In another world, Lu Mingfei is learning card making.

The air was filled with the smells of feet, secondhand smoke, and steaming instant noodles. Lu Mingfei leaned back on the armrest of the internet cafe chair, tilting his head to look at the screen.

The game displayed on the screen wasn't the StarCraft game he was familiar with—although he had only been playing the game for two or three months, he had already become one of the top players in the internet cafe, and even one of the cafe's "signature" players.

—This means that if you ask him to pay for internet access and drinks, Lu Mingfei will do it for you.

The fact that a seasoned internet cafe player like Lu Mingfei could spend money speaks volumes about his gaming skills, but Lu Mingfei simply didn't want to play this game today.

His passion for games ultimately couldn't compete with the troubles of the real world.

The damn reality forced this boy to hole up in a shady internet cafe and pour out all his troubles there. As for the rest...

Frustrated, Lu Mingfei controlled the character on the screen who was wearing a hoodie and a black jacket with a red dragon on it, switching to a blade and hacking his way through the enemy.

Just the day before yesterday morning, Lu Mingfei beat up a classmate who was always talking a lot of nonsense, leaving him with a black eye and a swollen face. Even though his friends were there to help, Lu Mingfei still pinned him to the ground and beat him.

But what about the results?

Lu Mingfei's face was somewhat gloomy; the events of that day were still vivid in his mind:

The person pointed at Lu Mingfei in the classroom and said, "Lu Mingfei's parents divorced abroad a long time ago. They just didn't want him, so they sent him to his uncle and aunt's house."

Before the guy could even bask in the praise from those around him, Lu Mingfei rushed up and punched him.

But Lu Mingfei felt that even ten or twenty years from now, he would remember today's events more clearly than yesterday's.

When her aunt was called to the school, she didn't ask Lu Mingfei why he was fighting. Instead, she launched into a tirade against Lu Mingfei in front of the teacher, the guy on the other side, and his mother.

They even slapped him on the back of the head and pressed Lu Mingfei's head down to make him apologize.

To be more precise, it was a bow, an apology, and a week of covering for someone else.

The other person's bruised and swollen face was filled with smugness, and the other person's mother, because of her aunt's actions, calmed down and stopped pursuing Lu Mingfei's responsibility.

My aunt was overjoyed and kept telling me about it when she got home.

In her description, she portrayed herself as so shrewd and capable that she quelled the anger of the other party with just a few words and cleaned up the mess Lu Mingfei had made.

After all, Lu Mingfei only needs to clean the other side's premises for a week, and he won't have to pay for medical expenses.

My aunt felt like she could be a UN peace ambassador.

But for Lu Mingfei, this was a disgrace, an indelible disgrace!

His hands clenched tightly, ignoring the figure engulfed by artillery fire on the screen. Lu Mingfei curled up completely in his chair, his eyes coldly staring into the void.

It was precisely because he felt this humiliation that Lu Mingfei did not play StarCraft—the 'thrill' of commanding troops could not satisfy his tyranny, so he opened this game called Prototype.

But the more he fantasized about being Alex, the character with the ability to transform in the game, the more his powerlessness in reality reminded him—he didn't have the ability to flip tanks with a wave of his hand or shoot down helicopters with a flick of his wrist. He was just an ordinary student who could only sit in front of the computer and use games to numb himself…

The cold reality suffocated Lu Mingfei, as if trying to extinguish the fervor rising within him for fantastical creatures and extraordinary abilities, but Lu Mingfei refused to acknowledge it:

If he were to admit it, it would mean that yesterday's humiliation would become the norm in his life—he would rather believe that his parents left him to fight against some "army of dark forces" than admit that his place in their hearts was so insignificant that they wouldn't even bother to send a single phone call of condolence after he suffered such humiliation...

Suddenly, in the deep area that the eye could see, densely packed text appeared:

"Connection to the Multiverse Integrated Game Network (hereinafter referred to as 'Multiverse Network') successful. Reading version information..."

"The current setting of the 'Comprehensive Network' version is: Multiverse - When Civilizations Shine Brightly."

A genius in a high-magic world can create planets and annihilate planes in a century; a genius in a medium-magic world can command the wind and rain, level mountains and fill seas in a decade; a genius in a low-magic plane can ride the clouds and shatter monuments in a year; a genius in a non-magic plane can write numbers that point directly to the truth in a single dream.

And this difference will certainly not change with the change of location!

Don't doubt your potential; you must be a genius, you just haven't been born yet!

Version information is as follows:

1. The current version disables the dungeon function and the exchange of native items from this universe.

2. This version disables main quests, side quests, and mandatory quests.

3. This version introduces Soul Projection, allowing players to travel to another world for extended periods of study and growth.

4. A unique cross-network function will be enabled based on the player's unique class.

……

Perform a soul projection to choose the world that best suits you, thereby unlocking a unique career.

……

Lu Mingfei scanned the device with his eyes and quickly understood how to use it.

His primary focus was on this 'soul projection,' and under his control, the web interface switched to the Wiki interface—

If we want to understand this version's function in a similar way, we can think of it as "double travel": Lu Mingfei sends his consciousness to another world, learns in that world, and then brings the knowledge back.

Here on Earth, he can also learn and bring the knowledge from here to another world, thereby developing it.

It's important to note that because it's the 'soul' that travels through time, it's impossible to bring ordinary things with you—not that it's impossible, though. If you use the network to put things in your backpack and then take them out again, you can still transfer material.

However, this behavior will result in a loss for the appraisal fees charged by the comprehensive network.

Although he didn't understand exactly how much the fee was, Lu Mingfei reminded himself that he should stick to "localization" unless absolutely necessary, and try not to end up having to become a middleman in both the domestic and international markets just to make a living.

The long-awaited—well, not really that long, only about a day—transcendental power landed before Lu Mingfei's eyes, and Lu Mingfei simply clenched his fingers.

He originally thought that taking that step would require a great deal of determination—just like in online novels, where one has to experience a sudden upheaval and be abandoned by everyone before that ray of light falls upon them, making them regret not reaching out when the light was shining brightly.

...It seems I really did become isolated and abandoned by everyone, huh? After all, even my own aunt didn't stand by my side back then.

But Lu Mingfei suddenly realized that this matter was actually very simple. It was like how he, who should have gone home tonight, suddenly went to an internet cafe, or how he, who should have told the teacher when he heard that sentence, suddenly decided to throw a punch.

The reasons may belong to others, but the actions are your own. Making a decision doesn't require taking a very long step.