Chapter 2: A Godlike Beginning

The sun was sinking behind the horizon. Strands of its dying light spilled across the ruined and broken martial arts hall, illuminating a floor scarred and battered; from the cracks, mouse heads poked out one by one, wobbling and twitching, and somehow their presence gave Lin Qi an odd sense of comfort.

“Player: Fang Zhen, age 29. Physical evaluation: Strength, 76 kilograms. Speed, 7.3 meters per second.”

“Assessment?”

“Elementary school student.”

Lin Qi scratched his head as he looked at the little notebook in his hand, then crossed out the words “elementary school student,” replacing them with seven new characters: “Pending, kindergarten senior class.”

“To act convincingly as an NPC and still keep them obedient—this squad is truly impossible to manage.” Lin Qi closed the notebook, sighed, and glanced toward a corner below his field of vision. A translucent panel slowly faded into view.

System: Martial Arts Transmission System activated. Current mission: ‘Fully restore the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.’ Reward: Coach B6 training machine; maximum player capacity increased by 40.

Host: Lin Qi.
Age: 25.
Martial arts level: Preparatory quasi-apprentice.
Strength: 92 kilograms (quasi-apprentice standard: 100 kilograms).
Speed: 8.9 meters per second (quasi-apprentice standard: 10 meters per second).
Maximum player capacity: 10 (currently limited to 1 online, 5 on the reservation list).

The Martial Arts Transmission System—a mechanism that allowed people from Blue Star to enter this world via the game, severing their connection at will, enabling resurrection upon player death with no cost incurred by Lin Qi. Its powers were simply extraordinary.

But now…

Lin Qi felt he had come to truly understand the system. Although it could bring players over, their physical fitness left much to be desired.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“This second-hand generator really is unreliable. Even basic power supply is intermittent, yet they still sold it to me for 500 bits. The Black Lizard’s heart is just as dark as his name.” Lin Qi, sitting in the lounge, patted the thundering metal lump before him and muttered complaints under his breath.

Originally, Lin Qi had simply been a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Blue Star, struggling through university and founding a gaming technology company. He’d recently achieved financial freedom and was ready to enjoy life, only to be suddenly transported to this world fourteen days ago.

Being transported was one thing, but not even his clothes had come through—he arrived in the raw, which felt more than a little unfair. Luckily, his luck was good; he landed in this abandoned martial arts hall.

As Lin Qi searched for clothes in the hall, he found many old books and magazines, providing him with a rough understanding of this world.

This Blue Star was wholly unlike the one he’d known: a high martial world where myriad races gathered, with technology far more advanced, and dangers beyond imagination.

In July 2025, the sea level of Blue Star suddenly cracked open. Catastrophe struck.

Wild monsters immune to modern weaponry rampaged outdoors, and sudden beast tides could easily destroy entire cities, shrinking the human survival space on the planet.

Fortunately, humanity found a solution in martial arts. By training to break their physical limits, they evolved, gaining the strength to resist the monsters. The martial arts flourished for centuries, and even today, martial artists were humanity’s hope and guardians—so much so that every nation and race made martial arts a mandatory subject in high school, with college entrance exams relying on martial arts scores.

Failing the martial arts exam meant that even a perfect score in liberal arts wouldn’t grant university admission; aiming for a martial arts university made the exam even more critical.

As for job hunting after graduation, it was even more extreme. During interviews, the first thing HR would ask was for the candidate to take a punch. If you could withstand the first punch, you’d move to round two, taking a second punch. Pass all three rounds, and you could start work, with no further assessments required.

With the rise of martial arts, martial arts halls sprang up everywhere like mushrooms after rain. The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, where Lin Qi now resided, was one of the human halls established at the founding of Light-Chasing City.

Though the hall now occupied the city’s abandoned zone—a place even stray dogs would shake their heads at—it covered over eighty thousand square meters. Despite its dilapidation, there were still corners that could shelter him from the elements, sparing Lin Qi from sleeping on the streets.

“Looks like this generator is beyond saving.” Lin Qi slapped it again, but the power in the hall remained inconsistent, lights flickering and clearly unfixed.

“This is a generator, a precision instrument. Do you think it’s like those unruly brats, where a couple of smacks will fix it?” A woman over two meters tall, fair-skinned, her hair in a high ponytail, and sporting a mechanical prosthetic arm, strode over to Lin Qi’s side and delivered several powerful kicks to the metal lump. Each kick fractured the surrounding floor inch by inch; after more than ten kicks, the lights finally stopped flickering. “There. Your strength is still lacking—you need more practice.”

