Chapter 1: True Neutral Hei Fan
December 31, 2048 AD
Mo Tan dragged his weary body back home, staring blankly as several men carried a huge rectangular cardboard box into the living room, then worked swiftly and efficiently for half an hour. During this process, he simply sat quietly on his not-so-spacious sofa, watching these employees of the "Innocent" corporation work diligently.
Their task was to assemble the company's first mental simulation product—the dedicated game pod for *Innocent Realm*.
Once assembly was complete, Mo Tan politely saw off the sweating workers, then turned and plopped down onto the expensive, bulky contraption that had cost him half a day in line. He tapped the glossy black lid of the pod absently with his right hand, and after a long moment, revealed a faint, ambiguous smile.
Clearly, Mo Tan was not a normal person. In fact, he was quite abnormal...
Multiple Personality Disorder has been an extremely rare condition in any era. There is no effective treatment, and its legendary nature has made it a gimmick and selling point for countless films, novels, and other artistic works. Generally speaking, as long as the execution isn't too poor, such works sell well.
By now, you've probably guessed it: 21-year-old Mo Tan is exactly such a patient with multiple personality disorder. The reason he can still be at home, preparing to log into the latest virtual online game on the market, rather than muttering to himself in front of a mirror in some psychiatric hospital, comes down to two main points.
First: He diagnosed himself. Through extensive research and cross-referencing his own condition, Mo Tan had already confirmed his diagnosis with considerable certainty by the time he was thirteen.
Second: He is very intelligent. So, despite suffering from such a unique and hard-to-control disorder, Mo Tan has hidden it well, never arousing suspicion from anyone. As for how intelligent he is, you can refer to the first point.
Incidentally, the materials Mo Tan consulted were not the basic knowledge you could easily find on your phone. They were proprietary documents held by major domestic and international medical institutions. To learn more about cases in detail, he even hacked into police databases more than once.
Of course, he has never been arrested.
In short, it's a long story...
Rather than launching into a lengthy introduction here, I'd prefer to gradually reveal his situation through the story ahead. So let's return to the narrative.
【Want to try living another way? Here, you can have the truest version of yourself!】
Mo Tan repeated the slogan on the game pod's lid—also the tagline of *Innocent Realm*—in his mind, and couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. "As a broke, gullible lunatic, what state of mind drove me to actually buy you..."
He stood up, stretched slightly, and murmured to himself, "Well then, let's start the experiment now. If the official claims weren't exaggerated, I should be able to tell right away..."
With that, he opened the game pod but didn't immediately lie down. Instead, he closed his eyes slightly and began to take deep, steady breaths.
After a long moment, unlike his usual demeanor that always gave off a sense of unruliness, Mo Tan's expression became gentle and serene. The transformation was so drastic that we could instantly notice it... this kid had probably switched personalities.
And indeed, that was the case. Mo Tan's current personality had already changed, though this particular persona was somewhat special. It could almost be described as the product of him giving up on self-healing (no mistake) and letting things fall apart, and it was the main personality he had been using most of the time over the years.
Then he lay down in the game pod, set the sleep time and wake-up time, adjusted the AI's voice to a gentle and soothing female tone, and closed his eyes.
...
[Your mental connection has been detected, synchronizing personal information...]
[Innocent Realm has opened its doors for you. The character creation process is about to begin...]
After a brief period of light sleep, Mo Tan found himself standing on a platform carved with countless patterns. Around him was nothing but a void, with countless colorful and magnificent images flickering within it. In just a short observation, he noticed many familiar constellations, plants, human silhouettes, as well as geometric arrays and phantom beasts he had never seen before...
"Hmm, the realism is quite high." Briefly evaluating this space and his current physical sensations, Mo Tan murmured, "It said 'the character creation process is about to begin,' not 'please create a character.' So it's pretty much as I expected..."
Before he finished speaking, nine light spots of different colors suddenly appeared in the void. Accompanied by a not-unpleasant whistling sound that grew louder, by the time Mo Tan reacted, a circle of towering gates had appeared around him.
"Huh?" Without hearing any system prompts, Mo Tan was momentarily stunned. He looked around and muttered, "Is this asking me to choose a door to enter? If so, how is that any different from actively choosing?"
