Just as he was about to start the car, Dave froze.
"Wait… I can't go back."
He sighed, slumping against the seat. Right—he'd almost forgotten. Today was the ventilation day. His apartment building was still being aired out after the little incident with his ever-so-thoughtful neighbors leaving the stove on and heading off for vacation.
That little disaster was what got his "previous self" killed in the first place.
So yeah—no particular fondness for them. Maybe even a pinch of resentment. But whatever. He was alive again, in the same body, in the same life—just in a parallel version of the world. Let bygones be bygones.
Not like he could go punch anyone over it now anyway.
"Man, I was really excited to play the game, though…" he muttered.
With a groan, he grabbed his phone again. If he couldn't play yet, maybe he could at least watch how others were playing it.
He opened the video app, typed in New World Online gameplay, and was instantly flooded with thousands of results.
But most of them looked… familiar.
"Huh? Isn't this the trailer thumbnail?"
He squinted at several of the videos. Many had nearly identical thumbnails to the trailer he'd already watched earlier.
Clicking on one confirmed it—yep, it was just the same trailer, but with people dubbing over it. Random guys and girls narrating what was happening as if they were the in-game protagonist.
He scrolled. And scrolled.
All the same.
"Where the hell is the actual gameplay?"
Frowning, Dave searched again—this time looking for the official launch time.
The first result was a livestream with a countdown clock. He clicked on it.
A massive digital timer flashed on the screen:
10 Hours 22 Minutes
"…Oh," he blinked. "It hasn't released yet?"
That explained everything.
Sure, it was launching today, but there were still ten hours to go before the servers went live.
He exhaled, relieved and a little amused. "That makes sense now."
With the mystery solved, he slouched back into the seat, wondering what to do next.
Office was closed. He couldn't go home. And he wasn't really in the mood to sit in a food court or browse overpriced jeans.
"Should I just watch some anime episodes?" he considered aloud.
But then the blaring of car horns nearby made him flinch.
"Nah. Let's not. It'll ruin the immersion."
He wasn't the type who could enjoy his shows with background noise—especially not traffic. Sound distractions while watching anime or reading novels always pissed him off. Broke the mood, broke the focus, ruined the whole vibe.
Then, as he looked down at his phone again, a new idea sparked.
"Wait… I've got time. I'm sitting in a mall parking lot surrounded by cars. Why don't I just… scan them?"
He grinned to himself. "Fill up my blueprint arsenal a little. Then maybe head inside and see what else I can grab. If nothing else, I'll scan everything."
With a tap of his thought, he opened the [Scan] function in his system.
A chime rang in his ears.
[Scan Complete: MONO134S Smartphone Blueprint added to database.]
Dave blinked.
He hadn't even targeted anything yet. His phone had been scanned by accident.
He laughed quietly. "Well, that works."
Let the blueprint collection begin. But first....
He placed his hand over the VR headset box and willed it into his inventory.
In an instant, it vanished.
Dave blinked. Then grinned.
"Fuck, that was amazing."
Without saying another word, he willed it back—and the box reappeared on the seat beside him, exactly where it had been.
Like magic. No, better than magic—system magic.
"Alright… let's test this thing properly."
He returned the box to his inventory and navigated to the [Scan] function inside the inventory tab. With a mental command, he initiated the scan.
A list of notifications immediately appeared:
[Scan Complete: NWO Retail Box Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: NWO VR Full-Dive Headgear Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: NWO High-Tech230 Cable Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: NWO High-Tech244 Charger Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: NWO VR Headgear Manual Blueprint added to the database]
...And it didn't stop there. The scan continued to pick up every item inside the box—even the cardboard dividers and internal plastic moldings. Each one cataloged, labeled, and stored with frightening precision.
It had taken less than a millisecond.
Dave just stared at the flood of blueprints populating his system's [Scan] tab.
He didn't even need to try.
"Okay," he muttered. "This thing's broken."
And that was just the beginning.
Eager to test further, he stepped out of his car and turned toward it. With a thought, he scanned his own vehicle.
[Scan Complete: Aurevia Z5 Car Blueprint added to the database]
Next, he turned to the car parked beside his.
[Scan Complete: Velora X Car Blueprint added to the database]
And then another.
[Scan Complete: Kavrex 5 Car Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: Dravion XL Car Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: Elaron GT Car Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: Ombria Car Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: Korvessa 7 Car Blueprint added to the database]
[Scan Complete: Aurevia Z5 Car Blueprint added to the database]
He smirked at that last one—same model as his.
And then, like a man on a mission, Dave just kept going. One car after another. His gaze alone was enough to trigger the scans. Every glance added a new vehicle to his growing list of blueprints.
To bystanders, he probably looked like someone searching for a lost phone or maybe pacing to remember where he'd parked.
But Dave didn't care.
He was building an arsenal.
An arsenal of machines. Of parts. Of possibilities.
And this was just the parking lot.
The world was filled with things.
And he could scan them all.