Chapter 1

People need dreams.

Unrealistic desires, the intense cravings of the heart, are an invisible force.

In the vast dimensions, the endless wishes and thoughts converge, and an entity called "the Matrix" captures these illusory notions, granting them real existence.

"Serial number 1775493, what is your dream?"

A question awakened the newly "manufactured" infant.

This was the voice of the Matrix. Though never seen, everything about the Matrix was deeply imprinted in the consciousness.

"I..."

"I want to save the world."

Just like when teachers and parents ask children about their future dreams, the Matrix's inquiry is the same. Young children often express unrealistic dreams.

Like becoming a scientist, an engineer, a great hero.

As they grow older, these childhood dreams fade and dissipate, shaped by harsh realities into the form society needs.

What dreams? Weren't they just jokes from childhood?

But here, dreams are reality.

They are the lifelong goals to be pursued.

They are beings born from the endless wishes and thoughts of countless beings in the infinite dimensions, within the Matrix.

They have a beautiful, exciting name—

"Birth Sequence 1775493."

"Obsession with the dream has been born."

"Factory number: AC-03376, Savior System."

"I will grant you a true name."

The Matrix transmitted a string of indecipherable characters, perhaps text, perhaps something else, but they could not be understood.

"I hope you have enough luck, I look forward to it..."

The Matrix never appeared, and the newly born Savior System existed between reality and illusion, like a translucent soul, a barely perceptible small light ball.

Within its perception, there were only tens of thousands of companions born in the same batch. Those who failed to express their dreams, the "defective products," had already been crushed by an invisible hand and remade.

The small light ball did not feel anything was wrong. They were born from desires and expectations; if they could not even express their dreams, what value did they have?

A gentle force lifted and transmitted the small light ball. It did not resist; the newborn had only some basic data and no installed plugins. A bare, useless system could not achieve its dream.

It was the 3376th system with the dream of saving the world. Now, it was about to undergo its final transformation.

To better assist the host and help the host achieve its dream, the choice of each plugin was crucial.

"Welcome, AC-03376 Savior System."

"Please choose your functional plugins. For the first installation, compatibility is ignored, please choose the plugin category carefully."

"Basic exchange points have been issued."

"Dream difficulty SSS [Hell], additional points issued."

"Dream obsession intensity SSS [Self-Awakening], additional points issued, special purchase permission 1."

"Level 1 plugin library opened, no unreadable options."

"Please choose the plugin category carefully!"

After entering the plugin workshop, the controller scanned the small light ball, evaluating the dream category and the intensity of the obsession to grant additional points or deductions.

The basic 500 exchange points were not the bottom line. Those with absurd dreams often received far fewer points than the base, as their appearance was accidental, and their dreams were often mundane and dull.

The small light ball glanced at its companions. Each system's factory number and corresponding system name were publicly displayed.

But the atmosphere was dead.

Compared to the small light ball, which still had the curiosity to explore, these systems, which methodically chose plugins and assembled their bodies, reacting only to their own dreams, seemed more like proper systems.

They had no emotions; they were cold tools.

Tools born from the obsession of dreams.

Looking around, when the small light ball's gaze returned from those "Disconnected Systems," "Super Spendthrift Systems," and "Eat and Wait to Die Systems," it vaguely understood the meaning of the Matrix's words.

These systems, born from joke-like obsessions—

What kind of nonsense dreams are these, hetui~

They dirty the ground.

But since they had spoken, and they were here, the process had to be followed.

Perhaps the Matrix was indeed looking forward to a proper dream being realized one day. There were many proper systems, but proper dreams were rare.

Following the route map sent by the plugin workshop, the small light ball arrived at a small compartment, about the size of a soccer ball, but large enough to accommodate a newborn light ball, very space-efficient.

Needle-like interfaces pierced into the light ball, and the plugin workshop connected successfully.

The Level 1 plugin library opened, with tens of thousands of basic Level 1 plugins covering various enhancement needs. The points bar showed a string of numbers: 500 basic points, 150 additional points for SSS difficulty, 150 additional points for SSS dream obsession, totaling 800 points, which was quite a lot.

