Chapter 2: Just What Have You Got Me Into?

“Back!” Wang Xi abruptly opened his eyes. He first lifted the blanket to peek inside, then let out a long sigh of relief. “Phew—good, good! Still here!”

In fact, not only was it still there, but it was also lively. As soon as the small blanket’s corner showed, Wang Xi’s gaze immediately fell upon it. The encounter in the other world felt like a fleeting spring dream, leaving Wang Xi—still only twenty, an age capable of piercing steel—highly exhilarated. He then fell back, collapsing weakly onto the bed.

In his mind, a narrow, dark fissure slowly closed.
“Projection has been entrusted.”
“Current world: Fairy Tale.”
“Exploration rate: 0.01%.”
“Arrival cooldown countdown: 47 hours 59 minutes.”

This fissure was the medium allowing Wang Xi to traverse other worlds. He didn’t know why such a thing existed in his mind, yet he inexplicably knew its name—“Kaerus.”

Wang Xi murmured softly, “Kaerus.”

Kaerus not only allowed him to arrive in the other world in the form of a projection but also helped him capture extraordinary powers from that world, preserving them as cards to be drawn later. Yet, he had yet to fully understand all its functions.

Not long after lying down, the electronic clock on the bedside table rang loudly.
Ding-ding-ding—
Smack!

Wang Xi reached out and slapped the clock, causing it to jump while the alarm abruptly ceased. The time displayed was exactly eight o’clock.

“It’s already been a week since crossing over,” he muttered, a hint of melancholy shading his face.

Though it was called crossing over, in fact, a week ago he had suddenly awakened memories of his past life—just like the “mystery of the womb.” Perhaps he had been in this world called Gaia for twenty years, only that his past had been foggy and unclear, oblivious to the truth.

“Only when suddenly encountering the path once taken do I realize how much life concealed from my eyes. Unlocking the old chains of the past, today I finally know who I am.”

Wang Xi felt deeply moved. Yet recalling the past, he shuddered involuntarily. It was a painful memory best left unremembered.

In his previous life, he was a renowned product manager for a card game, talented and wealthy from youth. At the same time, he was a notorious playboy—eloquent, adept with women, able to make wealthy women spend eighteen thousand yuan with just three sentences.

Facing such a winner in life, fate had its own words: what life you live, and what life others live. Succeeding in the workplace and also in love, you truly hit the jackpot.

However, a strand of golden hair left in his car became the key to exposing him...

His secret of dating ten girlfriends simultaneously was thus revealed.

The ensuing chaos need not be recounted here. Ultimately, the most fiery-tempered seventh girlfriend, driving a large mud truck, viciously rammed into Wang Xi during his commute—

Wang Xi hit the jackpot, dying at twenty-eight.

Like a “beating up the scumbag lemon tea,” the crushed car cabin was squeezed into rubble.

Thus, his sinful life ended abruptly.

Even now, Wang Xi still felt chills recalling the last scene—the girlfriend, wild-haired like a vengeful ghost, gripping the steering wheel with a grimace.

Her bloodshot eyes stared straight at him, her cracked, dry lips moving as if chanting something.

At the thought, Wang Xi shuddered.

He sat on the bed, sulking, muttering, “This life, I swear—”

Suddenly, he turned swiftly to look out the window.

The once brilliant sky was now streaked with dark clouds, faint thunder rumbled. Startled, he hastily corrected himself:

“This life, I absolutely will not toy with girls’ feelings—no fishing, no raising fish, no touching... In short, a clean break, becoming a good man!”

The clouds outside were quickly blown away by the wind.

---

Sunlight flooded Wang Xi’s face, and in that moment, he felt as if his mind and body had been cleansed, a profound sense of relief spreading from within.

“But, come to think of it, Xu Mowan, where did you think you were going with that accelerator...”

Wang Xi got out of bed and walked to the window, sighing deeply.

The “Xu Mowan” he mentioned was his seventh girlfriend who had run him down.

She was the most passionate and the most ruthless.

Wang Xi shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Outside, towering skyscrapers rose amid streams of cars.

It looked no different from the bustling cityscape of his past life.

But in the sky, alongside the sun, hung a violet moon.

Sun and moon sharing the sky—

This world had two moons!

Below on the streets, hovering trains zipped between skyscrapers, their tracks crackling with strange blue-purple electric arcs.

The sidewalks were dotted with humanoid mechanical devices, some standing, some flying. They smiled, danced, guided travelers, or sold various goods.

Giant screens on building walls flashed dazzling, unfamiliar advertisements. Most promoted a product called “All-in-One Card,” including healing potion cards, self-defense laser gun cards, unicycle motorcycle cards, and many other varieties.

All of this was alien to Wang Xi.

He gazed further, past the skyscrapers to the city’s edge—

A towering wall hundreds of meters high enclosed the entire city cluster, with sleek, cylindrical towers glowing blue-purple spaced along the wall.

Beyond the wall, mist shrouded the world, blurry and unclear.

The high walls and towers seemed like barriers or defenses.

There was clearly some danger outside.

According to his memories, the area beyond the walls was called the “Wilderness,” with some perilous zones known as “Disaster Domains.”

