Chapter 1: Marshal, We Have Arrived at Huanggutun

Standing on the highest floor of the island, overlooking Victoria Harbour below, Lin Bei felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

Three years ago, he had crossed over to this island and built his fortune by smuggling insulin to the United States and Mexico. Later, he ventured into the waste paper recycling industry.

He opened supermarkets, traded stocks, and developed real estate, steadily growing stronger and more influential.

Today, he had finally become the youngest tycoon on the island and ranked among the top ten wealthiest individuals.

Three years—an entire three years. Who could truly understand how he had endured those years?

Living a life of indulgence, courting one movie star after another, this dull existence felt utterly exhausting to Lin Bei.

From today onward, he resolved to live differently.

Just as Lin Bei was daydreaming about the future, his secretary Selena brought him the day’s newspaper.

“Boss, here’s the latest edition. What would you like to drink today? Coffee, tea, or me?”

Seeing the alluring smile on Selena’s face, Lin Bei couldn’t help but sigh—Auntie Qingxia in her youth truly was incomparable!

But now wasn’t the time for distractions. Lin Bei was more eager to see if the plans he had set in motion had borne fruit.

Taking the newspaper from Selena’s hands and ordering a cup of hot tea, Lin Bei ignored Selena’s plaintive gaze and collapsed onto the sofa to read.

Yet, barely had he glanced at the front page when he sat up abruptly.

“A fall at Ai Qun Tower—young couple suspected of suicide pact over love.”

“Tsim Sha Tsui detective chases drug traffickers across nine blocks, narrowly escaping death under a car.”

“Millennial ancient corpse arrives in Hong Kong, to be exhibited at Happy Amusement Park in one week.”

“At the Kowloon-Hong Kong middle school sports competition, student Lin Jingjing breaks multiple women’s records, likely to compete in the next Olympics.”

“Bloody incident at Fan’s Building—three construction workers die consecutively, their blood mysteriously missing.”

“…”

Lin Bei had heard the phrase “shocking to the eye” before, but never truly understood it until now, reading these headlines.

Since crossing over, he knew this world was a fusion of countless film and television universes.

For instance, his secretary Selena was the heroine from “Police Story.”

His investment and stock affairs were managed by Fang Zhanbo and Chen Taotao, characters from “The Greed of Man.”

His personal bodyguard Gao Jin and his associate Xiao Fu were also protagonists in Hong Kong movies.

Yet all these people were essentially ordinary humans. Lin Bei had never encountered paranormal events—not even heard rumors.

Now, freshly hailed by gossip magazines as one of the island’s youngest top ten tycoons, he was suddenly confronted with this bizarre mess.

Was this a direct launch into a second run?

Lin Bei was confident in his talented team. Whether in the underworld or the legitimate circles, there was no problem he couldn’t solve. Becoming the richest man on the island—or even in the world—was only a matter of time.

But all his subordinates were mere mortals; they couldn’t handle these supernatural occurrences.

If zombies or monsters appeared, they could be dealt with physically.

There was no RPG challenge that couldn’t be solved with another special move.

But ghosts and spirits? They had no physical form—how could one exterminate them?

The richer one was, the more precious life became. Lin Bei, finally wealthy, admired, and surrounded by beautiful women, certainly didn’t want to one day drink water contaminated with Chu Renmei’s bathwater and mysteriously die.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness overwhelmed him, and he drifted off to sleep.

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“Here we go, brother~”

As soon as Lin Bei opened his eyes, he noticed two lecherous pairs of eyes staring at him.

The tone of the speaker carried an indescribable urgency.

Looking around, the surroundings were pitch black, except for a faint glow around where he lay.

This definitely was not the CEO office where he had fallen asleep.

He pinched his arm; the pain was sharp and real, confirming he wasn’t dreaming.

For Lin Bei to be moved from his office to this place, protected by a team composed entirely of protagonists and villains, it would require either military force or supernatural powers.

Taking a deep breath and preparing to question the two mysterious figures who had yet to reveal their faces, Lin Bei suddenly felt two eager, grubby hands reaching out toward him.

As those hands grabbed him, two unfamiliar memories flooded into his mind.

After a while, Lin Bei looked at the two men opposite him with a speechless expression.

The three of them standing side by side would easily confuse even those most familiar with Lin Bei as to who was the real one.

Or rather, all three Lin Beis were genuine.

Apparently, a glitch during his crossing had caused his soul to be duplicated multiple times, scattering across different worlds.

This dark void was the only place where they could meet.

The first to arrive was the Lin Bei dressed entirely in black.

He was much younger than the other two, only fifteen years old.

Like the Lin Bei from the Hong Kong variety world who had entered a second run, this black-clad Lin Bei’s world also contained creatures called ghosts.

However, unlike the ghosts of Chinese folklore, these beings, though sunlight-fearing, had physical forms, were immortal, fed on humans, and possessed supernatural abilities.

Weapons forged from “Gorilla Scarlet Sand Iron” and “Gorilla Scarlet Ore” aside, even if their heads were severed, they could regenerate.

At the top of this hierarchy was an entity capable of a blood-drip resurrection.

Such beings were less ghosts and more akin to zombies or the undead.

The Lin Bei familiar with that world knew that ordinary humans might become prey to these creatures at any moment.

Thus, he used his foresight to find the reclusive Kamado family, charcoal sellers living atop a mountain.

After stubbornly staying with the Kamados for six months, he successfully learned the Fire God’s Kagura—known as the Breath of the Sun—from Kamado Tanjirou.

Yet his talent was mediocre; so far, he had only mastered the first form, the Dance.

Forget about unlocking the markings or even basic Concentration Breathing—it was all out of reach.

Compared to the Hong Kong variety Lin Bei and the Demon Slayer Lin Bei, the third Lin Bei in a bright yellow dragon robe fared much better.

He had been transmigrated directly as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Besides being restricted by civil officials, dealing with two scheming imperial uncles who constantly plotted to usurp him, a chaotic martial arts world, and foreign powers coveting Ming territory, there seemed to be no major issues… or so it seemed.

Before entering this space, the Hong Kong variety and Demon Slayer Lin Beis had just learned that the Empress Dowager had arranged a marriage for him.

As was customary for emperors of the Ming, he was to marry a commoner.

The Empress Dowager had chosen Jiang Yuyan, the treasured daughter of Jiang Biehe, a renowned hero of Jiangnan.

After absorbing this memory, the Hong Kong variety Lin Bei and the Demon Slayer Lin Bei couldn’t help but look at the martial arts Lin Bei with sympathy.

This was the kind of ruthless character who could kill off an entire story except for its title, yet he had married such a wife—what good could possibly come of that?