But the vast array of plugins made it difficult to choose.

If it were a proper system, the plugin workshop's real-time updated combo packs could handle almost any situation, whether with a large sum (800 points) or penniless (almost negative), it could create a plugin combo with no weaknesses.

But a well-rounded, all-around system represented mediocrity. For ordinary systems, completing ordinary dreams, this was enough, but for the small light ball, it was the least wise decision.

There were 3375 previous Savior Systems that had declared the dream of saving the world, but only five had truly achieved it, a success rate of 0.15%, which needed to be rounded to reach it.

A dream with the goal of saving the world was not easy to achieve.

Reviewing the data of the predecessors, the successful ones were all the same. They all chose to survive, develop, and ride the tide of the people, using order and law as the iron rules to bind the world.

Some even sacrificed their hosts, transforming them into eternal machines, forging eternal judges by eradicating human nature, with the Eye of Heaven surveying the land, monitoring everything in this world, whether good or evil, black or white, or the gray in between, all subject to iron rules.

It was a cage, a constraint, and absolute justice and order, completely preventing the world's collapse.

But these were their methods, which could be seen but not applied.

Because... the difficulty gap was too large.

The highest difficulty of the worlds where the five predecessors achieved their dreams was only A-level, where extraordinary powers existed only in legends. Those worlds, whether fallen or collapsed, had no powers surpassing ordinary humans, perhaps with large-scale weapons, but all could be constrained and balanced by rules.

At S-level, extraordinary powers began to appear.

Among the bizarre failure cases, nearly half were at S-level or above, where the worlds they entered had opened the gates of the extraordinary.

The data that caught the small light ball's attention were two cases similar to its own.

Serial number AC-0156 Savior System, dream difficulty SSS [Hell], dream obsession SSS [Self-Awakening], held plugins... omitted... first deployment world: Middle-earth - failed - host died, second deployment world: Harry Potter - failed - termination interrupted, escape device damaged.

Serial number AC-1159 Savior System, dream difficulty ??? [Unestimable], dream obsession ??? [Unestimable], held plugins... omitted... first deployment world: Dragon Ball - failed - host blackened, world destroyed, second failure reason: Marvel Universe - failed - captured, self-destructed.

These two predecessors were the most outstanding among the failures. They broke out of the existing "framework." If reaching S-level in dream obsession meant breaking out of the ranks of proper systems and becoming "aberrations," then achieving self-awareness and independent thinking...

The style of proper systems gradually became bizarre.

Those above A-level but below S-level mostly made minor adjustments to the templates provided by the plugin workshop, adding some personal touches but still following the rules, with survival and development as the mainstream, lacking much spectacle.

But above S-level...

Those who took unconventional paths inevitably involved religious brainwashing, mental pollution, and dream invasion. The more orthodox ones issued extremely dangerous tasks, pushing the host to the brink of death, squeezing out all potential. If more aggressive, they exchanged for "smelting" equipment, plundering everything that could be plundered, using the world as sustenance, and drastically enhancing the host's abilities.

It's not that the system predecessors didn't want to develop steadily, but in worlds with awakened extraordinary powers, a world will is born. As "invaders," the systems are already marked with a "Max Taunt" aura upon entry.

Even if they do nothing, the host will suffer endless malice. The stronger the world, the stronger the "archenemy" brought by the "taunt aura."

Unless a system is willing to abandon self-awareness and become something like a "talent," freely given to the host.

But no predecessor has ever tried. Born from obsession, if they cannot see their dreams realized, their birth has no meaning, even if the chosen host eventually achieves the dream, it has nothing to do with them.

Numerous cases were quickly reviewed. Although not directly copied, the creative ideas of the predecessors provided many feasible solutions for the small light ball.

No longer hesitating, as points rapidly depleted, various plugins were added to the originally blank system template.

"I will succeed."

"Definitely!"