At the intersection of Yokohama's commercial street, car horns honked one after another, as if trying to disperse the crowds.
It was a cold and frosty winter day, but the sudden drop in temperature did not dampen the enthusiasm of young people for Halloween. Street shops were decorated with lights and pumpkin lanterns and wooden signs announcing Halloween discounts.
In a private car, Hojo Natsuki was staring out the window.
He had just finished a negotiation and was not in a very good mood. He looked listless and raised his hand to gather the coat that was covering his shoulders and was about to fall off.
The light and shadow of the street lamp flowed across his fair and handsome face, his jaw line was superior, and gentleness and coldness were intertwined.
The driver looked at his relaxed expression in the rearview mirror and explained carefully, "Today is Halloween. There's a road ahead that's been temporarily blocked due to a car accident. It might take about 20 minutes. If you..."
Hojo Natsuki said nonchalantly, "It's okay, there's nothing important to do tonight."
In order to obtain the "Supernatural Business License", the port mafia worked non-stop. As a cadre, he worked overtime for half a month. Fortunately, things went smoothly and he finally got a chance to catch his breath.
The driver nodded and looked away.
As the sky gradually darkened, the light of the curved LED screen became particularly bright, scrolling and playing various advertisements.
As soon as Hojo Natsuki looked up, the game advertisement of "Travel Frog" was playing on the screen. He saw the familiar little frog and couldn't help laughing.
But apart from him, no one else in the bustling crowd noticed this.
[Do you still remember the little Guagua who traveled alone wearing a hat? ]
[Do you still remember those beautiful scenery you saw on postcards?]
[After 5 years—]
[The warm return of "Travel Frog: Remastered Edition"]
It is said that fashion is a cycle. The trend of more than ten years ago will travel through time and space and set off a new wave. However, in the gaming industry, this period is much shorter.
The game that was all the rage five years ago has actually been remade and released online.
The time in the traffic jam was a bit unbearable, so Hojo Natsuki opened the app store, searched for and downloaded the game.
[Dedicated to you who have spent wonderful time with Gua Gua]
Five years of longing and waiting will finally bear fruit!
Your exclusive frog returns!
[Dedicated to you who likes pure placement and free leisure]
Scenic postcards, local customs souvenirs, and quack friends visiting from time to time...
Three minutes a day, capture the beauty that comes your way!
[Dedicated to you who like new gameplay and new content]
Opening screen introduction? Skip Skip.
[Game Agreement]
1. This game has rich plots and various ways of playing, including but not limited to pet cultivation, simulated management, fighting and upgrading. Please work hard to upgrade your level and explore more hidden content.
2. Once your GuaGua dies, it cannot be revived. Please treat the virtual life as you would treat a real pet.
3. It is recommended that you be devoted to Guagua. You can have multiple virtual pets. If the pets fight each other due to jealousy, resulting in damage to your property or endangerment of personal safety, the game will not be responsible. Cherish life and don't be a sea king.
4. Support multiple online payment methods. A handling fee of 3% of the actual payment amount will be charged for each purchase in the mall. This is the same for all platforms. If you are dissatisfied with this, you can insult this game passionately. Anyway, the handling fee will not be reduced.
5. All rights of interpretation belong to this game.
6. I wish you a happy game.
Scroll to the bottom and there are two options.
[Yes, I know.] / [Get lost! Stupid game!]
Hojo Natsuki really wanted to choose the second one, but he held back with difficulty.
The screen flashed black, and after a few seconds, the game started loading.
[Please enter your nickname—]
I'm too lazy to think about it, so I'll just use my real name.
He typed: [Natsuki]
Following the novice guidance, Hojo Natsuki opened the [Small Pond] in the lower left corner, and the interface jumped to the Japanese-style pond.
[Make a sincere wish, and fate will match you with the most suitable quack]
Then a blank postcard popped up, with a gold-plated feather pen next to it, asking the player to doodle freely - a very common card drawing mode.
Hojo Natsuki drew Natsuki again in cursive script.
A blank postcard with Natsuki written on it was stamped and delivered, gradually becoming smaller in the picture. After a flash of white light, a line of text slowly appeared.
[The story between you and Guagua begins]
It's quite ceremonial.
Xia Shu had never played this game, but "Travel Frog" was very popular that year and left a faint impression on this cloud player.
Next, a cute little frog wearing a lotus leaf hat will appear, and then the system will pop up a prompt asking the player to give Gua Gua a cute name.
but why…
A little frog wearing a black top hat and with long silver hair trailing on the ground suddenly appeared in the center of the screen, with his name [Gin] written on a wooden sign under his body.
The pair of dark green dead fish eyes in the stick figure actually vividly conveyed the frog's impatient mood, as if saying "What are you looking at? Get lost!"
[You have drawn [Qin Frog]]
[Sex: Male]
[age:???]
[birthday:???]
[blood type:???]
[height:???]
[weight:???]
A series of unknown data.
Scroll to the bottom -
[Favorability: 0]
[Although the frog has a bad temper, he will become your most loyal and reliable partner! ]
Hojo Natsuki: “…”
Moreover, the frog that appears is also somewhat different from the long silver hair and black hat in the illustration. Its hair is not that long, just hanging down to the upper back, and it does not have a black hat.
Maybe the character illustration is complete and is still in the process of growth.
There were so many flaws that Xia Shu actually became interested and followed the tutorial to play this (supposedly) simple and easy-to-play game.