He said this because he had already noticed four conspicuously large characters engraved on each door, corresponding to the different auras they emitted...
Without any hesitation, he walked straight toward the nearest door. It was a dark red door, faintly emitting black mist, like an entrance to hell, flanked by bones and pools of blood—an exceptionally cool-looking door.
"Come on, let me create a character, experience the thirty-thousand-yuan worth, then log off and get a refund." Mo Tan muttered as he reached out his hand. But he found that his seemingly powerless push erupted into a deafening roar, and then... the door collapsed...
It felt like something that had realized it was cornered, unable to bear the humiliation, and blew itself up in a final act of defiance!
"Hey, hey, hey!" Mo Tan looked down at the miserable pile of rubble, his mouth twitching as he said, "That's too much... how badly does it not want me to go in! Couldn't you have just shut yourself tight so I couldn't push you open? Did you really have to blow yourself up like that!? How much do doors hate me!"
That said, a hint of a smile crept across his face. This scene didn't frustrate or disappoint him; on the contrary, if Mo Tan had been able to push open that door inscribed with [Chaotic Evil], that would have been the real disappointment.
Continuing to move, he arrived before another door, black and white interwoven. Just as he reached out his hand...
Boom!!
"Hey..."
Mo Tan rolled his eyes, staring at the door now 'lying' flat on the ground in front of him, at a loss for words. Because just a moment ago, this thing had suddenly lunged forward, trying to flatten itself.
This was a door filled with an unstable aura, inscribed with [Chaotic Neutral].
"What a spirited alignment~" Having gotten the answer he wanted, Mo Tan sauntered over to a door that was entirely golden with white floral patterns and asked, "I suppose you won't open for me either, will you?"
The door engraved with [Lawful Good] shifted slightly backward, subtly yet politely indicating its... uh, refusal to Mo Tan.
"Alright, I admit this super-characterful D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) rule system has caught my interest." Mo Tan took a few steps to the left, pressed his hand against the pure white door, gently pushed it open, and then walked in as if it were only natural.
After his figure disappeared, the door representing [True Neutral] slowly closed amid a series of rumbles.
...
[Your alignment is — True Neutral. This stance is irreversible. Beginning calculation of your initial talents, race, and abilities.]
In the darkness, Mo Tan heard the system's voice once again.
Still, as he had expected, there was information on the official website of the game Innocent Realm stating that a player's initial alignment would forever follow their character, with its specific effects left for players to explore further...
As for what the officials hadn't mentioned—that race or talents would be determined by the system—that did surprise Mo Tan a bit.
[Calculation complete. Your initial character data is as follows:]
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Level: None
Alignment: True Neutral
Talent: Affinity (Slightly increases favorability from all non-distinctive creatures toward you)
Base Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Intelligence 7, Constitution 5
※Hyperlinks※
Strength — Increases physical attack ability, carry weight, and specific skill damage.
Dexterity — Increases movement speed, ultimate dodge rate, theoretical hit rate, and specific skill damage.
Intelligence — Increases magic damage, mana cap, and magic resistance.
Constitution — Increases HP cap, stamina cap, and physical resistance.
[Note: What you see is just the tip of the iceberg.]
"Well, a single note basically negates everything I just said." Mo Tan, unaware of his own location, mentally closed the hyperlink and continued reading.
Civil Attributes: Eloquence 5, Charisma 2, Knowledge 8, Leadership 0
"High knowledge is probably because I know Dungeons & Dragons rules well. Charisma and leadership... well, I admit I have no presence." Although Mo Tan didn't click the hyperlink, it didn't stop him from casually throwing out a jab.
Combat Attributes: None
[Please name your character]
Mo Tan thought for a moment and uttered the words 'Hei Fan,' because he knew that this self, which spent most of its time as the dominant personality, wasn't really 'Mo Tan' at all. So he casually took a part from each character of his real name, modified the 'Fan' from 'ordinary,' and came up with this slightly self-deprecating name.
(TL note: From his original name 墨檀 (Mò Tán): 墨 → 黑 (black), and 檀 → 梵 (Fàn), which sounds like 凡 (fán) from 平凡 (píngfán, "ordinary"). So Hei Fan roughly means "Black Ordinary" — a humble, self-mocking name.)