“Thanks.” Lin Qi gazed at the brightly lit training hall with admiration. “No wonder you’re a licensed mechanic in Light-Chasing City—your strength is truly extraordinary.”

Luo Qi, age 24, an employee at a suburban weapons shop in Light-Chasing City, was Lin Qi’s savior after his arrival in this high martial world, giving him real insight into the city and its world.

“Save the flattery—I won’t cut you a single bit.” Luo Qi rolled her eyes, raised her mechanical hand, and pointed to the vintage car parked outside the hall. “Everything’s unloaded there. Ten alloy shovels are a gift, three composite longbows with nine black steel arrows—these weapons are made from A5-grade alloy, premium goods favored by young quasi-martial artists. Altogether, 15,000 bits. Do you want to pay in installments or settle in one go?”

“15,000 bits? That cheap? I heard rents in the city are rising lately. Plus, isn’t your younger sister just starting high school? She’s in the middle of exam prep. Selling at this price, you’ll be taking a hit this month—did you land a big contract recently?”

Weapon crafting was time-consuming, and as a shop employee, Luo Qi could only make five or six weapons a month, earning modest labor fees. A5-grade alloy was expensive, and three A5 weapons for 15,000 bits was nearly at cost.

Money in this high martial world was hard to earn, usually not enough to cover expenses. The best jobs required martial arts apprentices, and ordinary citizens with official status earned just two thousand bits per month.

As a mechanic, Luo Qi was slightly better off, but not much; an extra five or six hundred bits was considered good. Living in the suburbs meant rent consumed half her income, and the fee for three weapons was equivalent to half a month’s salary.

High school tuition was exorbitant—six thousand bits per term, not counting nutrition costs for blood and energy training. Supporting one child was hard enough; supporting more was nearly impossible.

“Rent here is indeed rising, not just for us; all races are facing increases. The Half-Scale Tribe, by some stroke of luck, produced several genius martial artists, elevating their status in Light-Chasing City. Their rent went down, so ours naturally went up.” Luo Qi’s eyes betrayed envy as she spoke of martial artists.

Becoming a martial artist was difficult enough; achieving it before age 25 was even harder. No human genius martial artist had emerged in over twenty years.

After a moment’s reflection, Luo Qi turned to Lin Qi. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a mechanic—I don’t need your money. How many installments? I suggest ten years; the interest is higher, but at least you can afford it monthly.”

“No, I’ll pay in full.” Lin Qi reached into his clothes and pulled out eighteen crisp bills, each for a thousand bits.

“So you’ve taken that step.” Luo Qi looked at the bills with a complicated expression. “Which gang? How much did you borrow?”

“The Gorilla Gang at the suburban warehouse.” Lin Qi made no attempt to hide the truth from Luo Qi. “Borrowed thirty thousand, to be repaid as sixty thousand in two months.”

On his first day in this world, Lin Qi had pondered how to become a martial artist. On his way to the city, he encountered two high school students from the martial arts program, sparring under a bridge. Their duel caused the bridge to collapse, severely injuring many passersby, Lin Qi included.

Luo Qi had also been on the bridge. Lin Qi managed to push her to safety before falling himself. Grateful, Luo Qi took him to the hospital.

As an undocumented migrant, Lin Qi received no help or compensation from Light-Chasing City; he had no money, so Luo Qi lent him two thousand bits and another thousand for sustenance. The hospital healed him, but he owed ten thousand bits, to be repaid in four interest-free installments—2,500 bits per month.

Surviving as an undocumented migrant in Light-Chasing City was nearly impossible. Such migrants worked illegal jobs, earning less than five bits for daily meals. Earning 2,500 bits a month was out of reach; even a fraction would be impressive.

To become a martial artist, even a basic training manual from the city library cost tens of thousands of bits. Practicing it alone was useless, requiring expert guidance, which cost several times more. It was utterly unattainable for someone in Lin Qi’s position.

“You borrowed so much—you’re not planning to take up that line of work, are you?”

“Mm.”

“You’re crazy! That’s gambling with your life!”

“To make money, you have to gamble. As for farming, I think I have a real shot.”

In his days in the high martial world, Lin Qi had realized how hard it was for an undocumented migrant to survive. There were only two ways to make big money in Light-Chasing City: become a corporate test subject, or farm.

The wilds were dangerous, even for true martial artists, but cities were limited in size and packed with people. Food was always scarce, especially foods that boosted blood energy.

