“I’m Peijin.”

That was how I usually introduced myself, and people, trying to be nice, would respond by saying:

“What a pretty name. You must be very ambitious.”

Yes, exactly. To be precise, my name directly translated to "full of gemstones and fine jade," and my name was apparently associated with ambition and the essence of humanitarian ideals.

However, my parents must have named their beloved daughter while ignoring that my name also insinuated tragedy, disappointment, and cynicism—all of which my father deeply felt when I failed the National College Entrance Examination and was sentenced to a shameful job.

The glow from my laptop screen illuminated my pale face in the dark apartment room. I sat on an old spinning chair, and my head rested atop my folded knees. My short black hair was brushed out of my face and tucked behind my ears, my bangs wrapped around a velcro hair roller stuck on the top of my head. I saw the notification pop up on my screen and opened up the web novel site, reading the comment under Chapter 3,649—my most recent chapter.

Fourteen year old me thought a pen name would fix my doomed fate, even if it were just for a stupid web novel I was writing. I both bitterly and pridefully settled on JiaLi1825 which meant “good” and “beautiful” girl.

Almost ten years later, my lonely and unremarkable life could be summed up as such: Wu Peijin, twenty-four, single, pest control.

I kept updating the web novel daily, though, and I suppose that’s where all my ambition ended up. It was a pretty cliché, mass-produced web novel. A classic, depressed but resourceful, male protagonist with a lousy job, no prospects, a scummy apartment…wait.

Well, I guess writing was escapism.

“Damnit, my life sucks,” I groaned while bashing my head against my scraped and battered desk. The comment glared at me from my screen.

Qiu Feiyu was my handsome and generic protagonist, but I had poured my heart into writing him. Sometimes, it felt like I was writing this entire story for him… or maybe for the stranger I based him off of. Teleported into a world dominated by divinities, demons, and ghosts under a game system, Feiyu had to cleverly escape dangerous challenges.

Even in the first chapter, Feiyu had to intelligently navigate and survive a challenge that would kill more than half of the population in a flash. Things weren't necessarily easy for him, and I took joy in that thought.

Although I initially wrote for my own fulfillment, projecting myself into these characters, I started writing basic tropes for readers. Numbers going up on the infinite dungeon grind, blue boxes, Demon Kings, goblins—all of it.

Except for anything romantic. I was single.

Hey, the people liked what they were familiar with. But at some point, I didn’t. If a part of me was proud of my work, it was long, long gone.

Thanks to my childhood self, I had enough funds to get through every month. Surviving My First Run was successful, having garnered around eight million total views. But it didn’t help that the greedy web novel contract meant I was barely making any of my profits, or that I drove away most readers with my allegedly confrontational personality. My Paytron account was enough though, and I even let users buy their way into the storyline as characters.

* HolyMapleSyrup: Thank you for the chapter! I’m a bit confused… isn’t Feiyu on his first run? He shouldn’t have any buffs from previous regressions that wouldn’t exist.

* JiaLi1825: Does it really matter? He got the staff from a divinity anyway.

* HolyMapleSyrup: Just wanted to point out a consistency issue if you cared to fix it.

* JiaLi1825: Stop reading if it bothers you so much.

* HolyMapleSyrup: It’s a minor issue. No need to get so defensive.

I scoffed at the messages before reporting the user for harassment and deleting the comments. If HolyMapleSyrup cared so much about a story I was writing, he could write his own. I stood up, kicked my chair in, and walked through my cluttered and tiny apartment for a meal. After saying a short prayer half-heartedly, I used long black chopsticks to stir the steamed white rice with some marinated pork before going back to my cluttered room.

The mailbox for private messages had a new little red notification, and I clicked on it apprehensively. Realizing it was HolyMapleSyrup, I let out a frustrated groan but continued reading.

* HolyMapleSyrup: I didn’t mean to offend you. I simply had a question about the content, but there was no need to act so rudely and report me for my feedback. You forget who your readers are, and how they’ve brought you to this point. You’re going to regret deleting my messages, Jia Li. Tomorrow, 1p.m. I have a surprise for you.

