"Turning back time?"
Upon hearing this, Juvenile Byrne looked envious and complained reluctantly, "No way. That cheat code is way too broken. How is that fair? I don't even have a decent ability over here, and you've already equipped a Guardian Angel."
Urban Legend Byrne was amused by Juvenile Byrne's words and scratched his head. "It's not as miraculous as you make it sound. It's hardly a Guardian Angel; there are actually quite a few restrictions."
Inception Byrne asked, "So there are restrictions. Is there a cooldown time, or does it require consuming something?"
Urban Legend Byrne shook his head. "There isn't a cooldown, but every activation requires me to be in a near-death state. Anything less won't work. Furthermore, after the regression, although I retain my memories from before the jump, my body still carries the pain and trauma of the near-death moment. It takes at least ten minutes to recover from it."
He paused for a moment and gave a bitter smile. "Actually, those parts are manageable. The biggest restriction is the regression itself—it is exactly twenty-four hours, not a minute more or less. For example, if I violate a rule at 3:00 PM today and am about to die, the regression will take me back to 3:00 PM yesterday. Everything that happened in the twenty-four hours before the regression will be reset; only my memories remain fully intact."
Hearing this, Juvenile Byrne asked in confusion, "How is that a restriction? Being able to go back an entire day and keep your memories—that's a good thing."
Before Urban Legend Byrne could explain, Warhammer Byrne spoke up first. "No, it really is a restriction. Don't forget that the rules refresh weekly, while the regression is only one day. This creates a very headache-inducing problem."
"What problem?" Juvenile Byrne asked, puzzled.
Warhammer Byrne replied, "It's the uncontrollable timing of death. Imagine what would happen if you were killed on the very day the rules refreshed?"
Inception Byrne picked up the thread. "In that case, you would be regressed back to the previous rule cycle before the refresh. Combined with the lingering pain from the near-death state, it creates immense uncertainty."
Urban Legend Byrne nodded. "Exactly. So every time the rules refresh, I try my best to avoid triggering a regression. I just don't want to deal with that kind of mess."
Afterward, the group chatted for a few more minutes, and the introduction phase for the newcomer basically came to an end. Next was the phase for sharing recent updates.
Juvenile Byrne scanned the other three, threw up his hands, and said, "I don't have anything to share this time." Then, he changed the subject. "If I have to say something, I just want to complain about this space where we meet."
At this, Juvenile Byrne leaned back against his chair, his tone quite annoyed. "Don't you guys think this space is incredibly boring? Aside from where we're sitting, everywhere else is just endless white mist. You can't even find a signpost. And that's just a minor issue. The most frustrating part is that the three of us have met several times now, but this round table has nothing—not even a drop of water to drink."
In his irritation, Juvenile Byrne even pounded the table a few times.
Inception Byrne sighed. "Complaining is useless. This space has always been like this. Look on the bright side, though—at least it's absolutely safe."
Juvenile Byrne curled his lip. "It's safe, but it's just too monotonous. Last time, I tried walking into the mist for a while. There was nothing but white. No matter how far I went, there was no end. And regardless of which direction I took, I eventually ended up back at the round table."
Urban Legend Byrne nodded. "I noticed that when I came in just now. The mist seems to have an invisible pull. No matter which way you walk, you're eventually drawn back here."
Hearing the complaints of the other avatars, especially Juvenile Byrne's line about "not even a drop of water," Warhammer Byrne stared at the tabletop and sighed, "Yeah. Since transmigrating to the Warhammer world, I haven't had a Coke in a long time. I really wish I had a can of ice-cold Coke right now."
As soon as he finished speaking, a layer of soft white light suddenly rippled across the table in front of him. The other three were stunned and leaned in curiously.
A few seconds later, as the white light faded, a can of Coke appeared out of thin air. It had the red body and the familiar logo, with fine droplets of condensation clinging to its sides.
"Holy crap, it actually appeared!" Juvenile Byrne jumped up from his chair, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Warhammer Byrne was also a bit dazed. He reached out to poke the can, and the icy sensation was immediate. He picked up the can and pulled the tab.
K-chak!
The crisp sound of the opening tab was exceptionally clear in the silent mist space, followed by the overflow of chilled carbonation. The can felt heavy, and the sound of liquid sloshing inside was unmistakable. It was as real as it could be.
Confirming it was indeed Coke, Warhammer Byrne couldn't wait to take a large gulp.
"Refreshing!" Byrne narrowed his eyes and let out a comfortable burp.
Seeing him manifest the Coke, Juvenile Byrne rubbed his hands excitedly. Mimicking Warhammer Byrne, he stared at the table and shouted, "I want a bag of spicy strips and a bottle of iced black tea!"
Since transmigrating to the Doraemon world, he hadn't eaten spicy strips in a long time. Seeing Warhammer Byrne succeed, that was the first thing that came to mind. However, after he finished shouting, the table showed no change other than the faint, lingering white mist.
Faced with this result, Juvenile Byrne stomped his feet in anger. "How can this be? Why did he succeed and I can't? Is this damn space showing favoritism?"
While the words were spoken carelessly, they were heard with intent. Watching Juvenile Byrne's huffing and puffing, Warhammer Byrne thought to himself, Could it be that only I can do this?
With that thought, Warhammer Byrne said, "Maybe you asked for too much at once. Why don't you try again?"
Juvenile Byrne frowned skeptically and hesitated for a few seconds. Unable to contain himself, he finally shouted, "Then I just want one bag of spicy strips!"
He stared nervously at the table in front of him. One second, two seconds... ten seconds. Nearly half a minute passed, and still, there was nothing. Just as Juvenile Byrne thought he had failed again and was about to burst into a rant, a soft white light suddenly rippled across the table.
"Huh?" Juvenile Byrne froze, staring at the light, even his breathing instinctively slowing down.
A few seconds later, as the light dissipated, a bag of spicy strips lay quietly on the table.
"It... it worked?" Juvenile Byrne was stunned for a full three seconds before reacting. He grabbed the bag, tore it open impatiently, and stuffed a strip into his mouth. "Yes! This is the taste!"
While the attention of the others was drawn to the spicy strips, Warhammer Byrne smiled.