Chapter 1

In the early morning, the alarm clock rang on time.

Getting up to wash and brush, Zhu Zheng looked at his pale face in the mirror and couldn't help but sigh.

"Ah, I guess I'm the most useless穿越者 (穿越者 means '穿越者' in Chinese, which refers to someone who has traveled through time or to another world) in the world, and I haven't accomplished anything yet."

He was a穿越者, and his穿越 (穿越 means '穿越' in Chinese, which refers to the act of time travel or traveling to another world) was quite mysterious.

He just fell asleep and woke up in this world, and it has been three years since then.

Actually, Zhu Zheng didn't mind being a穿越者.

After all, he had no ties in his previous life, and having been immersed in web novels, he was quite open to the idea of穿越.

Unfortunately, he came to the wrong place.

This place is also called Earth, but its level of civilization far surpasses his previous world, making it a genuine future world.

The most critical issue is that he doesn't even have the standard金手指 (金手指 means '金手指' in Chinese, which refers to a special ability or advantage that a穿越者 often has in stories).

Zhu Zheng confirmed one thing.

Without a金手指, a lazy fish remains a lazy fish even after穿越!

There is no light in the world.

"Well, I'll just live like this. At least I have food and drink, and many people are worse off than me..."

He self-hypnotized in an A-Q style and quickly finished his breakfast, put on his clothes, and walked out of the door.

After passing by a park and walking for about ten minutes, he arrived at the entrance of his shop.

The shop's facade was somewhat old, and the signboard read "Liangyan Bookstore" in large letters.

This was his source of income.

Of course, the income here doesn't refer to the bookstore's revenue, but rather the government support funds for individual business owners.

Since the establishment of the Deep Blue Federation in the 23rd century, artificial intelligence has spread globally, and many jobs have been replaced by machines, leading to a large number of idle people.

To stimulate the financial industry, the Deep Blue Federation issued a series of policies, and the government support funds for individual business owners were one of them.

This amount of money wasn't much, but it was enough to let him live a relatively comfortable life.

Taking out the key, he opened the bookstore door and lay directly on the designated recliner.

Another day of slacking off.

As for customers?

These days, the entertainment industry is thriving, with short videos, games, live streams, and web series dominating life, and no one has the patience to read books anymore.

He turned the old house into a bookstore purely to qualify for the support funds.

After all, it was better than renting it out.

At this moment, a message popped up on his phone.

"Azheng, don't run the bookstore anymore. Come to my house and be a live-in nanny. The salary is 30,000 a month, with food and accommodation provided!"

"Is this live-in nanny job legitimate?"

Zhu Zheng muttered and clicked on the other party's profile picture.

A photo of a lady with an air of nobility appeared on the screen.

Zhu Zheng suddenly remembered that this was the lady who took shelter in the bookstore from the rain the other day.

He remembered that it was raining heavily that day, and her clothes were soaked...

"Cough, I'm just a newly adult boy, how can I be a live-in nanny... unless you pay more."

According to the Deep Blue Federation's bizarre regulations, the standard for adulthood in this world is 21 years old.

And today just happens to be Zhu Zheng's birthday.

Without hesitation, he added the lady to his blacklist and opened the mobile game he had been playing recently.

After turning 21, the anti-addiction protection was lifted, and he could finally play games to his heart's content.

Suddenly, the whole world darkened, and a green glow appeared before Zhu Zheng's eyes, accompanied by muffled mumbling.

Zhu Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

"Could it be that using the three Unforgivable Curses in the game too much has led to an Azkaban warning in real life?"

After a few seconds, the world returned to normal.

But several strange lines of text appeared before Zhu Zheng's eyes.

[Detected that the host is 21 years old, meeting the world's standard for adulthood. Anti-addiction protection lifted.]

[System loading...]

[Loading complete. The Real Game System is at your service.]

[Reminder: Please arrange your game time reasonably, enjoy in moderation, and avoid addiction.]

These words floated in the air, visible only to Zhu Zheng, which was quite magical.

"???"

"!!!"

"What the heck is this anti-addiction protection!?"

The reason Zhu Zheng didn't awaken his金手指 was this?

Not being an adult?

Good grief!

Zhu Zheng exclaimed in surprise.

Is this generation of金手指 so eager to survive?

After venting his frustration, Zhu Zheng felt a new sense of anticipation.

"The Real Game System... how do I use it, and what functions does it have?"

The text before his eyes changed.

[First, please register a world account, which will become your faction name.]

"Name... let's call it Myth."

Zhu Zheng never cared about these things, so he randomly chose a name.

The text before his eyes changed again.

[Faction 'Myth' created. Relevant information is being transmitted. Please pay attention to receiving it.]

Immediately, a flood of information surged into his mind.

Zhu Zheng closed his eyes and focused on digesting the information.

"The so-called Real Game means complete sensory realism, of course, pain can be adjusted from 10% to 100%."

"Completing games will earn you points, 1 point can be exchanged for 1000 cash, and you can also buy items and unlock new games in the game store."

"Your game experiences will be edited into videos by the system and published. Once you gain enough popularity, you can summon the game's protagonist."

"..."

After reading the game introduction, Zhu Zheng was overjoyed.

Playing games can earn money, and you can even bring your in-game wives to reality. This is the ultimate dream of a game enthusiast!

He couldn't wait to start the game.

Opening the [Store], there were only two options: [Game Store] and [Item Store].

Choosing [Item Store].

[Points: 0. The Item Store is not yet open. Please complete your first game to receive the beginner's reward.]

Zhu Zheng noticed that the points were displayed in the upper right corner of the store, currently at 0.

And he couldn't find a way to recharge.

This means that points can only be obtained through games.

"Alright, let's see what games are available."

Opening the [Game Store], three game icons appeared before his eyes.

Focusing, the game icons displayed their descriptions.

[Monster Hunter: Chapter 1]

[Monsters lurking in the dark are stirring. They are powerful and insane. Are you sure you want to be their enemy?]

[Game Difficulty: One Star.]

[Price: 50 Points.]

——

[Decaying Town]

[The fanatics are cheering, and the innocent are wailing. The Outer God is about to descend, and decay is imminent. This small town yearns for a hero to save it.]

[Game Difficulty: One Star.]

[Price: 60 Points.]

——

[Lost in the Antarctic]

[Have you ever thought that humans are not the masters of the world? Beneath the thick ice, there lies a terrifying fear. Be careful! Stay away immediately, and never approach!]

[Game Difficulty: Two Stars.]

[Price: 140 Points.]

——

[Beginner's Privilege: You can unlock one one-star difficulty game.]

[Beginner's Privilege: You can receive a beginner's gift pack (claim after entering the game).]

"You can play a one-star game for free. So, which one should I choose?"

Zhu Zheng's gaze moved back and forth between [Monster Hunter: Chapter 1] and [Decaying Town], hesitating.