Fan Lang had partied all night yesterday and did not even remember what happened afterward.
When he slowly came to, he felt that he had been tied up tightly.
Could he have hooked up with some dominatrix who loved bondage?
Or had he been kidnapped by bad guys?
No way!
Fan Lang shuddered and hurriedly opened his eyes.
Three young men dressed in ancient clothing came into view. They looked like extras from some low-budget historical drama.
There was no dominatrix holding a little whip, nor were there any kidnappers.
"Fan Lang, with your sorry state, you dared confess your love to the City Lord's daughter, Luo Hongyan? A toad dreaming of swan meat!"
"Hmph, why don't you piss and take a look at yourself?"
"I hate people like you who don't know their place. Today, no matter what, we're going to vent Miss Luo's anger properly."
"Hurry up and say you're a toad, or we'll beat you to death!"
The three historical-drama extras rattled on endlessly, each fiercer than the last, as if someone had defiled their goddess.
What kind of scene was this?
Luo Hongyan... that name sounded so familiar... and the faces of these extras looked familiar too.
Fan Lang thought for a moment, then suddenly sucked in a cold breath.
"Fuck! Isn't Luo Hongyan a character from a game? These extras have game-character faces too!"
If every sensation had not felt so real, Fan Lang would have thought this was a dream. Otherwise, how could there be something this bizarre in the world?
Fan Lang had once been a programmer. Later, he had climbed step by step to become a game's chief planner, personally overseeing an online game called Magic Martial Era. It had taken the internet by storm, repeatedly breaking records for concurrent players and bringing him to the peak of his life.
Luo Hongyan was a female character in the beginner's village, which was why Fan Lang found her name so familiar.
"Did I transmigrate into the game world of Magic Martial Era? Does it really have to screw me over this badly?"
The possibility left Fan Lang stunned for a moment.
His head suddenly began to ache. A torrent of memories surged into his mind, confirming his earlier guess.
They were the memories of another "Fan Lang."
This Fan Lang was an orphan who had drifted through the streets since childhood, all the way until he was fifteen. Not long ago, wanting to rise above his station, he had joined the City Lord's Mansion in Wind Cloud City, hoping to latch onto this powerful patron.
At the City Lord's Mansion, Fan Lang met the City Lord's daughter, Luo Hongyan. Captivated by her beauty, he forgot his lowly status and, possessed by madness, ran over to confess his feelings. Naturally, he failed. Not only did he make a fool of himself in public, but he also offended the young lady and brought himself all sorts of trouble.
There were no shortage of men in the City Lord's Mansion who liked Luo Hongyan, so naturally they found Fan Lang unpleasant. Some insulted him verbally, while others simply took action to vent their resentment.
The three before him were the ones who had tied Fan Lang to a tree for this very reason. This was called a hanging beatdown!
"Damn it, weren't these all plotlines I designed myself? If I'd known I would transmigrate into the game, I wouldn't have designed such a brutal storyline. Now look at this—I'd only just transmigrated and already become a thorn in everyone's side. Nobody loves me, nobody cares about me. What fucking rotten luck!"
Life was hard for this poor baby!
When the game's plot had been designed, an employee had suggested that Fan Lang create a character based on himself in the game. On a whim, he had made himself into a major villain.
Though this game character, Fan Lang, was only a thug at the start, as the plot developed, several twists of fate would gradually push him to the pinnacle of the demonic path, making him its supreme ruler!
But that was far in the future. Right now, Fan Lang was just a weakling.
"Fan Lang! Didn't you hear what I said? Hurry up and admit that you're a toad!" the fattest of the three young men shouted.
Fan Lang recognized him. This fat man was Zhu Manchang, a servant of the City Lord's Mansion. His status was not much higher than Fan Lang's.
These people might mock Fan Lang for being a toad dreaming of swan meat, but who among them was not secretly thinking about Luo Hongyan?
Fan Lang had done what they wanted to do but did not dare to do.
Bang!
Zhu Manchang swung his bowl-sized fist and punched the tightly bound Fan Lang, sending a sharp pain through his chest.
In the world of Magic Martial Era, everyone could become like a dragon. Almost everyone could cultivate and nurture a mysterious force called Mystic Power within their dantian.
Those who could wield Mystic Power were known as Mystic Warriors.
Based on strength, Mystic Warriors were divided into a series of ranks: Mystic Apprentice, Mystic Soldier, Mystic General, Mystic Spirit, Mystic Sect, Mystic Venerable, Mystic King, Mystic Lord, Mystic Emperor, Mystic Sovereign, Mystic Saint, and Mystic God.
