Chapter 1: Game Manifestation System

Fang Qingzhou sat dazed in his executive chair. He had transmigrated, transported in the flesh into a parallel world, where he had even become the boss of a gaming company on the brink of bankruptcy.

This world was remarkably similar to his original one, but ever since the concept of the metaverse had been introduced, the development of virtual worlds had surged ahead like a runaway horse, sparking a massive explosion across the entire entertainment industry.

The gaming industry in particular had ballooned into the world’s largest sector in just a couple of decades. Its market value was measured in the trillions, and the heads of major gaming companies took turns claiming the top spot on the billionaire rankings.

Furthermore, this world had only ever experienced a single world war, a conflict that had decided the global order for the next two hundred years.

The devastation of that world war had been catastrophic, claiming countless lives. In its wake, every nation had continuously promoted anti-war ideals, meaning there had been no arms race, no Cold War, and no space race.

Weapons technology had stagnated as a result, remaining frozen at a level equivalent to the World War II era of Fang Qingzhou’s previous life. Rifles were still bolt-action, tanks still relied on riveted armor and short-barreled cannons, and fighter planes were still propeller-driven.

Thanks to the widespread anti-war sentiment, most games in this world were medieval adventures or romance and management simulators: tending farms, raising chickens, and falling in love. There was not a single game centered on firearm combat.

That was until a game called 《Battlefield Vanguard》 burst out of nowhere. In Fang Qingzhou’s eyes, it was merely the equivalent of 《Battlefield V》 from before he transmigrated, nothing particularly extraordinary.

Yet players in this world had never witnessed such a novel game. The thrill of charging through trenches under a hail of gunfire, the adrenaline rush of surging out of the smoke with fixed bayonets; to them, it was all completely unprecedented.

In no time, 《Battlefield Vanguard》 swept across the country like wildfire. Within just a single week, its sales shattered the fifty-million mark, cementing it as an undeniable phenomenon.

Every streamer was playing it, and every forum was buzzing with discussions about it.

At first, Fang Qingzhou hadn’t paid it much mind. After all, he came from an Earth filled with countless AAA masterpieces. If he pulled out something like 《The Witcher 3》, 《Red Dead Redemption 2》, or 《The Legend of Zelda》 at random, wouldn’t it grind these simplistic medieval hack-and-slash games into the dust?

So what if a Battlefield V appeared? It wasn’t as though games far superior to Battlefield V didn’t exist.

Yet when he tried to recreate some of the AAA masterpieces he had played in his previous life, he discovered that he couldn’t produce them at all.

It wasn’t a matter of lacking technology; the game development technology in this world was far more advanced than that of his past life.

The problem lay with him. He only remembered the general gameplay of those titles, a handful of memorable levels, and some classic lines and set pieces.

Recreating the entire content of those games from scratch, reproducing hundreds of hours of gameplay piece by piece, was completely beyond him. Being a copycat^[1] wasn’t that easy after all.

Most critically, games in this world shared a unique trait: the vast majority of in-game assets could utilize data taken directly from reality. The more authentic the data, the more realistic the gameplay felt, and the more popular the game was with players.

That was why medieval adventure games had previously been so popular. The swords and armor in them were physically forged in the real world, after which high-precision scanners imported the data into the game to recreate authentic weight, handling, and texture.

In some games, even the monsters were physically constructed as 1:1 models in reality before being scanned in. Many people referred to the virtual world as the “second world,” and it was no exaggeration; the sensory realism truly blurred the line between illusion and reality.

Players adored games with that level of authenticity, but it also demanded a staggering amount of resources.

The current financial state of Fang Qingzhou’s company could not support producing games with that level of realism. Even if he did manage to build those titles from his past life, players might reject them simply for lacking that tactile authenticity.

Meanwhile, the smash hit 《Battlefield Vanguard》 utilized completely authentic firearm data supplied directly by the military.

Every individual part, even the ballistics of each bullet, was identical to reality. It was so authentic that anyone picking up a firearm in the real world could operate it immediately.

This was also why 《Battlefield Vanguard》 held an absolute monopoly in Yan Country^[2]; other gaming studios simply had no way to acquire firearm data.

The firearm handling they tried to cobble together on their own couldn’t compare to the authentic weapons in 《Battlefield Vanguard》. The moment players got their hands on them, they could tell something was off.

Seeing the explosive popularity of 《Battlefield Vanguard》, various countries began developing their own localized editions and regions. The firearms and tanks in each edition differed, and players could not matchmake with those playing other nations’ versions of 《Battlefield Vanguard》.

