Chapter 1 : Chapter 1
Chapter 1
[Uploading world data. Uploading character data…]
[System AI has awakened.]
[Binding target: Ji Qing (real name unknown)]
[System binding… System binding…]
[System binding successful. We wish you and your partner a pleasant cooperation!]
…
A chaotic clamor echoed around him, like a panicked crowd arguing:
“Why hasn’t the train departed yet? Why hasn’t it departed yet?!”
“I am telling you, this counts as a violation of personal safety! I will file a complaint against every one of you in the Federal Court!”
“Are we still not entering the safe zone? As a federal citizen and a reporter for the news agency, I have the right to know what happened aboard the Dawn!”
Ji Qing opened his eyes sleepily.
The first thing that entered his vision was the rear carriage outside the glass window, billowing with thick smoke, along with the charred corpses of monsters scattered around the elevated railway tracks.
Several laser guns mounted on the exterior of the train were operating at high speed. Over and over again, they slaughtered and drove away the enormous mutated locusts drawn by the living humans aboard the train.
“Where am I?”
His breath fogged the train window as he covered his head in confusion. He felt as though he had just awakened from an incredibly long dream.
“You are currently on your way to report to the Third Ability Academy located in Yancheng.” The black-haired boy sitting opposite him spoke gently.
“Hm?” Ji Qing raised his head in surprise.
The boy wore the same silver-and-blue school uniform as Ji Qing. He had a pair of clear black eyes. Even within such an oppressive carriage environment, he still appeared optimistic and at ease.
“We introduced ourselves when we boarded the train.” The boy’s eyes curved into a smile. “My name is You Xingluo. Like you, I am a freshman admitted to the Third Ability Academy this year.”
Ji Qing asked with some confusion, “Did I just fall asleep?”
“Yes.” You Xingluo nodded helplessly. “You fell asleep not long after boarding. Even with all the commotion just now, no one managed to wake you. Your sleep quality is actually quite impressive.”
How strange…
Ji Qing lowered his gaze and quietly stared at his own palm. At this moment, he could not establish a sense of reality connecting himself to the world around him. Everything felt like a dream.
Could it be that he had transmigrated?
Ji Qing stood up and calmly observed his surroundings.
He was currently aboard a train named the Dawn. The train had originally been traveling toward Yancheng. Just moments ago, an accident occurred in the rear carriage, forcing the train to stop in place.
There were very few people in the carriage where he was located.
Aside from him and You Xingluo, everyone else had gathered at the front of the carriage, surrounding the internal communication device while arguing about something—mostly demanding the train to depart or issuing threats of complaints.
Ji Qing sat back down in his original seat. Only now did he finally gain some understanding of his surroundings.
A wasteland… or perhaps a post-apocalyptic world? Ji Qing speculated silently.
In his memories, he was still a male college student in the 21st century. It was currently summer vacation, and he had been planning to go out and play arcade games with his friends.
Yet now he has appeared here.
What a perplexing development.
A trace of unease welled up in Ji Qing’s heart. At that moment, he noticed You Xingluo quietly reading a book across from him and asked in confusion, “Why are you reacting so calmly?”
“Life and death are determined by heaven.” You Xingluo smiled. “Besides, I do not think I will die here.”
“Quite confident,” Ji Qing commented.
Like an NPC.
Ji Qing stood up, preparing to look around elsewhere. The information he could obtain here was extremely limited. He could not possibly keep talking with You Xingluo the entire time.
Since his own identity was unclear, Ji Qing remained highly wary of the people around him.
The carriage was large. The aisle was wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side, though the seating arrangement resembled the old steam trains Ji Qing was familiar with.
“Wait.” You Xingluo reached out and called to stop him.
When Ji Qing turned back to look at him, You Xingluo’s eyes were filled with disapproval.
“I do not think walking around right now will bring any benefits.”
Ji Qing replied coldly, “Will staying where we are change anything?”
“Mm… naturally not.”
You Xingluo withdrew his hand somewhat dejectedly. He let out a long sigh, finally acknowledging the futility of his attempt.
“The Dawn was attacked by an Aberrant species earlier.” He explained gloomily. “The defensive line of Carriage No. 8 was breached, and the Aberrant entered the carriage.”
“Although it was killed just now, the infection index remains above the safety threshold.”
“At the moment, Yancheng is refusing us entry because of this. They are demanding an inspection of everyone aboard the train to prevent Aberrants or infected individuals from slipping into the city.”
Ji Qing commented, “That sounds pretty serious.”
But what exactly were Aberrants? And what were infected individuals?
Ji Qing felt puzzled. If the Aberrants referred to the mutated locusts outside the window, then were infected individuals people who had been attacked by those locusts and infected with a locust virus?
In that case, did the infection index represent the probability of being infected with that virus?
Ji Qing looked out the train window at the endless stream of mutated locusts and felt a deep sense of danger regarding his situation.
The train’s energy supply would eventually run out. If they did not receive timely support from the city or permission to enter, everyone aboard the train would die.
Although Ji Qing did not feel much of a sense of reality about it.
