Other than the human realm, or Planet-2099 in this case, there were three main realms: the Heavenly Realm for divinities, the Demon Realm for powerful beasts that rejected divine status, and the Ghost Realm for humans who fell from grace and became resentful spirits. All of them would invest in humans—who became known as disciples—to increase their personal fame and recognition.
According to my stellar and very original worldbuilding from Surviving My First Run, these three realms had always existed but only became accessible to Planet-2099 at the start of the web novel.
Of course, there were always anomalies given transmigrators, reincarnation, et cetera et cetera, but I avoided most of the complexities by avidly banning any form of time manipulation or regression from my novel. Call it lazy writing, but I considered it caring for my mental health.
Jun Wei, however, transcended this system of gods and disciples.
He had no knowledge of this fact. He was just the man standing beside his blue Toyota, watching as the bear stormed toward my truck. He had no clue he would rise to the top five most powerful beings on this planet.
Yang thrust his arm across my chest and forced me back into my seat as he leaned over, blaring the car horn and flashing the headlights at the bear.
I exhaled in surprise before squeezing my eyes shut in anticipation of a sudden attack, but I slowly realized the sound had upset the bear, causing it to let out a roar before scrambling backward.
“Black bears hate noise,” Yang said into my ear, his hand still firmly pressed on the car horn. The bear growled before standing on its hind legs, bringing an arm to shield its face before turning to another way in search of an easier meal.
Once the bear retreated, Yang let out a tense breath and turned to face me. “You alright?”
A complicated emotion passed through me, and I pushed his arm off. “I was thinking of doing that. You just beat me to it.”
He quickly withdrew his arm like he was burned by red coals as realization set in. “Ah, sorry,” he said in a nervous tone, waving his hands in front of his face.
Yang opened his mouth to say more, but I moved my hand in front of my lips in a gesture to shush him. The goblins were casually wandering the streets, never attacking the frightened people, but that wouldn’t last long.
A sudden knock sounded from the car window causing me to jolt before I saw Wei’s face. I rolled down the window a sliver, peeking at him through the crack.
“Ma’am, are you alright? Please don’t panic—I’m sure officers will be here soon.”
Aw, he was so cute!
Wait, did he just call me ma’am?
Did I look that old??
[Observers Chat]
Socrates: Ma’am? That was cruel, even if it’s Jia Li.
One of my eyes twitched as I heard a slight laugh from Yang. Clearing my throat, I responded, “Thank you,” with an incredibly pressed smile and annoyed tone. “Do you mind if we join you? What’s your name?”
“My family name is Jun, and my given name is Wei,” he said. “Please feel free to join. I’ve already called the police.”
Wei’s eyes lingered on me for a long moment before he spoke up, seeming rather flustered. “Is something wrong?”
“Huh? Oh,” I mumbled. I had zoned out for a moment, and my hand had moved as if trying to push up Wei’s sleeve to look at his bandages. “My name is Liu Peijin.”
“What a nice name,” Wei said. “You must be very ambitious.”
Before I could respond, a blue flash appeared beside us, causing both of us to turn away from the burning light. From it, the Azure Dragon emerged.
The Azure Dragon gave a little wave toward me with its small, clawed hand. “You seem to have adapted pretty fast.”
“Move your broadcast somewhere else. I’m kind of in the middle of something if you haven’t noticed,” I replied in a snarky tone, waving my hand back and forth as if shooing an annoying fly.
“Aren’t you a bit too cocky this early on?” he snapped. “Do you wanna die?!”
The Azure Dragon initially served as a moderator and streamer, bringing entertainment to the gods through the demise of countless planets; however, it seemed as if Observers, or my past commenters, joined the market.
How thrilling.
“You haven’t done anything to me since the chapter began, so I doubt you’re allowed to. Besides, I’m bringing you a lot of viewers, right? I’m already receiving notifications.”
The Azure Dragon gave me a stunned look as it continued to float on its tail in the air. After all, what I said was true. What did interest me, though, was that there were thousands—if not millions—of moderators once the Vermillion Birds, White Tigers, and Black Tortoises were included.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
If what Socrates and Nipon23 discussed was true, then not all observers automatically knew I was Jia Li. What set them apart must have been their Paytron status. And if that was the case, I could revamp boost my ratings and reviews by catering to the other observers. If all observers found out I was Jia Li, I would immediately be review bombed, though I wasn’t sure what that entailed. Given that I created this system though, I’d probably face something catastrophic and blow up into flames or some nonsense.
More importantly, I wanted to be adored just as much as the next person. This was my chance to reinvent myself.
The Azure Dragon opened its long snout to respond, but a desperate cry sounded further down the freeway, and my attention shifted.
Right, the real challenge was going to start soon. The timer was ticking down, and people were panicking. In testing times like these, people became the real monsters.
[10 minutes 39 seconds]
[Percent killed: 20%]
A woman stumbled out of her car, wielding her son’s medal baseball bat. He was waiting in the car, his face pressed up against the window. Dozens of goblins had climbed all over the vehicles, poking and tugging at the various parts, and they stared at him curiously.
“I-I can’t take it anymore! I don’t want to die!” Tears streamed down her face, and she raised her arms in the air before swinging the bat down on the head of a curious goblin that had been peering inside her car. Its skull quickly cracked in half as the goblin collapsed onto the ground, convulsing as she continued to strike it.