I glared at my computer screen for a moment longer before reporting HolyMapleSyrup again and blocking him. Seriously, who’d go out of their way to threaten someone who had so generously written a story for an entire decade? What a narcissist. And his username was stupid.

These were the ignorant thoughts I had the night before the entire world would change.

And, please, don’t look for me. If you’re reading this, rest assured knowing this is what I wanted.

Next Day

“This place is a complete dump.” I was donned in white protective gear, my black bob tied up in a short ponytail as I surveyed the infested house teeming with cockroaches and bedbugs. “I don’t understand how people live here much less let it get this bad.”

Fat brown cockroaches hissed and clicked, some darting and flying away as I awkwardly shifted throughout the room.

Yang stood up after wrapping the dirtied white couch with a clear plastic wrap to trap in the insects. He wore a matching plastic suit, oversized goggles plastered over his eyes. They were fogging up now, and sweat collected on the interior. “Don’t be so judgemental, Peijin. A lot of them struggle with their mental health.”

“If only I didn’t flunk that stupid college test…” I muttered, letting out an exaggerated sigh as I helped clean up.

“I don’t know, I find it rewarding to help them,” Yang said with a light smile, and I could see the large beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. He was working much harder than I was. “It’s helping them get their life back in order, you know? I’d hope someone would do the same for me.”

I looked at him, my eyes narrowed in suspicion at his words. We’d been working together for a while, and seeing him smiling up close, I could see why many in our office found him attractive—light brown hair and deep brown eyes that caught and reflected light perfectly, almost making his irises a sienna or orange color. Even as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his gloved hand, he looked as if he were glowing.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

But Yang was a completely different person than me, and we ended up at this job for those different reasons.

I hated how perfect he was, but I didn’t hate Yang. “I don’t get how people like you are real, or how you even survived this long,” I exhaled, suddenly slapping my leg when I felt a crawling sensation. I looked down, realizing there was a puncture in my suit and a crushed cockroach on my hand. “Shit….”

Yang peeked over, and I watched his face twist into a teasing grin. “It’s fine. You brought the steamer, right?”

“Weren’t you supposed to pack it?”

“You always pack it, Peijin.”

“...”

We always needed to bring a steamer to kill all of the bugs that might be on our clothing, jammed in the soles of our shoes, or hiding in furniture.

Yang stared down at me considerately. “Let me drive back to the office to pick one up. My suit is fine, so it’s unlikely I’ll bring back any bugs.”

Damn his kindness!

“No, it’s fine. It’s my fault. I don’t want you getting in trouble or bringing an infestation back to your home,” I insisted. “Let’s just finish up and when we get back to the office, I’ll call them and ask for a steamer. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

“Are you sure?”

“Confident. I'm sorry about this.”

“Don’t worry about it. Rookie mistake,” he said, giving another toothy grin as he went to lift the couch into the truck. “I’ll head back with you and vouch for you if needed.”

I didn’t know how he could put up with me or how he could remain this calm, but I was glad I made the error with him there and not someone else.

We lifted the couch into the car trunk and flung off any visible bugs before unsuiting. I thought back to my cluttered, dirty apartment; just a few bed bugs caught on my shoes could be a complete disaster. My face flushed a light pink as I remembered the earlier conversation where I had judged the client’s home.

I groaned, gripping the steering wheel and pressing my forehead against the center. “Why is my life so bad?” I sniffled.

“Maybe because you failed your college entrance exam?”

“Shut up.”

Yang typed the directions back to the office on my phone and set it on the dashboard for me to see. “We’ll get there by 1:17 pm. At worst, there might be just a few loose bed bugs, but I think we got most,” he grinned. “Do you mind if I listen to my podcast?”

“You listen to podcasts? That’s really weird.”

“H-hey!” He pointed a finger at me as I laughed, pulling onto the freeway. “American politics are so fascinating. I want to move there in the future.”

I hated to admit it, but it was thrilling to watch Yang speak—he was diligent and a good person, and when he spoke, his glowing eyes seemed to focus just on you, and it made you feel like the only person in the world.

