Chapter 1

The Capital City.

The next morning.

In his home, Zhang Ye, who had just woken up, was still puzzled by the dream he had last night. Yawning, he casually turned on the TV to watch the news. Suddenly, he noticed a silver ring on his left little finger, which was clearly not his. He tried hard to take it off but couldn't. Not only that, when he rubbed the surface of the ring, a touchable virtual screen popped up, displaying a line of text in the same font as in his dream: "Game Ring Activated, New Player Reward Package 'Randomly Modify Real World Background' is about to be issued."

Countdown...

Three seconds...

Two seconds...

One second...

Reward issuance begins!

Then, Zhang Ye witnessed an astonishing scene!

The HTC phone he had thrown on the bed twisted and transformed into a different shape, with the brand changing to TCC. The two pirated collections of Xu Zhimo's poetry on the windowsill flashed, one disappearing into thin air, and the other turning into a collection of Chen Tianmo's poetry.

It was too much to take in; many things in the room were changing!

What shocked Zhang Ye the most was the transformation on the TV. The Changhong TV not only changed to a brand he had never heard of, Feitian, but the content being broadcast was also different!

"Hunan TV's new variety show 'Radiant Splendor' has broken a 1% viewership rating."

"Wu Bang's latest film 'White Lady' has grossed over 500 million yuan."

"Pop Queen Zhang Yuanqi's new song has failed again, and she may shift her focus to the film and television industry."

"Yesterday, the world-renowned painter Dake's work 'Blue Sky' was auctioned in the United States."

"The 10th anniversary memorial concert for the most influential film king of the 20th century, Chen Weishi, saw numerous entertainment figures singing, with King Sun Yu shedding tears on stage."

Zhang Ye stared in shock for several minutes, unable to understand what was happening. Why did the phone and TV brands change? Pop Queen Zhang Yuanqi? When did a Pop Queen named Zhang Yuanqi appear? And a 10th anniversary memorial concert? Where did this Chen Weishi come from? Why had he never heard of him? Zhang Yuanqi? Could it be that Zhang Ziyi had changed her stage name? Chen Weishi is Chen Yixun's new name? But Chen Yixun is still alive! What is 'White Lady'? A movie starring Bai Yansong's mother? When did she start making movies?

Zhang Ye hurriedly got out of bed and pulled the curtains, only to see that everything outside was also changing. The two rows of old poplar trees by the road had disappeared, replaced by a flower bed. A tower in the distance had turned into a slab building, now only six stories tall. Several originally gray towers had not only changed position slightly but also had their staircases turn brown and white!

Ding!

Reward issuance complete!

Note: The real world background has been randomly modified and reached theoretical balance.

Zhang Ye's face turned pale. He grabbed the phone of an unknown brand and frantically checked it. The date and time were correct; today was two months since his graduation. He flipped through the phonebook, and to confirm, he even made a few calls. The people were still the same, but how to explain the surroundings? What was this game ring on his hand? Did the game ring really modify reality?

Zhang Ye couldn't believe it. He turned on his computer and went online to check, and the more he saw, the more shocked and frightened he became!

It had changed!

Everything had changed!

There were no He Jiong or Xie Na in the hosting world.

No Chen Yixun or Zhang Xueyou in the music world.

No Feng Xiaogang or Sun Honglei in the film and television world.

No Qi Baishi or Picasso in the domestic and international painting and oil painting worlds.

The hit song "Tantuo"? Mo Yan's novels? Beethoven's piano pieces? The movie "Transformers"? The variety show "The Voice of China"? The famous painting "Mona Lisa"? All gone! It seemed that everything had been randomly modified by the unknown game. Was this the game reward he, the only player, had drawn? But how did reality become a game?

What kind of game was this?

"Contra" or "Super Mario"?

Could he get a magical mushroom to make him bigger by hitting his head against the wall?

Of course, some things hadn't changed. Important historical figures, the world's political landscape, and the social environment remained largely the same. The Kangshifu instant noodles on the table were still Kangshifu, and LV was still a world-renowned brand. A large part of the world hadn't been modified. Was this what "random" meant?

It was haunted!

What was going on?

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, a loud one, clearly made by someone pounding on the door with their hand!

Zhang Ye guessed who it was and pretended not to hear.

After a few more knocks, the sound of a key turning, and the door opened!

Zhang Ye looked at the person who entered and thought, "The world has changed, but the landlord is still the same."

