Chapter 1: Transmigrated, and There's a Cow

Jiangnan Base City, Yangzhou City. Yi'an District, First High School. It was June 9th, the final day of the National College Entrance Examination in China.

Inside one of the examination rooms, after the papers were distributed, Luo Feng took a deep breath and thought to himself, *Only this math exam left.*

*Do your best, keep going!* Giving himself a silent cheer, Luo Feng lowered his head and began working on the problems.

The classroom was quiet, making the scratching of pens and the sound of breathing all the more distinct.

As time slipped away, Luo Feng, deeply engrossed in solving a difficult problem, suddenly felt his body temperature rise. A wave of discomfort washed over him, his heart rate surged, and his vision began to blur.

He instinctively glanced at the watch on his left wrist. When he saw the "pulse" reading on the screen spiking rapidly, his expression changed. Memories of the two times he had suddenly fainted during his childhood flashed through his mind.

*It hurts so much... No, no, I can't faint now...*

But the excruciating headache and his unresponsive body were completely beyond his control. In the end, he lost consciousness and collapsed onto his desk.

Hearing the sudden commotion, the invigilator quickly rushed over. Seeing a student unconscious, the teacher grew anxious, calling out to him while pulling out a phone to dial emergency services.

Right at that moment, a tiny streak of golden light leaped through space and plunged into the unconscious Luo Feng's mind, merging deeply with him.

No one noticed anything unusual during this process. In fact, not even this universe recorded the event, as if the golden streak of light had never existed.

Thus, even if a powerhouse above the level of a Universe Master were to trace back time, they would find no trace of it.

***

"Sigh."

"Sigh!"

"Sigh..."

Bai Chen had lost count of how many times he had sighed.

In the void of space, without a physical body, Bai Chen's soul sat cross-legged, feeling like crying but having no tears.

The good news was that he had transmigrated into the world of *Swallowed Star* and even brought a cheat system with him. He had thought he could roam the starry skies like the future Lord Luo and become a peak powerhouse of the universe.

...Who would have thought that something went wrong during the transmigration, and his cheat actually shattered?!

Seeing his cheat shatter, the unprotected Bai Chen was on the verge of perishing in the torrent of time and space. At the critical moment, however, his soul unexpectedly merged with the broken cheat, becoming its spirit. This prevented the cheat from collapsing entirely, and he managed to survive.

Afterward, he possessed Luo Feng and became bound to him.

"To go from being the protagonist with a cheat system to being someone else's worker... I really can't accept this..." Bai Chen thought helplessly. He could see the outside world through Luo Feng's perspective.

At this moment, Luo Feng had already woken up in a hospital bed. Learning that he had fainted during the exam, his face was filled with disappointment and frustration, while his father, Luo Hongguo, and his younger brother, Luo Hua, comforted him.

*No, I need to pull myself together!* Bai Chen took a deep breath—if he still had breath, that is.

*In any case, it's good enough that I'm not dead!*

*Besides, being bound to Luo Feng... Luo Feng is the protagonist of Swallowed Star, with limitless potential. By attaching myself to him, maybe I can use his help to free myself in the future.* Bai Chen's thoughts raced.

Thinking about it this way, the future wasn't necessarily entirely dark. Bai Chen comforted himself.

Now that he had calmed down, Bai Chen finally had time to study the functions of the cheat. Actually, since he and the cheat had merged, the cheat was him, and he was the cheat. These should be considered his own abilities now.

The cheat had no name, but as its spirit, Bai Chen had a general understanding of the abilities he now possessed.

There were only two abilities.

The first ability was: "Creation."

"Consume a certain type of special energy to generate various items."

These "items" encompassed everything. Whether inanimate objects, living creatures, or even abstract concepts, they could all be generated.

*In other words, I can create anything based entirely on my imagination? As long as there is enough special energy, I can make it?* Bai Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but marvel at how overpowered this was.

*With enough special energy, I could even recreate the Star Tower!*

*And any constitution, divine ability, cultivation technique, treasure, or even talent from the novels, anime, and movies I've watched—I can create them all.*

Bai Chen clicked his tongue in wonder, feeling like he was about to soar to the heavens.

