Prologue: Starting Anew

Infinite Galaxy.

In the dark cosmos, a silver-white cylindrical construct drifted slowly. The radiance of a star shone upon its surface, reflecting tiny glimmers of light. Looking into the distance, one could see the boundless galaxy.

However, this beautiful sight was utterly meaningless to the person currently inside.

"Why is it like this, aaaaaahhhhh!!!"

Duanmu Huai clutched his head tightly, his face filled with despair.

That's right, he had transmigrated.

For Duanmu Huai, this was an absolute disaster. He had only wanted to log in after the game update finished to see what content had been added. But what Duanmu Huai hadn't expected was that when he opened his eyes again, he appeared in this cramped space, and...

"Why am I like this, aaaaaahhhhh!!!!"

Looking at the mirror before him, Duanmu Huai felt like crying without tears. Because what appeared in the mirror was not the fair, delicate, petite, and beautiful Maiden he had spent five hours crafting, but a man two and a half meters tall, with an eight-pack, a shaved head, and vicious scars on his face. He looked as if the words "vicious criminal" were carved into his skin; he looked exactly like a serial killer—yes, that was Duanmu Huai himself.

"How could I be so unlucky..."

Speechless as he looked at the System Prompt before him, Duanmu Huai muttered to himself. In fact, the reason for his transmigration was simple and clear.

It was written in the first line of the User Agreement.

"After this game update, players who agree to this agreement to enter the game will have one person randomly selected to receive the qualification to transmigrate to another world..."

Looking at the updated version of the User Agreement, Duanmu Huai's face twitched.

Who the hell reads this garbage! For players, no one ever reads the User Agreement or Privacy Agreement; they just check the box and click confirm. He never expected to be unlucky enough to run into something like this.

Even if he had read it, he probably would have just taken it as a joke or an official meme and laughed it off. It was 2202, after all; who would take this stuff seriously?

But for Duanmu Huai, this was no joke.

"Haa..."

With a long sigh, Duanmu Huai plopped down onto the chair nearby.

Star Sea Online.

This was the hottest game in Duanmu Huai's world. Players take on the role of the last survivor of a race called the "Order of Light." He wakes up from a Hibernation Pod, with only this Core Cabin drifting in the vast universe. What the player must do is travel to other planets and worlds to go on adventures, search for various Sacred Artifacts lost by the Order of Light, and connect them to the Core Cabin to create unique Star City Space Stations. In the later stages, players can even recruit soldiers through these space stations, form fleets, and engage in battle with enemies from other dimensions.

Duanmu Huai was one of the players of Star Sea Online, and a top-tier one at that. The reason Duanmu Huai played this game was partly because he liked it, and partly because—he really couldn't do any other work.

You only have to look at this face to know why.

Since he was a child, Duanmu Huai had been kept at a distance by others because of his appearance and height. When he was in school, he was always treated as a school bully, and there were even absurd Rumors that he had killed several people with his bare hands but wasn't sent to prison because he was underage.

After graduating from university, Duanmu Huai's situation didn't get any better. When he went for job interviews, companies thought his appearance was too off-putting, fearing clients might suspect the company had ties to organized crime. He tried to be a security guard but was rejected because the property management feared residents would think he was a violent criminal waiting to rob them.

Even when he tried to be a streamer on a platform, he only lasted three days before being drowned in countless complaints and was forced to stop completely.

In the end, to escape reality, Duanmu Huai immersed himself in Online Games.

At least in an Online Game, he could choose a different image instead of this face that looked like a serial killer. So, Duanmu Huai created a beautiful, petite, and cute female character.

Anyway, according to official statistics, eighty percent of male players play female characters, so it was no big deal.

Just like that, Duanmu Huai immersed himself in the game, and by the time he came to his senses, he had become one of the top players.

However, Duanmu Huai never participated in professional leagues; he always acted alone, mainly grinding for clients to make money. After all, professional leagues required showing your face, and if Duanmu Huai were to go on stage... well, the operator behind a soft, cute girl character would be a two-and-a-half-meter-tall, vicious-looking brute who looked like a serial killer.

The contrast would be just too great.

"Forget it, there's no point in saying this now."

Duanmu Huai slapped his face hard, then opened his status bar. Soon, a line of information appeared before him.

Little Hammer Smashes Your Skull

Profession: Inquisitor (LV1)

Strength: 8 Melee +4 Space Marine Combat Training LV3

Agility: 4 Shooting +0 Sicarian Enhancement LV1

Constitution: 6 Toughness +2 Ecclesiarchy Siege Doctrine LV2

Intelligence: 6 Willpower +2 Combat Psyker Training LV2

Perception: 8 Perception +4 Adeptus Arbites Assault Tactics LV3

Charisma: 1 (Locked) Communication -3 Intimidation LV2

"This isn't my character..."

Seeing the status bar, Duanmu Huai looked helpless. When he first created the character, he had maxed out Charisma. This current value—it was likely determined by his own actual stats.

You could tell just by looking at that "Charisma 1."

It wasn't 0 because he was still technically a human, right?

Forget it, none of that mattered.

Duanmu Huai stood up and stared at the scenery outside the window. No matter how unbelievable it was, he had already transmigrated. Now, all he had to do was survive. Currently, he only had one Core Cabin, which was no different from a helpless infant in the universe. Duanmu Huai knew that the world of Star Sea Online was filled with all kinds of dangers. Not to mention... there wasn't even any food here. Even if he stayed here forever, he would eventually starve to death.

After all, reality wasn't a game where you could idle for as long as you wanted.

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai opened his inventory and put on his equipment—fortunately, as a low-level character, he still had a set of heirloom equipment that came with the system, which could be considered the only benefit Duanmu Huai had at the moment.

He couldn't exactly go out on an adventure stark naked.

He walked up to the terminal and reached out to activate the system. A line of information quickly appeared.

Searching for Sacred Artifact beacon... Beacon location locked... Initiate teleportation?

"Teleport!"

As the words left his lips, Duanmu Huai felt the ground beneath him suddenly vanish. The scenery before his eyes began to shift instantly, as if an endless expanse of landscape had been torn into streaks of light flashing past him. Immediately after, the whistling of wind rushed by his ears, and an invisible gravity seized his body, sending him plummeting from the sky like a bungee jumper...

"BOOM!!!"

The next moment, Duanmu Huai felt his entire body shudder violently as he slammed into the ground. The massive vibration and impact left him feeling numb all over, and at the same time, a System Prompt appeared before his eyes.

You attacked the Evil God Priest.
You dealt 12,000 points of falling damage to the Evil God Priest.
Evil God Priest has died. You gained 350 Experience Points.
Level up to Lv3.
Gained 1 Free Attribute point, 1 Skill Mastery point.

What the hell is this?

Seeing the prompt, Duanmu Huai was stunned for a moment. He then raised his head to look around, only to see individuals draped in black cloaks—looking like anything but good guys—staring right at him. Not far behind them, a woman was tied to a wooden stake, her eyes wide as she stared at the uninvited guest.

Just then, Duanmu Huai saw the group of black-robed figures draw their weapons one by one.

"He killed Lord Priest!"

"Take down this guy who's interfering with the ritual!!"

At the same time, another System Prompt appeared before Duanmu Huai.

Quest "Intrusion" activated.
Quest Objective: Eliminate the enemies!
As an Inquisitor, your duty is to oppose Chaos and eradicate all enemies of Order! Absolute loyalty!

"Haa..."

Watching the Evil God Believers charging toward him, Duanmu Huai sighed inwardly and tightened his grip on his weapon.

It seems there is nothing to do but fight!