The Beginning of Everything

In the wilderness, the bleak autumn wind did not dampen Wang Yuan's high spirits. After all, he had obtained the Heavens System and could travel across the myriad worlds; who would believe he wasn't the protagonist? Just thinking about his future life of luxury made him happy.

"Is this another world?" Wang Yuan looked at his surroundings and took a deep breath, feeling that even the air of this alien world was incredibly fresh. He asked the Heavens System, "Tell me, what kind of world is this? And can I communicate freely with the natives here? It's not like the whole universe speaks Chinese, right?"

"The host need not worry about communication. The system comes with the True Tongue; this language carries unique information that any sentient life form can understand. It is one of the primary languages of the multiverse." A cold voice rang out; just listening to it gave one the impression of an intelligent computer.

"This world is classified as a low-magic world, possessing relatively primitive witch-doctor practices and physical training methods. The population is predominantly Caucasian, similar to the Western Middle Ages of the host's world."

"Of course, the host does not need to know these things; they are already meaningless to the host." When it said this, the system's cold tone strangely leaked a hint of mockery.

"Huh? Why?" Wang Yuan looked around the alien world, not sensing any danger, and asked curiously.

"Because this world possesses the property of 'Fate Suppression'." The Heavens System's cold voice spoke slowly. "In most other worlds, the operation of things is influenced by something called 'Fate,' the pinnacle product of which is the Protagonist Halo."

"This world, however, has a special property that suppresses Fate. No Fate can take effect here. Even if it is a Protagonist Halo, low-probability events here remain low-probability events; coincidences are merely coincidences and will not become inevitabilities." The Heavens System maintained its cold tone, but the malice and uncontrollability leaked through its words.

"So the Protagonist Halo is actually a real thing? Heh, then the protagonist of this world is truly unlucky." Wang Yuan chuckled, but suddenly felt dizzy and sensed something flowing from his nose.

Wang Yuan wiped his nose, looked at the red on his hand, and hurriedly tilted his head back, only to find that the nosebleed would not stop. Somewhat annoyed, he questioned the system: "System, didn't you say that traveling would be without danger?"

"This system's travel technology is extremely stable and will not cause any damage to humans."

"Then why am I having a nosebleed?" Wang Yuan asked in a panic, hurriedly covering his nose, only to discover to his surprise that large red spots were appearing on the back of his hand, and these spots were growing and multiplying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"To use the shallow language of you humans, it is 'incompatibility with the environment'." The Heavens System said with full disdain. "In the plane where the host exists, even a slight distance can lead to various illnesses caused by the environment, let alone an alien world."

"Ordinary incompatibility is just diarrhea, but this is an alien world. The host's body is adapted to the environment of Earth's Asia. In this new world, there are new pathogens, and the host's immune system struggles to function as it should."

"Furthermore, the host carries bacteria and viruses from your world. In this new environment, they are extremely prone to mutation. If it were spring with suitable temperatures and sufficient human traffic, the host might just bring a massive plague to this world."

"Waa..." Wang Yuan bent over and vomited violently. Once he finished, he began to cough desperately, his body temperature rising to an abnormal level.

"I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to see a doctor!" Wang Yuan screamed frantically.

"As you wish!" the Heavens System said slowly.

A force acted upon Wang Yuan, causing his increasingly weak body to roll to the side. There, on a nearby stone, one side was carved with the word "Home," and the other with "Doctor."

"May I ask what other requirements the host has?" The Heavens System's cold, malicious voice continued to ring out beside Wang Yuan.

"You bastard, I meant going back home!" Wang Yuan shouted in agony.

"My apologies, host. Since the host does not possess the True Tongue and your language has too many homophones, I can only execute commands according to my own understanding." The Heavens System spoke of apologies, but with no sense of regret: "For example, the phrase 'wear as much as you can' has different interpretations depending on the season."

"Save me, cure my illness!!" Wang Yuan grabbed at the straw of hope.

"As you wish," the Heavens System said. The next moment, Wang Yuan felt a tug, and the system continued: "I have 'known' your illness."

"Don't play word games with me! Why are you trying to kill me? I'm just an ordinary person, one of over seven billion on the planet—why choose me!" Wang Yuan was not stupid; how could he not see that this system was trying to drive him to his death?

"The lever of equivalent exchange is still lacking, so let the host die with clarity." The Heavens System seemed to check something and continued: "The host is only an 'ordinary person' in his own estimation. On the host, there is an extremely valuable item."

"That is the Protagonist Halo on the host. If this system had not appeared, the host would have begun his path as a protagonist shortly."

"To strip away a Protagonist Halo requires three steps. First, the halo must be in a suppressed state, which this world has perfectly achieved. Second, the equivalent exchange lever must be completed; this system bringing the host here, answering questions, and fulfilling wishes all facilitated this. Of course, due to the system's mastery of the rules, this lever is not balanced. Third, the host must die, and the primary cause must not be the system itself."

"Once these three points are completed, the Protagonist Halo on the host becomes the property of this system."

"So you're going to kill me!" Wang Yuan said in despair. He couldn't help but cough, trying to crawl up, but his limbs were weak and limp. Halfway up, he stumbled and fell again.

"It is not this system killing the host; after all, that would prevent the acquisition of the Protagonist Halo. The host is being killed by the environment here. The system has already helped the host as requested," the Heavens System corrected.

"According to scans, the host has one minute of life left. Please state any last words; feel free to speak them, though the system will not convey them. After all, the equivalent lever is already balanced." The Heavens System continued to use its cold tone to deliver heart-piercing mockery.

"..." The cold mockery of the Heavens System left Wang Yuan speechless. He certainly had many things he wanted to say, but he wanted to live even more. Unfortunately, everything felt so powerless; he couldn't even stand.

Looking back now, he didn't know how many mistakes he had made from start to finish. He had naively placed absolute trust in this system of unknown origin, following it to this alien world without a second thought. Dying here now was entirely his own doing.

"Dead, then." A glowing, multi-faceted crystal detached from Wang Yuan's body and began recording the system log: "Host deceased. Soul chain connection severed. Proceeding with equivalent exchange bridge to collect the Protagonist Halo."

"Protagonist Halo collection complete. Halo collector YD2335 is beginning registration. Classification: Urban Supernatural. Quality: Medium. Completion: Intact."

"Detected that the host is forming a remnant soul. Commencing world-jump immediately to avoid contaminating the Protagonist Halo."

After completing the registration of the Protagonist Halo, the multi-faceted crystal tore through the void and instantly left the world, leaving behind only the corpse of the visitor from another world and the remnant soul gradually forming above it.

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