But then he thought about how he could have used this cheat to become absolutely legendary on his own. Now, he was stuck inside Luo Feng, watching Luo Feng use his abilities... and he had no choice but to let him.

After all, Luo Feng was now his host. To obtain the special energy, he had to go through Luo Feng. This was the fundamental rule of the cheat. Even though Bai Chen had merged with it, he could not alter this rule and had to abide by it.

If this wasn't a cruel joke of fate, what was?

For a moment, Bai Chen felt even more miserable.

Taking another deep breath to compose himself, Bai Chen examined his second ability: the "Quest System."

"Set quests. Once the host completes them, they receive rewards."

*Wait a minute.* As Bai Chen examined this ability, he suddenly realized its true essence.

The rewards the host received did not appear out of thin air. Instead, as the cheat, Bai Chen would secretly siphon special energy from the outside world based on the level of influence the host exerted on the world. He would then use this energy to create rewards for the host.

Bai Chen figured this special energy could perhaps be called World Force, Origin Force, or Cosmic Force.

But the name didn't matter. What mattered was that Bai Chen had spotted a loophole.

"Can I take a cut of this energy?" Bai Chen muttered to himself.

Obviously, he could. Since he was the cheat itself, he was the one setting the quests and rewards.

Aside from being unable to leave Luo Feng's body and relying solely on Luo Feng to acquire the special energy, Bai Chen faced no other restrictions.

*Special energy can create any item I can imagine...* Bai Chen's eyes lit up (if he had eyes).

*In that case, can I create a special ability that allows me to separate from Luo Feng and take human form?*

Feeling out the limits of his "Creation" ability, he received a vague sense of confirmation from within.

It was possible!

Heaven never seals off all paths!

Although it would require an astronomical amount of special energy, it at least gave Bai Chen a chance. That was enough!

In the void of space, the soul-form Bai Chen felt slightly relieved. Otherwise, being trapped in this space for eternity would undoubtedly be a form of torture.

***

Outside, it was already night.

After eating dinner, Luo Feng entered his bedroom. Telling his family that he wanted some quiet time, he closed the door.

Luo Feng's home was only thirty-six square meters, with a one-bedroom, one-living-room layout. Luo Feng and his brother Luo Hua slept in the only bedroom, while their parents slept on an old sofa in the living room that could be folded flat into a bed.

In the living room, Luo Hua sat in his wheelchair, keeping his parents company. He watched his brother's retreating back with a mixture of helplessness and heartache.

Beside him, Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan looked on with worry, wanting to say something.

"Don't worry, Mom and Dad. He's just a bit down. Let him have some space to recover. The three of us shouldn't disturb him," Luo Hua comforted his parents.

"Sigh, I suppose that's all we can do," Luo Hongguo said helplessly.

That afternoon at the hospital, his eldest son had looked perfectly calm, telling them it was fine. He had claimed that the math exam this year was extremely difficult, and though he missed a few questions and likely lost his chance at the First Military Academy, he might still have a shot at the Second Military Academy.

Looking at it now, his son had only been putting on a brave face, trying not to worry his father.

Inside the simple yet cozy little room, Luo Feng took a deep breath, his expression somewhat tense.

Unlike the depression his parents and brother assumed he was feeling, Luo Feng's eyes held a trace of anxiety and disbelief.

"Are you still there?" Luo Feng called out in a low, cautious voice.

"...Just speak in your mind. I can hear you," Bai Chen replied, lounging with his legs crossed inside Luo Feng's body.

A few hours ago, after careful consideration, Bai Chen had decided on his method of communication with Luo Feng. He would step forward and communicate with Luo Feng directly, rather than hiding in the background as an emotionless, unintelligent system.

There were many reasons for this decision, but the biggest was that Bai Chen could not stand the loneliness and isolation of the void. Trapped in that empty space, if he couldn't even talk, he would probably go insane over time.

Rather than breaking down from the isolation later and suddenly revealing himself, it was better to show himself right from the start. At this stage, Luo Feng was still very young and naive. And being naive meant he was easy to fool.

Hearing the man's voice echo in his mind once again, Luo Feng's heart skipped a beat. He hadn't misheard earlier; it wasn't a hallucination!

