The Mission and The New World

[Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to… truly live?]

“What the…?”

Jiang Li froze. Was he so far gone that he had started hallucinating? Was this the onset of a mental breakdown?

However…

[Name: Jiang Li] [Points: 1000] [Lifespan: 27 Days] [Life Tier: 1] [Innate Talent: None] [Skills:]

1. Eloquence (D+): Decent expressive ability; your words are more persuasive to others.

2. Empathy (D): Keen perception and intuition regarding the emotions of others. [Newbie Gift Pack: Pending Claim]

A semi-transparent status panel floated before his eyes.

“Is this… a Cheat?”

Jiang Li was stunned. Twenty-one years since he arrived in this world. Three years since he became a cripple. This belated “Golden Finger” offered a sliver of hope to a man in a desperate dead end.

……

[World Coordinates Located.] [World Category: Urban Superpower.] [Identity: Nangong Li, Professor at Tianhua Academy of Performance Art.] [Objective: Conquer the World’s Heroine; make her fall completely.] [Reward 1: 1 Year of Lifespan] [Reward 2: Pending Settlement] [Reward 3: Pending Settlement]

In a strange, vast white space, Jiang Li withdrew his gaze from the panel and began patting his body in disbelief. Three years of chronic pain had vanished instantly. Feeling this body—vibrant, healthy, and full of life—he was nearly moved to tears.

All of this was thanks to the late-arrival system.

Straightening his expression, Jiang Li couldn’t help but linger on the “Lifespan” section of his attribute column. Perhaps as the price for healing his injuries, he only had one month left to live. If he wanted to survive, he had to complete missions for lifespan rewards.

In other words: he had to flirt with and win over an otherworldly heroine just to stay alive.

For someone like Jiang Li, who had been single across two lifetimes, this was a daunting challenge. But now, he had no choice. However, before starting the mission, he had some preparation to do.

[Begin drawing Newbie Random Gift Pack?]

“Yes.”

[Congratulations, you have obtained:]

1. Innate Talent: Amplification (A) [Upgradable]: Consumes energy to continuously enhance the effects of allied skills below A-rank. Intensity depends on energy consumption rate.

2. Skill: Poker Face (C): Maintain a neutral expression in most situations; slightly controls blood flow to hide emotional tells.

“Did I just hit the jackpot?”

Jiang Li raised an eyebrow. Compared to his original panel with only two D-rank skills, an A-rank Innate Talent was blindingly bright. Not to mention the three words: [Upgradable]. It hinted at infinite potential.

[World Loading…]

Before he could reflect further, the space before him twisted, and Jiang Li’s figure vanished.

……

“Who sent you?” “It was Fate! The指引 (guidance) of an unfair Fate brought me here!”

…

Rustle, rustle…

“Professor Nangong, the potential of this year’s freshmen seems quite excellent, wouldn’t you say?”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Li—no, Nangong Li—looked at the middle-aged man trying to suck up to him, his expression cold and unmoved. The man looked visibly awkward.

“I mean… their emotional investment is solid, and they’ve grasped the core essentials of the Method…”

“And your point is?”

“Ah?” The man panicked. He had heard Professor Nangong had an eccentric personality, but he hadn’t taken it seriously until now. Locked under the gaze of this young man, he couldn’t help but feel nervous, as if he were back in his student days, walking on eggshells before his masters.

He wiped cold sweat from his brow. “It’s just… though they’re a bit rigid…”

“That is the problem,” Nangong Li turned away coldly. “A rigid performance has no soul.”

“Yes… yes, of course…” The man laughed awkwardly, secretly sighing in relief.

Nangong Li’s presence was oppressive, but on the inside, Jiang Li was just as tense. If not for the [Poker Face] skill, he might have given himself away.

Method Acting? Emotional investment? I don’t understand any of this!

