Ning still had 33 traversal coins left. Tonight's goal was to test the strength of the [Ordinary Office Worker: Zhou Ning] template. There was no need to rush into continuing the journey in [War of the Gods] just yet.
He opened the Rewind interface and, after some hesitation among the three available worlds—[Mist-Lost London], [Endless War], and [Across the Seas]—he chose [Mist-Lost London].
In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, he still lacked two collectibles. According to the Hall of Wonders, one was probably the bow that matched the arrow, and the other could either be a Saint's Corpse or the lineage of the Pillar Men. As long as he got any one of them during this run, it would be worth it.
Zhou Ning had full confidence in this template.
[Rewind preparation in progress... Traversal Coins -20]
[Please select traversal mode…]
[1. Use random template to traverse.]
[2. Use existing template to traverse.]
Zhou Ning chose option two without hesitation and began the Rewind.
Three cards appeared before him: One-Time Template "The Godfather: Zhou Ning," "Peerless Hero: Zhou Ning," and Permanent Template "Ordinary Office Worker: Zhou Ning."
He locked in the Ordinary Office Worker template and hit start.
[Matching in progress…]
[Match successful. In this parallel world, you are an ordinary office worker who longs for a quiet life and aspires to live like a plant. You detest conflict and believe fighting others is an empty, endless struggle. Beneath your dashing appearance lies a peculiar obsession: you are fascinated by perfect hands—whether they belong to others or yourself.]
[Current world exploration progress: 86.7%. Beware of other versions of yourself who are also traversers.]
[Note: If you die during this Rewind, the game ends.]
[Note: Using a template allows you to freely choose the time and location of your traversal.]
[Note: In Rewind Mode, template characters possess strong agency. "Ordinary Office Worker: Zhou Ning" belongs to the True Neutral faction. You have zero control over his actions.]
[You are currently selecting the time and place of your traversal.]
[You selected Rome, Italy, in the year 1938.]
[You have traversed to Rome, Italy, in 1938. From this moment on, the wheels of history begin to turn.]
Zhou Ning had thought this through carefully—this time and location offered a good chance of obtaining the Pillar Men's lineage. It also avoided overlapping with the vampire version of Zhou Ning, who was likely hiding in the UK.
And according to JoJo's timeline, the bow and arrow should have been discovered in Egyptian ruins in 1986. As long as he didn't slack off too much, he had a good shot at acquiring it.
This move? Pure face-smashing dominance—how could he lose?
[March 9, 1938 – Penniless and alone, you stood on the streets of Rome, a city often described as an open-air museum. Plazas and cathedrals were everywhere. The Great Depression and the Ethiopian War had stifled the city's growth, but in turn, the fusion of classical and modern culture brought you an unexpected sense of peace. Straightening your blue suit, you thought, "Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad." As for starting some great endeavor like other traversers—fighting Pillar Men or exploring Egyptian ruins? No thanks. All you wanted was an unremarkable, quiet life.]
[March 10, 1938 – Despite only speaking English, you managed to find a decent temporary job—as a food runner at a Chinese restaurant. 9 to 5, 100 lire per day. The only downside? The middle-aged boss lady didn't have particularly nice-looking hands, which didn't suit your aesthetic.]
[March 11 – April 20, 1938 – Life was just as quiet as you'd hoped. The job was ordinary. The pay was average. Life was... plain. But one thing stood out—you read in the papers about Zhou Ning, hailed as the century's greatest scientist. He'd won the Nobel Prize three times and invented over 260 things, including airplanes, wireless telegraphs, and optical interferometers. Oh, and Dio Brando—thanks to the butterfly effect, he never became a vampire. Instead, he was now a renowned athlete and physicist. His photo—body twisted in a bizarre pose, expression full of arrogant pride—gave you a surreal sense of time and space clashing.]
[Also, women in Italy were quite fond of you. You went on a few dates with beautiful girls who had lovely hands. Every time you held one of their hands, you had a strange impulse to claim it as your own—but reason reminded you that sometimes, longing for what you can't have is its own kind of beauty.]
[April 21, 1938 – Today was a Roman holiday, celebrating the city's founding in 753 BCE. All archaeological sites and museums were free to enter. On your rare day off, you spotted a historic site guarded by German soldiers. You wondered if this was where the Pillar Men were sleeping—but really, what did that matter to you? Without a second glance, you turned and walked away.]
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