Tokyo, Jujutsu World—a strange apartment.
A man lying on the bed suddenly snapped his eyes open and bolted upright.
"Holy crap, where the hell am I? Am I even on Earth anymore?"
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, An Xiu recalled the last scene before he lost consciousness: a massive truck falling from the sky. It was a beautiful mountain-crashing drop that took him out—along with his 26th-floor apartment.
God forbid why a truck could fly. It's not like he lived under a highway!
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for binding with the Soft Rice System. Detecting current world: Jujutsu Kaisen]
Right then, a mechanical voice rang out abruptly in An Xiu's ear.
"Jujutsu Kaisen? You mean that series with 'Jujutsu' is in the title, but the protagonist only knows how to throw hands the whole time? The one where everyone gets lobotomized?"
Hearing the name of the world, An Xiu instinctively recalled the various settings and plot points. But he quickly snapped back to reality.
"Hold up—system! I get it! That flying dump truck from before—it was your doing, wasn't it? Damn, is the system business so competitive these days that you can't even wait for people to leave their house? You're dropping trucks from the sky directly into people's house now?"
[Ding! Detecting intense dissatisfaction from the Host. To compensate, the rewards for the Host's Initial Gift Pack have been doubled.]
Before An Xiu could finish his rant, the mechanical voice spoke again.
"Hm? Oh... well, if that's the case, I guess it's fine."
With compensation on the table, An Xiu's mood regarding his forced reincarnation improved significantly. Since the transmigration was already a done deal, squeezing out extra benefits was the next best thing.
'Wait', he thought.
He didn't actually know what was in the gift pack. What if the system was just lying about doubling it and gave him the original amount anyway? How would he know?
[Ding! Please rest assured, Host. As a New-Era System, serving the Host is my core logic. The System will never engage in behaviors that harm the Host's interests, including developing a self-aware ego, withholding rewards, providing false information, or issuing punitive punishments.]
(Note: The current communication is being handled by the system's built-in Basic AI Module. It has no self-awareness and is only used to help the Host familiarize himself with functions.)
"Fair enough," An Xiu nodded.
He was already in another world; there was no reason for a system to lie to an ordinary guy like him—a man with no ambitions who just wanted to eat, drink, and wait for a rich onee-san next door to sponsor his lazy lifestyle.
"System, introduce your abilities. Tell me about these 'functions' you mentioned."
[Ding! This is the Soft Rice System. We are dedicated to cultivating the Host into the King of Soft Rice in the Infinite Multiverse. Whenever the Host is detected engaging in 'soft rice' behavior (relying on others), you will receive varying amounts of Points. Points can be used for various functions: purchasing items or skills in the Mall, traveling to other worlds, or creating Clones to assist the Host in his 'soft rice' endeavors...]
As the mechanical voice droned on, An Xiu nodded along.
A Soft Rice System? It fit his pre-transmigration mental state perfectly. Perhaps that was exactly why the system chose him.
Opening the Mall interface, An Xiu was immediately met with a dazzling array of goods from across the multiverse: Devil Fruits, Gundams, Stands, Magic...
At the very top was the Discount Zone, which refreshed monthly with 3 to 5 random items discounted between 20% and 70%.
The three items currently on sale were:
[Quantumization] (70% OFF): 2,400 Points
[Three-Tomoe Sharingan] (70% OFF): 450 Points
[Authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth] (50% OFF): 5,000 Points
"Quantumization and Herrscher powers from the Honkai series? Nice. The Sharingan is a bit cliché, but it works."
"But these abilities usually require Honkai Energy or Chakra. If I buy them in the Jujutsu world, can I actually use them?"
[Ding! Please rest assured. All abilities or items provided by the System have been modified for compatibility. They will automatically adapt to different power systems. There will be no issues regarding a lack of specific energy types or world incompatibility. After-sales service is guaranteed.]
"Even if you say that, I have zero points right now. I can't buy anything..."
Then, An Xiu remembered the doubled Initial Gift Pack.
"System. Hand over that initial welcome gift you promised. Let's see what's inside."
[Ding! Initial Gift Pack issued. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Points: [5,000] * 2.]
Ten thousand points landed in his account in an instant. From penniless newcomer to modestly funded freeloader—just like that.
"This gift pack is generous. Even without the double, 5,000 points is a lot. I thought I'd get maybe one or two thousand at most. Now I can buy both Quantumization and the Herrscher of Rebirth authority."
With those two powers, An Xiu was certain he wouldn't be a weakling in this world.
However... he had no intention of using those powers himself.
After all, this was a Soft Rice System. He was meant to live off others! If he ran into trouble, he shouldn't solve it himself; he should let a beautiful girl do it for him. His daily life should be funded by a beautiful girl.
Let the girls do the work, and I vibe...
Still... he wasn't about to hand powerful abilities to random women—even 2D ones made real. His trust issues ran deep.
It was better to give the power to someone he knew through and through—someone who could never betray him.
"System, you mentioned you can create clones, right?"
[Ding! The base price for creating a Clone is 500 Points. The Host can customize the gender and appearance or manifest an image directly from your memory. The System will automatically arrange a logical identity. Extra points are required for specific backgrounds or special talents.]
"Do the manifested clones have self-awareness?"
[Ding! There are two modes. First: No self-awareness—fully controlled by the Host or the System AI. Second: With self-awareness—based on the Host's own will. If the clone is based on an existing character, they can also obtain that character's memories. The two aspects merge to create a high-fidelity personality that is mentally linked to the Host.]
[Regardless of the mode, all clones have 100% loyalty to the Host and will never betray you.]
"Perfect." An Xiu nodded with satisfaction. "One last thing... if I live off the 'soft rice' provided by my own clones, do I still get points?"
★ ★ ★
T/N: the synopsis and the chapter title used "Elbow Kaisen", but I went with Lobotomy Kaisen cause it felt more relatable.
Regarding "soft-rice", according to google: To "eat soft rice" (吃软饭, chī ruǎn fàn) denotes a man who stays home living high off his sugar mama.