These were uninhabitable regions for humans.

This setup originated from a great catastrophe twenty years ago.

In 2025, natural disasters struck.

It was also the dawn of a new era.

Apocalyptic earthquakes and tsunamis, alongside monsters once only imagined in fantasy, emerged like mushrooms after rain, completely overturning the original world order.

Everything he now saw was post-disaster reconstruction.

Initially, humanity suffered anguish and panic but united to fight with the most advanced and deadly weapons. Yet, they ultimately failed.

Fortunately, at a crucial moment, humanity’s leaders discovered the source of the monsters and disasters—

The Labyrinth!

Its entrances were unpredictable: manhole covers, elevators, hotels, even private toilets could be portals.

Inside, it could be anything: grasslands, caves, deserted city streets, underground parking lots... Full of danger and strangeness, yet holding opportunities for human survival.

After over a decade of exploration and research, the five rebuilt nations now shared information and reached many conclusions.

Three major points stood out:

First, each labyrinth had a unique identification number.

They seemed to be categorized by suits of playing cards: Spades ♤ for “Fairy Tale Labyrinths,” Hearts ♡ for “Miracle Labyrinths,” Clubs ♧ for “Mystic Labyrinths,” and Diamonds ♢ for “Ghost Story Labyrinths.”

The higher the number, the greater the danger.

Second, a new labyrinth appeared every year.

To date, eighteen have been discovered and recorded, with two still lost in the Wilderness.

The most dangerous known was “Diamond ♢ 7,” named “Hand of God.”

Nine years ago, it caused a massive disaster, wiping out several city clusters in the Budden United Nations across the ocean, known as the “Heaven Federation.” Indirect losses were immeasurable.

This also triggered a series of events leading to the Heaven Federation’s split into North Budden and South Budden within two years.

Strangely, all information about “Hand of God” vanished as if it never existed.

Even survivors acted as if they had amnesia, completely forgetting that period—extremely mysterious.

Third, labyrinths required periodic clearing.

According to the Labyrinth Research Institute under the Uranus United Nations, or the “Mountain-Sea Federation,” every labyrinth continuously emitted pollution.

When this pollution reached a certain level, disasters would occur. The institute developed monitoring devices and named this pollution “Reality Distortion.”

The “World Alliance” formed by the five great nations worked together to suppress the rise of Reality Distortion, preventing unpredictable catastrophes from erupting worldwide.

---

As the saying goes, misfortune and fortune are intertwined.

Within seven steps, a cure can be found!

Though labyrinths were dangerous, besides monsters, they held countless unknown resources. Many new technologies and energies of the five great nations originated here.

For example: magic stones, ether crystals, and monster corpses.

Among these, magic stones were the rarest and most valuable.

Their primary use was to extract the corresponding labyrinth’s extraordinary powers!

People discovered early on that each labyrinth possessed a unique supernatural power. Exchanging magic stones could extract this power, materializing it into cards.

These cards were collectively called “All-in-One Cards.”

Because they were almost omnipotent, encompassing all human fantasies.

From the “All-in-One Cards” emerged a series of institutions and systems. Those skilled in handling these cards with sufficient strength were honored as “Heroes.”

In the Mountain-Sea Federation and across the five great nations, “Heroes” were the most respected and revered.

They were the ironclad foundation resisting disasters and monsters, safeguarding the current human order.

They were universally recognized as heroes.

...

“Right, magic stones...”

Suddenly remembering something, Wang Xi hurried from his bedroom to his parents’ room next door.

The room was empty, spotless.

Two large desks stood against the walls, and a long row of bookshelves held various scientific papers and books, many blue folders now empty.

Wang Xi picked up a photo frame from the cabinet.

It was a family portrait taken in a laboratory.

A handsome man and a beautiful woman, both in white lab coats with work badges, stood side by side, smiling. Between them sat a little boy of several years old.

The couple in the photo were his parents in this life.

However, as “Labyrinth Researchers,” they died in an accident fifteen years ago.

Some research materials originally kept at home had long since been taken away by government officials.

Though an orphan, Wang Xi grew up well-fed and clothed and completed his studies smoothly, largely thanks to his parents.

They belonged to a “special talent family,” and his parents’ contributions to the Mountain-Sea Federation became a protective shadow over his upbringing.

Even the house he currently lived in was an inheritance from his parents, obtained through their research institute.

Snap.

Wang Xi set down the family portrait and rummaged through the desk drawers.

Soon, he found a glass jar in the innermost drawer. Inside were two smooth, pebble-like purple stones—one large, one small.

He opened the jar and poured them out.

Clatter.

The two magic stones, one lychee-sized, the other smaller than a longan, seemed to be research samples left by his parents.

Wang Xi recalled that in the other world, he had captured the ability of the Knight Wendy, transforming it into three cards stored in an “independent card pool.”

He needed energy to draw from it.

Magic stones just happened to contain such energy.

“Let’s try,” Wang Xi said.

He clenched his fist and closed his eyes.

The black fissure in his mind suddenly opened a slit, releasing an invisible force.

The two magic stones in his hand vanished!

“Energy: 230”
“Draws available: 2 (100 energy per draw)”