Chapter One: Mistaken for a Fool from the Very Beginning

"Young man, do you want to become stronger?"

By the edge of the campus wall, Yang Xiaofan’s handsome brows knitted together. He was absolutely certain that, a few days ago, a glowing screen had appeared in his mind. Yet no matter how many times he went to the hospital or consulted a psychologist, there was only ever one diagnosis: his late-night gaming had damaged his brain, causing him to hallucinate.

In short—they said he was braindead!

“I’m only a sophomore. I haven’t married a rich, beautiful woman, become a CEO, or reached the pinnacle of life. Is my journey really going to end here?” Yang Xiaofan was deeply frustrated.

His best friend, Fatty Gu Hao, appeared out of nowhere, patted Yang Xiaofan’s shoulder, and tried to comfort him.

“Old Yang, don’t be upset. My mom says as long as it’s not congenital, most cases like this can be cured. Plenty of people in comas come back lively after modern treatment.”

“Get lost! I’m not braindead!” Yang Xiaofan shot Gu Hao a glare, but deep down, he felt even more sorrowful.

No one was willing to believe him. That feeling was truly unbearable.

Gu Hao wasn’t offended by Yang Xiaofan’s reaction. He looked completely understanding.

“Xiaofan, I know it’s hard to accept at first, but don’t worry—time will make it easier. Here, the class and I raised ten thousand yuan for you. Buy some walnuts to boost your brainpower. Maybe you’ll recover.”

Before Yang Xiaofan could react, Gu Hao shoved the money into his hand and darted off.

“I’ve got something to do. Help me sign in for class!”

“Damn you!”

Yang Xiaofan cursed, but when he looked down at the thick wad of cash, his eyes grew moist.

Have I really become a lost cause? Am I going to live off others’ pity from now on?

But just then, the words on the glowing screen in his mind suddenly shifted.

“Detected: host assets have reached the minimum recharge threshold. Universal God-Making Plan initiated. Proceed with recharge?”

“What the heck? Universal God-Making Plan? Recharge?”

Yang Xiaofan’s body tensed. Only then did he notice a recharge portal had appeared on the screen.

Driven by curiosity, he clicked it and selected the minimum recharge.

The ten thousand yuan in his hand vanished instantly.

“Holy—!” Yang Xiaofan jumped in shock. Was he seeing things in broad daylight?

At the same time, the screen changed again, resembling a shopping mall interface.

Its offerings were dazzling: martial arts, painting, literature, calligraphy, medicine, singing…

There were also options for memory, vision, hearing… All sorts of skills, each with a lengthy experience bar trailing behind.

The top left corner displayed the recharge portal; the top right corner, his freshly recharged ten thousand yuan.

“Congratulations, host, on your first recharge! First-time bonus: tenfold. You’ve received one experience card.”

The interface prompted again, and Yang Xiaofan saw his assets jump to a hundred thousand. Below, a new item slot had appeared, holding a single experience card.

“Experience Card: Instantly grants one million experience to any skill.”

Without hesitation, Yang Xiaofan applied it to his painting skill.

In a flash, his painting level soared from novice to beginner, to mastery, and finally halted at thirty percent into the grandmaster tier.

Simultaneously, a torrent of insights flooded his mind, and even his body felt newly coordinated, as if it possessed a grace it never had before.

“Damn, this is incredible!”

Yang Xiaofan clenched his fist, unable to hold back a burst of excitement.

He snatched a few black charcoal stones from the ground and began to draw on the wall with smooth, flowing strokes.

Everything felt so effortless and natural, as though he’d honed his craft for decades.

In under ten minutes, he completed a striking landscape—a scene of mountains and flowing water.

“I painted this!” Staring at his own work, Yang Xiaofan could scarcely believe his eyes.

It was astonishingly lifelike!

He had never seen such a realistic landscape painting. Both in technique and atmosphere, it was indistinguishable from the real thing.

So, the glowing screen in his mind wasn’t a hallucination brought on by brain damage—it was a miraculous cheat straight out of a novel.

He was set!

He was truly set for life!

But before Yang Xiaofan could delight in his good fortune, a shout rang out from afar.

“Hey! You kid over there! Who told you to scribble on the wall? Which class are you from?”

“Crap.”

His face drained of color. Yang Xiaofan took off running.

If security caught him, not only would he have to pay for damages, he’d probably be reported to the whole school.

That would be disastrous.

Just as he fled, a girl with a drawing board on her back happened to pass by. When she caught sight of the landscape on the wall, she was so stunned that her expensive board slipped from her shoulders and thudded to the ground.

“Oh my god!”

...

Yang Xiaofan swore he had never run so fast in his life.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that if security caught him, it wouldn’t just be a fine and a school-wide notice. Would his classmates think he’d really lost his mind, doodling on the wall like a child? Would he become notorious throughout the entire campus?

“Whew! Whew!” He was panting heavily when he finally made it back to class.

Luckily, everyone was busy preparing for the next lesson and no one noticed him.

Just as he settled into his seat, an elderly woman in a plain qipao entered the room, carrying a stack of books.

At her arrival, the class immediately fell silent and respectful.

“Good morning, Professor Xiao.”

Professor Xiao nodded. Years steeped in scholarly tradition gave her an air of quiet authority, and the qipao lent her a dignified, familial presence that commanded respect.

“Is everyone here? Today, we’ll skip roll call. I’ll just pick a few students at random to review last session’s material.”

“Last time, we studied Zhuangzi’s ‘Free and Easy Wandering.’ Let’s have a volunteer explain it simply.”

“Hmm… Yang Xiaofan, are you in this class?”

Yang Xiaofan had barely caught his breath, and hadn’t even had a chance to study the glowing screen in his mind, when he suddenly heard his name called. He was momentarily stunned.

He had attended the last class, but afterward, he’d spent all his time gaming. How could he remember anything about ‘Free and Easy Wandering,’ much less explain it?

I’m doomed. This can’t be happening.

“Which one is Yang Xiaofan? Please stand up.”

Professor Xiao called again. Yang Xiaofan could only grit his teeth and rise.

At that moment, a girl raised her hand.

“Professor, could Yang Xiaofan be excused from answering?”

Yang Xiaofan glanced over. It was Qin Nuanyu, the class monitor—warm-hearted, always looking out for others, and beautiful to boot. She was the secret crush of many boys in the class.

Her intervention filled Yang Xiaofan with gratitude.

Professor Xiao looked puzzled.

“Qin, why shouldn’t Yang answer?”

Qin Nuanyu cast a sympathetic glance at Yang Xiaofan, her eyes full of pity and concern. Then, in a soft voice to Professor Xiao, she said,

“Professor, Yang’s suffered a brain injury these past couple of days. The doctors have officially declared him… braindead.”