Ankit's father sat beside him, looking surprised at the game. He'd expected something impressive since Ankit said Free Fire would get popular, but the graphics looked basic, and the character movements were stiff and awkward, making him chuckle.
Ankit opened the game and noticed the same thing—the visuals were simpler than he remembered from 2020. He reminded himself updates would improve everything over time, like better textures and smoother animations.
He explored the events and store first, but there weren't many options yet. Then he started his first match, waiting a full minute for players to join.The lobby was a basic grass field with wooden boxes, different from later versions.
After countdown, he was on the plane, checked the map, and saw unfamiliar spots like Outpost, Construction, and School.
He jumped toward Hangar, landed, and spotted an enemy right away. Ankit punched him on head and killed him since no weapons were nearby.
The controls felt off, so he adjusted them but couldn't find auto-switch or reload buttons easily. Character movement was slow, and he struggled with headshots without drag mechanics, but he kept going.
He took down 12 out of 36 players, mostly with fists or body shots aimed high on head of the enemies. It ended in his first Booyah, though he knew the opponents were beginners who played like bots.
Next, he recorded the gameplay, edited it simply, and uploaded to his new YouTube channel called "Returner"—his in-game name too. The video had no voiceover; he let the footage show his skills to draw viewers.
He expected low views since Free Fire was new with few users. The first video got zero, but he kept playing daily, getting Booyahs with 14-21 kills, focusing on headshots.
Half a month later, a small update came but didn't change much. Ankit settled into a routine: play, record, edit, upload.
During downtime, he thought about the phrase from his time travel: "This is your chance to pioneer... all things are possible."
It meant he could lead and become pioneer in Free Fire, start future businesses or apps early. But "all things are possible" puzzled him—did it mean gods, time control, or flying were real too? Why tell him that? He questioned the voice but got no answer and let it go, figuring only it knew.
A few days in, he got his first subscriber, who commented and sent a friend request using Ankit's UID from his profile. Ankit accepted in-game. He wanted duo play, but group matchmaking function has not come.
His friend list stayed at one person—enemies didn't show UIDs for requests back then. Views hit 30, but he ignored it and stuck to routine.
Early September brought another update: drag fire button added, plus spectate-and-friend after deaths, new guns like SKS and M1014. Player numbers grew, and group matchmaking worked.
Ankit tweaked controls and sensitivity before inviting his subscriber. Neither used mics. The lobby had minor additions, and the map felt more complete—School and Construction expanded, new areas filled in gaps