"I'm back!"
Wang Xi's eyes snapped open.
He first threw back the covers and peeked inside, then let out a long sigh of relief.
"Whew... good, good, good! It's still there!"
His encounter in the Otherworld was like a wet dream, leaving Wang Xi—at the virile age of twenty, when a man could supposedly pierce a steel plate—still feeling worked up.
He fell back again, collapsing limply onto the bed.
In his mind, a long, narrow, pitch-black fissure slowly closed.
「Projection Hosted」
「Current World: Fairy Tales」
「Exploration Level: 0.01%」
「Advent Cooldown: 47 hours 59 minutes」
This fissure was the medium that allowed Wang Xi to travel to the Otherworld. He didn't know why he had this thing in his mind, but for some reason, he knew its name—
"Kaos."
Wang Xi murmured.
Kaos not only allowed him to descend into the Otherworld as a projection, but it could also help him capture the Extraordinary Powers of that world, preserving them in the form of Cards to be drawn later.
For now, however, Wang Xi hadn't fully figured out all its functions.
He hadn't been lying down for long when the digital clock on his bedside table began to blare.
BRRRING—
SMACK!
Wang Xi slapped his hand down, hitting the digital clock so hard it jumped, and the alarm abruptly stopped.
The time on the display read eight o'clock sharp.
'It's already been a week since I transmigrated.'
He murmured, a wistful look on his face.
To say he transmigrated wasn't entirely accurate; rather, he had suddenly awakened his past-life memories a week ago, like someone remembering their time in the womb.
Perhaps he had already been in this world, named Gaia, for twenty years. It was just that he had been living in ignorance, unaware of the truth.
"Suddenly stumbling upon the path I once walked, I realize my whole life I've been deceived by my own eyes. Breaking the old shackles of yesterday, only today do I know who I truly am."
Wang Xi was quite moved.
But thinking of his past, he couldn't help but shiver.
It was truly a painful memory he'd rather not revisit.
In his past life, he was a famous product manager for a Card game—capable, young, and wealthy. At the same time, he was secretly a playboy, a smooth talker who knew his way with women. He was the kind of guy who could convince a rich older woman to spend 180,000 for him with just a few words.
Faced with such a winner in life, even the heavens had something to say: 'Look at the life you're living compared to everyone else. Successful at work and successful in love? You've really hit the jackpot.'
And so, a single long, golden hair left in his car became the key to his exposure...
The secret that he was dating ten girlfriends at once was blown wide open.
We'll skip the chaotic details, but in the end, his most fiery-tempered girlfriend, Number Seven, drove a Dayun dump truck and brutally rammed into Wang Xi on his way to work—
Wang Xi really *hit* the jackpot, dying at the age of twenty-eight.
Like a lemon in a "Scumbag-Beating Lemon Tea," he was squeezed into pulp by the mangled car cabin.
And so, his sinful life came to an unceremonious end.
Even now, Wang Xi's heart pounded with fear when he recalled the final scene—his girlfriend, hair disheveled like a vengeful spirit, her face contorted in a ferocious grimace as she gripped the steering wheel.
Her bloodshot eyes were fixed on him, her dry, cracked lips moving as if she were chanting something.
A jolt went through Wang Xi at the thought.
He sat on his bed, muttering resentfully:
"In this life, I swear—"
As he spoke, Wang Xi suddenly whipped his head around to look out the window.
A few dark clouds had drifted across the once-brilliant sky, and a faint rumble could be heard. Startled, he quickly amended his words:
"In this life, I will absolutely not play with girls' feelings! No fishing, no keeping a fish farm, no... anyway, I'll turn over a new leaf and be a good man!"
The dark clouds outside the window were blown away by the wind.
Bright sunlight shone on Wang Xi's face. In that moment, he felt as if his body and soul had been cleansed, a sense of relief washing over him from the inside out.
'But then again, Xu Mowan, just where did you send me with that foot on the gas...'
Wang Xi got out of bed, walked to the window, and sighed.
The "Xu Mowan" he mentioned was none other than Girlfriend Number Seven, the one who had run him down.
She was the most infatuated, and also the most ruthless.
Wang Xi shook his head, pulling himself from his thoughts.
Outside the window, skyscrapers towered, and traffic flowed endlessly.
It looked no different from the bustling cityscapes of his past life.
But in the sky, besides the sun, there was also a purple moon.
Sun and moon in the same sky—
This world had two moons!
On the streets below, maglev trains shuttled ceaselessly between the skyscrapers, their tracks flashing with strange, bluish-purple electrical arcs.
The sidewalks were dotted with humanoid mechanical devices, some standing, some flying. They wore smiles and gesticulated wildly, either guiding pedestrians or selling various goods.
On the giant screens of the building facades, colorful but unfamiliar advertisements flashed constantly. Most were promoting a product called "Universal Cards"—there were Potion Cards for healing injuries, Laser Gun Cards for self-defense, and even Unicycle Motorcycle Cards, among a dazzling variety of others.
All of this was unfamiliar to Wang Xi.
He gazed into the distance, his sightline passing over the high-rises to the edge of the city cluster—
A towering wall, hundreds of meters high, surrounded the entire urban sprawl. At regular intervals along the wall stood futuristic cylindrical towers, their peaks glinting with bluish-purple electrical light.
The world outside the city was shrouded in a mist, making it hard to see clearly.
The high wall and towers seemed to serve as a form of isolation or defense.
There was clearly some kind of danger outside.
According to the memories in his head, the world outside the walls was collectively known as the "Wilderness," with some dangerous areas even being designated as "Disaster Areas."
These were all regions unfit for human habitation.
This entire state of affairs stemmed from a great cataclysm twenty years ago.
In the year 2025, a natural disaster of epic proportions struck.
