Chapter 33: Full of Doubts
Continuing his conversation with the two children, Dr. Neil discovered another piece of information: when Johnny wasn't sick, he used to visit a lighthouse on the cliff. 'And Johnny built his house in such a remote place just to protect that lighthouse? Clearly, something strange was going on!' So Jay followed the two children towards the lighthouse.
On the way, everyone chatted about various topics, adding a touch of fun to the boring journey.
Boy: "Do you guys also make RPGs?"
Dr. Neil: "Uh... not me..."
Girl: "He's not that cool, he can't!"
Dr. Neil: "If I set my mind to it, there's nothing I can't do!"
As he finished speaking, the two children saw a sleeping squirrel and cried out in surprise.
"Look, a squirrel!"
Dr. Neil, at that moment, became alert: "Oh no! A terrifying squirrel monster!"
'What?'
Jay, who was playing on his computer, was stunned. The next instant, passionate background music played, and the squirrel, Dr. Neil, and the two children faced off. Simultaneously, a rudimentary turn-based RPG interface appeared.
"Don't be afraid, children! I'll protect you!"
The two children behind him exchanged a glance, extending their hands in frustration.
Attack and defense options appeared on the screen.
'What the heck? Does this system even exist? Why does it feel so weird?' 'Oh my God!'
Jay was stunned by the sudden change in the game's style. He touched the attack button and four abilities appeared.
"Volcano Kick, Whirlwind Palm, Decisive Punch, Shoes?"
Jay, bewildered, chose one at random. Then a new option appeared: the volume of the scream. There were three options: loud, relatively loud, and loudest.
'What the heck! What the heck was this?'
Jay was completely stunned. Decisively, he chose to speak louder.
"Your turn is over, squirrel monster!" Dr. Neil shouted at the top of his lungs.
Just then, the two children behind him jumped in.
"Stop! Or I'll tell Mom you're abusing animals!"
"Yeah, she'll call the police and have you arrested!"
The next instant, the RPG interface disappeared. The squirrel looked at Dr. Neil as if looking at an idiot, then turned around and scurried away.
"What the heck is going on? I just got into character! I was tricked!"
Jay also understood it at that moment. Obviously, this is a preview of a turn-based RPG. Because most RPGs have similar development. The barrage of messages in the live stream room also constantly updated the screen.
"F***, I really thought it was a turn-based RPG!"
"I just got into character and now it's gone!"
"Haha, I was wondering why the painting style suddenly changed. I was tricked! Alex is a very bad guy! 23333333, I think it's quite interesting. Isn't it a very funny game?"
"Haha, I think it's possible! It's been very fun from the beginning!"
In the game, Jay advanced step by step until he reached the lighthouse by the sea. In front of the lighthouse was a tombstone. Its owner was named River.
"The old man's wife's grave."
Looking at the grave, Jay remembered that in the house, the caretaker had told him that Johnny had a wife, but she had passed away long ago. Clearly, it was the old man's wife's grave, but why was she buried in front of the lighthouse? What meaning did this lighthouse have for the old man and his wife?
Confused, Jay entered the lighthouse and climbed to the top. There were the same paper bunnies as in the basement, but one was different. It was made with a mixture of two different colored papers, which took a long time to fold, making it more difficult than a standard paper bunny.
Additionally, it could be saved and seemed like an essential prop. But Jay's confusion only increased. After so much wandering, it seemed there was no answer to anything, only endless questions.
'What did the lighthouse and the paper bunnies mean?'
Full of doubts, they returned to Johnny's room and activated the machine with Dr. Eva, who had already prepared it. Johnny, the old man lying in bed, was about to have his entire life revealed to everyone. But, just like before, accessing Johnny's memories required a medium.
The goal was to access his childhood memories and thus implant his dream of becoming an astronaut. Through the machine, this dream would become a persistent goal in his virtual memory. Finally, the old man could invent a future where he became an astronaut and successfully landed on the Moon, thus fulfilling his last wish.
To achieve this, they gradually moved from the old man's recent memories to his childhood memories. Before embarking on their journey, they discovered a piece of music on the downstairs piano: "For River," composed by Johnny, apparently for his wife. Behind the house, the two doctors found Johnny, but their conversation led to a strange discovery.
Dr. Neil, curious, asked Johnny why he wanted to go to the Moon. Even Johnny himself was perplexed.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't know."
"I just... want to go."
Seeing the bewildered Johnny, Jay, like many viewers of the live stream, was also a little puzzled. 'He didn't even know why he wanted to go to the Moon? Then why was he so obsessed?' Jay's face was full of confusion.
But, full of curiosity, he continued to advance the game's plot, using the rabbit he had obtained from the lighthouse to perform a memory jump, reverting Johnny's past memories.
Over time, the game's memories revealed Johnny's old age. The room was filled with paper bunnies, and old Johnny, sitting at the piano, played the song he had written for his wife, River, over and over again. Apparently, River had already passed away.
'Paper bunnies, what deeper meaning do these bunnies have?' Jay asked, instantly convinced that the paper bunnies had some connection to Johnny's desire to go to the Moon. But what was the key?
This section of the game was also very simple: find memory items related to Johnny. After finding all the pieces, a relatively easy puzzle could be assembled to continue Johnny's memory. What can be understood so far is that To the Moon is not a game with very varied gameplay. It is a game with a central story.
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