In a modest bedroom, a young man held an ice cream stick in his hand, muttering to himself,
"God, if this thing really works, just show yourself so I can see it."
...
Nothing happened.
He casually tossed the ice cream stick aside and fell onto the bed, "He fooled me, this can't summon any deities."
"Nonsense, you're holding it backward. I'd be surprised if anything came out," a voice replied.
The boy on the bed leaped up abruptly, "Holy crap, what's going on? Am I hallucinating?"
"Hallucinating your head! Hurry up, there are others waiting in line," the voice urged.
Hearing this, the boy quickly picked up the ice cream stick from the floor and began to mutter again.
Before he could utter more than a few words, a purple light surged from the ice cream stick, and a person who appeared to be in their early twenties materialized in mid-air.
"Never mind, I can't count on you. I'll come out myself then."
The boy swallowed, "A, a real immortal?"
The "immortal" nodded, "You invoked a deity, and you're still contemplating?"
As he spoke, the immortal floated to the bed. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Cui Niechen, and I'm a newly appointed Ziwei. If you had sought this last year, you would have seen my master, not me."
Looking at this immortal who lacked any divine aura, the boy was more inclined to believe this was some new technology from the modern era. However, since things had progressed this far, it would be impolite to the immortal to not go along with it.
"Can you really send me to another world?"
Cui Niechen pulled out a purple book. "Let me see. Xia Huanao, is it? Such an awkward name. Which world do you want to travel to?"
Xia Huanao answered without hesitation, "Pokémon. Can I go to the Pokémon world?"
Cui Niechen flipped a couple of pages back. "Well, you can definitely go, but I'd recommend Ling Yao Star more."
"Ling Yao Star? What's that?"
Cui Niechen casually waved his hand, and a rather large planetarium appeared before Xia Huanao. Pointing to it, he said, "Ling Yao Star is not much different from the planet we live on now. The only difference is that the inhabitants' lifestyles are entirely like those in the Pokémon world. I think you'd be more accustomed to that, don't you think?"
Xia Huanao looked at Cui Niechen's expression and asked, "I have a feeling you haven't told me everything."
His cover blown, Cui Niechen adopted an air of a knowledgeable mentor and explained without a hint of embarrassment, "The main reason is, if I were to send you to the two-dimensional Pokémon world, I wouldn't be able to let you overshadow Ash's protagonist halo. His 'super Kanto newbie' buff is too strong."
Upon hearing this, Xia Huanao's mind conjured images of Ash's various seemingly absurd actions that, when performed by him, seemed somehow normal. For instance, his aerial split or holding up a Nebula – these were beyond scientific explanation. If he were to face that simpleton head-on, he'd likely bring shame to all transmigration candidates.
"I think you're right. Ling Yao Star sounds good too."
Having resolved the issue of where to travel, Cui Niechen produced a ball of light. "Um, this is the system for you."
Silence...
Xia Huanao had never expected that the transmigration process would involve receiving a cheat even before departure. Was the service of immortals this good nowadays?
However, on second thought, with a system like this, Xia Huanao felt that transmigrating to the two-dimensional Pokémon world was no big deal. Foreknowledge plus a super cheat – couldn't he still make a splash?
Seeing Xia Huanao's expression, Cui Niechen knew the boy was already lost in his own fantasies. For Xia Huanao's safety, he felt it necessary to issue a warning. "Um, just to clarify beforehand, you're the first person to use this system. While I'm confident nothing will go wrong, you should still be extra careful."
Having been solemnly warned, Xia Huanao decided to play it safe and first find out how to use the system.
"This system's full name is the Ziwei Star Transmigration Assistance System v1.0. It has no random quests, nor any functions like a shop. Its sole purpose is querying. Anything you wish to know, you can find out."
"So, it's just an encyclopedia? Isn't that rather useless? I think with my brain, I can memorize most knowledge."
As he said this, Xia Huanao suddenly realized that while most knowledge could be looked up, things like individual values, natures, and effort values weren't something that could be determined through theoretical analysis or mere observation.
"I think an encyclopedia is great."
Xia Huanao's reaction was indeed swift. If the immortal were to know he didn't want it and take it back, it would be a huge loss.
Cui Niechen easily saw through Xia Huanao's thoughts. "I'm a deity, you know. Can you stop thinking of me as so petty?"
Xia Huanao deflected the conversation with some nonsensical chatter and returned to discussing the system. "How about I wait a couple more years after I transmigrate for a version 2.0?"
Cui Niechen pulled at the ball of light with his hands. "Don't wait. Version 2.0 won't accelerate your growth either. We are deities; we can fulfill your wishes to a certain extent, but we cannot interfere too much with this world, even if the world tier of Ling Yao Star is utterly negligible."
Ignoring Cui Niechen's dismissive remark about the world tier, Xia Huanao finally took the system's ball of light from his hands. "How do I use this thing?"
A rare look of schadenfreude crossed Cui Niechen's lips. "Smash it. Smash it on your head. The harder you smash it, the better the integration."
Xia Huanao let go, and the ball of light dropped to the ground, rolling away.
Perhaps it was better not to have this system. To smash oneself to death for it? If he actually died from it, who would be responsible? Although most transmigration candidates died before transmigrating, to die specifically to achieve transmigration felt a bit too absurd.
Cui Niechen bent down, picked up the ball of light that was now covered in dust, and without further ado, smashed it onto Xia Huanao's head. Although Xia Huanao intended to dodge, he saw the ball of light coming but found his body completely unresponsive to his will. Xia Huanao closed his eyes tightly and then lost consciousness.
...
When Xia Huanao opened his eyes again, he saw the same discolored ceiling of his bedroom.
Xia Huanao rubbed his head. The ball of light seemed to have hit him quite hard. He looked around and saw a purple envelope on his desk.
He climbed out of bed, opened the envelope, and carefully read the letter Cui Niechen had left for him:
Classmate Xia Huanao, if my estimation is correct, you should wake up around eleven o'clock. Please don't worry; you will transmigrate while fully conscious. At midnight, a temporal portal to Ling Yao Star will appear beside you. Once you pass through this gate, your destiny will be your own.
After you transmigrate, you will begin as an infant to adapt to that world. Of course, this is primarily because your body as an otaku is too weak, so you will need a lot of time to improve your physical condition. As for the system, it's hard to say when it will awaken, but it will definitely be ready in time. You will have to explore its other functions gradually.
After reading Cui Niechen's letter, Xia Huanao placed the paper on his desk and stared intently at his phone, counting down to his transmigration.
Time ticked by, and as the numbers on his phone screen turned to 00:00, the space beside Xia Huanao rippled, and a purple vortex quietly emerged.
He poked the purple vortex with his hand, and a strong suction immediately pulled Xia Huanao in, causing him to disappear.
As the purple vortex vanished, Cui Niechen's figure reappeared in the void. "I hope you have a pleasant time on whichever planet you end up on. Let's see who wants to transmigrate next... You, You Le? Never mind, I'll leave tomorrow."