Chapter 2 Star Realm Shuttle

In the room.

Zhou Jing flopped heavily onto his bed, face up, staring blankly at the ceiling, his heart in a mess.

Originally, his plan for the future was like this: obtain a degree from a higher education institution to make it easier to find a job. The job didn't need to pay a high salary, as long as it was local, preferably close to home.

Because his eldest brother and second brother had separated from the family, pursuing their own paths and moving out, rarely returning. His parents were getting older, and his three younger siblings were still underage, the oldest being only ten years old, requiring care.

Someone had to stay home to take care of the family, and since his two older brothers were unwilling to delay their futures, he had to take on the responsibility. Zhou Jing's plan after graduation was to work nearby and take care of his family.

As for his career and future, he would take his time, wait until his younger siblings came of age. He didn't have such a strong ambition. He felt that he was still young and could afford to wait, unlike his two older brothers who were so anxious.

But…

The sudden forced immigration disrupted his life plan.

He had no complaints about the official policy, but the attitude of his family was truly disheartening.

In the interstellar era, due to various factors, family values had gradually weakened. But even though the feelings between family members were somewhat distant, Zhou Jing had always been careful to maintain them, feeling that they were family after all.

However, he cherished his family… but his family didn't seem to cherish him. Rather than trying to keep him, his father and brothers seemed to hope that the family would have one more interstellar immigrant, bringing them benefits in their careers… or rather, everyone resisted the forced immigration quota, so they couldn't wait to push it onto him.

"Sacrifice one for the benefit of the whole family."

Zhou Jing stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before turning his head to look around the room.

The edge of the table was missing a corner, wrapped with a circle of tape. It had been broken when he was nine years old. Two hooks were missing from the curtain rod; he had used the hooks as earrings during his rebellious phase and accidentally lost them, probably when he was twelve and a half. Seven posters of the Superpower League were plastered on the wall. He had been a loyal viewer since he was thirteen, and these posters were of different star players he had liked…

And here… and there…

Zhou Jing's gaze slowly and carefully swept over every corner of this twelve-square-meter room.

He had lived in this room for more than ten years, and it was full of traces of his life.

Outside the window was the familiar scenery he had seen for more than ten years. The setting sun hung in the sky, covering the steel forest with a golden coat. Speed-limited hovercars cruised leisurely between the tall buildings, and the signs on the top floors of the distant buildings lit up, beginning to radiate colorful neon lights, as if announcing the imminent arrival of night.

Here were familiar family and friends, familiar streets and buildings. He had spent his youthful years here.

No matter how far apart cities were, they were still under the same blue sky, but the distance between planets was so far that it seemed unreachable.

Interstellar immigration was a walled city. Some people were willing to go, some wanted to stay. Some wanted to abandon the past and pursue immigration benefits, while others were unwilling to leave the land they had lived on for so long, making it difficult to reunite with family and friends.

Zhou Jing had never thought about the possibility of leaving, and he didn't want to go yet… but no one could help him. He could only rely on himself.

"Once selected for forced immigration, unless there are special circumstances, you must obey the official arrangements for immigration… special circumstances…"

Zhou Jing muttered to himself, suddenly his gaze locked on the Superpower League poster.

He suddenly sat up, took out his phone, and searched for the policy support clauses for superpowered individuals, his eyes scanning through large areas of complicated policy articles, finally stopping on one of them, and reading out softly:

"Any individual who meets the definition of 'superpowered individual' is not within the scope of compulsory conscription for interstellar immigration. If randomly selected for a compulsory immigration quota, they can be exempted unconditionally, without approval, and their immediate family members can enjoy this right."

"Superpowered individual… if I become a superpowered individual, I can be exempted from forced immigration…"

Zhou Jing murmured, his eyes slightly brightened.

Was there a possibility… that he would wake up tomorrow as a superpowered individual?

Raising his hand would collapse the sky, stomping his foot would sink the earth, no matter how big the world was, he could go wherever he wanted.

He couldn't help but daydream for a while, but finally stopped the momentum of his fantasies, gently slapped himself in the face, and sighed.

There were several ways to become a superpowered individual: gene potions, superpower knowledge, mutation, etc… but none of these were accessible to an ordinary person like him.

Gene potions were strictly controlled products by the government. They couldn't be found on the shelves, and they didn't support online shopping. Ordinary people had no way to buy them. The dissemination of superpower knowledge was also strictly controlled, and civilians couldn't access it.

As for mutation, where could he find an environment or experimental project that could mutate him? And even if he found one, could he be sure of mutating? Most likely, he would leave the world in various strange postures, shockingly.

Under the control of the Collective government, which strictly prohibited the illegal dissemination of superpower knowledge and superpower items among the people, the only way for ordinary people to become superpowered was through "awakening."

But talent was the biggest barrier between people, almost determining at the moment of birth who had the qualifications of a superpowered individual.

He hadn't awakened any superpowers for so many years. Expecting to suddenly awaken now was a bit unrealistic. Putting hope on such a low-probability event was no different from hoping for toilet paper to fall from the sky when you had no paper in the toilet. It would be more reliable to wait for the poop to dry on its own.

"Superpowered individual…" Zhou Jing stared at the Superpower League poster, his eyes complex.

When he was a child, he, like many children, had also fantasized about himself becoming a superpowered individual, but as he grew older, he gradually lost his extravagant hopes and accepted the reality that he might just be an ordinary person in this life.

