Zhou Hongqiang appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged man, dressed in a simple checkered shirt and a pair of slacks, with a Rolex gold watch on his wrist. His buzz cut made him look exceptionally sharp. His dark skin suggested that if he were to change into some rustic clothes, no one would doubt he was a farmer.
Yet, this seemingly ordinary man was the leader of Siege City, controlling the entire area.
It was quite unusual.
The structure of the New World was a complete blend of modern and ancient elements.
Or rather, it should include some species unique to otherworldly realms, merging the three to form this terrifying New World.
It was precisely this that gave rise to the unique culture of today.
"Zheng, how's your body feeling?"
In the evening.
Upon entering Zhou Zheng's room, the stern expression on Zhou Hongqiang's face softened, revealing a fatherly side.
Zhou Hongqiang was undoubtedly among the luckiest of the lucky. Although his wife had left, she had left their son behind. The virus brought by the Cosmic Storm hadn't torn his family apart. Moreover, under the power of the Cosmic Storm, he had acquired postnatal energy, achieving his current success in this New World.
The only regret might be his son.
Two years had passed, and Zhou Zheng was still merely an Apprentice Martial Artist, unable to take a step further, which had a significant impact on his reputation.
No matter how disappointing, he was still his son, and Zhou Hongqiang couldn't just let him fend for himself.
He placed a bowl of meat soup on the bedside table. Due to limited conditions, meat wasn't something one could have at any time. Outside Siege City, there were many animals, but few had the ability to hunt them. Each ferocious animal was a mutant species born from the Cosmic Storm, incredibly terrifying.
As the leader, he had the privilege to procure some meat soup, unlike others who could count the times they'd had meat in the past two years on one hand.
Zhou Zheng felt a bit uneasy, looking at Zhou Hongqiang, as he had taken over the rightful owner's body, making him a complete "fake" son.
"It hurts a bit!"
Reluctantly, Zhou Zheng replied.
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Zhou Hongqiang merely smiled, "Your Uncle Yu went easy on you; otherwise, with the power of his kick, I'm afraid... But as a man, what's a little pain? Remember, you're my son, Zhou Hongqiang's son. No matter how much suffering or pain, you must show you're stronger than others."
Seemingly thinking of Zhou Zheng's lack of progress, Zhou Hongqiang picked up the meat soup, "Drink it."
Zhou Zheng dared not disobey. In his memory, Zhou Hongqiang's beatings were no lighter than Yu Jianzhong's.
Obediently, Zhou Zheng finished the meat soup and placed the bowl back on the bedside table.
Zhou Hongqiang didn't say much more, letting Zhou Zheng sit up straight, then placed a hand on Zhou Zheng's back. Through his arm, a surge of energy flowed into Zhou Zheng's body. This energy was the Star Power that Zhou Hongqiang had cultivated, a force born from the Cosmic Storm.
"Guide the Star Power according to the breathing technique I taught you."
For two years, Zhou Hongqiang had made it a daily routine to infuse Zhou Zheng with Star Power, attempting to use this method to enhance Zhou Zheng's Star Power, helping him break through as an Apprentice Martial Artist and step into the world of martial artists.
Yet, two years had passed with no progress. The Star Power Zhou Hongqiang infused seemed to vanish without a trace.
All of this was stored in Zhou Zheng's memory.
Zhou Hongqiang's slow progress over the past two years was largely due to this; otherwise, with his talent, he would have advanced a level and reached the Sixth-Stage Martial Artist long ago.
As the Star Power entered Zhou Zheng's body, a warm sensation enveloped him. The magic of Star Power bathed him in a glow. Star Power was so named because it was a mysterious force from the cosmos, and it emitted different colors representing different power levels when used.
The color of Star Power indicated one's strength.
White, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, red, divided into seven tiers, with a color upgrade every three stages. Although Zhou Hongqiang was a Fifth-Stage Martial Artist, his Star Power was still at the Blue Tier, only emitting a faint blue halo.
This classification was derived from information obtained from mutant beasts and Toxic Corpses outside.
