On Earth, in a group chat for people who enjoy a relaxed, healthy lifestyle.
"Hello everyone, I have to brag a bit."
"After spending 1200 Saint Quartz, I finally pulled SSY with the last summoning ticket!!!!!"
"Ah! I'm so excited!"
Then came a string of exclamation marks.
The young man couldn't help but be excited; 1200 Saint Quartz cost him over 7,000 yuan. Luckier people could have pulled five ultra-rare Servants with that, and he was almost despairing from his bad luck. He never expected to win the jackpot on the last few summoning tickets given out by the event.
"Congratulations on the pull."
"Congratulations on the pull, a Red Packet should be here."
"Congratulations on the pull, a Red Packet should be here."
"..."
As usual, the group chat was flooded with congratulatory messages.
Of course, some people knew the young man.
"Shen He, you just spent half a month's salary, didn't you?"
"Don't talk about it. Let me be happy first before I think about that, okay?"
Shen He felt his heart bleeding.
He was a programmer from a prestigious 985 university, earning nearly 20,000 yuan a month just three years after graduation. He should have had boundless prospects and lived a carefree life.
How did he end up playing this terrible game?
Shen He couldn't quite explain it himself. If he had to say, there was probably only one true reason.
Loneliness, emptiness, coldness.
In this World of rampant materialism and fickle human emotions, only two-dimensional waifus could somewhat ease his sorrows.
New York, Manhattan.
The warm spring sunlight cast its glow upon this international metropolis, bringing a touch of warmth to the cold concrete jungle.
Shen He sat on a street bench, his eyes vacant as he watched the hurried commuters rushing to work. No matter where, the pace of a big city was always incredibly fast.
Once upon a time, Shen He was one of these people, but now he sat leisurely, emptying his mind and enjoying the idleness of doing nothing.
—That's a lie!
The live broadcast of the U.S. Senate hearing on the giant screen of a nearby building made it impossible for him to relax.
Who was that flashy, mustachioed middle-aged man?
Tony Stark!
Nüwa and the Three Pure Ones above, I neither complained nor was gravely ill, nor did I do anything bad to be struck by lightning. How did I transmigrate?
And to Marvel, this chaotic and high-risk World!
Suddenly, a sweet yet mechanical voice sounded in his mind, making Shen He shiver.
"Dear Master, the Servant Summoning System has been activated. Welcome."
Is this a System? Was I targeted by some super powerful being?
Shen He took four or five deep breaths before he managed to calm down, his gaze fixed on the ethereal interface before him.
A dark blue background, with several simple, clear buttons.
It was divided into five modules: Summoning Center, Instance Center, Personal Center, Servant Center, and Inventory.
"System, introduce yourself."
No response.
"Activate."
No response.
Shen He tried various methods, but the female voice that had just appeared never did so again, nor did any sound answer his questions.
Thankfully, at least it wasn't one of those Systems that could talk, chat, and even act cute.
If there really was an intelligent life in his mind, it would be terrifying.
Shen He opened the Personal Center and found his full 3D model, his name, and "Level 1" prominently displayed.
Below that was a magic content of ten.
He opened the Inventory, and as expected, it was empty.
He opened the Instance Center; there was only a button labeled "Underground City," which Shen He dared not click casually.
He opened the Summoning Center, and a profound, mysterious magic array appeared before him, with two buttons beside it.
Low-tier Summon and High-tier Summon.
Closing his eyes slightly, Shen He processed the situation before him.
He had transmigrated and brought a System. This could absolutely not be a random phenomenon under natural circumstances; there must be human factors involved. But the situation was clear: no matter what intentions the person behind the scenes had in planning all this, it was not something he could resist.
Since that was the case, he might as well take things as they came. A lifetime was but a mere hundred years; living it splendidly was a gain.
He just felt bad for his parents back home and could only entrust them to his younger brother.
After settling his emotions, Shen He looked at the Summoning Center before him with some excitement. The familiar interface and the name "Servant Summoning System" filled him with a certain eager anticipation.
"Let's check out the Low-tier Summon first."
Below the Low-tier Summon were also two buttons: one for a single summon and one for ten summons. Both buttons had the number ten next to them.
Heh heh, is there even a question? Single pulls for miracles, ten pulls for guaranteed minimum.
I want the guaranteed minimum!
The ten-pull button suddenly turned gray, and the mysterious magic array slowly revolved, emitting a dazzling silver-White light.
One item after another flew out, moving slowly enough for Shen He to see everything clearly.
"U.S. Dollar X1000, U.S. Dollar X1000, U.S. Dollar X100, gekota Giant Plushie X1, Pineapple Bun X2, U.S. Dollar X500, U.S. Dollar X2000, Coffee Pudding X4, Gale X1, U.S. Dollar X500."
After the summons, a twenty-hour countdown appeared next to the ten-pull button, and a two-hour countdown next to the single-pull button.
All ten summon rewards were automatically stored in his Inventory.
No Servants. Aside from a Gale, which was clearly the guaranteed minimum, the others seemed to be just ordinary items.
"Low-tier summons don't yield anything good, but the number of summons automatically recovers over time."
Shen He muttered to himself. With a thought, a White transparent card instantly appeared in his hand, with a tornado-shaped image and the Chinese characters for Gale on it.
As he held the card, a piece of information also entered his mind.
"Gale, from the World of Cardcaptor Sakura. The holder can summon Gale for a short period of time. Can be gifted to others."
"Interesting."
Shen He gazed at the card in his palm, growing more and more excited.
The information age had given him an endless World of fantasy, but it hadn't given him hope of experiencing that fantasy, only to dutifully work to support himself.
He had long grown tired of that unchanging life.
Next, he would check the High-tier Summon.
The interface was the same, the only difference being that next to the summon button were not numbers, but shimmering Summoning Stones, also ten of them.
"Newbie packs are often the luckiest! Watch me, the reincarnation of a lucky emperor! Go for the guaranteed minimum!"
Shen He's eyes widened, and he fiercely pressed the ten-pull button.
Instantly, golden light filled the entire interface, and ethereal music was enchanting to the ear.
"Ding, congratulations! You have successfully summoned a five-star ultra-rare Servant: Saiki Kusuo."
"Holy crap!"
Shen He suddenly stood up, a classic Chinese expletive escaping his lips, completely disregarding the astonished glances of passersby.
Qi Shen! It's actually Qi Shen! Is this an invincible start?
"Ding, the Servant has rejected your summon. You have ten minutes to win him over. The summon will close if the time limit is exceeded."