It was 8 PM when Jiang Qiao finished typing the last chapter of the day and uploaded it. He let out a long sigh of relief.
Jiang Qiao was a pretty ordinary author and a college student, but he also had a hidden identity: a transmigrator.
He had been in this world, which was similar to Earth, for almost eight years. Jiang Qiao initially thought he could rely on his knowledge from Earth to make something of himself in this new world.
However, Jiang Qiao sadly found out that he had no talent in drawing or programming; the only thing he could manage passably was typing stories on a keyboard.
Over eight years, Jiang Qiao wrote five novels. Each one only did moderately well, just enough for Jiang Qiao to make a living off his writing.
But the kind of wild success he hoped for, similar to what he would have had on Earth, did not come. Jiang Qiao summed up the reason, thinking it was because this world, called Blue Star, was five to six years more advanced in technology than Earth.
In this world, VR games had become mainstream, and for people like Jiang Qiao, who were used to computer games, they could be considered outdated.
Fortunately, today, after eight years, Jiang Qiao finally encountered his golden finger after transmigrating.
"Can you hear me now?!" A semi-transparent woman, who appeared to be about fifteen years old, floated in mid-air, her gaze fixed on Jiang Qiao, who was about to eat his boxed meal.
"Go ahead, I'm listening."
Jiang Qiao took a bite of the chicken leg in his boxed meal. As someone who had transmigrated, he could calmly accept seeing a semi-transparent ghost right in front of him.
"Let me introduce myself once more. My name is Hai Lan, and I used to be a creator." Hai Lan placed her hand on her flat chest as she spoke.
"Used to be? What about now?" Jiang Qiao's question seemed to choke Hai Lan, making her previously haughty tone falter.
"Un...unemployed. My previous world was destroyed, but your current world is extremely dangerous. Soon, invaders will descend upon this world! Your world will be torn apart and vanish into the void!" Hai Lan seriously warned Jiang Qiao about the prophecy of the apocalypse.
"Why me?" Jiang Qiao put down his boxed meal and asked, "Not to be humble, but I'm just a writer. If you're so powerful, shouldn't you be finding the relevant authorities?"
"Because my soul is bound to you. I just recently awakened after absorbing the consciousness energy of the creatures in this world." Hai Lan said with some helplessness.
"That does explain it. So, do you plan to make me a savior? Do you have any world-destroying powers to give me?" Jiang Qiao asked.
"I can't break the rule barrier of this world. Creating something in this world is already my limit, let alone bestowing transcendent powers to living beings..."
As Hai Lan spoke, a small piece of iron appeared in her hand. It floated into Jiang Qiao's palm, and Jiang Qiao could confirm it was a real object.
"Rule barrier?" Jiang Qiao played with the small piece of iron, catching a crucial term in Hai Lan's words.
"In the world I used to create, there was a force you called 'Magic,' but your world has no magic, nor any transcendent powers. The gravity here is much weaker than in my world. With the rule barrier of this world, I can't bestow you with any powerful magic." Hai Lan explained.
"Then what's your plan? Throw this little piece of iron to kill the invaders?"
Jiang Qiao weighed the piece of iron, thinking it might hurt if thrown at someone's head, possibly lethal if it hit the temple.
"I can guide your consciousness into my world. In my world, I can strengthen your consciousness and grant you great power." Hai Lan spoke in a tone akin to a goddess guiding her followers.
"That sounds like a scam. But no matter, how do I enter your world?"
Jiang Qiao put down the piece of iron, stood up, and stretched his arms. Long periods of sitting had left Jiang Qiao's body weak.
"Do you believe me that easily?"
Hai Lan was a bit bewildered by Jiang Qiao's straightforwardness. She had thought it would take her a long time to convince this human.
"I've written this kind of golden finger plot countless times. The consciousness world sounds a bit like a dream. Should I lie on the bed?" Jiang Qiao acted like a seasoned transmigrator.
"Just sit down and close your eyes."
Hai Lan was also thankful she had possessed a human who was so accepting.
Jiang Qiao sat back down and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself on a vast, endless grassland.
This grassland felt like a creative mode in "Minecraft."
"Your world has nothing in it."
Jiang Qiao looked around. All he could see was grass. The sky was just blue, with no clouds, fake like a picture.
"This is the basic world I just created. Now listen to my plan." Hai Lan's figure appeared in front of Jiang Qiao. In this world, she was in solid form. "I can bestow transcendent powers to the creatures of your world here, cultivating a group of warriors to defend against the invaders."
"How do you plan to make those warriors obey?"
Jiang Qiao had many questions, like why not create a person yourself?
But upon seeing this world, Jiang Qiao had already started formulating a plan in his mind.
"I haven't figured that out yet. The humans I created in the past had very ancient thoughts, but the development of civilization in this world exceeded my expectations." Hai Lan paused slightly and added, "So the humans of this world might not be as easy to deceive as I thought."
Deception? This creator had a pretty realistic self-assessment.
"Creating a religion to deceive them could work, but it's too slow... I have a quicker method."
Jiang Qiao rummaged through his clothes pocket and successfully pulled out a phone that should exist in the real world. Jiang Qiao unlocked the phone and opened a mobile game he had been playing recently.
"Do you want me to enslave them?" Hai Lan saw the game screen, with Jiang Qiao's character in a gloomy dungeon.
"No! What I mean is that your so-called 'warriors' can be renamed as 'players'!"
Jiang Qiao pointed at his game character on the screen. He had spent over three hundred hours on this game, making him the quintessential pay-to-win grind player...
"The essence of humans is laziness. They may avoid training, homework, and work, but there's one thing they will never tire of."
"Games?" Hai Lan followed Jiang Qiao's train of thought.
"More accurately, video games." Jiang Qiao locked his phone and then stood up from the grass, saying, "Creator, I think we can start transforming this world."
"Transform? Do you have any ideas?"
Hai Lan had spent some time observing Jiang City before awakening, including watching Jiang Qiao play various video games. She believed Jiang Qiao's idea was feasible, but she didn't know what a video game world was like.
"First, we need a system. Do you know how to program?"
The girl, who could easily create a world, shook her head frankly in response to Jiang Qiao's question.