Chapter 1: The Story Of A Fish, A Mussel, And An Alien

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The afternoon air was filled with a fishy and salty ocean smell. Cao Yan was standing at the bow of a boat while blankly staring at the giant fish he had just caught. “This fish…”

The human and the fish stared at each other.

With a click, the fish flopped and opened its mouth. A bright blue light shot out towards Cao Yan.

Piak!

Similar incidents had occurred before, so Cao Yan was well-prepared. He nimbly waved his hand and patted the small ice cube, which the fish had spat out, away. The ice cube broke into small shavings as it hit the deck.

However, even with his special thick gloves, he could still feel the numbing sensation when his hand touched the ice cube. Though, he didn’t lose his focus. Cao Yan used the metal fishing rod he was holding in his other hand to hit the fish’s head as hard as he could.

Bam!

The fish’s head sank in after the heavy blow. Its eyeballs started rolling around, and after flopping around a couple of times, it laid lifelessly, rendering it of no threat.

“Guess I really traveled through space to a world of extraordinary powers. There’s no such thing as an ice-spitting fish… or crab on earth.”

In the hand net beside the strange fish lay a huge crab with a navy blue shell. When it was first caught, it behaved even more bizarrely: it spat out bubbles to cover it up, as though it was forming a transparent water shield. Then, it waved its pincers around in a bid to escape. However, Cao Yan picked up the hand net and whacked it on the deck several times, stopping its struggles.

Cao Yan was currently standing on the bow of a 20-meter long boat, and he was the only one on board.

He woke up this morning with a splitting headache, only to find out that he was in a completely different place from the bedroom he had fallen asleep in last night.

As his mind cleared up, he realized that he was on a ship, a ship he had never seen before. It was utterly foreign to him, and his shock and disbelief were on an all-time high.

After he ruled out other possibilities, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind…

Could he have… transmigrated?

Upon calming down, he could sense many unfamiliar memories, and it confirmed that his soul had transmigrated.

A strong sense of absurdity and surrealism started overwhelming him. Cao Yan looked at his “new face” in the mirror. He still had yellow skin, dark hair, and eye color. His gaze was bright and pure.

However, Cao Yan was a little stunned. The face he saw in the mirror was very similar to his original look, just that it was much younger. It was the face of a 17- or 18-year-old.

Perhaps… the similarity had caused him to transmigrate?

Cao Yan shook his head. He tried to dismiss the idea of transmigrating and started to read the memories in his brain.

There were clear gaps in the memories, and only the language and some basic knowledge of this world were retained. Nonetheless, this still provided Cao Yan some basic understanding.

That brought him to this moment, standing on the bow and fishing to validate the memories.

The fish he caught spat out ice as a form of attack. According to his memories, this fish was the lowest leveled and most common demon, known as Ice Fish. Its power was pathetically low, so it hardly posed any threat.

The host of this body was diving in the ocean when he was attacked by some sea creature. He held on to his last breath until he got back on the boat, where he fell unconscious and ultimately died. After that, Cao Yan transmigrated and woke up in this body.

Cao Yan had already been awake for several hours. At this moment, he was standing at the bow with a fishing rod in his hand as he tried to digest the happenings after he transmigrated.

“There didn’t seem to be any transmigration glow or portal… is this a blank start?”

From his understanding, the civilization in this world started and developed very similarly to that on earth—for example, people’s physical appearance, gravitational pull, and the expansion of cities. However, there were two main differences.

First, this world was huge, so much so that it was scientifically impossible.

Second, in this world, Martial Artists, Mages, Mechanics, and Demon Pets Trainers existed as divine occupations. It was impossible for Cao Yan, an alien to this world, to imagine how exciting life in this world could be.

“This body doesn’t have parents. That’s a standard requirement for hosting transmigrants.”

The memory in Cao Yan’s mind told him that this body’s mother had passed away years ago, while the father met with an accident on the sea around half a year ago and had never returned ever since. This boat that Cao Yan was on, was left behind by his father and he also had a house.

When the boat stopped offshore, he looked out far into the distance as he stood on the deck. There was a small harbor about 200 meters away.

Gazing ahead, a large coastal city stood majestically.

Cao Yan considered visiting a city of this world, but his thoughts were interrupted by a slight jerk on the fishing rod he was holding on to. He had cast his fishing line out earlier on, and a fish had taken the bait.

The host’s father made a living through fishing, so the host was equally capable of fishing and maneuvering the boat.

Cao Yan had naturally inherited all these abilities, so he knew, just from holding the fishing rod, that this time, it was an enormous fish. He let the fish swim around patiently and skillfully before reeling it in slowly.

“F…”

What came out from the water was not the fish he had imagined. Instead, it was a mussel-like shellfish that one would find in the ocean on Earth.

This world was vast, and it had numerous species that would be difficult to name based on Earth’s knowledge.

This mussel he caught was relatively huge, with brown and silver horizontal lines on its surface. The mussel was tightly shut and the hook was firmly clamped within as Cao Yan lifted it up and placed it on the deck.

Just then, a voice suddenly sounded. “All processes for transmigration completed. The host’s soul and the host body of the human in this world have fully integrated. There are no signs of rejection, and the host body has recovered from his injuries that caused his death… Programming criteria all met… A sea mussel detected. This mussel has ingested strange things, giving it special qualities.”

The voice came from his consciousness.

Anyone would be startled and scared in such a situation. Luckily, he had transmigrated, so he was already mentally strong enough to digest the situation. After the brief initial shock, he quickly reacted. “Are you… the system?”

“No.” The voice in his consciousness was very certain.

Cao Yan blushed. It seemed like he was mistaken.

“However, if the host requires, the structure can change to a system format to make it easier for your use.”

When the voice in his head sounded again, the mussel on the deck started to open up as though an invisible hand was forcing it. Its interior was smooth and fair, and as the body squirmed slowly, a black, angular crystal was squeezed out and appeared on Cao Yan’s hand.

Cao Yan looked at that black crystal with shining eyes.

The crystal was as black as ink and had a similar texture to diamonds. It was smooth yet hard, and it was a little larger than a penny. Its surface seemed to be shrouded by a layer of black mist.

“What is this?” asked Cao Yan.

“It is a core material originating from a meteorite that fell into the ocean. This mussel swallowed it and was detected by the structure, which was why the host was led to reel it in.” The voice in his head was emotionless.

So reeling this mussel up was all the doing of this fake system.

Cao Yan looked at the crystal in his hand. “What use does this have? Also, what are you capable of?”

“This is a very pure piece of the cosmic dark matter. It has a very special function, but it’s too complicated to explain. The structure has its own reason to let it land into the host’s hands. This, you would find out later.” The voice in his consciousness asked, “Is the host ready?”

“Ready?” Cao Yan was bewildered.

“Isn’t the host curious about the structure’s functions? I am going to bring the host into the interior of the structure. The host would then be able to find out for himself.”

Before Cao Yan could inquire further, his vision was replaced by darkness. Suddenly, he felt as though he had lost his balance.

“So, is this legendary teleportation or wormhole travel?” Cao Yan could not help but think to himself.