Luo Feng immediately asked in his mind, unable to contain his urgency, "Who on earth are you? How did you end up inside my body?!"

On post-Great Nirvana Earth, the entertainment industry had withered. Martial arts and self-improvement had captured the public consciousness, and dojos were everywhere. Even senior citizens in their sixties and seventies trained diligently. Although novels and anime existed, the eighteen-year-old Luo Feng had no time or energy for them.

His family was impoverished. His father and mother worked exhausting overtime every day, and his brother Luo Hua was disabled. Luo Feng's sole goal had always been to get into the First Military Academy and change his family's living conditions. Consequently, he studied hard at school, and after classes or during holidays, he was either training at the Dojo of Limits or working as a movement technique tutor to earn money. Where would he find the time or energy to read novels or watch anime?

As a result, Luo Feng had no concept of systems, cheats, or grandpa-in-a-ring tropes. He was simply nervous and apprehensive about the voice that had suddenly appeared inside him.

Bai Chen could sense Luo Feng's anxiety. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.

"You will learn about my origins in the future. For now, all you need to know is that I can help you become stronger."

There was no point in explaining his origins right now. Once a deep trust was established between them, everything else would fall into place naturally.

"Help me become stronger?" Luo Feng asked hesitantly.

"Yes, help you become stronger," Bai Chen confirmed.

"Why should I trust you? And if you help me become stronger, there must be a price. What is that price?" Luo Feng was no fool. In fact, he was highly intelligent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so confident about getting into the First Military Academy.

Those who aimed for the First Military Academy were all elites, comparable to the top students of prestigious universities in Bai Chen's previous life. Furthermore, children of the poor grew up fast. Despite his young age, Luo Feng was well aware of the harsh realities of the world and was much more mature than his peers.

"A price? Of course there is a price." Bai Chen smiled. As expected of the future Lord Luo, even though he was still young and naive, he wasn't easily fooled. After a brief pause, Bai Chen replied, "However, you cannot afford this price right now. You will only be able to help me after you become strong."

Luo Feng fell silent at the mysterious voice's response. It was true. What did he currently possess that could possibly interest such a mysterious entity?

Yet, Luo Feng still had one doubt. He asked Bai Chen in his mind once more, "Then... why did you choose me instead of someone else?"

Hearing this, Bai Chen's composure slipped slightly. It wasn't as if he had a choice. Who would willingly give up being a human to become a cheat system? But he had no choice. If he hadn't merged with the cheat back then, he would have perished in the torrent of time and space. To survive, he had to do it.

As for why he ended up bound to Luo Feng... Bai Chen guessed it was probably because Luo Feng possessed immense destiny, which instinctively attracted the cheat. Or perhaps because he was an Earthling in his past life, so upon arriving in the universe of *Swallowed Star*, he had automatically targeted Earth, and Luo Feng just happened to be the lucky one to get bound.

Bai Chen didn't bother overthinking it. After a moment of silence, he replied, "Because you are the most talented person on this planet. Only by binding to you do I have a sliver of hope that you can help me in the future."

*This planet?! Could this mysterious entity inside me be from beyond Earth?*

Luo Feng swallowed hard. Such a secret was undoubtedly mind-blowing for a mere high school senior.

"Are you... an entity from outside Earth?" Luo Feng asked nervously.

It made sense. How could there be such a bizarre entity capable of possessing humans on Earth? He had never heard of such a thing.

"...Ask this question when you are strong enough. Right now, knowing it is meaningless," Bai Chen replied.

Luo Feng fell silent, his emotions cooling down. Indeed, he was currently just an elite dojo student, not even a true warrior. What did it matter if he knew about the world outside Earth? Even on Earth, he was at the very bottom of the food chain...

"Then, how can you help me become stronger?" Luo Feng asked the question he anticipated the most.

Although he still felt some apprehension toward the mysterious entity within him, just as it had said, he currently had no power to resist, let alone speak on equal terms. Instead of worrying, he should think about how to use this opportunity to make himself stronger. That way, he could move his parents into a big house and cure his brother Luo Hua's disability!