Chapter One: We Came Through Time

The light in the room was somewhat dim.

A sturdy man, gripping a fire axe, stood by the door. He opened it just a crack and carefully peered through the gap to observe the outside. His breathing was uneven, evidently from recent exertion, but he strained to control it, mindful not to make a sound. Any noise could alert the zombies outside—and then they would be doomed.

Through that sliver in the door, he could just make out the street: blood everywhere, torn flesh, viscera, brain matter—a hellish tableau, alive and real in this world. Occasionally, one or two zombies wandered by, searching for living, edible prey.

“Damn it…” the sturdy man muttered under his breath, then quietly closed and secured the door.

“Are they still not awake?” he turned, asking cautiously.

An ordinary-looking woman nodded. Beside her lay two young men.

“They actually fainted from fright? Is that really necessary?” A portly man adjusted his glasses with disdain and tightened his grip on a kitchen knife. “Men like that? Just dead weight!”

“Keep your voice down, Fatty,” the sturdy man frowned, striding over. He thought he saw movement from one of the unconscious youths—was it a trick of the eye? No, he was sure someone had stirred, so he came to check.

One of the young men had a handsome face, but thin lips and a hooked nose lent him a somewhat mean look that inspired dislike. His brows twitched, and suddenly he opened his eyes wide, scanning the room warily. “Who are you?”

Besides himself, the others in the room included the person lying next to him, an ordinary-looking woman clutching a dagger, a sturdy man with a fire axe, a bespectacled fat man holding a kitchen knife, and three women in a corner—huddled by the wall, heads buried in their knees, crying helplessly but stifling their sobs, their shoulders shaking in misery.

“We’re here to escape.”

“Why do you care who we are?”

The first sentence came from the sturdy man, the second from the bespectacled fat man. They spoke almost at the same time.

Hearing them, the young man fell silent.

The sturdy man frowned, looking grim and displeased. Yet, since the fat man’s sister had been devoured by the zombies, his mind was fraying, and even if his words were harsh, no one could blame him. “Enough, youngster.”

“My name is Li Feidao, and he’s Nan Hou Sheng. We were chased here by those zombies, stumbled upon you unconscious. Sorry to intrude, but having more people together makes it easier to survive this ordeal!”

“Zombies?” The young man froze, his face changing before relaxing again as realization dawned. “I’m Qi Xi. It’s an honor to meet you all.”

Qi Xi’s attitude softened Nan Hou Sheng’s expression, and Li Feidao even chuckled.

“I’m Qiu Xiaoyan,” the ordinary-looking woman introduced herself calmly.

The three women in the corner continued crying, saying nothing.

Qi Xi began to survey his surroundings.

This was a storefront, once used for mobile phone recharge services, about ten square meters. The counter held domestic phones, headphones, universal chargers, and other goods. Behind it was a desktop computer, but without electricity, it was useless.

After observing, Qi Xi looked down at the person who had passed out beside him.

“Watermelon, wake up.”

Qi Xi shook Watermelon’s shoulder, trying to rouse him. But after a couple of shakes, he still didn’t wake. Qi Xi sighed—Watermelon was a newcomer, his first time traversing worlds, and his body was probably still unadjusted. Who knew when he’d come around?

Qi Xi was not of this world; he was a traveler between realms. Unlike those amateurs who stumbled into this by luck, he was a professional. His goal: to journey through all kinds of worlds, by any means necessary, and seize the ‘world source’ of each.

Once he acquired the world source, he’d completed his mission and could return to his place of work—the Divine Space.

He handed the source to his team leader, who then delivered it to the Creator God.

The purpose of these sources was to create all manner of worlds. The gods used them to forge fantastical universes—movies, novels, anime, and more—then selected batches of ‘chosen ones’ to enter these worlds, struggle for survival, and entertain the idle gods, who watched and gambled.

The more sources you obtained, the more ‘points’ you could exchange.

One point could be traded for ten thousand RMB in the main universe, Earth’s Huaguo.

A single mission often yielded tens of thousands of points as a reward; if a traveler was skilled, the more of the world source they captured—fifty percent, eighty percent—they could earn hundreds of thousands, even millions of points!

Points could be used not only for RMB but also to exchange for anything in the Divine Space: beauties, luxury cars, diamonds as big as a human head, palaces spanning thousands of acres. If you had enough points, no matter if it was a woman from the second dimension or the third, or any treasure, you could acquire it.

These exchanges were also open to ‘chosen ones.’

Professional travelers were completely different; they were free, could resign anytime, and sometimes moonlighted in movie worlds as NPCs, tormenting ‘chosen ones’…

The greatest perk of being a professional was being able to exchange for ‘golden cheats’ and even ‘golden thighs.’

A golden cheat was a ‘hack,’ a golden thigh an overpowered hack.

Superpowers, systems, AIs, secret techniques, talents—all kinds of cheats could be bought.

But you had to have enough points.

As a wage slave, part of the exploited class, Qi Xi was only on his second journey and hadn’t accumulated enough points for powerful cheats. His cheats were limited to ‘World Datafication,’ ‘Identity Guidance,’ and ‘Random Skill.’

All three were weak, unimpressive cheats…

‘World Datafication’ turned the world into something like a game, letting you have a ‘pseudo-system’—a rather useless cheat.

Qi Xi activated it, and data immediately appeared.

[Character: Qi Xi]

[Gender: Male]

[Status: Healthy]

[Stamina: Outstanding among ordinary people]

[Strength: Decent, compared to most]

[Agility: Same as strength, pretty good]

[Defense: Humans without armor are indeed fragile]

[Mental: Seems pretty sharp]

[Charm: Get lost, you mean-faced bastard]

“Damn…” Qi Xi rubbed his forehead, frustrated. This so-called datafication wasn’t even giving proper stats, just text commentary. Is this some kind of joke? And what’s with the charm stat? Why tell me to get lost? It’s supposed to be data! Even the numbers are mocking my face? Come on! I look decent enough! Don’t just insult me for no reason, data!

To think he’d spent most of his points on this ‘permanent’ cheat—it was definitely a trap set by the gods…

‘Identity Guidance’ and ‘Random Skill’ were different from World Datafication; they were single-use cheats, only usable in this world.

Identity Guidance meant that in ten days, someone of high status in this world would come seeking him, recognizing his ‘potential talent.’ If he survived until then, that would be the true start of seizing the world source.

Random Skill was just that—a random ability, giving Qi Xi a better chance at surviving than ordinary people.

His companion on this journey was a rookie, ‘Watermelon.’ Watermelon’s real name was Xi Hongchen, but with his melon-shaped head, everyone just called him Watermelon. It was his first crossing, and Qi Xi, as a pseudo-veteran on his second trip, was kindly helping the newcomer out…

In truth, Qi Xi benefited from teaming up with him—because for a first-timer, you could select a free, single-use cheat.

His choice: Rebirth.

Here, rebirth didn’t mean a second life, but possession of ‘memories of a previous life’—simulated memories, indistinguishable from real ones.

Just like in those novels, returning with an indomitable soul, vowing to reach the pinnacle, collect godly gear, sweep all obstacles, slay men and gods alike, unstoppable.

How formidable he’d be depended on Watermelon’s abilities; the heights he reached in his previous life set the starting point for this one.

Thinking this, Qi Xi couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Watermelon began to stir…

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