Luo Cheng examined the alarm clock he bought. Its shape and color were the same as he remembered. In the game, the alarm clock could revert time back to the morning, allowing the player to re-roll gate numbers, improve mood, and change race results. However, here, Luo Cheng was uncertain if it would have the same effect.
After all, almost a year had passed since he crossed over. Item refreshing existed, map restrictions existed, and even freezing time to enter different story events existed, but there was no time reversal.
Could such a bugged effect really be bought from a random convenience store on the street?
That seemed a little... too easy, didn't it?
Luo Cheng couldn't see the attribute UI now, so he didn't know if it was really effective. He wanted to try one. Unlike other items, which were for the horse girls, the alarm clock was for the player.
Luo Cheng turned the dial to wind the clock. It was a very old-fashioned, wind-up alarm clock—the first one Luo Cheng had ever seen.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Luo Cheng frowned. He noticed that no matter how he adjusted it, the alarm pointer always stayed at eight o'clock.
Is it... broken?
"Trainer!" Just as Luo Cheng was wondering, Tokai Teio skipped over to him with lively steps. "Let's go out this weekend, Trainer!"
"No, I have something planned this weekend."
"What is it?"
"A work engagement," Luo Cheng said casually. "Teio, can you take a look and see if this alarm clock is broken?"
Tokai Teio took it and turned the dial a few times.
"No, it looks fine to me. Say, Trainer, why did you buy so many alarm clocks? Are you afraid you won't be able to get up in the morning? If so, leave the waking-up duty to me! I'll come wake you up every morning! And if Trainer likes to sleep in... hehe, then I'll be responsible for making sure the Trainer is energetic!"
Tokai Teio wiggled her tail twice.
"I didn't buy these to wake up on time..." Luo Cheng took the clock back, and the pointer still pointed to eight o'clock.
"It still hasn't moved, Teio."
"Huh? That's strange. I clearly turned it to the back just now, so why did it turn back? Ah! Trainer, you must have done it secretly, you bad person!" Tokai Teio puffed out her cheeks and ran behind Luo Cheng, lightly punching his back. The small, pink fists felt incredibly comfortable to Luo Cheng.
When these horse girls weren't using their full strength, they were just a bunch of soft, cute girls, perfectly sweet and savory.
Scratching his head, Luo Cheng put the alarm clock back. He still didn't understand how to use this thing. It couldn't possibly be activated by just pressing that yellow button on the back, right?
Luo Cheng chuckled to himself, and then he pressed the button.
Ring-a-ling-a-ling—
A sharp, piercing bell cut through Tracen Academy. Luo Cheng's vision went black, and he collapsed.
A burst of footsteps sounded outside the door. Luo Cheng groggily opened his eyes. The sun hit the heavy curtains, casting a faint glow in the room. The multi-colored chemicals dimly lit the room, making it feel like he had entered a sci-fi world.
Sweet black tea, acrid heather flower, and complex medicines—Luo Cheng smelled the familiar scent.
He felt pressure on his arm. Turning his head, Luo Cheng saw Tachyon, her shoulder exposed. Her fluffy hair was now damp and stuck to her face. She was lying on her side, her arms wrapped around Luo Cheng.
Where am I?
Luo Cheng remembered having gotten up once. He had gone out and bought some things, and then... he pressed the alarm clock.
Why am I here?
Am I dreaming?
Luo Cheng's brain was slow, just like when he first woke up. He looked up at the time on the wall.
8:00 AM.
Luo Cheng's pupils instantly contracted.
"Mmm..." Agnes Tachyon next to him made a soft, spoiled sound. She raised her foot and rubbed it against Luo Cheng's thigh, mumbling, "Guinea pig-kun, are you up already?"
"Tachyon, I think I've found something incredible."
"What?" Agnes Tachyon rubbed against Luo Cheng's chest like a kitten, her face showing an overly-sweet, thick expression.
Clang!
The door burst open, and Manhattan Cafe walked in.
"I knew it... that's why I smelled Trainer in the hallway. It was you, Tachyon."
Familiar dialogue, familiar scene. What Luo Cheng had experienced was not a dream; he had successfully restarted the day with the alarm clock.
The items from the game world were still effective in this world, even though Luo Cheng couldn't see the item effects.
If the alarm clock worked, then medical supplies or food must also work. But it was strange—Luo Cheng hadn't heard any news of someone being cured by wrapping themselves in ten layers of bandages.
'No, it looks fine to me.' Teio's voice echoed in his ear, and Luo Cheng's thoughts clicked into place.
Could it be that these items only have special effects when they pass through the hands of him, the 'player'?
Tachyon, seeing Cafe, frantically sat up in bed.
"Just calm down a bit, Cafe."
"Calm down? I'll calm down when you turn into a ghost."
"Tachyon, Cafe, I just tested it. Items from the game world still work in the real world."
Hearing Luo Cheng's voice, the two girls turned their heads.
"Guinea pig-kun? What are you saying?"
"It's the alarm clock! It's the alarm clock!"
Luo Cheng quickly got dressed and rushed to his office. Agnes Tachyon put on her sticky sock and, without thinking twice, followed closely behind Luo Cheng. Cafe was still reeling from the shock of the Trainer sleeping in the same room as Tachyon, but she quickly locked the door to prevent them from being discovered before rushing to catch up with the two.
Back in the office, Luo Cheng looked at his desk.
"...They're gone?"
All the items he had bought had disappeared.
"Guinea pig-kun, please calm down and tell me exactly what happened?" Agnes Tachyon interrupted him. Since waking up, Luo Cheng seemed like a different person, saying things she couldn't understand at all.
Luo Cheng recounted everything: going shopping, setting off the alarm clock, and finally returning here, to Agnes Tachyon, who was now pinching her chin in thought.
"That sounds quite unbelievable," Agnes Tachyon said.
"Indeed..." Cafe seconded from the side.
However, she was currently more concerned about the Trainer sleeping with Agnes Tachyon. Why didn't he choose her instead of Tachyon? Wasn't she better than Tachyon?
'Just as a woman, Cafe, you are already far behind.'
"Huh?" Cafe's sudden sound caught Luo Cheng and Agnes Tachyon's attention, and they both turned around.
"What is it, Cafe?"
"N-nothing."
She had actually heard Tachyon's mental retort to her own thoughts, so clearly it was as if it were whispered in her ear.
Agnes Tachyon was truly a menace!
"In that case, Guinea pig-kun, I plan to test your items. I need to find out why these things become different after passing through your hands. Please stock up more to serve as experimental materials. If you lack the funds, I can provide them."
"I'm not short on funds. After all... I don't really need anything."
"Trainer!" Tokai Teio burst into the room. "The weekend—huh? Why are you all here?" Looking at the nearly complete gathering, Tokai Teio scratched her head in confusion.