So, a young Chinese man in a white T-shirt and jeans collapsed on the streets of New York.

……

“Sir, wake up, sir, are you alright?”

Ethan Brooks felt a wave of dizziness as he drifted in and out of consciousness. When he finally opened his eyes, everything seemed dark. There was a bag next to him, and a very beautiful girl was blocking the light. When she saw he was awake, she gave him a genuine smile.

“You’re finally awake. Please forgive my rudeness. Are you alright? How did you end up fainting on the street?”

Ethan Brooks's gaze froze for a moment. The girl was blonde with blue eyes, speaking authentic American English, but he had no trouble understanding her at all. While it wasn’t quite like his native language, it was far beyond his previous English level.

“Sir, are you okay?”

Seeing that he hadn’t responded, the girl asked again.

Only then did Ethan Brooks come to his senses. He shook his head and said, “I’m fine, maybe it was just too hot and I got heatstroke. Thank you, beautiful girl.”

The girl looked up at the gloomy sky, then awkwardly lowered her head, her expression a bit odd. She continued, “You don’t look well. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”

Ethan Brooks quickly shook his head. “No, thank you. I’m already very grateful for what you’ve done. There’s no need to trouble yourself further. I can go by myself.”

“It’s no problem. My car is parked right over there.”

“Really, it’s not necessary. I still have something to do. Maybe we’ll meet again.”

“Oh… alright, as you wish. Remember to take your bag on the ground. It should be yours.”

The girl gave a helpless smile, reminded him, and then turned to leave. She felt that maybe she shouldn’t have helped this rude Oriental man. In Chinese, it would be called a thankless task.

Ethan Brooks looked around to make sure the bag on the ground was his, then found a quiet, deserted spot and opened the bag to take a look.

An American green card, a driver’s license, a Chinese passport, and a thick stack of US dollars.

No need to count—it had to be a hundred thousand dollars.

“Léon: The Professional, now that’s a classic. Am I really not dreaming?”

Only then did Ethan Brooks realize that his mind was suddenly filled with a lot of new knowledge, all about fighting, firearms, and English. Even if he gained nothing else from this trip, just these things alone were already worth it.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be world-hopping? How did I end up in a movie? Come to think of it, I’ve watched this movie for several years now.”

He took out his phone from his pocket. As soon as he raised it, the pitch-black screen lit up, and a blurry figure appeared, back facing him.

“Do you need something?”

Ethan Brooks was taken aback, silently thinking how aloof this phone was, then said, “Um, I wanted to ask, when does the mission start? Why did I faint on the street? Is this really okay?”

“The mission has already started. As for fainting, that was due to the host’s own lack of physical fitness. You passed out when the system was importing knowledge. It has nothing to do with me.”

“Uh, isn’t that your fault for being too hasty? Couldn’t you have let me prepare a bit, adjust my mindset, and watch the movie one more time?”

The phone was silent for a moment, then a cold voice came from it.

“Chosen one, the prologue mission is very simple, and the rewards for success are generous. There is no penalty for failure. The system has also provided you with a green card, passport, driver’s license, and funds. It’s almost foolproof. What more do you need? This is my final reminder: seize the opportunity of the prologue, get familiar with the rules of time-space travel as soon as possible. There won’t be such a good chance in the future.”

The phone screen went dark.

“Uh…”

Ethan Brooks put down the phone, shrugged, thought for a moment, and walked toward a gun shop within his line of sight.

With a swipe, a dazzling array of firearms came into view, from pistols to sniper rifles, all kinds he had never seen before.

It was dazzling!

After some deliberation, Ethan Brooks chose a modified M1911 pistol set and an original CheyTac M200 sniper rifle.

The M1911 pistol was a former US military sidearm, priced at $1,200. The one Ethan Brooks bought had been modified with rare wood grip panels and an ultra-light alloy slide, bringing the price up to $3,500. With the matching holster, gun case, two extra magazines, maintenance tools, and so on, the total came to $4,800.

The M200 sniper rifle, known as the Death Intervenor, was recognized as the longest-range, most accurate anti-personnel sniper rifle. The full set cost $18,000, including scope and all accessories such as a laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, sensor module, muzzle brake, and suppressor.

After showing his green card and completing registration, he took out a stack of cash to pay. The guns, originally totaling $22,800, cost him an extra $1,000 to skip some of the sniper rifle paperwork, for a total of $23,800.

That was over a hundred thousand yuan—his annual salary in the past—spent in one go. Having money really does make you willful.

As he was leaving, the shop owner gave him a meaningful look and said, “This sniper rifle has been sitting here for two years. They say fewer people in America buy it than get struck by lightning.”

Ethan Brooks put the pistol case in his bag—ordinary citizens in America can’t display firearms in public—then picked up the heavy sniper rifle case and casually tossed two bills onto the counter.

“Tip.”