Prologue Do you wish to travel to another world?

"At last, I’ve earned the title of Ultimate Unlucky Player. The only SSR I ever got was a two-faced Buddha pieced together from fragments. I haven’t even drawn Bird Lady or Little Black, not even once… This damn game is just unplayable!"

Lin Huang’s face was expressionless. He had been playing “XX Master” for over half a year, drawing more than ten thousand talismans, yet never once had he drawn an SSR. Even the SR characters, Bird Lady and Little Black, were assembled from fragments. So, when it came time for his latest ten-pull, he had no expectations at all. Gaining the Ultimate Unlucky Player achievement, coupled with his endless defeats in the battle arena, finally killed any remaining affection he had for this game.

He pressed his finger on the game icon, took a deep breath, and tapped the little “X” at the top corner of the shaking icon, deleting the game. Just as he was about to slip his phone into his pocket, the device vibrated. He glanced at the screen.

The entire phone had gone dark. Only in the center was a line of bold black text:

[Do you want to cross over to another world?]

Below that was a single option:

[I do!]

It looked like an ad for some browser game.

"Like hell I do!" he muttered.

Having just deleted “XX Master,” Lin Huang had no interest in trying a new game. He double-tapped the phone’s home button, swiping the ad away.

He slipped the phone into his pocket again, but another vibration followed almost immediately. He pulled it out—again, the same page popped up.

"Ridiculous! Mobile games have become as annoying as browser games, spamming endless pop-up ads. Who would want to play this kind of game?" He scowled and swiped the page away once more.

He was just about to put his phone away when he saw the ad again. His frown deepened. "Could it be a virus?"

He had only recently bought this new Fruit 7 phone, and cherished it—it had cost him nearly a month’s salary.

He restarted the phone, staring at the screen for a while. When the ad didn’t reappear, he finally let out a sigh of relief. But just as he was about to put the phone away, another vibration—once more, the same page:

[Do you want to cross over to another world?]

[I do!]

"Damn it, is this ever going to end?" Lin Huang’s eyes widened. "Well, I’m taking it in for repairs anyway. I might as well see what’s up with this virus-ridden ad game. I’ll grab a screenshot and report it online for malicious advertising!"

After hesitating for a moment, he tapped the word “I do.”

The moment his finger touched the button, the text on the screen finally changed.

[Dear prospective Crossover, thank you for accepting our invitation. Please carefully read the following terms. If you have no objections, press the Accept Terms button to officially become a Crossover. Once you receive your official Crossover ID, we’ll grant you a Golden Finger, and then you’ll be randomly transported to a different world—then you can roam freely to your heart’s content!]

This message lingered on the screen for about twenty seconds before the terms page appeared.

[1. Currently, the death rate for Crossovers is as high as 73%. Please be mentally prepared before accepting. The causes of death and their respective proportions are as follows:]

[(1) Self-destructive behavior: 48%]
[(2) Killed in battle: 33%]
[(3) Died of old age: 10%]
[(4) Assassinated: 6%]
[(5) Failed to activate Golden Finger: 2%]
[(6) Unlucky: 1%]
[…]

Lin Huang only glanced at the beginning. Seeing there were one hundred and eighteen pages of terms, he couldn’t be bothered to read them through. He scrolled straight to the bottom and pressed “Accept Terms.”

[Dear Candidate, you are now officially a Crossover. Your Crossover ID is 142857. Now entering the Golden Finger selection page…]

The screen changed again. A wheel appeared, divided into thirty-six equal segments, each marked with a golden question mark. A pointer was fixed at the twelve o’clock position.

Beneath the wheel were two buttons: “Start” and “Stop,” with a line of small text explaining the rules.

[Press Start to spin the pointer. Press Stop to halt it. The item indicated when the pointer stops will be your Golden Finger. If you don’t press Stop, the pointer will stop automatically after one minute.]

"Still no game name—let’s see what you’re up to now," Lin Huang muttered. He pressed Start, and the pointer began spinning rapidly. After about ten seconds, he hit Stop. The pointer slid a short distance and landed on one of the question marks.

The question mark transformed into a black card. The lottery wheel vanished, and the card expanded to fill the screen.

Lin Huang raised an eyebrow. The card was exquisitely crafted, its entire surface a metallic, cold black, bordered with intricate golden filigree.

"This card is actually pretty well-made," he couldn’t help but praise. But remembering all the time he’d wasted on “XX Master,” his expression darkened again, since that game, too, was a card game.

Before he could react further, a streak of black light shot from the phone, piercing straight into his forehead. Lin Huang didn’t feel a thing; all he saw was the phone screen change again, displaying a new message.

[Golden Finger granted. Now randomly selecting the initial world for your crossover…]

“So it’s finally time to enter the game?” Lin Huang’s lips curled into a smirk. “Just let me see the game’s name, and I’ll take a screenshot to report you for this scam!”

Moments later, the text on the phone changed once more.

[The randomly selected initial world is—Monster Paradise.]

[Crossover 142857, we wish you a pleasant journey!]

With a crisp crack, a golden Fruit 7 phone crashed to the ground, its screen shattering. And the Lin Huang who had been holding it had vanished from the spot without a trace…