Lifelike Star Card Illusions

Xie Mingzhe comforted himself like this, and his mood seemed to improve a little.

Since he was alive, he should first figure out how to keep living. He did not ask for much—so long as he could support himself in this world and live a peaceful, steady life, that would be enough.

Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath and reluctantly accepted the fact that he had inexplicably been reborn.

The Xie Mingzhe of this world had not lived as smoothly as the Xie Mingzhe on Earth.

Today was this Xie Mingzhe's eighteenth birthday. The eighteen-year-old looked rather pitiful. Even after lying in the hospital as a vegetative patient for a month, no one but the doctors had cared whether he lived or died.

He had no family and no friends. Even if he died just like that, no one would shed a single tear for him.

He had lived a miserable life.

But it was all right. Starting today, everything would be different.

Xie Mingzhe looked at the boy in the mirror and gently clenched his fist.

—There is no way to change the past. But leave our future to me. I'll work hard for it!

Author's note: Welcome aboard.

Lifelike Star Card Illusions

Xie Mingzhe spent an entire night calming down in the hospital room, sorting through all of the original owner's memories.

The original owner had grown up in an orphanage. Because he was highly talented at drawing, he had been admitted to Imperial Capital University's Fine Arts Department through an arts entrance exam. Imperial Capital University would officially begin classes on September 1. Today was August 1, leaving him only one month to prepare.

First, he needed to find a way to leave the hospital. A "vegetative patient" like him would cost a great deal for every day spent in intensive care. He had neither family nor friends in this world, and he did not even know who had paid his medical bills. The thought made Xie Mingzhe restless, and he hurriedly put on his slippers and went to find the attending doctor.

At eight in the morning, the boy from Room Seven suddenly pushed open the door and came out.

Doctor Qin, who was making his rounds, raised an eyebrow and looked at him in confusion. "Xie Mingzhe? Why aren't you resting in bed? What are you doing out here?" Vegetative patients who had just awakened were usually utterly bewildered and needed a long time to adjust to the changes in the real world. Yet this boy was strange—there was not the slightest trace of confusion or dejection on his face. Early in the morning, he had run out barefoot in slippers, looking full of energy.

"Doctor, may I ask when I can be discharged?" Xie Mingzhe looked at him earnestly. "Also, how will my medical expenses be paid?"

"All your physical indicators are normal. We'll observe you for one more day. If there are no problems, I'll handle your discharge procedures tomorrow." Doctor Qin walked over and met the boy's clear, bright eyes. His voice unconsciously softened. "As for your hospital expenses, you needn't worry. You purchased critical illness medical insurance before, so you can settle the bill with the insurance company when you leave the hospital."

"Thank you, Doctor." Xie Mingzhe breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered that the orphanage had bought him medical insurance after he graduated from high school. Since the insurance company would cover the treatment costs, at least he would not be burdened with debt. That was good news for him.

After returning to his room, Xie Mingzhe began sorting through his personal belongings. He had been on his way to an interview at a themed restaurant when he accidentally fell from the third floor. Bystanders had sent him to the hospital, so he had not brought much with him—only the keycard in his pocket, his ID card, and a smartphone.

His ID card bore his photograph and was linked to his bank account, so he did not need to worry about it being misused. According to his memories, the keycard was for the tiny ten-square-meter room he was temporarily renting in a low-cost housing complex. As for the phone, it was the cheapest model he had painstakingly saved up to buy. It contained very few phone numbers, because Xie Mingzhe did not have many friends in this world.

That being the case, probably no one would notice that his personality had changed and that his body now housed a different soul.

After packing his things, Xie Mingzhe walked to the window in his hospital gown.

Outside, skyscrapers stood in dense rows. There were countless buildings more than a hundred stories tall, while seven or eight layers of crisscrossing suspended roadways stretched through the sky. Hovercars of all kinds of strange designs flew back and forth overhead. Xie Mingzhe widened his eyes and curiously observed this world.

His intensive care room was on the third floor, so he could see the ground below clearly.

Just then, a little girl passed beneath the building, leading an especially adorable pet. It was an animal he had never seen before, over a meter tall and hopping along as it walked. Its long ears looked like... a rabbit?

Were there rabbits that big? Its pink outfit was quite cute. But shouldn't hospitals prohibit pets from entering? Pets could carry all kinds of infectious pathogens. What if they transmitted them to patients?

Xie Mingzhe was puzzled. Even the original owner's memories could not explain this question.

As he was thinking, Doctor Qin pushed open the door and entered. The middle-aged doctor had a pleasant temperament and a gentle tone. He carefully examined Xie Mingzhe with a medical scanner, then said, "You've been lying in bed for two months, relying on nutrient solution to sustain your life. Your muscles will have atrophied to some extent, and you've lost a great deal of weight. After you're discharged, you'll need to exercise more so you can gradually recover."

Xie Mingzhe also knew that he was terribly thin now. His bones felt sharp even to the touch. After lying half-dead in a hospital room for a month, it was only natural that he had become skin and bones. He had once had a perfectly fit body and knew how to exercise, so he was not too worried about that.

Another little girl passed below, leading a pet rabbit similar to the one from before. The rabbit was even several centimeters taller than she was. Unable to suppress his intense curiosity any longer, Xie Mingzhe asked, "Doctor Qin, what is that pet the little girl is leading? Are hospitals allowed to let people bring pets in so freely now?" Even the original owner's memories could not explain this, so asking would not seem too strange, right? Xie Mingzhe thought.

"That's a Star Card Illusion," Doctor Qin explained. "Hospitals wouldn't allow pets inside. We're not veterinarians."

"A Star Card Illusion?" Xie Mingzhe looked utterly confused.

"Looks like you don't play that game?" Doctor Qin teased. "There aren't many young people who don't."

"Ahem, I really don't pay much attention to games." Xie Mingzhe scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. Who told him he came from a poor planet and knew nothing about the trends of prosperous Imperial Capital? In the doctor's eyes, he must look like a total bumpkin.