While chatting with the two kids, Dr. Neil got another piece of information—that Johnny used to visit a lighthouse near the edge of a cliff often, back when he was still healthy.
And Johnny built his house in such a remote place just to be close to that lighthouse? Clearly, something's going on here!
So Eric followed the two kids toward the lighthouse.
On the way to the lighthouse, everyone started chatting about random stuff, which made the boring walk a bit more fun.
Boy: "Do you play role-playing games too?"
Dr. Neil: "Uh… I don't…"
Girl: "He's not cool enough to play those!"
Dr. Neil: "If I wanted to, there's nothing I couldn't do!"
Right after he said that, the two kids spotted a sleeping squirrel and shouted with excitement.
"Look, a squirrel!"
At that moment, Dr. Neil got into a serious stance: "Oh no! A scary squirrel monster!"
What?
In front of the screen, Eric was totally confused.
Right after that, some intense battle music started playing. The squirrel, Dr. Neil, and the two kids faced each other, and a rough-looking RPG turn-based battle screen popped up.
"Don't worry, kids! I'll protect you!"
The two kids looked at each other, shrugged, and gave helpless looks.
Attack and defend buttons appeared on the screen.
"What the heck? This kind of system? Why does it feel so weird?!"
"Oh my god!"
Seeing how the game suddenly changed its style, Eric was stunned.
He clicked the attack button, and four skill options showed up.
"Volcano Kick, Tornado Palm, Final Blow, Shoes?"
Eric looked completely lost and picked one at random.
Then a new option popped up: scream volume.
There were three choices—Loud, Louder, and Loudest.
What kind of nonsense is this?!
What even are these?
Eric was totally dumbfounded.
He picked the loudest one without hesitation.
"Your turn is over, squirrel monster!"
Dr. Neil shouted with all his might.
Then the two kids behind him stepped forward.
"Stop it—or I'll tell Mom you're bullying animals!"
"Yeah! She'll call the police and have you arrested!"
Right after that, the whole RPG UI disappeared. The squirrel looked at Dr. Neil like he was an idiot, then turned and ran off.
"What the heck kind of twist is this?! I was just getting into it! Totally got played!"
At that point, Eric finally understood—this was just a joke scene inside the game that made fun of classic turn-based RPGs.
Because in most RPGs, that's exactly how things go.
The livestream chat was going wild with comments.
"Damn, I really thought it was a turn-based RPG!"
"Just got into it and now I'm pulled right out!"
"Haha, I was wondering why the art style suddenly changed."
"Damn, we got tricked!"
"Lucas is such a troll!"
"23333333, I actually think it's pretty fun. Could this be a comedy game?"
"Haha, maybe! Everything so far has been full of humor!"
In the game, Eric followed the steps and arrived at a lighthouse by the sea.
In front of the lighthouse, there was a gravestone.
The name on the gravestone was: River Wyles.
"It's the old man's wife's grave."
Looking at the grave, Eric remembered the nanny in the house had once said Johnny had a wife, but she passed away a long time ago.
Clearly, this was the old man's wife's grave—but why was she buried in front of the lighthouse?
Did this lighthouse mean something special to the couple?
With these questions in mind, Eric climbed to the top of the lighthouse.
There were paper rabbits here, just like the ones in the basement earlier, but one of them was different.
This one was made with two different colored papers, and folding it that way took much longer than the regular ones.
It could also be collected, and seemed like an important item.
But Eric only felt more confused.
After going in circles, none of his questions were answered—he just ended up with even more.
The lighthouse and the paper rabbits… what did they all mean?
Full of doubt, he returned to Johnny's room and started up the machine with Dr. Watts, who was already prepared.
Johnny, the old man lying in bed, was about to have his whole life shown to them.
But just like before, they needed a link to enter his memories.
The goal was to reach the old man's childhood memories. That way, they could plant the dream of becoming an astronaut. With the help of the machine, that dream would become something he held on to in his virtual memories.
In the end, the old man would be able to create a fictional future—one where he became an astronaut and landed on the moon. And that would fulfill his final wish.
To reach that goal, they had to go step by step through his recent memories, slowly working their way back to his childhood.
Before they began, they found a sheet of music by the piano downstairs—For River.
It was composed by Johnny himself, clearly written for his wife.
Behind the house, the two doctors found Johnny, and during their conversation, something strange came up.
Dr. Neil asked Johnny why he wanted to go to the moon.
But even Johnny himself seemed confused.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know."
"I just… want to."
Seeing Johnny's lost expression, Eric—like many people watching the stream—was stunned.
He didn't even know why he wanted to go to the moon?
Then why was the obsession so strong?
"Could it be the origin of an alien invasion? No… that doesn't make sense."
Eric looked puzzled, but full of curiosity, he pushed the story forward. Using the paper rabbit he got at the lighthouse, he triggered a memory jump to move further back in Johnny's memories.
Time moved back—the game showed Johnny's later years.
The room was full of paper rabbits, and old Johnny just sat at the piano, playing the song he wrote for River over and over again.
It was clear that by this time, River had already passed away.
"Paper rabbits... what do they really mean?"
Eric was sure at that moment—the paper rabbit must have something to do with Johnny's wish to go to the moon.
But the question was, what exactly was the connection?
This part of the game was also very simple—it was just about finding memory items related to Johnny.
Once you found them all, you'd do a not-so-hard puzzle, and then the story would continue, taking you deeper into Johnny's memories.
At this point, one thing was clear—To the Moon wasn't a game focused on fancy gameplay.
It was a story-driven game, plain and simple.
(End of Chapter)
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Let's do a challenge: for every 100 Power Stones, I'll release one bonus chapter.
Now, give me your Power Stones! (said in the most polite tone possible)
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Read +40 advanced chapters on my patre*n
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