This had led to rumors circulating online that growing social tensions might trigger another world war, and that 《Battlefield Vanguard》 was functioning as a military training ground for nations to turn ordinary civilians into soldiers.

Even so, most people still viewed it as an anti-war game meant to show the grim reality of armed conflict and dispel any appetite for war.

None of that mattered to Fang Qingzhou, though. He was already staring down despair. Transmigrating only to face immediate bankruptcy was bad enough, but after looking over the records earlier, he discovered that if the company went under, he would be saddled with at least ten million Yuan in debt.

The Miteng Company^[3] he had taken over was very similar to the Penguin Company^[4] from his previous life, having built its business by borrowing ideas from other developers. The previous boss had also tried to copy 《Battlefield Vanguard》, pouring every available resource into making a shooter. But because the handling had no authentic feel, players refused to touch it.

Once the company’s capital ran dry, Miteng Company’s former boss claimed he would turn the tide with a revolutionary new game and took out another ten-million-Yuan loan from the bank. Yet before he could even write a project proposal, he vanished into thin air.

Then Fang Qingzhou transmigrated, inexplicably finding himself as the company’s legal representative^[5], and he was the one left to pay back this money.

Before his transmigration, he had never even seen ten million Yuan, yet here he was, without enjoying even a single day of the good life, saddled with ten million Yuan in debt.

“Heavens above… can’t you just let me go back…”

Fang Qingzhou truly felt like weeping without tears. Life before his transmigration hadn’t been lavish, but through his own hard work, he had managed to buy both a car and a house paid in full. Yet before he could enjoy even a single day of good living, he had been dumped into this world. What did he do to deserve this?

“Am I going to have to write novels to pay off this debt?” Fang Qingzhou muttered to himself.

He had browsed the web novel platforms in this world and discovered that the entertainment industry was exceptionally thriving. The online literature market was several times larger than in his previous life, and he still remembered some of the stories he had read back then.

While it was impossible to memorize every single chapter, he still remembered their core concepts, satisfying payoff beats, and addictive tropes. Using those to scrape together a living in this world shouldn’t be difficult.

Fortunately, even though the former boss had vanished, he hadn’t absconded with the ten million. Fang Qingzhou’s most rational course of action right now was to return that ten million to the bank untouched, then declare the company bankrupt and dissolve it.

He would still be saddled with some interest, roughly several hundred thousand, but he could find a job or write web novels to slowly pay it off.

In his heart, he cursed his predecessor to hell and back. Wouldn’t it have been better to just let the company go under in the first place? Now, even if he returned the money without touching a cent, he would still end up buried in debt.

Just as Fang Qingzhou was feeling that his life was utterly bleak, an electronic voice rang out in his mind.

【Game Manifestation System at your service.】

“A system! You’re finally here!” Hearing that synthesized voice, Fang Qingzhou nearly wept tears of joy.

He knew it. Why should other transmigrator seniors^[6] get to thrive while he was stuck carrying ten million in debt? Fortunately, his cheat had finally arrived.

“What can you do?” Fang Qingzhou asked, fighting down the surge of excitement in his chest.

【I will transport the host to game worlds, then produce games in this world based on the host’s experiences within those worlds.】

“Wait a minute! You mean I have to personally clear the game world myself before you can turn the stories I experience into a game? Not controlling a character with my mind, not wearing VR goggles and using a controller, but going in with my entire body? Playing with my actual life on the line?” Fang Qingzhou’s eyes widened in an instant.

【Correct. Beginning world selection now.】

【Selection successful. Target: 《Resident Evil》 world. Commencing teleportation.】

“Resident Evil?! You want me to go fight zombies in person?!” Fang Qingzhou sprang up from the executive chair, his face turning as pale as a coat of white paint.

He didn’t even dare to play the 《Resident Evil》 games, so how could he possibly dare to fight zombies in the flesh?

“I refuse! I strongly refuse! Can’t you switch worlds? Is Animal Crossing an option? What about Pokémon? If nothing else, at least let me go farm in Stardew Valley!”

The system gave no response, but Fang Qingzhou felt a strange tugging sensation rise from the soles of his feet, as though an invisible force were dragging at his body.

【Teleportation countdown: 10, 9, 8…】

“Hey! Are you even listening to me?! You’re making someone who hasn’t killed a single chicken in his entire life fight zombies. Are you sure you’re not joking?!”

【5, 4, 3…】

Hearing the relentless countdown, Fang Qingzhou closed his eyes in despair. Transmigrating straight into bankruptcy was one thing, but now he was about to become zombie food. Just what kind of hell-difficulty life was this?

【2, 1… Commencing teleportation.】