“I’m trying to learn English,” I reply in a feeble attempt to look cool, tilting my chin up a bit while keeping my eyes on the freeway to ignore his stare.

“Oh really? Are you watching English shows or taking any lessons?”

“I read English novels.”

“What novels?”

I paused, trying and failing to elaborate on the lie. Well, it wasn’t like I was completely lying, but I wasn’t going to list off English web novels—that would be completely embarrassing in front of someone as studious as Yang. Suddenly, The Potentate by BananaDragon became Shakespeare.

“I’m reading… Shakespeare.”

Yang gasped, looking at me in awe from the passenger seat. “Really? Wow, that’s so impressive! You should help me with my English. Which story are you reading?”

“Umm… the one about the two lovers.”

“Oh, Romeo and Juliet?”

“Yeah, yeah that one.”

Yang’s face lit up into a bright smile as he continued, “I’m reading Fitzgerald right now, and it’s been very difficult. Do you have any advice?”

I didn’t even recognize the name of that author.

“Just read a lot. You’ll get there, since you’re very smart.”

I laughed awkwardly before turning my focus back to the road, both embarrassed and a bit ashamed. A notification pinged suddenly on my phone, blocking the map’s directions.

Yang was quick to react: “Let me switch it back to the map,” he chimed in. He went to tap on my phone but paused. “HolyMapleSyrup sent you a message. They said ‘Thanks for writing Surviving My First Round. As promised, here’s the surprise. [Open attachment.]’”

My eyes widened as I looked at the time. 12:59 pm. They couldn’t even time it right. Didn’t I block them? They shouldn’t be able to send any messages.

“Oh, I have no idea what they’re talking about,” I played it off, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Do you write web novels? Isn’t Surviving My First Round super famous?” he turned to me, looking amazed.

“What are you talking about? I’ve never heard of that,” I pursed my lips, swallowing and continuing to look down the freeway.

My phone pinged again, and Yang peeked over. “They sent another message. ‘Why hide it if you wrote it?’”

My blood ran cold, and I could feel my throat thickening from anxiety and anticipation. Was this guy some freaky stalker?

Your free trial on Planet-2099 has ended.

… What?

I looked at the time on my phone. 1 p.m. On the dot. I reread the blue screen that had appeared in front of me, and by the shocked expression on Yang’s face, I could tell he saw it, too.

A sudden bright flash and subsequent boom erupted on the freeway a few cars ahead of me. Yang screamed out and gripped my arm as I suddenly swerved into the emergency lane, trying to avoid the ensuing chaos. Cars crashed and swerved desperately, their drivers and passengers surprised by the explosion and trying to get away.

A small dragon, no bigger than a toy poodle, appeared out of the bright blue blast, floating in the air and unfurling itself. It moved its limbs awkwardly, like a newborn giraffe trying to learn how to stand, and it blinked each eye at different times before they would eventually sync. My jaw dropped as I stared at the creature.

[¡™£¢∞§¶•ªº]

The dragon seemed to speak in a foreign language—no, a completely new language—before opening up a glowing blue table, fidgeting with the buttons.

One of the four navigational Gods would suddenly appear on the freeway, and for the first time, it would open its eyes and find humanity. In their craze and panic, humans would recognize it as the Azure Dragon.

I knew this. I knew this setting perfectly as that sentence popped into my mind—that sentence I wrote.

“Peijin? What is this?” Yang seemed to shrink in front of me as he tugged on my sleeve, shaking.

I gave him a reassuring squeeze, my heart beating out of my chest. “Yang, don’t say a word. I need you to trust me on this.”

[Hello? Hello? Can you guys hear me now? Sorry about that, you guys have a lot of dialects, and I got confused. I've never seen this specific planet assignment before—my boss just assigned it this morning.]

The dragon’s voice boomed out, heard by everyone within the vicinity. He saw all the bewildered glances as people slowly exited their cars, and he let out a cackling laugh.

[China is open for business!]

The first arc has begun.

Now commencing Chapter - Prerequisite.

[https://imgur.com/w4pWinG][https://i.imgur.com/w4pWinG.png]