Aren’t transmigrators supposed to get the original host’s memories? Why don’t I have them? Oh… I ‘Body-Swapped’ in. Right…

The “System” worked by twisting the reality of the target world to create an identity for him. It was similar to “Cognitive Alteration.” The difference lay in his stats:

[Name: Nangong Li (Jiang Li)] [Points: 1000] [Lifespan: 27 Days (Mission time excluded)] [Life Tier: 3 (Mission Limited)] [Innate Talent 1: Amplification (A) [Upgradable]] [Innate Talent 2: Imperfect Performance • Puppet (B+) [Mission Limited]: A powerful acting technique that allows for zero errors. Because of this, it is like a puppet—unable to invest true emotion.] [Skills:]

1. Acting Arts (B+) [Mission Limited]: A combat art that uses performance to manifest fictional scenarios into reality. Intensity depends on the performer’s skill.

2. Poker Face (C)

3. Eloquence (D+)

4. Empathy (D)

His attribute panel seemed to grant temporary talents and skills based on his assigned identity.

……

Clapping… scoring… the cycle repeated.

Truthfully, Jiang Li was no connoisseur. He couldn’t tell if the freshmen on stage were performing well or poorly. To him, they all looked fine. But as a judge, he had to give scores. How could he score them without losing face or raising suspicion while knowing nothing about this world’s “Acting Arts”?

Actually, it wasn’t that hard.

……

“Seven points.” “Eight points.” “I’ll give it a six.”

And then Jiang Li would coldly raise his sign: 5 Points.

Five was a subtle number. It was just one point shy of the passing grade of six, yet worlds apart. Where did the point go? What was Professor Nangong dissatisfied with? He let the audience and other judges drive themselves crazy wondering.

The two performers on stage smiled bitterly, bowed to Jiang Li, and exited. Throughout the process, no one raised an objection. It wasn’t strange—that was just who Nangong Li was.

His father, Nangong Cheng, was a Movie King whose achievements in the Acting Arts were peak-level. When he performed his most iconic role, the “Heartless Emperor,” his manifested power was enough to cleave a lake in half with a single sword stroke. He was a celebrity, but also a powerhouse.

Nangong Li was the genius born with a silver spoon, his life a constant string of brilliant achievements. Two years ago, at twenty-four, he challenged the title of Movie King and lost by a narrow margin. He then moved behind the scenes to teach, becoming a professor at Tianhua, a top-tier academy. For such a monster, high standards were only natural.

……

“The next one is…” “Oh! It’s Ning Rou! The champion of the recent Acting Competition.”

Ning Rou? Jiang Li snapped to attention. A competition champion… that sounded like a protagonist’s title.

…

Clap, clap… Thunderous applause.

As expected, the moment she stepped on stage, she brightened the room. She had the classic “Heroine” face—cheerful and adorable. But the moment the script began, her aura shifted. As the performance deepened, illusions began to flicker before Jiang Li’s eyes.

A bamboo forest. A thatched hut. A female warrior in the rain. A powerful atmosphere swept through the hall.

This was the transcendent power of this world: Acting Arts (Dramaturgy).

The surrounding professors began whispering to each other. A moment later, they unanimously gave her tens.

“Professor Nangong, what do you think?”

“Ten points.”

“Ooh! As expected, a genius recognizes a genius!”

Jiang Li remained noncommittal. As the world’s protagonist, Ning Rou’s talent was naturally top-tier. Her performance had manifested illusions visible to the naked eye—a sign of Acting Arts affecting reality. There was no need for Jiang Li to play the contrarian here.

Then, the next one stepped up.

Black hair, black clothes, and a sharp, cold, “silent beauty” aura. She was stunning at first glance. On her stern, pretty face, there was a nearly imperceptible trace of tension.

“Nervous?”

Jiang Li sat up straight. Based on looks alone, he could guess that this girl was likely one of his target heroines for this mission.

But the question was… what was she nervous about?

Intuition told Jiang Li that this would be the key to completing his conquest mission.