1: Chapter 1 Is the United States the Beacon of Light? This World is Seriously Sick!

“Just yesterday, our mighty ‘Freedom Eagle’ Task Force successfully cracked an unprecedented, major, and severe case in Venezuela!”

In the core plaza of the city's CBD, hundreds of giant electronic screens flickered simultaneously, cutting off all entertainment programs to forcefully broadcast an international breaking news bulletin.

On the screen, the blonde, blue-eyed, and impeccably suited spokesperson for the Eagle Country Ministry of Foreign Affairs was puffing out his arrogant chin, spouting nonsense into the lenses of global media.

“Currently, we have fully controlled and escorted the head of state of that nation—their current president—back home for trial! Without a doubt, Eagle Country is forever the sharp sword maintaining justice, the only lighthouse illuminating this world!”

The spokesperson suddenly brandished a fist.

Boom!

The entire plaza erupted.

Passersby, who had been hurrying along, stopped one after another, tilting their heads up to stare at the big screen, erupting in bursts of fanatical cheers.

“Awesome! Directly crossing the border to grab the president in their capital—that’s so cool!”

“This is literally the real-life version of ‘Captain Eagle Country’! Long live the Lighthouse Nation!”

“Look at their combat power, their dominance! When will we have such superheroes?”

“Give it a rest. Our country can’t even produce a decent sci-fi movie; we rely entirely on bragging about some old, worn-out history. How can we compare to Eagle Country?”

A young man with dyed yellow hair, wearing a tight-fitting ‘Captain Eagle Country’ merchandise T-shirt, shouted excitedly in the street, drawing a round of echoing laughter from those around him.

In this parallel world thoroughly invaded by American culture, pandering to foreign powers had become the ‘politically correct’ standard.

Young people madly worshipped individualism, fantasizing about becoming lone-wolf heroes who saved the world single-handedly.

Meanwhile, the weighty national backbone and collective honor of Huaxia were long regarded as synonyms for backwardness and poverty.

At the edge of the plaza.

Su Yun held a worn cardboard box, his knuckles turning white from gripping it too tightly.

The glaring blue light from the massive screen shone on his pale face.

He looked at the frenzied crowd, his chest feeling as if a huge boulder was pressing down, making it hard to breathe.

This world was seriously ill.

And just ten minutes ago, he had paid a painful price for this very ‘sickness’.

Ten minutes ago, in the company conference room.

“Su Yun, you’re fired.”

The cold voice coming from the speaker sounded like a dull knife, scraping harshly against Su Yun’s heart.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles white, his lips tightly pressed together.

The company conference room was bustling with people coming and going.

His former colleagues cast looks of sympathy or schadenfreude his way, but not a single person dared to say a word.

“Why?” Su Yun tried hard to keep his voice calm.

“You still ask why?”

The HR manager across from him, a young man with slicked-back hair, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone carrying undisguised contempt.

“The company just signed an exclusive agency agreement with Eagle Country for ‘Captain Eagle Country 4.’ For the next five years, we will fully invest in the development of the American Superhero IP, creating our own ‘Superman Universe.’”

He paused, glancing at Su Yun.

“You, an old stubborn person full of outdated history and ‘patriotic sentiment,’ are completely incompatible with the company’s strategic direction. Sorry, you have no more value.”

Su Yun looked at him, feeling as if he had been stabbed in the heart.

He wanted to refute, wanted to question loudly, but his throat felt blocked by something, rendering him unable to utter a single word.

He had worked himself to the bone for this company for seven years, growing from an inexperienced youth into a well-known game designer in the industry.

How many all-nighters had he pulled for a ‘National Style Wuxia’ project? How many holidays had he given up?

Now, a single phrase—‘no more value’—completely negated everything he was?

He turned and quietly walked out of the conference room without saying goodbye to anyone.

Faint discussions drifted from behind him.

“See? I told you Su Yun’s approach wouldn’t work. What era is this? Who still watches that old history?”

“Exactly. How cool is Captain Eagle Country? One person saves the world, so satisfying! Who wants to play about ‘collectivism’?”

“I heard he previously wanted to develop a game with an anti-Eagle theme. That’s a joke; wasn’t he just asking for trouble?”

These words felt like icy needle tips, stinging Su Yun’s heart.

Stepping out of the company gate, the cold wind of late autumn howled past, making his thin clothes flutter loudly.

He looked up at the huge poster newly hung outside the company building: Captain Eagle Country, draped in the Stars and Stripes, struck a heroic pose, his gaze firm, as if mocking the world.

Everyone yearned to be a ‘lone-wolf hero,’ looked down on the collective, mocked sacrifice, and believed only in the supremacy of strength.

This was Su Yun’s most direct feeling since transmigrating to this parallel world.

Advertisements for ‘American Supermen’ games were everywhere on the streets, and movie theaters were looping blockbuster features about ‘heroes fighting aliens’.

Yet those past pillars of the nation, the ancestors who fought bloody battles in the ice and snow, seemed to be gradually pushed toward the corner of oblivion by the torrent of this era.

Su Yun returned to his old house, pushed open the door, and was greeted by the familiar smell of dust.

On the table lay a faded group photo. In the picture, his grandfather stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a group of young soldiers, wearing his military uniform, a youthful yet resolute smile on his face.

Next to it, a heavy military medal gleamed under the dim yellow light.

“Grandpa…” Su Yun whispered, his fingers tracing the cold medal.

Were they truly going to be forgotten? Did all that passion and sacrifice really count for less than a fictional ‘superhero’?

Anger, unwillingness, and a deep sense of sorrow surged in Su Yun’s heart.

He closed his eyes, and the scene of his grandfather recounting the Battle of Chosin Lake surfaced in his mind—the ‘Ice Sculpture Company’ standing motionless in the extreme cold, the heroes who used their bodies to block enemy gun emplacements…

“Ding! [Realistic Scene Simulation System] Binding successful!”

A mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind, startling Su Yun.

He snapped his eyes open and looked around, but found nothing unusual.

“What is this?”

He frowned, thinking he was hallucinating due to excessive stress.

“System loading… Ultimate Physics Engine activated… Historical Retrospective Material Library activated… Emotion Collection Module activated…”

A series of prompts exploded in his mind.

Su Yun was stunned. A cheat system?

He, a game designer who had just been kicked out, had actually awakened a system?

“Functions: Ultimate Physics Engine, capable of perfectly simulating pain, extreme cold, hunger, and the feeling of near-death. Historical Retrospective Material Library, providing 1:1 simulations of real historical battles, character voices, and weapon data. Emotion Collection, gathering player ‘shock,’ ‘emotion,’ and ‘tears’ for use in redeeming higher-precision instances and holographic promotion resources.”

The system clearly explained its functions.

Su Yun looked at the photo and medal on the table; a bold, almost insane idea began to rise in his heart.

He would use this system, the most authentic battlefield, to tear apart those hypocritical ‘superheroes’!

He would make all the young people in the world feel what true national backbone was!

“Can this system… save me?” Su Yun murmured to himself, but a blazing fire had already ignited in his eyes.

He abruptly stood up from the chair and walked toward the old computer.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing one familiar character after another.

What he was going to develop was an unprecedented VR game.