Chapter 2: Casting the Projection

The character cards in the Cross-World Game are divided into five levels: minions, specialists, supporting roles, protagonists, and Children of the World. Each corresponds to a card color—white, green, blue, purple, and orange. Except for the unique Child of the World card, all others are categorized according to the character’s combat power.

Any character with less than 100 combat power is considered a minion. The greatest purpose of these minion cards isn’t to be used in the real world, but to be projected into various worlds to complete missions, collect equipment, and gather items. Every time a character is projected, 50 points of combat power are deducted. When their combat power is depleted, the card is destroyed. Thus, minion cards can be projected at most twice, making them the least valuable for enhancement.

Unfortunately, Ou Xiaolu’s luck was so poor that he drew a blank minion card, giving him only one chance to use projection.

Fortunately, the world card he drew was a micro world, the smallest category among micro, small, medium, large, and complete worlds. Its maximum area was no more than a football field, so a minion character would still be capable of exploring it.

“I hope my luck improves in the small world,” Ou Xiaolu sighed deeply after hearing the introduction to the character and world cards.

“Don’t worry. Since this is the novice tutorial phase, there’s always a treasure chest guaranteed in the small world,” came the reassuring reply.

Ou Xiaolu’s expression darkened further. “Are you mocking my luck? Believe me, I’ll quit this damned game if you keep it up!”

The novice guide said no more, and the screen before Ou Xiaolu transformed, becoming an oil painting of a stormy sea. In the painting, the wind raged, lightning flashed, and something seemed to be swept away by the waves.

[In a certain sea region, a special ship carrying precious cargo is lost in the storm. Many seek the whereabouts of this sunken vessel, but none know it is lodged within a rocky cavern at the bottom. Until one day, someone dives into this place…]

[Projection attempts (number of characters): 3/3. Worldline (plot reset) attempts: 0/0.]

Thanks to the previous explanation, Ou Xiaolu now understood that the number of projection attempts and characters allowed in the world card were the same. With 3/3, he could project one character at a time on three occasions, or all three at once to complete different tasks.

Plot reset, or worldline restart, was a function available only in B-level or higher world cards. This blank D-level world offered no such privileges.

Following the novice guide’s instructions, Ou Xiaolu projected [Minion: Lower Ninja] into [World: The Sunken Ship], and watched a black-clad ninja descend into the deep sea. A voice sounded in his ear.

“The world’s timeline moves at the same speed as the outside world. In this pause mode, all progress throughout the worlds is halted. This makes it easier for players to manage commands, since even a level-one player can open three worlds simultaneously. Without the pause function, players would be overwhelmed trying to keep up. Now, let’s introduce your character panel. Once that’s done, we’ll resume time. When your projected character reacts, we’ll continue guiding you.”

“So what do I do now?” Ou Xiaolu asked frankly.

“Whatever you like. Of course, if you want to watch the action, you can devote some attention to tracking the lower ninja’s movements. To be honest, after a few tries you’ll find it rather dull.”

Ou Xiaolu was about to reply when the space around him suddenly shifted. Everything that had been frozen resumed its normal motion.

Startled, he pretended to walk nonchalantly, grumbling inwardly, “Couldn’t you have warned me? I wasn’t ready yet.”

“There’s nothing to warn about. Pause mode is just a reflection of your mental concentration. Your quick mental reactions make time feel suspended, but I don’t control time. Get used to it, and you’ll manage it yourself.”

“How could anyone get used to this?” Ou Xiaolu complained, attempting to practice self-induced pause as the novice guide had described.

The guide did not interfere, for his purpose was to help Ou Xiaolu become proficient in the Cross-World Game as swiftly as possible.

Soon, Ou Xiaolu discovered through experimentation that pause mode affected only his own perception; he couldn’t accomplish anything during the pause, nor influence the surroundings. He couldn’t teleport, couldn’t retrieve objects, and even if he wished to cast a spell, his hands couldn’t match the speed of his mind during the pause.

The only thing he could do was open the game’s various panels and sit there analyzing the changing data.

“Well then,” he said helplessly after testing most of his ideas, “though it’s not quite what I hoped, it does have its uses. People always say I react a beat slower than others. Maybe in the paused world, I can think things through before answering questions or making decisions.”

As he spoke, Ou Xiaolu had already exited the Xinxiang International Airport. With only one hand, he struggled a bit to drag his suitcase, pondering how to get to his university. Suddenly, a yellow taxi pulled up beside him.

“Where are you headed, young man?” The driver was a Black man, his hair wild and disheveled, looking rather down-and-out but with a friendly demeanor.

Seeing that Ou Xiaolu had only one hand, the driver kindly got out to open the trunk and place his suitcase inside.

“Let me see—Xinxiang State University, Shixi Branch. Yes, that’s the place.” Ou Xiaolu climbed into the passenger seat and pulled out his admission letter.

“Oh, you’re off to college, huh? I bet you’re going to study martial arts,” the driver said, showing a gift for chatter.

“No, I’m studying art,” Ou Xiaolu sighed, sounding less than enthusiastic about his major.

“Why?” asked the driver, curious.

“What do you mean, why?”

“Why study art? Haven’t you noticed you’re talented in martial arts? You’re from the East, and your hand—makes me think of a great hero. What was his name? I just read about him yesterday... Right, the Divine Eagle Hero! He only had one hand.”

Ou Xiaolu was speechless at the driver’s notion of kung fu, but saw there was no malice, so he explained.

“Because of my hand, there are many fields that require both hands, and I can’t pursue them. But with art, I only need to rest the drawing board on my left hand and I can work. Besides, the entrance score for art is lower, so admission is easier.”

As he spoke, Ou Xiaolu’s gaze turned distant, as if recalling something from the past.