Chapter 1: A bunch of nonsense

In the dark room, the tooth-sickening sound of metal rubbing echoed.

Two strong white men in guard uniforms pushed open the iron door, dragging a hospital bed as they slowly walked into the room.

On the bed lay a teenager, his hands and feet tightly bound by leather straps. He could barely move and could only turn his head slightly to observe his surroundings.

The room was dark and narrow, with an operating table in the center. The dirty curtain and rusty operating lamp overhead made it clear this place was far from any standard operating room. A faint smell of blood and mustiness lingered in the air.

Beside the operating table stood a man in a white coat, adjusting medical equipment and instruments as if preparing for something.

"It's a f**king dog..."

Seeing this person's appearance, Paul's mood plummeted.

Facing the guards who were much stronger than him, Paul had no strength to resist. They lifted and threw him onto the operating table, where he lay flat like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Welcome back, little mouse."

The man in the white coat turned around and stared at Paul with indifferent eyes.

"It's still the same question, why did you appear in our research institute?"

"Our guards, including the monitors, didn't find you. How did you do it?"

"..."

Paul had no idea how to answer these questions. How could he explain time travel, especially to this man who claimed to be Ajax?

Paul knew very well that the name Ajax was a false identity. If he remembered correctly, this man was Francis, the villain from the movie "Deadpool."

Yes, the place where Paul found himself was the research institute where the protagonist in the movie received cancer treatment.

…

As a time traveler, Paul had been in this world for more than two months.

Compared to other strange ways of traveling, Paul's experience was simple. One moment he was playing games at home, and the next, he found himself in this mysterious research institute.

Paul, still disoriented, was soon spotted by patrolling guards and knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he was on the operating table, being injected with some kind of medicine by a man in a white coat, with no room for resistance.

What followed were brutal interrogations and torture. Beatings with iron rods, drowning and suffocation, exposure to high temperatures, soaking in ice water—Paul couldn't remember how many times he had endured this abuse.

Every once in a while, the guards would send Paul into this operating room, where Francis would torture him in different ways, each session more intense than the last. The torture only stopped when Paul's body could no longer bear it or when he lost consciousness, only to resume later.

Over and over, Paul was subjected to every possible form of torture, living a life worse than death.

Paul knew that confessing everything would be useless because this research institute was inherently shady. He was not the only unfortunate one being tortured here; all the 'patients' were actually experimental subjects who had lost their freedom.

Paul's painful experiences had taught him one thing: in this institute, death was the only outcome awaiting him. His only hope of survival was to escape.

…

After waiting for a while, Paul still had no intention of answering. Francis's eyes showed a trace of coldness.

"It seems that you still don't intend to tell the truth... It's okay, we have plenty of time."

Francis pushed an instrument next to Paul. His fingers, stained with some unknown liquid, began to spread it evenly on Paul's temples.

As if trying to crush Paul's spirit, Francis spoke slowly: "In the next few days, your body will be continuously connected to AC. Don't worry, the voltage won't kill you, but it will make you feel very painful and uncomfortable."

Seeing the metal needles in Francis's hands, Paul's heart skipped a beat. Was this guy going to electrocute him?

"Wait!"

Forced by the oppressive atmosphere, Paul finally spoke.

Francis immediately thought his pressure tactic had worked. He looked down at Paul, sneering, "I'll give you one last chance. Tell me, who are you?"

"About my identity..."

Paul's mind raced. He couldn't tell the truth, but he couldn't say he was a Saiyan either. Who knew if there were Dragon Ball comics in this world? Paul had no choice but to stall.

"Yes, it's quite complicated..."

Francis frowned, sensing that the other party's identity was not simple. He urged, "Say it!"

Paul bit the bullet and said, "How should I say this... I understand everything I need to, and you won't understand if I explain. There's no benefit in knowing, so just pretend you don't know. The water runs deep, and it's best not to ask too many questions."

Francis carefully analyzed Paul's words but found no useful information.

"So your identity is?"

"I understand what I know, and it's useless to explain what I don't. Do you understand?"

"..."

The smile on Francis's face froze. What did he understand? This was just a bunch of nonsense. Paul had no intention of confessing.

Francis's face darkened. "Very well. I hope you can maintain this humor."

He stopped talking and took the metal needle to Paul's temple...

…

After an unknown amount of time, Paul opened his eyes again. The painful operating room was gone, replaced by a spacious hall filled with hospital beds.

People in white hospital gowns lay on the beds, most of them numb, with wailing and screams filling the hall, creating an atmosphere of despair.

"Ugh..."

As consciousness returned, Paul's body felt a sharp pain. He groaned, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as his pale face twisted in agony.

"Damn, Francis is really ruthless."

Paul felt like countless ants were gnawing at his body. The high-frequency biological electric current had caused severe damage to his muscles and nerves, resulting in intense pain comparable to being burned by fire.

Suppressing the maddening pain, Paul thought, "With this time, it should be enough..."

Following his thoughts, a simple character panel appeared in his mind.

[Player: Paul]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 18 years old]

[Talent: None]

The character panel was from a mobile game Paul played before time travel: Danganronpa: A Super High School-Level Talent Development Program! Unlike the original reasoning adventure, this game focused on cultivating and collecting talents.

After time travel, this game followed Paul into this world, becoming his only hope to escape from this hellish place.