He even found himself entertaining the bizarre thought of wandering outside once everyone else had died. Ji Qing quickly warned himself: No, that would be inappropriate behavior.
Ji Qing asked, “Which carriage are we in now?”
You Xingluo replied, “Carriage No. 3.”
“All right. I will go take a look.” Ji Qing waved casually. “See you at school.”
After saying that, Ji Qing turned and left.
He walked toward the rear of the train. From time to time, people rushed past him in panic, sprinting toward the front of the train. In their minds, the front was safe. The front was where salvation awaited.
Ji Qing silently observed all of it.
He saw his reflection in the glass window.
He had shoulder-length white hair and a pair of emerald-green eyes. His gaze was cold, and his temperament was icy. Yet his appearance was so striking that he could easily end up on the school’s confession wall.
How strange. This was not his face.
Ji Qing studied the boy in the reflection and wondered inwardly: Had he transmigrated into some extraordinary character?
[Actually, this is the host’s face.]
A voice suddenly sounded in Ji Qing’s mind. He immediately guessed the identity of the speaker.
Ji Qing tested cautiously: [System?]
The system replied: [Hello, Host. Nice to meet you for the first time.]
Ji Qing frowned upon hearing this.
Was this truly their first meeting? If so, did the system know he had transmigrated?
Ji Qing pretended to sound casual. [What do you want with me?]
[It is like this.] The system answered. [Your world is constructed based on a manga titled 《Ability Hunter Academy》. The manga’s story is currently in its early stages, but in the distant future, the world will collapse due to the manga being abandoned.]
[I need your help to modify the plot of the manga in order to stabilize the world.]
“How strange…” Ji Qing murmured softly.
The system asked in confusion, [Is there something incorrect about what I said?]
[No, you are not wrong.] Ji Qing shook his head. [But since this is a manga, you should know what role I play in it, right?]
[You are the top freshman of this year’s intake at the Third Ability Academy and a future member of Class S. During the freshman entrance team competition, you performed brilliantly. However, just before the protagonist group entered Class S, you suddenly withdrew from the academy. This event became one of the greatest mysteries in the early part of the manga.]
[Wait.] Ji Qing grew wary. [So was I framed? Or something happened to me?]
[No.] The system answered honestly. [You simply disappeared as a minor character from the early part of the manga. There was no further plot involving you. We also obtained no information about you from the manga’s setting materials.]
Ji Qing: […Tsk.]
Ji Qing said, [Then what was the manga artist drawing me for? To leave a “white moonlight” figure for the protagonist? But that does not even feel like a proper white moonlight.]
[Yes, but that is precisely why we selected you.]
[The manga forum once argued endlessly about your whereabouts and identity. Some popular threads reached hundreds of replies. The speculation continued into the later stages of the manga before ultimately fading away. Therefore, the Bureau believes your disappearance was one of the early signs that the manga would eventually be abandoned.]
[Oh?] Ji Qing raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
He thought with amusement: If he were reading that manga, he would also assume that a character with such a background and appearance must be some hidden figure revealed later in the story.
Ji Qing said lazily, [Then I think your information source is flawed. The manga artist probably cut my storyline rather than never creating one.]
The system paused.
[We are currently attempting to obtain the manga artist’s original setting through reasonable channels. Alternatively… could you tell us your identity and purpose?]
[I will not tell you.] Ji Qing said slyly. [Our relationship is not that good yet.]
How ridiculous. He did not even know it himself.
Right now, Ji Qing was still trying to extract information about himself from the system.
Ji Qing asked, [If I agree, what kind of assistance can you provide?]
The system replied, [You will gain access to the Popularity Value shop, real-time viewing of the manga, and access to the manga forum.]
[That sounds good.] Ji Qing said calmly.
He continued walking step by step through the aisle toward the rear carriages. The interiors of the carriages he passed shifted from clean and luxurious to simple and plain, and finally to damaged and dilapidated.
The winds of the wasteland battered Ji Qing’s face.
The situation was more serious than most people believed.
Ji Qing was now in Carriage No. 5. Carriage No. 6 had already been snapped in half. Fortunately, however, there were not many passengers on this train, so the road was not littered with numerous mangled body parts.
[System.] Ji Qing called softly.
[Yes?]
Ji Qing quietly watched several mutated locusts outside the window of Carriage No. 5 gnawing on corpses.
[Do you know what my ability is?]
Since he was enrolled in an academy for ability users and had even become the top freshman, he must possess an ability.
[Your ability is Gravity Control. This was shown in the early part of the manga.]
[Mm.] Ji Qing responded lazily.
The mutated locusts outside Carriage No. 5, their bodies stained with blood, had already noticed Ji Qing.
Compared to ordinary humans, the flesh and blood of an ability user was far more attractive.
One… two… three…
They abandoned the corpses beneath their feet and swarmed toward Ji Qing.
Ji Qing fiddled with his fingers in mild confusion. As the system spoke, he finally sensed the mysterious power flowing within his body.
[I agree.] Ji Qing said calmly.
But this was not to save the collapsing manga world.
It was to save himself.
Ji Qing needed the information the system could provide.
To him, this world was also an enormous mystery waiting to be explored.