1: Chapter 1 I'll Gouge Your Eyeballs Out

(Brain Depository)

(I hear that if you take it out occasionally for maintenance, soak it in water, and wax it, it'll be smarter when you put it back in.)

"Rumble, rumble—!" The roar of the airplane engine echoed inside the cabin.

Lin Ye sat in his seat, a parachute pack on his back and goggles on his head.

The entire cabin was packed with nearly fifty people.

They had different skin tones and different faces.

But the fear on their faces was exactly the same.

Lin Ye was equally nervous, but it wasn't something he couldn't accept.

After all, the act of transmigrating was absurd enough on its own; what was happening now was just absurdity squared.

Two and a half years ago, he had unfortunately kicked the bucket while exploring outdoors.

With a close and an open of his eyes, he had transmigrated to Blue Star.

The original owner of the body was a student in the Archaeology Department.

He had both parents, and his social connections were seamless.

The only fatal issue was—this world was practically rotting away.

Five years ago on Blue Star, oil, fresh water, food... the production of all the basic elements that sustained civilization had plummeted.

People were fighting everywhere across the globe, and local wars had not stopped to this day.

Only Great Xia was an exception.

Thanks to sustainable development plans and a habit of frantically hoarding supplies, their foundation was still quite solid.

Although everyone was living a tight life, at least they still had their belts fastened around their waists.

As for those foreigners? Their belts had long been tightened up to their necks.

The whole world was running around naked, but Great Xia was still wearing pants.

Until twenty days ago, when the turning point arrived.

A voice calling itself the "supreme will" echoed across Blue Star.

It declared that in three years, a world-destroying catastrophe would sweep across Blue Star.

The only way to survive was to participate in the "Endgame Simulation".

Every country would randomly select 50 Challengers and throw them into a simulated world called the "Void Sea".

There was no land there, only islands floating above a sea of clouds.

On these Floating Islands, there were resources, monsters, and even ruins.

As long as a Challenger collected resources and uploaded them, they could be returned to reality to boost their nation's destiny.

To put it bluntly, it was a scavenging competition where national destiny was at stake.

The winner takes all; the losers perish.

That day, the whole world fell into chaos.

At the same time, the Great Xia Live Stream occupied televisions, mobile phones, and more; cutting off the internet or power was useless.

At the time, because Great Xia's foundation was solid, they had the most confidence.

But once the rules were announced, everyone's heart turned cold.

[Challengers will parachute into the Void Sea.]

In all of Great Xia, how many people had actually touched a parachute in reality?

Fainting from acrophobia, failing to deploy the parachute, choosing the wrong landing spot...

Just this single step alone caused more than half to be lost.

Out of the first batch of 50, those who ultimately survived could be counted on two hands.

Lin Ye, who was just a viewer at the time, broke into a cold sweat watching the livestream.

And now, he had been selected as part of the second batch of replacements and was about to be thrown down.

At this moment, in the Great Xia Live Stream rooms for various Challengers, the argument was already raging.

[What a sin! The second round of the 'landing and becoming a loot box' competition is about to start again.]

[Caught a college student? Archaeology Department? Is he going to pray for his ancestors to show their spirits?]

[Forget it, there's an internet celebrity next door who does suggestive content; is she planning to dance for the monsters?]

[What's an internet celebrity? I saw Ji Kun. Is he planning to bring singing, dancing, rapping, and basketball to another world?]

[Don't be so gloomy! At least we have retired soldiers as replacements; there's still hope!]

[Right, right. Every country is about the same; they're all randomly selected, it's impossible for them all to be special forces.]

[But those foreigners are asking for death; as soon as you mention parachuting, they act like they're on drugs! We're already at a huge disadvantage from the start!]

The livestream was filled with wails of grief; everyone was crazily teetering on the edge of anxiety.

Just then, the announcement for the "Endgame Simulation" National Destiny Challenge rang in everyone's ears.

[The selection of the 2nd round of replacement Challengers for all countries is complete, filling the quota to 50 people.]

[Challengers have 1 chance per day to return obtained resources to their home country at a rate of 100 to 10,000 times.]

[Each country can drop 1 "non-military item" to 1 of their own Challengers per round, accompanied by a message of no more than 20 characters.]

[If a Challenger's vital signs hit zero, they are truly dead.]

[When a country's Challenger vital signs reach zero 3 times, that country will be permanently disqualified from entering.]

Disqualified? Lin Ye sneered inwardly.

This move was much crueler than direct erasure.

Erasure is straightforward; you close your eyes and it's over.

But losing eligibility means watching helplessly as the country's resources are exhausted and order collapses.