More and more people seemed to join the woman as they attacked the goblins, tearing off their small limbs as the goblins cried out in pain, trying to scramble away. They let out pitiful, vulnerable cries, but they continued to be massacred. Even some of the elders and children that Wei had escorted to safety began to attack the goblins out of sheer fear.
A ghastly, animalistic scream rang out into the crowd. It was beginning. The Azure Dragon’s face lit up with excitement, and he darted into the chaos, eagerly recording it.
The woman who attacked the goblins first was suddenly swarmed by all nearby goblins. They grabbed her hair and pummeled her onto the ground. Already holding a sharp skewer from when it spawned, a goblin stood above her face as she let out blood-curdling cries. He lifted the skewer and pierced it through her eye and into the soft flesh of her brain, killing her instantly. She fell limp as her eye slowly oozed out onto the hot pavement below her and sizzled, cooking.
More and more goblins began to attack people, swarming the ones that had assaulted or killed others. Wei scrambled forward to protect the children who were now being cornered, but I gripped his hand and pulled him back toward the truck.
“You can’t change their fate! If you do, the goblins will kill you next. You can’t save the kids and avoid the goblins!” I shouted, my fingers pressing so tightly into his exposed arm that I left white finger-shaped imprints.
[Time left: 8 minutes 38 seconds]
[Percent killed: 32%]
Wei turned to me, a mixed expression of fierce determination set on his face as he tore his non-bandaged arm from my grasp. “I can do both!” Whipping his head around, he darted forward to help them.
A small, knowing smile crossed my lips as I unbuckled the seatbelt and jumped out of the car, signaling for Yang to follow. I looked up at the sky, spotting the bright, twinkling star just overhead—a god, and one of the most powerful, watching the stream. As long as I could paint Wei as someone who fought for justice, then he and this god would forge one of the most powerful bonds in Surviving My First Run.
Wei reached down and picked up a young child being assaulted by the goblins and dashed toward his car, quickly placing her in the backseat. I watched as he darted back to try and reach an older man who had fallen while trying to run from the chanting goblins that were slowly surrounding him.
Suddenly, a young girl wearing her university uniform lunged at the elderly man and bashed her fists into his face, goring him and assisting the goblins. She panted, her fists drenched in blood with deep purple bruises already forming, and the goblins began to clamor around her, seeming to cheer as they circled her. The goblins almost appeared to be performing a ritual to an outsider as they clamored, banging their sticks and rocks together.
He Yue.
She was a truly despicable character, and it was easy to see how she became a Wrath—a Demon Queen of the highest rank. Cruel, calculating, and menacingly intelligent, she approached her newfound world in a purely statistical manner.
But she didn’t appear this early in the story. Not only could the worldbuilding diverge from the original, but I could also change the course of the story through the characters.
“No!” Wei cried, making a mad dash to try and tend to the elderly man. But it was far too late for him as he lay dead on the pavement, his body unrecognizable.
Yue cackled as she slowly stood up, blood dripping down her arms in thick black streaks. Glittering blue particles seemed to explode from her feet, creating a halo of light around her.
Lifting a long, slender finger, she pointed it at a parked car—the same car that Wei had just left the child in—and watched as the goblins raided it, smashing the window and goring the child inside.
I scowled. I hated Yue the most out of every character I created. She adapted too fast, far too fast, as if she had waited for this very situation.
Just like me, I realized.
“How dare you!” Wei shouted, his fists balled and trembling in sheer rage. “How could you ever kill another person!”
Yue’s head swiveled over to face him in a nonchalant manner as she gave a thin, wide smile. “Just trying to get some more stars.”
Wei looked at her with an expression of sheer shock and disgust. Despite Yue’s twisted expression and willingness to kill, Wei balled his fists and stepped closer.
It was like watching two parts of myself fight one another. Had I not known anything about this world, who was to say I wouldn’t have taken a similar route to Yue? Even now, my actions were guided by a form of author manipulation; I had a desired conclusion for Wei, and I was manipulating him for my goal.
My eyes shifted to Wei’s arm, where the bandages took a mind of their own, slowly unraveling from his arm with a menacing air. Now was my time to jump in.
“Hey, Yue!” I shouted, walking toward her, cracking my knuckles before shaking out my hand.
She whipped her head around and stared at me with insane eyes. She let out a scoff as she turned toward me and spat on the ground. The goblins eagerly awaited her orders, waving their arms in the air and singing.
“Using my first name? You’re entitled. Who are you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
I said a few words to myself in my head: invest 500 stars into strength and 1000 into physique.
[Strength level 1 → level 5]
[Physique level 1 → level 10]
I could instantly feel a rush of energy through my body, and I was completely thrilled by the feeling of it. Crafting the perfect body suddenly became a possibility.
[Time left: 6 minutes 59 seconds]
[Percent killed: 38%]
[531 observers are following you with immense interest!]
Yue’s eyes trailed to the pest control van behind me, reading the large company font. “So you’re in pest control, too? That’s pathetic.”
“I’m a fortune teller, actually.”
She tilted her chin up, mocking an impressed look. “Really? Then go ahead and predict the future. What’s about to happen?”
“I’m about to beat the shit out of you.”