Chapter 80: Retrospection
Zhou Ning had to agree. Windgun was undoubtedly a madman, but a remarkable one.
Zhou Ning was particularly curious about what Windgun's ultimate goal was. His words had sparked a vague and crazy guess. As Zhou Ning considered it, a chill ran down his spine.
It's terrifying to even think about… Could Windgun be planning to dissect a god?
That was a story for another book. There was no point in being curious until he had it in his hands.
Opening the control panel, he found a new life skill called Life Alchemy. Clicking on it revealed a recipe for creating an alchemical life form, which required pure soil, primordial life, and human sperm. Zhou Ning had no interest in it for the time being.
At the very least, it was a lower priority than Puppet Alchemy.
Zhou Ning took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was already 3:30 in the morning, but perhaps because he had just finished reading Windgun's notes, he was surprisingly not sleepy. He opened the simulation panel and saw he had 11 time-travel coins left from the last draw. With the minimum living allowance from the past two days, he now had 13.
Why not play a game?
The new simulation world, [War of the Gods], required 60 time-travel coins, so there was no rush to try it. Instead, Zhou Ning turned his attention to the retrospective interface, ready to test out the new function.
When he opened the replay interface, three optional worlds appeared before him: [Lost in Fog City], [Infinite War], and [Across the World].
Revisiting [Lost in Fog City] or [Infinite War] cost 20 coins, while [Across the World] cost a staggering 50 coins.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Ning chose to replay [Infinite War].
If I remember correctly, there are still about ten empty slots in the Hall of Wonders in that world. Plenty of good things left to find.
[Preparing for Retrospection... Time-Travel Coins -20]
[Please select a time-travel mode...]
[1. Travel using a random template.]
[2. Travel using an existing template.]
Wow, for a new mode, they even changed the way you travel.
He currently only had the one-time Godfather template, and he didn't want to waste it on his first try.
After a moment of thought, Zhou Ning chose the first option and entered the retrospection mode.
Five cards appeared before him. Three were familiar: Crazy Clown Zhou Ning, Spartan Zhou Ning, and Genius Architect Zhou Ning. He had never seen the other two, but they didn't look very powerful.
"No surprise there," Zhou Ning muttered, his lip curling slightly.
He clicked to shuffle, and all five cards flipped face down. Zhou Ning randomly tapped one, and the card revealed itself. It was him, wearing a purple suit and clown makeup.
His personality was capricious and unpredictable. His talents were Criminal Genius (Purple), Unholy Charm (Purple), Demolition Genius (Purple), Gun Master (Purple), and Dyslexia (a negative Gray talent). His skills were Intimidation and Blackmail (Master), Explosives Manufacturing (Expert), and Negotiation (Expert).
[Match successful. In this parallel world, you are the Crazy Clown, a phantom haunting a dark world. You disregard law and order, reveling in danger, explosions, and death. A fear and madness are rooted deep in your soul. In your heart, there is no justice; all good things are a lie. You want others to rebel against you—even the entire world—just so you can have the pleasure of destroying it. What changes will you bring to this world? We shall wait and see.]
[Current World Exploration: 95.2%. World Earth-83716 has been explored. Please be aware of fellow travelers.]
[The game will end upon your death in this replay.]
[Note: When using a template, you may freely choose your starting time and location.]
[Note: In Retrospection Mode, the template character has a strong sense of initiative. Crazy Clown Zhou Ning's alignment is Chaotic Evil. You will have no control over the character's behavior.]
[You are considering your starting time and location.]
You chose Manhattan, New York, USA, 2006.
[You have traveled to New York, USA, in 2006. From this moment, the wheels of history begin to turn.]
March 1, 2006: You appeared on the streets of Manhattan—penniless, alone, and unarmed. Across the street stood the headquarters of Starlink, the world's largest technology company, with Stark Industries nearby. Faced with this hellish start, you whistled. Isn't this fun? That afternoon, you mugged a police officer in an alley, taking his gun and $500. You used the money to enjoy a nice meal and spent the rest on three bombs at $56 apiece. That evening, you robbed a blonde woman at gunpoint. Just when she thought you were going to rape her, you only took her underwear. Seeing her bewildered expression, you asked, "Why so serious?"
March 2, 2006: You removed the soft steel underwire from the underwear. Using the wire, an alarm clock, and a bomb, you created a simple time bomb. You then began planning a bank robbery.
March 4, 2006: You used your eloquence to persuade five local thugs to join your crew. You needed helpers, but you also needed scapegoats. You gave each of them a role: three would rob the bank, one would disable the alarm, one would crack the safe, and one would drive the getaway bus. Of course, each of them also had a secret, independent mission: to kill their companions.
March 5, 2006: You arrived at a gang-run bank on Manhattan's West Side. Under your guidance, the heist was a success. The aftermath went exactly as you planned: the safecracker killed the alarm guy, the bank robbers killed the safecracker, and the bus driver killed the bank robbers. Finally, you killed the bus driver with your time bomb and pocketed all the money. Family Wealth +10.
March–June 2006: Your reputation began to spread throughout Hell's Kitchen, which naturally attracted an investigation from S.H.I.E.L.D. However, as a criminal genius, their scrutiny was meaningless to you. During this time, you recruited several supervillains, including Max Dillon (Electro) and William Baker (Sandman), as well as an electrical engineering Ph.D. who went by Vulture. You won them over with your astonishingly sinister charm.
July 2006: You saw on TV that Stark Industries had successfully developed a human enhancement serum and decided to make it your next target. Under your guidance, Electro kidnapped Pepper Potts and demanded the serum from Tony Stark as ransom. Anticipating S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement, you set a bomb trap. Your ingenious design not only killed several elite agents but also allowed you to acquire the serum. Item awarded: Tony Stark's Enhancement Serum.
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