Ordinary food couldn’t satisfy the energy needs for martial arts training, but advanced technology had produced special crops, among them Blood Essence Rice.

This rice matured in just ten days when planted in energy-rich areas, containing potent energy. Cities were usually built atop energy veins, providing abundant power; the closer to the center, the richer the energy, making Blood Essence Rice the main staple.

Yet city land was limited, and supply never met demand. Many energy-rich spots existed in the wilds, so farming there became a lucrative option for undocumented migrants.

If you could harvest ten pounds of Blood Essence Rice in the wild, at the city rate of 200 bits per pound, that’s 2,000 bits. The seed cost for ten pounds was only 500 bits—a fourfold profit, enough to drive many to madness, especially migrants.

“You’re truly mad. That’s not a job for ordinary people. Even martial arts apprentices hesitate to enter the wild. Give up. Your body’s too frail, and even if you found a hidden energy-rich spot and defended your crop, you should know all those locations are controlled by gangs. If they find out, the consequences won’t be pretty.” Luo Qi shook her head. “Honestly, you go to bars too often. You really think anyone can become an urban legend?”

Wolves of the Wilderness like Fei Jin, and Steel’s Light-Chaser Qi Lan—they did break through the gangs’ blockade as migrants, became martial artists, and legends among the migrant community. But among the tens of millions of migrants in Light-Chasing City, how many legends are there?

“Turn back while you can. Give up.”

“I know a decent hospital. With your looks, if you stopped being a man, plenty of wealthy clients would appreciate your delicate features.”

Luo Qi’s words were heartfelt, her gaze filled with visions of Lin Qi’s bright future, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Delicate features?

Lin Qi considered himself tall—186 centimeters back on Blue Star. But in this world, where everyone trained, middle schoolers averaged two meters, high schoolers two-twenty or two-thirty. His height was nothing special, but hardly deserving of pity.

“This path is too risky; I don’t have the nerves for it.” Lin Qi quickly interrupted Luo Qi’s speech, seeing she wanted to continue. “Do you have a map of the gangs’ wild territory distribution in Light-Chasing City?”

The wilds, though filled with monsters, contained relatively safe zones—energy-rich areas controlled by gangs for Blood Essence Rice cultivation. Others had to avoid these spots.

Luo Qi’s Cangjing Weapons Shop, though not top-tier, was prominent in the suburbs, supplying and transporting weapons to gangs. She should have some knowledge of their wild operations.

“You’re too cautious,” Luo Qi sighed, seeing Lin Qi’s resolve. She sent him an electronic map and turned to leave. But before going, she reminded him,

“If you can’t pay off the debt in time, let me know. You wouldn’t want the Gorilla Gang to take your body. I can get you a good price—maybe even let you keep a kidney for future use.”

“I can keep one?” Lin Qi was surprised, not expecting Luo Qi’s connections to be so strong.

Sixty thousand bits was no small sum—two years’ wages for an ordinary citizen. Lin Qi estimated his body was worth six or seven thousand; otherwise, the Gorillas wouldn’t have lent him thirty thousand.

“Maybe let that twenty-nine try?”

“Sixty thousand a pop, even quasi-martial artists don’t earn that. And you get to keep a kidney—perfect!”

Watching Luo Qi disappear into the night, Lin Qi felt tempted, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Players were unlike ordinary people—they could resurrect endlessly. If any group caught wind of that, harvesting kidneys endlessly, the consequences would be dire.

Two hours later, in the basement of Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

“Good stamina, promising potential.” Lin Qi nodded approvingly at Fang Zhen, who was barely standing. With such endurance and determination, he would be a good farmhand—Lin Qi could now strike out the “pending” note altogether. “By the way, how are your kidneys? Any sensations right now?”

“My kidneys? Sensations? Does weak legs count?”

“No sensations?”

“Bro, should I be feeling something?”

Fang Zhen glanced nervously at Lin Qi outside the iron bars, his mind in turmoil. He’d been made to do two thousand squats in two hours, and now Lin Qi was asking about his kidneys and sensations.

What sensation was he supposed to have? Good? Euphoric?

“Sigh. Kindergarten senior class just isn’t enough.”

“???”

Lin Qi sighed, checked his watch, then looked at Fang Zhen as if waiting for something. Fang Zhen was about to speak when a sharp, inexplicable pain stabbed through his brain and kidneys. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and blacked out.

System: You are dead.

“Game? This is a game?!”

Fang Zhen stared wide-eyed at the system prompt, utterly bewildered.

Are game companies really this creative these days?