If he had any advantages, perhaps it was that he had a clear enough self-awareness. He knew that he didn't have extraordinary intelligence, outstanding family background, or amazing perseverance. Although he was quite good-looking, he hadn't reached the point where God was fighting to feed him… in short, he was an unremarkable person.

In the future, he would probably do a job that he didn't like or dislike, living a routine life day after day, and like countless ordinary people, he would dutifully act as a part in the operation of society. His greatest contribution would be to give birth to offspring, contributing population to the cause of human civilization's interstellar expansion.

Occasionally, in his free time, he would watch the superpowered individuals in the Superpower League who could fly into the sky and escape into the earth, witnessing the colorful lives of these "superhumans" with longing… but no matter how much he longed for it, it would ultimately not be his world.

"Alas, I should think of other ways."

Zhou Jing rubbed his temples, sighed, and crossed out the "become a superpowered individual" plan from his mind.

Although he felt disheartened by his family's attitude, he tried his best not to think about it, knowing that it wouldn't help his current situation.

He forced himself to cheer up and find a way to solve the forced immigration dilemma.

But one method after another appeared, and then one after another was rejected by him… if forced immigration was so easy to get rid of, then it wouldn't be labeled "forced." The Interstellar Union Collective's determination to ensure that interstellar expansion had a sufficient immigrant population was very firm.

The more he racked his brains to think of a way, the more Zhou Jing felt helpless. The suddenly derailed future made him feel confused and bewildered.

Unconsciously, the setting sun fell and the night sky hung in the air.

The door was never knocked on.

He tossed and turned in bed, thinking about where he should go, and unknowingly sleepiness gradually rose, his eyelids gradually became heavy, and his thoughts sank into a chaotic state between dream and wakefulness.

Time seemed to stretch into thin threads, and all kinds of hazy emotions flashed like a revolving lantern.

Childhood memories that made people miss, a future that deviated from its track, fantasies that had long been buried, a life destined to be mediocre, a reality that was difficult to escape…

All of this floated and sank in his mind, turning into an unclear dream, as if the scale of time had become a picture scroll, the past and the future were spread out before his eyes, as if he was standing at a higher dimension, silently overlooking his mediocre life.

And in this hazy, half-dreaming, half-waking state…

A thunderclap suddenly exploded in his mind!

Boom!!!

An electric shock-like tremor ran through every nerve, and Zhou Jing's body shuddered violently, his sleepiness instantly dissipating.

He subconsciously opened his eyes.

At this moment, the world changed.

Before his eyes was no longer the familiar room, but a starry universe, surrounded by slowly rotating, dazzling nebulae.

Stars surrounded him, shining brightly.

He seemed to be in the center of the galaxy!

""

What's the situation?

Did I sleep in a wrong position?

Zhou Jing's mind was buzzing, his face full of bewildered question marks.

Suddenly, wisps of starlight condensed in front of him, turning into a huge fluorescent panel, on which poured a waterfall of subtitles.

At this moment, a large amount of information poured into his mind!

[Detected Star Realm disturbance phenomenon, coordinates calibrating… Discovering a new Star Realm, detecting gravity intensity and convergence status… Detection completed, current status: [Deployable]]

[Creating Star Realm link port… Docking Star Realm time stream… Connection completed!]

[Star Realm plane archive recorded – current number of recorded planes: 1]

[Current connectable plane: [Unnamed] Number 001]

[Map overview mode loading… Loading complete!]

[Creating a new Star Realm Apostle… Template generated!]

——

[Current Template - Trait Archive]

[Name: Willwood (changeable)]

[Race/Appearance: Terran (changeable)]

[Identity: None]

[Personality: Suspicious, cautious]

[Style: Conservative]

[Alignment: Lawful, moral]

[Goals: Power, honor]

[Synchronization Difficulty Rating: Easy]

[Life Goals: [Become a Beast Hunter], [Become a Bloodstream Warrior], [Compile an Encyclopedia of Exotic Beasts]]

[Apostle Constant Standard: 0/80 (Click to view detailed explanation)]

[Current Template - Ability Archive]

[Attributes: Physique 3 (Tier 1), Resistance 5 (Tier 1), Perception 7 (Tier 1), Spirit 4 (Tier 1), Energy 0 (Tier 0)]

[Aptitude: Survival - [Green], Physique - [Light Green], Riding - [White], Gunmanship - [White]… (Expand detailed list)]

[Talent: [Alertness] (Slightly increased perception)]

[Free Allocation Points: 4]

[Extraordinary Power System: [Empty Slot] x1]

[Skills: None]

[Auxiliary Function: [Unlocked]]

[Rarity Rating: Mediocre Person]

——

[Total Template Free Reset Count: 0]

[Specified Parameter Free Reset Count: 2]

[Adjust current Star Realm Apostle template?]

[Yes/No]

……

……

(ps: Brothers, I'm back! Sorry, sorry, this time I rested for a bit longer. If a donkey from the production team dared to rest like this, it would have become donkey meat pancakes long ago, but it feels like time has passed so quickly. It feels like only two or three months ago that Mechanic ended. I always feel like someone stole my time.

(This time's theme, although it's still writing about the interstellar background, there's definitely going to be a big change, and the theme is different too. Also, unlike Mechanic, which directly revealed the outline at the beginning, there are a lot of settings and gameplay elements, which will be told slowly along with the plot. I think it's pretty fun, and I hope I can write it in an interesting way.)

(It seems that the starting point mechanism has changed a lot. You can vote for monthly tickets even if you haven't put it on the shelves. The new book is starting, asking for a recommendation and monthly ticket, love you guys.)