[Character Name: Hei Fan, please confirm.]
The words 'Hei Fan' appeared at the top of the character profile. Since the system synchronized with the player's thoughts, there was no nonsense about homophones with different characters, but it still made a confirmation.
"No need."
[Would you like to adjust your appearance?]
The moment he heard this, Mo Tan suddenly saw himself floating in midair, wearing a set of coarse cloth clothes.
"No need."
[Character creation complete. True Neutral Hei Fan, welcome to Innocent Realm.]
...
The darkness faded, and the moment he regained control of his body, Mo Tan opened his eyes.
A snow-white linen bedsheet came into view. He found himself lying face down on a fairly spacious bed.
[Tutorial Quest triggered—]
A small, semi-transparent window suddenly appeared in his line of sight. Mo Tan quickly read the line of small text on the quest panel: Leave the Green Meadow Inn and join the Marshall Territorial Guard.
Simple, clear, and straightforward.
Mo Tan climbed off the bed and noticed that his attire was exactly the same as when the system had asked if he wanted to adjust his appearance. Then, following the tutorial he'd read in the manual while waiting in line during the day, he mentally opened the equipment panel.
In Innocent Realm, a character's equipment slots totaled fourteen: head, shoulders, cloak, chest, pants, shoes, bracers, gloves, main hand weapon, off-hand weapon, rings (two), amulet, and a special equipment slot. Aside from the last one, it wasn't much different from typical mainstream games.
Mo Tan currently only had equipment in three slots: chest, pants, and shoes.
Specific stats weren't worth listing; to put it in one sentence—it was a linen set with a total defense bonus of 3.
He also took a glance at the character panel and skill panel. The former was the same as the initial setup, while the latter currently had nothing.
Next, Mo Tan didn't immediately leave the room. Based on his experience, there should be some loot to scrounge up in a place like this...
Finally, after three rounds of disappointment—searching under the bed, exploring the wardrobe, and angrily flipping up the carpet—Mo Tan found something behind a potted plant in the corner of the room.
[A Pack of Basic Potions]
Weight: 5 kg
Contains: One Basic Healing Potion, one Mana Potion, and one Antidote Potion each.
[Note: Why would it be hidden in a place like this?]
"I'd like to know that too... why in a place like this..." Mo Tan panted as he packed the potion into his bag and left the room. Just a brief search earlier had consumed thirty percent of his Stamina Points.
As soon as he pushed open the door, he saw a lizard-headed humanoid carrying an oak barrel trotting past him. The creature even turned back to flash him what was presumably a smile and said, "How was your sleep, guest?"
"Uh, pretty good~" Mo Tan raised his hand in response, feeling that this NPC was quite lifelike. He then went downstairs to the inn's lobby.
It seemed to be afternoon here, but aside from a blonde female elf dozing behind the counter, there were few people on this floor.
Mo Tan thought for a moment and decided to go over and greet her first. But before he could approach, the sleepy elf girl's ears suddenly twitched twice. She lifted her head and said lazily to him, "You're up right on time. The recruitment office should still be open. Turn left when you go out and keep walking straight. Good luck."
"Huh?" Mo Tan was a bit surprised, since she had answered before he even had a chance to ask.
"What 'huh'?" The elf flicked her ears, using her slender index finger to scratch the corner of her eye. "Didn't you say last night when you checked in that you planned to try your luck at the Territorial Guard this afternoon?"
Mo Tan had more or less figured it out by now. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "Thank you. I was just about to head out."
"You're welcome~" The young innkeeper of the Green Meadow Inn waved her hand. "No need to rush. The recruitment drive lasts three days. Even if you don't make it on the first day, it's fine. You can stay another night here—of course, that'll cost extra~"
Mo Tan thanked her again, then turned and walked out the inn's front door. The air outside was fresh and dry, and the fragrance of the earth lifted his spirits.
"At least here, I don't have to worry about losing health due to air quality." Mo Tan muttered this remark, as if the smog he had breathed in for over twenty years in reality had shaved years off his life. Then he stepped forward, merging into the pale golden afterglow cast by the setting sun.
Chapter 1: The End