Fan Lang had personally created all of these settings, so he naturally understood them very well.
Though Zhu Manchang was only a level-three Mystic Apprentice, a single punch of his carried three hundred pounds of force. One could imagine what it felt like to take such a blow.
"Damn, that really hurts. What level am I? How much health do I have left?"
Having transmigrated into a game character, Fan Lang naturally thought of game data.
With a thought, a data panel really did appear in his mind!
Fan Lang: Level: Mystic Apprentice Level 2. Mystic Power: 100/200. Health: 95/200. Skill: Thug Fist (1-star combat skill) Equipment: Rope (Common) 50 Experience Points needed to reach the next level.
"Pfft! Only level two? What the hell am I supposed to do? Those bastards in front of me are all level three, and I'm tied up on top of that. It'd be a miracle if I could win! Do I get a beginner's gift pack or something?"
Fan Lang accepted the system's existence. He had no time to investigate where it had come from. He only wanted power to escape his predicament and avoid getting beaten while hanging there.
Bang!
Bang!
"Say something, you toad! Have you turned mute?" Zhu Manchang threw two more heavy punches, each one powerful and solid.
The other two accomplices joined in, punching and kicking Fan Lang.
Red numbers flashed before Fan Lang's eyes one after another.
-8
-10
-6
Every number meant that Fan Lang's health was decreasing. This was not merely a change in data; he was truly suffering in reality as well.
At this rate, he would be beaten to death!
Dear player, you have not yet recharged, so you cannot claim the beginner's gift pack. To claim the beginner's gift pack, please visit the recharge page.
A system prompt popped up, rejecting Fan Lang's request.
What online game did not milk players for money? A first-recharge reward was practically standard.
Fan Lang had never imagined that this cash-grabbing setting would one day screw him over. This was truly karma!
"Can't I just pay? I'll try every recharge option!"
"Pfft, why isn't there any response when I select recharge? I can't even spend money if I want to?"
Fan Lang tried to recharge, but it ended in failure.
This game world could not connect to the outside financial system at all, so naturally he could not recharge a single cent.
No money meant no beginner's gift pack!
Fan Lang was nearly desperate. He was already on his last breath. Was he supposed to beg forgiveness from these bastards in front of him?
No! Way!
Fan Lang had never lowered his head to anyone in his life. Beg forgiveness, my ass. Even if he died, he would never yield.
"Damn it, isn't it just a system? I helped design this system. I've always been the one controlling systems, so how can I let a system ride roughshod over me? Open the backend program. I'm rewriting the system myself!"
Fan Lang snapped. In his desperation, he thought of modifying the system—plainly speaking, cheating. He had been a programmer for years and knew system code like the back of his hand. To him, strings of digital code were like naked girls; they held no secrets whatsoever.
The system backend actually opened for Fan Lang. Countless lines of code flashed before him and moved at high speed.
As long as he could find a few crucial pieces among the endless code, he could alter the system data and thereby change Fan Lang's strength.
"Found it! This is the code for attack power!"
Fan Lang quickly found the crucial code, and excitement surged through him.
Attack power was Mystic Power. It weakened as it was consumed, and Fan Lang currently had only one hundred points left.
"How can a hundred points be enough? Multiply it by a thousand!"
Fan Lang added a whole string of zeroes after the one hundred in one go, wishing he could directly obtain world-destroying power.
A severe error has occurred in the system data, making system operation difficult. Automatically restarting for repairs.
The modified value was so outrageous that it actually caused the system to crash.
Fan Lang calmed down a little. It seemed he could not be too greedy; it would be better to alter less.
The next time, he changed his Mystic Power to one hundred times its original value, but the system crashed again.
Fifty times, failed!
Ten times, failed!
Five times, successful!
Fan Lang finally succeeded. A fivefold increase did not have much impact on the overall system and did not trigger a bug. His Mystic Power surged to five hundred points! With that much Mystic Power, he could easily crush Zhu Manchang and the other two!
As the data changed, Fan Lang felt new Mystic Power emerge from his empty dantian and flow through his entire body, instantly revitalizing him!
"Hurry up and say you're a toad!"
Zhu Manchang punched Fan Lang again, striking him in the face and knocking his head to one side.
Fan Lang slowly turned his head back, stared at Zhu Manchang with murderous eyes, and said word by word, "Say that to your mother!"
Crack!
Fan Lang's body shook as Mystic Power erupted, forcibly snapping the rope tied around him!
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