'I finally managed to escape from those paparazzi.'
Xi Jian let out a sigh of relief as he sat on a wooden bench.
Since he was famous, he rarely had free time for himself.
If he was not being chased by his fans, he was being followed by paparazzi.
Sometimes, he missed the times when he was still not well-known because he could rest and go wherever he wanted without being disturbed.
Now, he even needed to wear black sunglasses, a hat, and a mask when he went out.
Of course, he didn't hate his life.
After all, becoming a famous singer was his dream.
He just hoped they would give him time for himself one day a week or once every two weeks because his mind and body needed some rest, too.
"The weather is great and the breeze is soothing." Xi Jian smiled happily as he enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the park.
'I hope this peaceful moment will last for a whole day.'
He leaned against the backrest and lifted his head to look at the blue sky.
'Hmm? What is that?'
He slid his sunglasses down.
'Is that a massive drone or a plane?'
His curious expression turned to terror the moment he knew what it was.
'No! It's a meteor!'
He rose to his feet and left that place instantly.
'Why is a meteor falling to this park out of countless places on Earth? I just managed to escape from paparazzi and now, a meteor is chasing me? Am I so popular that even a meteor has become my fan? Why can't I get some time to relax and pamper myself?'
He knew it was his unlucky day, but he never expected it to be so bad.
"Oh shit! Oh shit!" He ran as fast as he could when the air around him grew hotter.
But no matter how fast he ran, the distance between them was getting closer with each second.
'No, no…'
His face turned panicked because the sight of a meteor falling toward him was so terrifying.
"NO!" He could only scream in helplessness when the meteor crashed into the Earth.
Boom!
The ground shook, and thick clouds of dust filled the air.
Even though the meteor landed several hundred meters away from him, Xi Jian was still affected by it.
The shockwaves sent him flying hundreds of meters into the air, and the heat pulse burned his clothes and blistered his skin.
And as if his suffering was still not enough, a sharp spike of Earth created from the meteor's impact, pierced his stomach right after he crashed into a boulder.
Blood came out of the wounds, and his vision began to blur.
Even though he was still alive, only a thin line separated him from death because his injuries were so severe.
"Cough…Cough…" blood splashed out of his mouth as he stared at the devastated areas.
'I escaped the paparazzi… only for a meteor to find me instead.'
He coughed up blood again.
'Ah! My life sucks!'
With those final words, Xi Jian closed his eyes forever.
----
China, Shanghai.
"Ouch!" A young man in his early twenties cried out in pain as he sat up.
'I…survived?'
The expression of deep shock blossomed on his face after he opened his eyes.
'Where is the earth spike that pierced my body?'
He grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and lifted it.
'No! This body is not mi-'
Before he had finished his words, memory fragments flashed before his eyes like a slideshow.
'This is…'
The young man finally knew what had happened to him.
He took over someone else's body!
Not only that, but he also transmigrated into a parallel world.
Even though it was still China, it wasn't the same one from his previous life.
'Ling Tian?'
He finally learned the name of his predecessor.
His predecessor was a popular and diligent university student. Even though countless women desired to be his girlfriend, he ignored them and chose to study instead.
He came from a lower-class family, so in his view, dating was a waste of money and time that would only prevent him from achieving his dreams.
For this reason, he always spent his day reading books because his future was more important than women.
'So, my predecessor had always dreamed of becoming a rich and successful businessman.'
He gently placed his right hand on his chest.
'I'm sorry your story ended like this, but I will give you the ending you deserved.'
His eyes softened with emotion.
'Thank you, for giving me this chance, my predecessor. I swear I won't waste it. I will make your dream as mine and make sure everyone in this world knows my name.'
He shook his head immediately.
'No… not my name. Our name.'
A gentle breeze suddenly brushed across his body, as if the world itself had heard his vow and sealed it in the sky.
'I need to learn about this world quickly.'
When he was about to stand up, an artificial intelligence voice rang out in his head.
[Gene analysis in progress…blood analysis in progress…90% compatibility. Criteria met. System binding initiated.]
Ling Tian was startled by the voice.
'Artificial intelligence voice? Has civilization in this world so advanced that everyone has their own AI assistant?'
He could not see all of his predecessor's memories, so he thought everyone was assisted by AI.
[Ding! System binding is successful. Please open the system display.]
'The design is similar to the one in the game.'
Right after he clicked the system interface, a transparent blue screen popped up before him.
----
Host: Ling Tian.
Age: 21
Appearance: 90/100
Charisma: 94/100
Talent:
- English (Level: Advanced | Progress: 28%)
- Japanese (Level: Advanced | Progress: 21%)
- Korean (Level: Advanced | Progress: 19%)
- Chinese (Level: Professional | Progress: 12%)
- Spanish (Level: Advanced | Progress: 22%)
- Business (Level: Beginner | Progress: 15%)
World Visited: 0
Inventory: Empty.
----
'Appearance: 90 and Charisma: 94?'
He was suddenly curious about his appearance.
'And these talents…'
After checking the talent rankings, he could not help but be amazed by his predecessor's capabilities.
Talents were divided into six ranks.
From the lowest to highest, they were Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Professional, Expert and Master.
Even though his predecessor's business level was only at beginner, he managed to raise his English, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish to an Advanced level.
He was still twenty-one years old, so his accomplishments were good because only a few people could speak five languages at such a young age.
[These are your predecessor's talents, Host.]
'System, is everyone assisted by AI in this world?'
There was also artificial intelligence in his previous world, but it was still in its initial phases, not as advanced as his system.
[No, Host. You are the only one assisted by a system on this Earth.]
'Why was I chosen?'
He threw another question at his system.
[The system has no information about it, Host.]
'I see. Then, what about the World Vis-'
Before he had finished his words, he suddenly felt dizzy.
'Blood?'
Memories of what had happened to his predecessor popped up in his mind the moment he saw blood on his right palm.
Previously, his predecessor enjoyed the atmosphere in the treehouse, his favorite place to relax both mind and body.
But when he placed his hands on the wooden railing, it suddenly broke and he fell to the ground.
Actually, the treehouse was not that high.
Maybe it was just bad luck or perhaps it was his fate, but right after his body hit the ground, his predecessor died.
'I have to treat my injuries first.'
Despite having countless questions in mind, he chose to treat his injuries first because he didn't want to die again.
As he rose to his feet, a notification popped up.
[Ding! Treat your injuries in the university clinic and study business for three hours. Upon completing the quest, Host will be rewarded with a World Access Key card.]