The populace will wait for death in the longest despair.

"Hey, Cyclops." A sneer came from across the way.

Lin Ye looked up.

A man with a Southeast Asian face was looking at him.

His skin was dark, and he had a centipede tattooed on his neck.

"You guys from Great Xia splattered into mud in the last round. With that skill level, do you even deserve to come in and grab resources?"

Several people around them also joined in the laughter.

Lin Ye didn't take the bait; he just looked at him expressionlessly.

The man felt a bit unnerved by his gaze and yelled, his voice sounding fierce but weak:

"What are you looking at? Look again and I'll gouge out that remaining eyeball of yours!"

Challengers on both sides of the aisle turned their heads, wearing expressions of watching a show.

Lin Ye didn't speak.

He unbuckled his safety belt, stood up, walked three steps forward, and stopped in front of the other man.

"You... what do you want!"

The tattooed man tried to act calm. "The rules said that even if you attack in the cabin, it won't cause any damage!"

Lin Ye didn't waste words; he simply raised his left hand and spread his fingers.

His fingertips hooked onto the edge of his eye socket, and under the horrified gaze of the crowd...

"Pop—!"

A glass bead, still slightly warm, was forcibly gouged out of his eye socket.

The left eye socket was empty, looking eerie and sinister.

Lin Ye held the fake eyeball out to the tattooed man and tilted his head.

"Want it? I'll give it to you?"

The tattooed man's face went deathly pale, and he shrank back into his seat as hard as he could.

Some timid people gasped in shock and quickly turned their heads away.

Lin Ye stared at him for 10 seconds.

Until the other man didn't even dare to breathe, he curled his lips, turned around, and walked back to his seat.

He stuffed the glass eyeball back into his socket, pressed it, and blinked.

Alright, it was a perfect fit.

Leaning back against the seat, he felt a bit annoyed.

Look at other transmigrators; systems, superpowers—if you get even one, you take off instantly.

As for him?

It was also a soul transmigration, but this second-hand body wasn't even eighty percent new; dammit, it was missing original factory parts.

His daily entertainment was just fidgeting with his glass bead.

...

In the Great Xia Live Stream.

The audience exploded after that scene.

[Holy crap! This guy is a ruthless maniac! He really just gouged it out!]

[Can we get someone healthy? Isn't a cyclops just a free kill going in?]

[Don't be gloomy! At least he didn't chicken out; he stood up and scared the crap out of that bastard opposite him!]

[Wake up, brother. This isn't about being ruthless or not; his field of vision is halved, he'll be a loot box the moment he lands!]

At this moment, a large number of overseas IDs began flooding the chat.

[Monkey Country: Hahahaha! Does Great Xia have no one left? You picked a cripple!]

[Island Country: Yoshi! How many of you died parachuting in the last round? This round will definitely be more!]

[USA: Prepare for your funeral; our Challengers will crush you!]

[USA (Great Xia Language): Good thing I emigrated early, otherwise I'd be killed by this blind man!]

The sarcasm and mockery on the public screen ignited the anger of the Great Xia people.

[Where did these electronic pets come from, barking here? Hurry up and go back to eating donuts!]

[So what if he's one-eyed? He'll still live longer than you two-eyed freaks.]

[That move where he gouged his eye out just now... honestly, he's got something!]

[He's got nothing. This is a fatal flaw; no coming back from that!]

Lin Ye was naturally unaware of the arguments outside.

He leaned back in his seat, calculating in his mind.

What was the first thing to do after landing.

Find a water source?

Find cover?

Observe the terrain first?

Just then—

[Ding.]

Lin Ye blinked. It's here?

He was too familiar with this seductive notification sound!

In the two and a half years since he transmigrated, he had been waiting for this sound in his dreams every day.

According to the usual flow, a grand and emotionless mechanical voice should come next.

Finally... the system arrives... and he reaches the pinnacle of life...

However.

[Earth Huaxia Transmigrator Management Bureau... at your service!]

[I am your dedicated customer service representative, Xiaomei, employee ID 996007.]

A sweet female voice rang in his mind, catching him off guard.

Lin Ye: "???"

Why did this feel wrong?

Are they starting to run this with formalized operations now too?

[Detected that transmigrator user "Lin Ye" is suffering from significant malicious discrimination and ridicule from indigenous people.]

[Your legal rights have been severely infringed upon.]

[According to Chapter 3, Article 17 of the "Huaxia Transmigrator Rights Protection Manual"...]

[We have urgently activated the "Cross-Border Care" plan for you!]

A golden light pattern lit up in Lin Ye's left eye.