It was also the beginning of a new era.
Apocalyptic earthquakes and tsunamis, along with various monsters that had previously existed only in fantasy, began to spring up like mushrooms after the rain, completely overthrowing the old world order.
Everything he saw now was the result of post-cataclysm reconstruction.
At first, humanity, in its pain and panic, united to fight back with its most advanced and lethal weapons, but they were ultimately defeated.
Fortunately, at a critical moment, humanity's leaders discovered the source of the monsters and disasters—
Mazes!
Their entrances followed no discernible pattern. A manhole cover, an elevator, a hotel, or even one's own bathroom could become an entrance.
The places they led to were even more bizarre. They could open into grasslands, caves, empty city streets, or underground parking garages... In short, they were fraught with peril and surreal phenomena, but they also held opportunities for humanity's survival.
After more than a decade of exploration and research, the now-rebuilt Five Great Countries shared their information and came to several conclusions.
The three most important points were:
First, each Maze has a unique identification number.
They seem to be distinguished by court cards, with the four suits corresponding to four categories: Spades ♤ for "Fairy Tale Mazes," Hearts ♡ for "Miracle Mazes," Clubs ♧ for "Profound Mystery Mazes," and Diamonds ♢ for "Bizarre Tale Mazes."
The higher the number, the greater the danger.
Second, a new Maze appears every year.
So far, 18 Mazes have been discovered and cataloged, with two more located somewhere in the Wilderness, yet to be found.
The most dangerous known Maze is currently "Diamond ♢7," a Maze named 「Hand of God」.
Nine years ago, it triggered a massive disaster that directly caused the Budden United Nations—also known as the Celestial Federation—on the other side of the ocean to lose several city clusters. The indirect losses were incalculable.
Furthermore, this led to a series of upheavals that caused the Celestial Federation to split into two separate human settlements over the next two years: North Budden and South Budden.
Even stranger, all information regarding the 「Hand of God」 has vanished, as if it disappeared into thin air.
Even those who survived the disaster seem to have amnesia, with no memory of the event whatsoever. It is extremely bizarre.
Third, Mazes require regular clearing.
According to research from the Maze Research Institute, established by the Uranus United Nations—also known as the Mountain and Sea Federation—where Wang Xi lives, every Maze constantly radiates a form of pollution.
When this pollution reaches a certain concentration, it triggers disasters. The Maze Research Institute has developed numerous monitoring devices for this purpose and has named the pollution "Reality Distortion Level."
The World Alliance, formed by the Five Great Countries, has been working together to curb the rise of the Reality Distortion Level to prevent unpredictable disasters from suddenly striking around the globe.
But as the saying goes, misfortune is where fortune leans, and fortune is where misfortune hides.
Within seven steps of a viper, you'll find the antidote!
Although the Mazes are dangerous, they contain not just monsters but also countless unknown resources. Much of the new technology and Energy sources of the Five Great Countries are derived from them.
For example, Magic Stones, Ethereal Crystals, and monster carcasses.
Among these, Magic Stones are the rarest and most precious.
This is because their primary use is to extract the Extraordinary Power from a corresponding Maze!
People discovered long ago that every Maze contains a unique Extraordinary Power. By using a Magic Stone to exchange for and extract it, that power can be materialized and held as a Card.
These Cards are collectively known as "Universal Cards."
They are called this because they are nearly omnipotent, encompassing everything humanity has ever imagined.
The existence of Universal Cards has also given rise to a series of institutions and systems. Those who have mastered the use of Cards and possess a certain level of strength are known as "Heroes."
In the Mountain and Sea Federation, and indeed across the Five Great Countries, "Heroes" are the most respected and revered figures.
Because they are the iron bedrock that defends against disasters and monsters, protecting the current human order.
They are universally recognized Heroes.
...
...
'Right, the Magic Stones...'
Something suddenly occurred to Wang Xi. He quickly left his bedroom and went to his parents' room next door.
The empty room was neat and tidy, not a speck of dust in sight.
Two large desks were placed against the wall, along with a full row of bookshelves filled with various research materials and books, including many empty blue folders.
Wang Xi picked up a photo frame from a cabinet by the door.
It was a family portrait taken in a laboratory.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman in white lab coats with ID badges stood side-by-side, smiling. Between them was a chair, on which sat a little boy of a few years old.
The man and woman in the photo were his parents from this life.
However, his parents, who were "Maze Researchers," had died in an accident fifteen years ago.
The research materials they had kept at home had long since been collected by officials.
Although Wang Xi was an orphan, he had been able to grow up without worrying about food or clothing and complete his education, largely thanks to his parents.
After all, Wang Xi was classified as "family of special personnel." The contributions his parents had made to the Mountain and Sea Federation had become a sheltering tree under which he grew up.
Even the house he currently lived in was an inheritance, something his parents had received from the institute and left for him.
Tap.
Wang Xi put down the family photo and walked over to the desks, where he began to rummage through the drawers and cabinets.
Soon, from the very back of a drawer, he found a glass jar. Inside were two smooth, round, purple stones, like pebbles—one large, one small.
Wang Xi opened the lid and poured them out.
CLATTER.
The two Magic Stones, one the size of a lychee and the other a longan, seemed to be samples his parents had left behind for research.
Wang Xi remembered that in the Otherworld, he had captured the abilities of that Knight, Wendy, which had turned into three Cards and entered a so-called "Independent Card Pool."
He needed Energy to draw them.
And Magic Stones, as it happened, contained Energy.
"Let's see."
Wang Xi said.
Then, he tried clenching his fist and closing his eyes.
The pitch-black fissure in his mind actually opened a crack, immediately emitting an invisible force.
The two Magic Stones in his hand suddenly vanished!
「Energy: 230」
「Draws available: 2 (100 Energy/draw)」