[Your current level is [Lv1]. More features and gameplay will be unlocked after upgrading! ]
[Guide to raising frogs]
[Don’t travel without preparation: prepare these essential items for your frog every day]
[1. Prepare lunch]
[2. Prepare the amulet]
[3. Prepare props]
[Improve your impression: Frequently interact with the frog and give it gifts to help cultivate your impression.]
[1. Frog's Wish List]
[2. Frog's Diary]
The gameplay is richer than Hojo Natsuki had imagined. For example, there are actually favorability and gift systems. I guess these are features that capitalists came up with to make money from players' pockets.
According to the system prompt, other functions will be unlocked after the level is upgraded. It seems that there will be more operations to cut leeks in the future.
The frog currently lives in a small house whose cozy style cannot hide its shabby appearance.
If it were placed in the real world, it would probably be the cheapest basement, damp and dark, without windows, with crooked posters left by previous tenants pasted on the walls. If you live there for a long time, you will turn into a gloomy little mushroom.
The room was generally messy, but the bed was made cleanly. There was a clothesline nailed between the walls, and the few clothes were hung on the line.
The frog sat at the table, with its backpack on the small table, its paws supporting its chin, as if it was thinking about its life. It was probably thinking about cute questions like "where did it come from, where did it go?"
After all, it is a game that requires making a living. It is impossible to let the player's frog live in Buckingham Palace at the beginning. Players must be guided to spend money and slowly improve the quality of life of the frog.
Hojo Natsuki followed the instructions and collected a wave of clovers in the old courtyard outside the house, and then spent 10 clovers to buy the cheapest one in the mall.
[Cream Waffles], put them into Qinwa's backpack.
As long as we prepare the lunch box, it will go out for the trip, right
[[Lin Frog] took a cautious look and had no appetite]
[The [Frog] refused the [Cream Waffles] you bought for it]
[[Qin Frog] Favorability -1]
In the picture, the little frog sitting at the table raised his paws, turned around and shook the food in the bag onto the ground.
Hojo Natsuki was shocked: "!?"
Is this how the game is supposed to go? He's being rejected by a virtual pet
Hojo Natsuki opened the mall and bought another [Cream Waffle].
[[Qinwa] Alarm bells are ringing, appetite is getting worse]
[The [Frog] refused the [Cream Waffles] you bought for it]
[[Qin Frog] Favorability -10]
After scoring twice, the little frog dumped the second waffle on the ground, and the two waffles stuck together miserably.
Hojo Natsuki curled the corner of his mouth. He received the registration reward and sign-in reward, as well as more than 500 clovers, so he bought another [Cream Waffle].
An ordinary virtual little quack actually dared to disobey the orders from the players? You are really rebellious!
This waffle today, it must be eaten!
Buy the fourth [Cream Waffle].
The frog is lost.
He bought it again.
The frog was lost again.
He continued to buy.
The frog was lost again.
He continued to buy.
The frog was lost again.
The cycle of "buy waffles - throw away" was repeated over and over fifty times. The waffles on the ground piled up into a small hill, and Hojo Natsuki's wallet was completely emptied, with only three clovers left.
The flower beds in the courtyard haven’t grown new grass yet, so if you want to continue buying waffles, you’ll have to spend money.
Hojo Natsuki opened the purchase interface with an expressionless face and selected [6480 Clover]. Fortunately, at the last second before payment, his reason made him brake.
—This crappy game, is it trying to take advantage of players’ competitive spirit to cheat them into spending money
You can’t just fall into the game’s trap so easily and wait and see.
The frog cautiously turned out the lining of the backpack and even cut a few holes in it with a knife, but still couldn't figure out why food kept coming out of it.
It walked out the door and squatted half a meter outside the threshold and observed for a while.
A few minutes later, the frog quietly came back and pushed the top waffle with its claws. The overflowing cream filling was smooth, and with a slight force, the waffle rolled down. The frog jumped towards the door like a frightened cat, as if it was afraid that the waffle would suddenly open its mouth and eat the frog.
[[Qinwa] is very wary of the cream pancake that appears out of nowhere]
[[Qin Frog] Favorability -50]
[Effective communication can promote the relationship between the owner and pet. Do you want to buy the game's exclusive online communication equipment for [Qin Frog]? [Y/N]]
[NO!]
It turns out that he wants to cheat money.
Qinwa observed Bing for a while, and Xia Shu was also observing the frog.
Because the player Hojo Natsuki stopped moving, there were no more cream pancakes coming out of the bag.
Only then did the frog dare to approach, and with its stealthy and light steps it returned to the edge of the cake mountain, picked up the lone cake, and smelled it to confirm whether it was real food and whether there was any hidden danger.
After determining that it was just food, Qinwa threw it back into the torn bag, took a few garbage bags, put the remaining biscuits in them, and took them to the door to throw them away.
There is absolutely no intention to eat.
This vivid performance made Hojo Natsuki feel that the production level of this game was really good. It was actually possible to use simple frog drawings to express such rich movements and emotions.
Currently, the favorability of the lyre frog is -
[-61]
The subtle provocation from the frog boy's favorability value finally made the player, who was still thinking "I can't be cheated of money" in the last second, want to kill.
Hojo Natsuki smiled and moved his finger, clicked on the mall, typed and searched: [Durian]
(End of this chapter)