1: Awaken! Administrator of the National Destiny Arena!

“【Global Announcement】”

“【The national destiny arena will officially descend in ten minutes.】”

“【At that time, 20 contestants will be randomly selected from 233 countries and regions worldwide to represent their respective nations in Initial Instance No. 1.】”

“【The performance of all contestants within the instance will be bound to their national destiny.】”

“【Rewards obtained by contestants will manifest a hundredfold in their nation; punishments incurred by contestants will be inflicted a hundredfold upon their nation.】”

“【The arena is ruthless; life and death are one's own responsibility.】”

“【Countdown starting: 09:59, 09:58...】”

A cold, vast, and emotionless mechanical voice

rang out simultaneously in the minds of seven billion people across the world without warning.

Whether they were driving, in a meeting, performing surgery,

or in class,

everyone seemed to have their pause button pressed,

their movements frozen in place.

Dragon Country, Jiangnan City,

inside an ordinary room.

Su Yuan suddenly stood up from his computer,

his chair sliding backward due to his abrupt movement,

letting out a sharp, grating friction sound.

“What on earth is that?”

He looked suspicious and uncertain, subconsciously digging at his ear.

Was it an auditory hallucination?

But that voice in his head

was as clear as if someone were speaking right against his eardrum,

each word making his head buzz.

He turned his head to look out the window;

the once bustling street had now fallen into a deathly silence.

Vehicles stopped in the middle of the road,

pedestrians maintained various odd poses,

and the entire world seemed to have become a still oil painting.

But in the next second, this oil painting was completely torn to shreds.

“Bang!”

Downstairs, a car that had been waiting at a red light

suddenly rear-ended the car in front because the driver had lost focus.

A chain reaction erupted instantly.

Screams, honking, cursing... various sounds intertwined, completely shattering the silence and turning it into soaring chaos.

Su Yuan's phone vibrated crazily; the class group, roommate group, and game groups—

hundreds of messages flooded in within just a few seconds.

“Holy crap! Did you guys hear that? That voice!”

“national destiny arena? What the hell is that? A new scam? It directly hacked into our brains?”

“It's not an illusion! My colleague next to me heard it too! The whole world heard it!”

“Contestants? Instances? Isn't this some damn plot from a novel?!”

Watching the messages constantly refreshing on his phone screen, Su Yuan's heart pounded wildly.

It's real!

It's actually real!

This kind of god-like method had already exceeded the scope of human cognition.

national destiny arena... binding national destiny... although he was just an ordinary transmigrator and college student,

he had read many novels before transmigrating,

so he naturally understood the terrifying weight behind those few short sentences.

This was no longer about one person or one city;

it was a super event concerning the fate of the entire nation and the whole of human civilization!

Just then, that cold voice in his head rang out once more.

But this time, he was the only one who could hear it.

“【Compatible soul fluctuations detected, meeting the Administrator binding requirements.】”

“【national destiny arena administrator system, binding in progress...】”

“【10%... 50%... 100%!】”

“【Binding successful! Welcome, the sole Administrator—Su Yuan.】”

Su Yuan froze entirely, his eyes widening into circles.

Ad... administrator system?

Holy cow!

After three years of transmigration,

his golden finger had finally arrived!

He pinched his thigh hard,

and the sharp pain that followed

told him this wasn't a dream.

Before he could recover from this earth-shattering change,

a pale blue virtual panel that only he could see

slowly unfolded before his eyes.

The panel design was extremely simple and full of futuristic technology.

At the very top were several large titles: 【contestant management】, 【instance management】, 【Arena Mall】, 【Permission Logs】.

Su Yuan's breathing instantly became rapid.

He reached out with a trembling hand and tried to issue a command in his mind: “Open 【contestant management】.”

The moment the thought arose,

the panel reacted immediately.

The 【contestant management】 module lit up, and two sub-options expanded below:

【Domestic Contestants】 and 【Foreign Contestants】.

Su Yuan's heart beat even faster;

he felt all the blood in his body rushing to his head.

He clicked on 【Domestic Contestants】.

Swoosh!

A list popped up.

The list was still empty,

but there was a line of small text at the very top.

“【The Dragon Country contestant list will be randomly generated from citizens aged 18-45 nationwide after the countdown ends. Number of people: 20.】”

Su Yuan subconsciously swallowed hard,

and as if possessed, he clicked on 【Foreign Contestants】.

A densely packed list instantly occupied the entire panel.

“Lighthouse Country Contestant List (Not Generated)”

“Japan Contestant List (Not Generated)”

“India Contestant List (Not Generated)”

“...”

From top to bottom, the names of all 232 countries and regions were listed there without exception.

Su Yuan's mind went blank.

He understood.

He completely understood the meaning of the word 'Administrator'.

If those 20 selected contestants were players entering a game,

then he... was the GM with backend access!

He could see not only Dragon Country's own contestants,

but also the contestant information for all countries!

And this was just the function of one module, 【contestant management】;

what about the 【instance management】 and 【Arena Mall】 following it?

Suppressing his excitement, Su Yuan clicked on 【instance management】.

“【Initial Instance No. 1: Zombie Siege (Not Started)】”

“【Instance Synopsis: A city infected by the t-virus, filled with hungry zombies and mutated creatures. Please survive in the city for 7 days and find the t-virus serum.】”

“【Clearance Reward: Settled based on performance.】”

“【clearance hint: Viewable with Administrator permissions.】”

Su Yuan's pupils suddenly constricted.

He could actually see the content of the instance directly!

There were even clearance hints!

This... this was no longer just a cheat;

this was having the game walkthrough shoved directly into his hands!

If he told this information to Dragon Country's contestants in advance... Su Yuan swallowed,

forced himself to calm down,

and moved his gaze to the final 【Arena Mall】.

On the panel, a dazzling array of goods made his head spin.

【Item: primary strength amplification potion】

【Price: 100 national fortune points】

【Effect: Permanently increases the user's strength by 10 points.】

【Item: Combat Mastery (Basic)】

【Price: 500 national fortune points】

【Effect: Allows the user to instantly master all basic fighting techniques.】

【Item: desert eagle (Infinite Ammo Version)】

【Price: 1000 national fortune points】

【Effect: A powerful pistol with infinite ammunition.】

Looking at these things that only existed in fantasy, Su Yuan's breathing stalled.

And his gaze

finally landed on a striking number

in the upper right corner of the mall panel.

【Dragon Country national fortune points: 1000. (Initial Reward: 1000 points)】

Su Yuan looked at this number,

then looked at the prices of those items,

and a thought uncontrollably rose from the bottom of his heart.

He, as the Administrator,

seemed... able to directly use these national fortune points

to exchange these heaven-defying items for Dragon Country's contestants!

He could even pay a price

to manifest them into reality!