National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

The sky is blue.

A pure, unadulterated azure blue... without any impurities.

The sun hung directly overhead, the sky was cloudless, and its rays shone on the waist-high wild grass, making it look vibrant.

This is a forest that grows haphazardly.

The tree trunks were crooked and twisted, the ground was uneven, covered with protruding roots and pebbles, the air was filled with the scent of grass and soil, and the chirping of birds could be heard.

Everything here is out of place in the Ghost Islands.

A boat, 42 meters long, was parked so brazenly at the edge of the grove, like a stranded giant whale.

"Clang clang... clang..."

A rhythmic clanging sound came from the boat.

on the deck.

That completely destroyed red Chevrolet Corvette is now receiving a top-level "autopsy" from leading engineers.

"Klaus".

"Here!" The engineer, with half his body inside the disassembled hood, answered without looking up.

"Is it fixed?"

"..."

Klaus's wrench slipped, nearly hitting his own hand.

He pulled his head out from under the hood, his filthy face screaming, "Are you kidding me?"

"Captain, this vehicle has been submerged in seawater for at least several decades. All the metal parts are severely damaged, the electrical system is completely unusable, and there's even a nest of sea cockroaches in the fuel tank... You call this 'repairing'?"

"If not Xiu, what should we call him?"

I casually took a sip of juice.

"This is called—a perfect 1:1 replica based on a rotting corpse!"

Klaus said through gritted teeth.

He disassembled and analyzed almost every part of the car, and then recast it.

This workload...

It's bigger than rebuilding a Level 3 ship.

He turned his head casually, his dark eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the sunlight.

"So, that means it'll be almost healed?"

"...It'll be soon."

Klaus resignedly lowered his head and continued to struggle with the parts and complex circuits that needed adjustment.

Not far away, on the ship's side, Nathan was holding his black, unconventional diary and muttering to himself while looking at a strangely shaped, crooked tree.

"Oh, lonely tree, why are you so twisted? Is it to defy the injustice of the heavens, or to silently endure the pain that time has bestowed upon you?"

Ivan walked past him carrying an axe, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"Nathan, are you talking to the tree again?"

"I'm trying to communicate with it." Nathan closed his notebook, his face serious. "Let's see if I, as a 'child of the forest,' can understand the past of this land."

"So what did you learn?"

"It says it has a bad back because it was struck by lightning when it was young."

Ivan: "..."

He decided to stay away from this mentally unstable guy and turned to move closer to Aurora.

Aurora was sitting on a small stool, busily working with two large fish bones in her hands.

At her feet.

Angela lay sprawled out in a gray, frizzy mess, her belly rising and falling.

"Didn't the boss say we might be in that game called 'Past Days'?"

Ivan watched curiously as she twirled the fishbone in her hand.

"I wonder what kind of game 'Past Days' is. Since it can be a haven for the soul, it can't be... a farming simulation, can it?"

He said.

My gaze fell on that colorful little thing.

That's... a sweater?

The main body is fluorescent green, with one sleeve being khaki and the other a bright pink. The size is so small that it probably wouldn't even fit the head of a three-bamboo character.

"Sister... what are you doing...?"

"Knit a sweater for Angela."

Aurora replied matter-of-factly, "Its fur is so sparse, it will get cold in the mornings and evenings when the temperature drops."

Ivan: "..."

There are so many things to complain about, he didn't know where to begin.

Just when Ivan was having an existential crisis—

"We're back!"

Esther's lively shouts rang out.

Then three figures emerged from the woods.

Walking at the front was Esting, holding a smooth, straight branch that he had picked up from who-knows-where.

Luigi followed behind him, supporting someone.

"Pfft—hahahahaha!"

Upon seeing the third person, Ivan couldn't help but laugh again.

Sean...

Right now, it's walking in a strange posture!

The red fishtail is gone, replaced by two legs like everyone else's, and it's wearing an old-fashioned pair of jeans.

But the problem is... he's not quite sure how to use this new 'accessory' yet.

Every step he took was like that of a baby just learning to walk—

Either their legs fight each other, or they simply disobey orders and split in two directions.

He tried his best to maintain a calm posture with his hands behind his back, but his lower body swayed from side to side, relying entirely on his agility to maintain his balance.

"What are you looking at?"

Sensing the mocking gaze, the mermaid immediately stopped, shook off Luigi's support, and glared fiercely at him.

He stopped consciously, but his legs kept walking. The next second, they got twisted together like a pretzel, and he tripped hard, about to fall face down on the ground.

At this critical moment.

He leaned back at an incredible angle, bracing himself with his hands on the ground while one leg was still dangling in the air.

—A perfect iron plate bridge.

"..."

"Cough cough cough."

Nathan suppressed a fit of laughter and coughed. "Sean, your... flexibility is pretty good."

After all, mermaids don't have backbends or sit-and-reach exercises.

"Shut up!"

Sean's face turned almost liver-colored.

He'd never lost a fish like this in his entire life...

No, he's losing face now!

If I had known that growing legs would make walking so tiring and difficult...

"How's it going? Any discoveries ahead?"

An arbitrary sound rang out at the opportune moment, successfully diverting everyone's attention from Sean's legs.

Louis looked somewhat serious.

"Captain, we haven't gone too far. About five kilometers ahead, we've spotted a very large building."

"architecture?"

Klaus lifted his head out from under the hood.

"Yes, it looks like a warehouse or a factory, very modern."

Louis describes:

"Because... Sean wasn't feeling well, we didn't go near there; there were... a lot of people there."

"A person?" Ivan's interest was piqued. "Alive?"

"It seems so."

Esting answered eagerly.

"They were wearing similar gray clothes and walking around the warehouse, like they were patrolling, or maybe... taking a stroll? Anyway, it was a bit strange."

strange?

He casually stroked his chin, seemingly lost in thought.

I don't know if these are living people or NPCs, after all, this "Past Days" game is not a desolate place.

So much time has passed, what about those trapped inside...?

Is it still around?