[A rare monster wave has appeared in the western territories of the Xia Nation. Elder Zhong unleashed the technique "Tian Dong Wan Xiang" (The Heavens Move the Rest of the World) to suppress the horde. His synchronization rate with Rex Lapis (Zhongli) is believed to have increased, demonstrating the authority of the strongest individual in the Xia Nation.]
[A mysterious giant purple figure has suddenly appeared in the skies above Sakura Nation. Its form bears a striking resemblance to Uchiha Sasuke's Susano'o from the world of Naruto. Experts are speculating: has someone secretly inherited Uchiha Sasuke's legacy?]
[A spectacular return! American film star Tony has officially announced his comeback to the Marvel Universe and publicly transformed into Iron Man. Countless fans were moved to tears, flooding social media with posts reading: Our youth has returned!]
"..."
Ye Xuan stared at the news on his phone and let out a quiet sigh.
It had only been three days since his memories of his past life resurfaced. If this planet weren't called Blue Star instead of Earth, and if his country weren't called Xia Nation instead of Huaxia, he might never have realized he had been reborn into another world entirely.
Because the two worlds were just too similar. Not merely similar, actually, but identical.
Everything, from the traces of history and the traditions of poetry to the anime and novels from Earth, whatever existed back on Earth existed here on Blue Star.
If there was anything different besides the names, it was the news making the rounds these days.
Three months ago, things that had only ever existed in anime and novels began appearing, one after another, across Blue Star.
Visions from Genshin Impact. Zanpakuto from Bleach. Devil Fruits from One Piece. The Eight Wonders from Hitori no Shita.
These items had, in essence, fused themselves into ordinary objects in the real world, whether action figures, swords, fruits, or books. Some underwent a change upon merging and gained power as a result, like the Devil Fruits. Others required the user to recite the iconic lines associated with the original character, or to study and master them independently, like the Zanpakuto and the Eight Wonders.
To put it plainly, if this world had contained none of the anime or novels from Ye Xuan's past life, his path forward might have been straightforward. He would have bound himself to the "Livestream System," using it to detect the locations of treasures, then become a science streamer explaining their origins to show off in front of crowds.
But there were no "ifs" here. Every piece of anime, every novel from Earth existed on Blue Star without exception.
Perhaps there were a few gaps he wasn't aware of, but everything he personally knew about was present in this world.
Under these circumstances, whether his past life memories had awakened or not made little practical difference. Everyone stood at the same starting line, left to rely on luck and instinct to go searching.
There were so many action figures in the world, so many iconic lines waiting to be spoken. Even with billions of people on the planet, how many could actually succeed in awakening a treasure and obtaining transcendent power?
Precious few.
Devil Fruits were perhaps a bit more accessible, since their shapes and textures differed visibly from ordinary fruit, making them easier to identify. But everything else was another matter entirely.
In the two months before his memories returned, and in the three days since, Ye Xuan had not found a single cross-dimensional treasure.
Of course, it was possible he had encountered one without knowing how to awaken it. But what difference did that make from never finding one at all?
As for the monster waves mentioned in the news, that was a separate issue altogether.
Alongside the appearance of Zanpakuto and the Eight Wonders, whether because the walls between worlds had cracked or because the world itself was ascending to a higher level, humans, animals, and plants had all begun to mutate to varying degrees.
Among humans, ability users began to emerge. Wild animals grew fiercer and more savage. Even the air itself carried a strange, unidentified energy that allowed people to grow stronger through training.
Different nations called this energy by different names. Western countries tended to refer to it as "Mana," while in Xia Nation it was known as Spiritual Energy, and its arrival was declared the "Spiritual Energy Awakening."
None of this, however, had much bearing on Ye Xuan. Just as luck had never led him to a treasure, he hadn't awakened any supernatural ability either.
"They call it transmigration, but there's no system attached to it."
"The way this world is set up right now, you can't play without a cheat code."
Ye Xuan felt utterly resigned. In his previous life, he hadn't been particularly fond of system-based stories, but that had simply been a matter of personal taste as a reader. Now that he had actually transmigrated, of course he wanted a system.
Without one, in an era that was clearly heading toward chaos, an ordinary person with nothing to his name had no sense of security whatsoever.
He had been ordinary before the transmigration, and he was still ordinary after it. So what exactly had he been sent here for?
[Ding!]
[The mystery level of the host world has been detected to have reached 1%. The Heaven-Spanning Fishing System is now activated!]
[The host is granted one fishing opportunity per month, to fish for abilities, items, talents, fates, and all things tangible or intangible that exist across the Multiverse.]
[As this is the first time the system has been bound, the host is granted one free fishing attempt.]
[Does the host wish to begin fishing?]
The sudden voice froze Ye Xuan where he stood. His eyes filled with disbelief, and then, a heartbeat later, with overwhelming joy.
No one understood better than he did what that voice ringing in his ears truly meant.
A system. An actual system.
"So it turns out fate still has a soft spot for an ordinary transmigrator like me."
Ye Xuan exhaled, his breath catching with emotion. There might be transmigrators who needed no cheat code, who could rely purely on their own strength to reach the summit, but he was not one of them.
His talent was unremarkable. His ability to learn was average. His willpower was nothing impressive. He feared pain, he feared death, and he held no grand, burning ambition that would drive him to sacrifice everything for a dream.
He was, in every sense of the word, a completely ordinary person.
Rather than struggling desperately, scaling countless obstacles, and grinding his way toward the top with suffering at every step, if there was an easier way, one free of pain and hardship, then naturally Ye Xuan would take it.
As for any hidden conspiracy lurking behind the system, the choice really came down to this: live as an ordinary person, capped at a hundred years, spending that time in fear, and dying an unremarkable death; or become someone powerful, with a lifespan stretching toward immortality, standing at the peak of the world, and enjoying things no ordinary person could ever hope to experience.
The first path had no conspiracy. The second might, or might not. Which would you choose?
Unless someone was extraordinarily cautious or simply a rare genius, nearly everyone would choose the second option, wouldn't they?
And on top of everything else, this Heaven-Spanning Fishing System was incredibly powerful.
The ability to fish for powers, items, talents, and even fates from across thousands of universes. How extraordinary was that?
If Ye Xuan's luck held, he could even pull "Kryptonian Blood," or "The Limiter (Saitama's Version)," or the "Infinity Stones," or perhaps even a "Supreme Bone," "Ancient Eyes," or an "Innate Holy Body," any one of which could launch him into the heavens overnight, or grant him potential beyond imagination.
Best of all, there were no missions to complete, no conditions to meet in order to earn a fishing chance, and no tiered fishing slots in red, orange, yellow, and green that had to be bought with real money. All it required was patience, and waiting for one month to pass.
A system this generous, what more could he possibly complain about?