Li Chao had transmigrated into another world in his own body.
He was very lucky.
He hadn't ended up on the disaster-ridden Earth of the Marvel Universe. Instead, he'd arrived in a dimension and had the good fortune to become a dimension demon.
He was also very unlucky.
His dimension was far too small, about the size of a coffin. He lay there all alone, barely able to turn over.
He was the one who'd lowered the power ceiling for dimension demons in the Marvel Universe—the very bottom of the demon barrel.
Every day, in this "coffin" called a dimension, Li Chao's only pleasure was using the power of his dimension to observe Earth in this universe.
He'd seen the Tesseract, Hydra, and the birth of Captain America
He'd also seen the founding of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the death of Howard Stark.
All these years, he'd done nothing but observe.
There was no helping it. His dimension was too small, and his power too limited. He wanted to act, but couldn't. Li Chao was the perfect example.
He was so weak that he didn't even dare leave his dimension. If he happened to be discovered by the Ancient One, Mephisto, another dimensional lord, Thanos, or some other big shot, he'd be done for.
So he'd spent all these years living cautiously, afraid of exposing himself and inviting trouble.
But now.
Staring at the system panel floating before him, Li Chao finally couldn't hold back his excitement and burst into laughter.
[Ding! System startup successful.]
A pale blue list appeared.
Host: Li Chao (Dimension Lord/Demon)
World: Marvel Universe
Lifespan: Infinite
Items: 0
Emotion Points: 0
"So that's how it works."
As the system panel unfolded, Li Chao received information about the system at the same time.
To use it, he had to plan events that would draw people's attention and stir their emotions.
Under the system's mysterious influence, those emotional reactions would be converted into usable Emotion Points.
Ordinary people yielded very few Emotion Points, around 0.01.
People of high status, influence, or great power yielded dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of times more than ordinary people.
Once he had Emotion Points, he could spend them to draw treasure chests from the system shop and obtain characters and items from the myriad worlds.
The system's treasure chests came in several ranks.
[Iron Chest: 1,000 Emotion Points. Contains one D-Rank Character Card and one D-Rank Item Card. Has a chance to contain one C-Rank Character Card Shard.]
[Bronze Chest: 10,000 Emotion Points. Contains one C-Rank Character Card and one C-Rank Item Card. Has a chance to contain one B-Rank Character Card Shard.]
[Silver Chest: 100,000 Emotion Points. Contains one B-Rank Character Card and one B-Rank Item Card. Has a chance to contain one A-Rank Character Card Shard.]
[Gold Chest: 1,000,000 Emotion Points. Contains one A-Rank Character Card and one A-Rank Item Card. Has a chance to contain one S-Rank Character Card Shard.]
"Too bad. I don't have any Emotion Points."
Li Chao sighed as he looked at the numbers on the panel.
[Ding! Beginner's Gift Pack detected. Claim it?]
"Claim it!"
The moment he spoke, a colorful gift pack appeared on the system panel.
With a thought, a flash of white light appeared.
[C-Rank, 4-Star Character Card: Fire Cloud Evil God.
Ability: Toad Style.
Description: From the Kung Fu world. The strongest king of the assassin world, known as the Invincible Killer—Fire Cloud Evil God.]
[C-Rank Item Card: Six Treasury Immortal Thieves.
Description: One of the Eight Extraordinary Skills from The Outcast. Practicing this art allows the user to absorb life force from the outside world and alter the body's triple burner system, granting longevity.]
[B-Rank Item Card: Loki Mask (Modified).
Description: An item from The Mask. A treasure belonging to Loki, the Norse god of lies and trickery. Since this is a modified version, it can be worn and used during the day as well as at night. However, the mask has the negative effect of amplifying the wearer's inner desires.]
[B-Rank Scenario Card: Shadaloo.
Included characters: "Red-Eyed Commander" M. Bison, "The Boxer" Balrog, "The Claw" Baroque, "One-Eyed Dragon" Sagat, the Taoist Fang, and Dr. Senoh, chief executive officer of Shadaloo's bioweapons division (S.I.N.).
Description: An evil force from the Street Fighter world. Its leader, M. Bison, has an evil plan to conquer the world and rule the globe.]
Li Chao's hands shook. The cards turned into golden streams of light and shot into his body.
"Uh... I-I've gotten stronger?"
┗|｀0′|┛
Feeling the sudden surge of power inside him, Li Chao's eye twitched.
At least he was a dimension demon now, even if he was the weakest in history.
Still, he'd never imagined that a few measly C-Rank cards would boost his power this much!
"Sure enough. I'm still too weak."
(ノへ`,)
Over the years, by observing Earth, Li Chao had uncovered many of its secrets.
He'd watched almost every battle between the Ancient One and the dimension demons.
Those battles had only strengthened certain convictions in his heart.
Even though he knew the plot, the waters of Marvel ran too deep for him to navigate.
He thought about the Marvel movies and comics he'd learned about in his previous life.
Thanos was far from the only familiar foe. The later Marvel villains just kept coming.
The Hell Lord Mephisto, Gorr the God Butcher, the god of the Symbiotes, Galactus, the Celestials...
What the movies showed was only the tip of the iceberg in the Marvel Universe.
Li Chao wanted to survive.
If he wanted to live freely in this brutal Marvel Universe, he had to strengthen his powers until he was stronger than everyone else.
And to grow stronger, he had to plan events to earn Emotion Points.
As long as enough people took part, even if each ordinary person contributed very few Emotion Points, the sheer numbers would add up to a considerable amount.
He wanted both fish and bear's paw!
He shifted in the coffin-sized dimension and focused his gaze on a spot on Earth.
His eyes glinted, and his cold lips slowly curved into a smile.
"New York. Are you ready?"
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York.
At Pier 13, a few traffickers waited anxiously in the evening breeze.
"Come on, what's taking so long? Why aren't they here yet?"
"Yeah, fuck!"
"..."
The ship's captain didn't join in. With a cheap cigar between his lips, he squinted and wondered how much money this batch of "cargo" from Southeast Asia would earn them.
Tap, tap.
They didn't have to wait long. A neatly dressed Japanese man strode over.
He was their contact, and their buyer.
Word was, he worked for an organization called the Hand. The "cargo" he took away would have their eyes and tongues cut out, then be sent to work in a factory for the rest of their lives, with no chance of escape.
Even the captain was unnerved by their methods.
Without wasting words, one of the men led the newcomer over. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they boarded the ship.
In the hold, the captain gestured ahead and opened the door first.
Click.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed high from the neck of a headless corpse.
It gushed out violently, warm and reeking of rusty metal, splattering all over them.
"T-That's Jack!!"
Someone cried out, recognizing the corpse.
Their pupils trembled and their hair stood on end, as if a cold wind had blown in from hell.
The cheap cigar slipped from the captain's mouth. His hand instinctively reached for the revolver at his waist, but before he could shout a warning—
Boom!
A hunched shadow stepped slowly out of the dark, cold hold, treading over bones.
The light above the hatch flickered.
The icy air was filled with bloodlust and cruelty, nearly freezing the souls of everyone present.
"Gulp."
(:.;;益;;益;;;益;;益;;.)
The crowd huddled together in terror. They strained to listen, eyes wide and bloodshot, holding their breath. Their trembling hands gripped their guns, giving them a tiny sense of security.
Tap, tap.
In the darkness, the hunched figure drew closer.
In the dim light, a pale, lifeless face came into view, blood still dripping from it.
Blood ran past its mouth and stained its lips. Then the mouth spoke.
"Hello... everyone."
I've been reading a lot of books like this lately, and couldn't help writing one myself. Hope you enjoy it ^_^
Before you continue