Chapter 1: Transmigrated into a Book

An urban village!

Inside a dilapidated self-built house, a bruised and battered man lay on a bed.

He stared blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings, ten million grass-mud horses^[1] stampeding through his mind.

Having reached thirty with nothing to show for it, he had only yesterday finally succeeded on a blind date, eager to settle down before building his career.

Who could have known that after a single sleep, he would inexplicably wake up here?

Then, as if a switch had been flipped in his brain, endless streams of text flooded into his head until the very last word was processed.

Only then did he make the tragic realization: he had transmigrated into a book, specifically a universally known God of War novel featuring the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King.

And he was just an insignificant cannon-fodder character who didn’t even deserve a proper background extra’s name. Yet even NPCs had their own storylines.

Although the author hadn’t spent much ink on him, he could see the original host’s miserable ending.

He was a low-level lackey beneath the villainous rich second-generation^[2]‘s minion. He worked as a security guard at a company, slacking off every day while dreaming of getting rich overnight.

Just yesterday, the crooked-mouthed deity, playing the pig to eat the tiger, had come to the company dressed extremely low-key to see the female CEO, running head-on into the rich second-generation.

The rich second-generation’s family was obscenely wealthy, with enough money to last a hundred generations, but he was a complete simp.

Several times when the female lead’s company faced a crisis, he had used his money to bail her out, only to be met with her saying, “Don’t think you can humiliate me with your money! I don’t care for it!”

She would accept the rich second-generation’s help while setting up a monument of chastity for herself, wanting to act chaste while taking all the benefits. Yet the rich second-generation ate up every bit of it.

He believed the female lead was an independent woman of modern society with character and principles, someone who hit him right in the heart.

So even when she spat harsh words at him, he lapped it right up.

But he was a villain. Aside from being good to the female lead, he was as cruel as could be to everyone else, especially anyone who dared covet his woman.

Learning that the male lead was looking for his beloved, a man’s sixth sense gave him an unprecedented feeling of crisis. His minion immediately picked up on his intent and summoned the security guard lackey, who happened to be the original host.

How could the original host pass up such a great opportunity to impress? Rubbing his hands together in excitement, he prepared to beat this guy of unknown origin to the ground and throw him out.

The result was predictable. The Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King gave a wicked smirk that would make even the Jade Emperor^[3] bow in homage, let alone a cannon-fodder character like him.

The original host was beaten black and blue, without a single unharmed spot on his body, passing out cold on the spot.

Seeing how powerful the male lead was, the rich second-generation dropped a threat, “Just you wait!” and fled in panic with his minion, completely abandoning the passed-out original host.

Having offended the female lead’s benefactor, the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King, the original host was fired by the female lead before he even woke up.

Lacking the money for a hospital, the original host was carried back home by others, only to die in bed from his severe injuries. That was when he transmigrated into this body.

According to the plot, the original host wasn’t supposed to die because he had five children at home. In the future, these five kids would grow into formidable villains, figures that even the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King would fear.

As their stepfather, he could have coasted to victory and reached the pinnacle of life.

But he had abused these five children since they were young, twisting their minds and driving them down a path of no return.

When they grew up, they tricked the original host and sent him straight to a scam compound.

On the first day, his kidneys were harvested; on the second day, his limbs were broken; on the third day, every drop of blood in his body was drained. He died a horrific death.

Talk about playing a winning hand terribly!

He thought offending the male lead right after transmigrating was bad enough, but he hadn’t expected to have five major future villains at home who might take his life at any moment.

Before he could finish digesting the plot, Chen Liyang’s stomach growled thunderously with hunger.

Food is the first necessity of life, and missing a single meal causes gnawing hunger. Even if the future road was full of hardship, the most urgent task right now was putting food in his belly.

But the Crooked-Mouthed Dragon King’s fighting prowess was no joke. Right now, Chen Liyang was sore all over and didn’t even have the strength to lift a hand.

Chen Liyang licked his dry, peeling lips and let out a raspy voice. “Is… is anyone there?”

As he called out, he looked around the room, taking in the mottled walls covered in peeling paint.

It was already the twenty-first century, yet the room still used a round lightbulb covered in cobwebs, with spiders dried into mummies hanging from them.

He couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This family was truly dirt-poor!

When people in novels transmigrated, they became rich second-generation heirs, or powerful generals and princes.

Why was he stuck as a nameless little piece of cannon fodder?

He hadn’t even kissed a woman’s lips yet, and now he was suddenly the stepfather of five children. Was there any transmigrator in the world unluckier than him?

“Third Brother, he’s calling out. Should we go take a look?” In the living room stood a boy of about seven or eight who was skin and bones. Visible cigarette burn scars marked his exposed arms, and his faded clothes hung loosely on him.

His large, round eyes stared straight at Chen Liyang’s room like a startled bird.

The boy being addressed was two years older, equally emaciated, with a terrifying bump the size of an infant’s fist bulging on his forehead.

The culprit was none other than Chen Liyang. Simply because he was in a foul mood while watching his stepsons play marbles, he had been reminded of their missing mother, and rage rushed straight to the top of his head. When a marble rolled over to his feet, he picked it up without a word and hurled it violently at Old Third’s forehead, causing it to swell on the spot.

Despite that, Zhou Chengxi hadn’t uttered a single sound. Hearing his younger brother’s words, he cast an indifferent glance toward the room. “Haven’t you been beaten enough? It’s better if someone like him dies. Why bother with him!”

Though his voice was childish, it was unnaturally calm. Such cold-blooded words coming from his mouth sounded as casual as if he were remarking on how nice the weather was today.

Zhou Chengbei nodded, only half-understanding. “Third Brother, I’m hungry…”

“Little Sister is still asleep, but she should be waking up soon. Big Brother and Second Brother should be coming home from school shortly too. I’ll go cook; you just sit here obediently!” Zhou Chengxi patted his younger brother’s dry, yellowish hair, feeling how scratchy it was.

Those bright eyes darkened with an unreadable depth before he stood up and headed into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, after wailing in his room for ages without anyone coming in, Chen Liyang couldn’t help letting out a sigh.

Those little brats all wished he were dead. It’d be a miracle if they paid him any mind.

“Sigh…”

This was all the original host’s doing. Why did he have to suffer for it? Was it really just because they shared the exact same name?

If that was really the case, couldn’t he just change it?