But as the Star Power entered, a "ding" sounded in Zhou Zheng's mind, as if something had been activated.
Zhou Zheng was astonished to find a character model appearing in his mind.
Having played Firmament Continent for five years, accompanied day and night by the rogue character in the game, how could Zhou Zheng not recognize that this character model was the one he had chosen when creating his character? Now, the character appeared before him, prompting whether to enter the game.
"What is going on?"
Zhou Zheng felt at a loss. Not only had he transmigrated, but he had also brought his game character along, making the situation incredibly bizarre.
***
Zhou Hongqiang withdrew his hand with a sigh, shaking his head unconsciously.
After two years of persistence, even he wondered if he was engaging in a futile effort, that this method was simply unfeasible. Otherwise, how could there be no progress in two years? There was an unspeakable disappointment in his heart. Looking at Zhou Zheng, who had his eyes closed but wore a shocked expression, Zhou Hongqiang suddenly felt that perhaps he shouldn't force him.
Not everyone could become a martial artist; some things couldn't be forced.
He made up his mind not to pressure him anymore.
"What does it matter if he's an ordinary person? As long as I'm here, I'll ensure his safety for a lifetime."
Zhou Hongqiang stood up and said, "Zheng, rest well. If you don't like it, you don't have to practice on the training ground tomorrow. I'll talk to your Uncle Yu." Seeing Zhou Zheng's blank expression, Zhou Hongqiang shook his head and left.
At this moment, Zhou Zheng wasn't ignoring his "fake" father; he was genuinely in shock, needing to understand what was happening.
Enter the game? Faced with this prompt, Zhou Zheng hesitated.
After much deliberation, Zhou Zheng decided to give it a try. Five years of gaming made it hard for him to let go. Besides, could anything be worse than the current situation?
"Yes."
With Zhou Zheng's response, he felt a slight dizziness in his mind, his eyes losing focus for less than a second.
Zhou Zheng had expected to enter the world of Firmament Continent, but what he saw was still his room, unchanged, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
Zhou Zheng chuckled wryly, "Perhaps I've become so obsessed with the game that I'm hallucinating?"
But for some reason, Zhou Zheng felt that the world had changed in some way, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
"Alas, my dagger Black Radiance, such a pity it vanished before I could unleash its full power."
The next scene left Zhou Zheng utterly stunned, as a weight appeared in his palm—a mysterious, ancient dagger emitting an orange-red glow. The entire room was enveloped in sword energy, the air turning into blades, twisting and shredding anything fragile.
"Black Radiance?"
How could Zhou Zheng forget Black Radiance, the top-ranked dagger in Firmament Continent? He had endured countless hardships to obtain it, spending nearly a year to finally claim it and rise to the top.
[Black Radiance]
[Attack Power: 12500]
[Bonus Attributes: 60% chance to paralyze the target for 5 seconds]
[Bonus Skill: Blade of Space-Time]
[Required Level: 180]
These were the attributes Zhou Zheng saw for Black Radiance. For a dagger, its attack power was extraordinary, and with its even more extraordinary bonus attributes, it was beyond description. These attributes appeared before Zhou Zheng's eyes as he looked at Black Radiance.
The mysterious phenomenon startled Zhou Zheng, causing him to jump up.
The aura emitted by Black Radiance, forming blades, left the room damaged everywhere.
Instinctively, Zhou Zheng thought about how to retract Black Radiance; otherwise, if it continued to rampage, the entire room would be destroyed.
With that thought, Black Radiance suddenly vanished, and the chaos in the room ceased.
Zhou Zheng was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the bizarre scene.
After a long while, Zhou Zheng seemed to realize something, softly murmuring, "Character Attributes!"
If he wasn't mistaken, the rogue character from Firmament Continent had indeed transmigrated with him into the New World, existing in the form of a game. The difference was that entering the game didn't mean actually entering a game world but rather having the character merge with himself.
In other words, once the character merged, Zhou Zheng was the rogue character, and the rogue character was Zhou Zheng.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan