Chapter 12: Immersive Experience, Exploration of the Lands Between

This game gave Namikaze Minato a very eerie feeling. Whether it was the woman in front of him or the various contents around him, he felt as if he were deeply entangled in a conspiracy.

But as he looked down at the child in his arms, he felt a warmth in his heart. This was the magical aspect of the system providing the game. Even in game mode, the game was not just data; one could feel the emotions the game intended to convey.

Now, playing as Ethan, Namikaze Minato couldn't help but treat Rose as his own daughter. Of course, this emotion was only provided by the system to enhance immersion, and players could adjust it freely.

Namikaze Minato had this feeling because he wanted to experience what it was like to be a father in advance, so he could better take care of his own child when the time came.

He wandered around with the child, guided by the system on how to hold and soothe her. At the same time, he observed his surroundings.

Strange reports, note cards on the refrigerator, and documents on the computer—all of them made him feel that this game was not just about experiencing parenting.

Although it was all tinged with strangeness, he enjoyed this feeling very much. This environment, or rather this game, allowed him to experience a relaxation he had rarely experienced in many years.

If possible, he really wanted to experience this game with his beloved.

After taking the child to the room, Namikaze Minato turned left and right and returned to the living room. Mia had already prepared a table full of food, and she said something while Minato observed his surroundings.

Namikaze Minato couldn't understand what Mia was saying about local specialties and local delicacies.

Just when he thought the so-called game was about enjoying the ordinary life of a family, something unexpected happened.

Minato felt a sense of danger, so real that he wanted to use his body to shield against it. But although his consciousness could keep up, he couldn't control his body fast enough.

It happened so fast.

The continuous gunfire, the seemingly dead wife, and the daughter taken away by a man named "Chris."

In that moment, Namikaze Minato felt a surge of anger.

Any man, upon seeing his wife killed and his child taken away, could not contain the anger in his heart. He wanted to fight back. Even though his "wife" was dead, he knew the daughter was safe; he had to take her away.

But just as he was about to use his extensive experience to counterattack, a sweet female voice sounded in the hall.

"Insufficient card balance, please recharge in time."

As the voice stopped, the computer in front of Namikaze Minato suddenly locked, and the game progress was also frozen.

The game scene disappeared, and his consciousness completely returned to reality.

At this moment, Minato felt his heart pounding violently. As the game ended, the emotions gradually subsided. But because he was directly immersed in the game, he couldn't help but think: if his child were born and someone killed Kushina and took the child away, and he was powerless to resist...

Anger, tension, anxiety—all the negative emotions surged in an instant.

Liu Yuan patted his shoulder. "How do you feel?"

"Very real."

In the game, he could clearly distinguish between what was real and what was illusory. But even so, he still immersed himself in the role of Ethan. It was only when he left the game that he realized that Rose was the daughter of the game's protagonist, not his own.

"This sense of immersion is incomparable to any genjutsu."

"Do you want to open a few more hours?"

"No, I want to go back."

Namikaze Minato shook his head. As the Hokage, he felt that something was off with himself, and he decided to go back to calm down.

He just wanted to leave here quickly. He got up from his seat, pushed open the door, and walked in.

"Genjutsu? Or..."

Inside the room, Minato looked at his hands and squeezed his own hand back.

His beloved was sleeping on the bed, but he was standing by the bed in complete attire. He remembered very clearly that he had changed into his clothes before entering the internet cafe to prepare for sleep, but now he was fully dressed, and even the warmth from playing in the internet cafe remained under him.

"Illusion? Reality? Or..."

Namikaze Minato sat down, adjusted his emotions, and grabbed Kushina's hand, whispering softly, "I just had a dream, a dream where my wife was killed and my child was taken away..."

"Fool."

Kushina hugged Minato and whispered in his ear, "It's just a dream. If that day really comes, I believe you will save our child and watch him grow up."

"Kushina..."

Minato made a decision. If he could enter that internet cafe again... he would do his best to bring "Rose" back. Whether it was reality or illusion, he would bring his child back.

Since he could enter once, he could enter a second time. Next time, he would explore carefully. And next time, he would bring Kushina with him.

...

In the internet cafe, After Kisara saw Namikaze Minato leaving and asked with some curiosity, "Aren't you afraid he won't come back?"

"Not afraid."

Liu Yuan explained, "When he shut down the computer just now, there was reluctance in his eyes. Besides, for him, coming here doesn't cost him anything. And as for not coming back, there's nothing we can do. Customers are free."

Now he felt quite stable. With Subaru and Kaede, these two would definitely bring him new customers.

As long as three more become repeat customers, the task will be easily completed, and there is still plenty of time now.

Namikaze Minato's departure did not disturb the two people who were exploring The Lands Between. The two explored in completely different directions.

Fujimatu Kaede was bewildered when she opened a chest, only to be teleported to Cu-Crystal Mines.

The mine was full of dangers, but most of them were weak skeleton miners. There were a few strange monsters that could shoot strange 'bullets' like insects, but Kaede managed to deal with them without incident and continued to explore inside.

Fujimaru Kaede's outstanding quality was recklessness!

Subaru Natsuki, on the other hand, was different.

He had rich gaming experience. In an open-world game like this with Sites of Grace and teleportation, the most important thing was to explore the map first.

Through Liu Yuan's demonstration, he knew how to find map fragments and how to find other blessings through one after another.

Boss? If i can't beat it, I can't beat it. Chest? Open it, elite monster? Avoid it.

Subaru Natsuki emphasized two words: "I'll Explore."