Chapter 1: Could it really be...

　　Jack Harper stared blankly at the scene before him: towering skyscrapers in the distance, residential houses nearby, pedestrians weaving past him, and the occasional vehicle—all the sights of a bustling metropolis.

　　If you don’t look at the details, this scene is quite normal. For people of the new century, this is just an ordinary small city.

　　However, those skyscrapers and residences have a somewhat retro feel—brick-and-wood structures with Tang and Song dynasty Eastern styles, stone buildings with Western Gothic elements, all kinds of vintage styles blended into something new.

　　The pedestrians’ clothing is also a bit retro: short-sleeved, tight-fitting Hanfu, lavish Western formalwear, heavy metal armor, bizarre costumes of all sorts—a dazzling variety.

　　Even the vehicles are the same, somewhat retro; some look like Chinese carriages, others like nineteenth-century vintage cars.

　　Jack Harper felt as if he had entered a film set, but he knew this wasn’t a film set, nor any tourist attraction.

　　This city was too big—no film set or tourist spot could be this vast, and besides, he’d never heard of it before. Most importantly, there was no need for an entrance ticket here.

　　This was another world, a wondrous world. The vehicles nearby were the most important proof—their power systems weren’t internal combustion engines, nor electric; they were all driven by an energy called star force.

　　“Damn, hell, I actually transmigrated!”

　　Jack Harper cursed, recalling what had happened. He wasn’t sick, wasn’t in pain, hadn’t suffered any disaster, nor had he been dumped or lost his job and tried to kill himself. He remembered that, at the end, he’d just plugged his phone in to charge as usual and gone to sleep. How did he end up transmigrating so inexplicably?

　　Transmigration might be fun, but it’s a risky business. No matter what, it’s not as comfortable as lazing around at home, eating and waiting to die. He really lived up to his name—just an average guy, not a top student, not a martial arts master, not even skilled at anything in particular. He really didn’t want to transmigrate!

　　Especially since this body came with a troublesome identity: he was a member of the Yue family, one of the four great families of the capital in the Kingdom of Mirage Dragons. That should have been something to celebrate—if you didn’t aim to be number one in the world and just wanted to eat and loaf around, being a not-too-excessive playboy was the best.

　　Unfortunately, his surname wasn’t Yue!

　　His father had brought him along to become a live-in son-in-law. Yep, he was just a tagalong!

　　This identity was really... so awkward!!

　　It’s easy to imagine what his previous life was like. If he’d been a promising youth, things might have been better, but sadly, he wasn’t—his talents were average, and he’d picked up some bad habits from the other playboys.

　　Bullied in the Yue family, he could only bully others outside. If any problems arose, his stepmother would settle them for him. But being a playboy was risky, especially for someone like him—it was easy to get into trouble.

　　“Xiaobai, Xiaobai, are you okay? You scared me to death—I thought something happened to you! Don’t worry, I’ve already called for reinforcements!”

　　A group of people crowded around, surrounding Jack Harper. Leading them were a few fellow playboys who often hung out with Jack Harper. They were all from minor families—only they would mix with a tagalong like Jack Harper.

　　A person’s status and strength often determine their circle. Jack Harper’s circle was second- or third-rate among the capital’s family scions, but they were more than enough to bully commoners and could even pick on some small families.

　　Just now, they had been bullying a young girl—in broad daylight, in public, dragging her into an alley...

　　While they were up to no good, a female hero descended from the sky and kicked “Jack Harper” into a wall, splitting his head open. And just like that, Jack Harper was reborn, and the others all ran away.

　　As for why only Jack Harper got kicked—it was because he was the first to do something bad, and was still on that young girl at the time.

　　“I’m fine, just a bit of blood. I’ll be okay after taking some medicine,” Jack Harper replied casually, bringing his thoughts back to the present. The past was just a story to him now—someone else’s story. But life had to go on.

　　The group of playboys immediately said, “As long as you’re okay! Let’s go settle the score with that woman right now.”

　　“Settle the score?” Jack Harper said a bit sluggishly. “Forget it, that woman seems to be an expert. We’re just a bunch of useless playboys who only know how to eat, drink, and have fun—let’s not mess with her.”

　　“Who said we’re going after that woman? Of course we’re looking for someone easy to bully. We already checked her background—otherwise, would we just pick on anyone in the capital?” one of the playboys said irritably, shamelessly admitting he was a useless playboy.

　　For these useless playboys, even in the capital, they had to keep their heads down—only bullying those who were easy targets, always checking their backgrounds first. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago.