Cheat, state of the world, and reunion with Ken

"What's this thing for, system? I don't have a playstation with me." Ryu asked the system, confusedly looking at the PS1 memory card in his hand.

His brow furrowed furiously.

[It's a memory card, host; you can use it to record your life and travel back in time.]

[It records every other second of your life and has an infinite number of save states that you can access with a thought. If you die, it activates on its own and switches back to the most recent registered savepoint.]

"For real?" Ryu inquired, shocked and surprised.

[I'm too lazy to tell you lies, host.]

"True." Ryu nodded.

Elated and ecstatic, he was suddenly in the mood to try the memory card, even though he had no intention of dying to test the function that worked without his intervention.

"Let me try, then." Ryu said after listening to more explanations about how to use the card.

The item was unbreakable. He only had to press it hard in his hands and think of a specific point in time for it to glow.

And it did.

The light transported Ryu back to his seat in the hotel room.

"Did it work?" He asked, skepticism on his face.

He didn't have a watch and was usually poor; the money in his bag and the plane tickets were sent by Ken.

[Yes, you did travel back in time a few seconds. It transported you back about thirty seconds to the moment you received the item. You can, however, examine the clock on the wall and try again to see for yourself.]

"Oh, yes, there is such a thing in this room." Ryu checked the time and waited a few minutes.

He then pressed the memory card a second time.

A light glowed, and Ryu's body vanished, only to reappear a second later in the same place as if nothing had happened.

He did, however, remember to check the time on the clock this time. He smiled as he noticed the time.

"This thing actually works!" He said, stoked.

[I'm lazy, not unqualified, so of course it works...]

Ryu chuckled as he listened to the complaining system, "Sorry man, for doubting you."

[I'm already over it. Are you going to roll your second Gacha for this year?]

Ryu nodded and immediately performed the second roll before checking out of the room.

What came out of the capsule that vanished this time wasn't something he could grab, but something that entered his mind.

It was a power. The power of the inventory.

"This is also nice..." Ryu sighed again in delight, saying, "System, you're actually looking after me?"

[This is just beginner's dumb luck. Do you require my assistance with anything else?]

Ryu shook his head, and the system went back to sleep.

A few moments later, Ryu exited the room carrying a bag that was hanging down below his shoulder.

The memory card, on the other hand, was in the inventory.

******************************

A day later, Ryu finally landed in America, Los Angeles, after a long trip.

On the way, asking questions to the system, he realized the advantages of the memory card he had obtained.

He couldn't use it to train because returning to his past bodies would mean losing the new strength and skills he'd gain.

Ryu, on the other hand, could use the memory card to acquire knowledge because he could travel back in time while retaining his memories.

Aside from that, the memory card essentially meant he didn't have to worry about dying. He was glad he didn't have to worry about such things in such a crazy world.

Starting with the Hunger Games, this world was insane…

This world appeared to be normal, with normal people, except that it was not. The governments were screwed up, beginning with Panem, which was not North America in this world.

Panem was its own small continent, its own country between Australia and America because the planet was larger in this world.

Panem was technologically advanced, surpassing all other continents in this regard. They popularized their culture all over the world through survival TV shows, with Hunger Games serving as the main star.

As time passed, dating shows became a cool addition. This was basically all there was to know about the world. Anything else wacky could be imagined.

Sex and violence were acceptable in this world under certain conditions, particularly when recorded. There were no concerns about young children seeing inappropriate things. It was all about having fun.

Once a year, there would be skyscreens all over the world that would broadcast the Hunger Games for everyone to watch, whether worldwide citizens wanted to or not. If they didn't want to see it, they could only stay at home.

The only thing worth noting about this world that could not be deduced from these details was how small the language barrier was. In this world, most people and cultures spoke English.

For some reason, it was an easier language for everyone to learn than others.

"Where are your thoughts wandering? You still have PTSD, do you?" Ken chuckled suddenly in the car, a roofless jeep, and pulled Ryu out of his thoughts. He was driving them to his apartment.

Ken was originally from San Francisco but had stopped living with his parents for a long time since he dropped out of college in this world.

The Hunger Games had messed him up as well, and he had no desire to inherit his father's business.

"I'm wondering why you're still so fucked up when I did most of the bloody work back then." Ken sighed. "Remember how you didn't want to dirty your hands with children's blood?"

"Was I wrong for that?" Ryu inquired, his arms clutching his muscular chest and his brow furrowed. "Just keep your eyes on the road and stop bothering me about the past."

"I'm not sure, but leaving me to do all your dirty work was definitely wrong." Ken replied with a smile.

He was never as bothered by what they had done that day as Ryu was. Ryu always suspected him of being a natural-born psycho of some kind.

"By the way, are you following the Hunger Games this year? That girl Katniss is a hottie, don't you think?" Ken suddenly asked.

Ryu shrugged.

Ken chuckled and said, "Unfortunately, she doesn't look skilled enough to keep her life in the arena long enough... Who do you believe will win?"

"Her." Ryu replied.

"Her?" Ken was surprised.

"Yeah, her and that guy Peeta Mellark. I feel they're the clear winners." Ryu shrugged, knowing the plot of the hunger games, he wasn't that interested in the obvious results. His presence in this world didn't change the situation in Panem with the revolution and the whole things going there.

It was all over the news for decades, even before Katniss became a household name, too. She was the big Panem news now.

"You can't be serious…" Ken wanted to laugh.

"Like I said, just keep your eyes on the road, bro, and take me to a hot chick bar. We only have one day to have fun before heading to Canada." Ryu was unconcerned.

He and Ken were soon in Downtown Los Angeles for some quick fun.