A woman in her thirties walked in. She was very beautiful, and sometimes the word "beautiful" wasn't enough to describe her. For example, she had just washed her hair and was still wrapped in a white towel, but her stunning beauty couldn't be hidden. Her figure was excellent, and her skin had a natural elasticity. However, only those who had known her for a while understood her sharp-tongued side. She was extremely sarcastic, which was probably why she was still unmarried at her age. Most people couldn't tolerate her mouth!

Seeing Zhang Ye at home, Rao Aimin shouted, "You little brat, playing hide and seek with me? I've been knocking for so long, and you don't even answer? Pretending to be dead?"

Zhang Ye was slightly embarrassed, "Landlady, why are you here?"

Rao Aimin sat down in the living room, slamming her calculator on the table. Zhang Ye had seen her calculator countless times before; it used to be a Casio, but now it was a new brand he hadn't heard of, starting with a K. It seemed the calculator industry had also been modified. "What do you think I'm here for? To collect rent!" She quickly calculated, "You haven't paid this month's rent, plus last month's water, electricity, and gas fees. I've calculated it for you; it's 2,582 yuan. I've reminded you several times, and today, I won't accept a single cent less! Listen, Xiao Zhang, I only let you pay monthly because you're from the capital. Ask around; who else pays monthly? I've given you a lot of leeway!"

Zhang Ye smiled bitterly, "Give me a few more days. I really don't have any money right now. I'll pay you back once I find a job."

Rao Aimin elegantly waved her hand, "No money, then get out now!"

Zhang Ye pleaded, "You know my situation. The rent I've paid you so far has all been from my New Year's money. I don't have much left. If you make me leave, I'll have to go back to my parents' house. I just moved out to be independent after graduating. If I go back now, where will I put my face? Landlady, you own most of the apartments in this building. You're rich and don't need this money. I have an interview at the Capital Radio and Television Station this morning. If I get the job as a host, I'll pay you back as soon as I get my salary."

Rao Aimin glanced at him and sneered, "You? A host? Don't make me laugh. With your looks and height, who would notice you in a crowd? You're always dreaming of being a star. Do you think it's that easy to be famous? If you could be a host, I'd dare to perform on the Spring Festival Gala tomorrow!"

Zhang Ye said, "Just give me a few more days, I..."

Rao Aimin interrupted, "No way!"

Zhang Ye said, "You know I haven't had breakfast for days. I really don't have any money."

"Does it matter to me whether you eat or not?" Rao Aimin said coldly.

After a while, he managed to persuade the landlady to leave. About ten minutes later, Rao Aimin, still in her pajamas, returned without knocking, using her key to open the door.

Zhang Ye thought she was back to collect rent and said cautiously, "Landlady, you..."

Rao Aimin threw a breakfast onto the table and coldly said, "I can't eat it all myself, so you can have it. Listen, it's hard to find a job these days, but you graduated from a communications university. You can find a way to make a living. Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"

Zhang Ye was taken aback and quickly said, "Thank you, I understand."

Rao Aimin, with a cold and beautiful face, slammed the door and left.

Zhang Ye felt warm inside. He looked at the breakfast on the table, which was still hot, clearly not leftovers. It must have been bought for him because she heard he hadn't had breakfast for days. Zhang Ye knew that Rao Aimin was a cold but kind person. Despite her sharp tongue, she cared about him. He understood that some of her words were right, but Zhang Ye had always had a dream of becoming famous. He wanted to stand on a public stage, and he wasn't interested in any behind-the-scenes work.

He took the elevator down and went out.

Walking down the street, Zhang Ye looked around, noticing that the scenery was familiar yet strange. He didn't recognize any of the stars on the bus stop billboards, and he hadn't heard any of the popular songs playing at the shops. Walking on a street he knew so well, he felt extremely out of place, as if he didn't belong in this modified world. Many things had changed, or rather, this was no longer the world he knew.

It was August, and the air was still hot and restless.

This is not scientific!

This is too unscientific!

Zhang Ye, a graduate of a prestigious university, couldn't easily accept this. This wasn't the old society of superstition and feudalism. Superstition was harmful, and even elementary school students knew that. Everything must be based on science and the power of science. So, with a serious look, Zhang Ye took a one-yuan coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air with great reverence, "If it lands heads up, it means the world has indeed been modified by the game. If it lands tails up, it means it's all fake."

Ding!

The coin landed—heads up!

Zhang Ye's eyes darkened. It wasn't fake; it was all real!