CFM Chapter 1

“Hey, wake up.”

“You Guan.”

An unfamiliar male voice drilled into his ears. You Guan felt someone patting his face. His entire body was in pain, especially his head. It felt as though someone had smashed it hard with an iron hammer, and he couldn’t open his eyes no matter how hard he tried.

“Fuck, you died just from getting hit once. What rotten luck.” There was no trace of guilt or fear in the man’s voice. He said viciously, “You want me to take you along? In your fucking dreams.”

After saying that, the other man stood up. Soon, his footsteps faded away.

You Guan struggled to open his eyes a sliver and saw a blurry figure rummaging through the cabinets and drawers.

The ground against his cheek was cold and damp. He moved his gaze. He finally caught sight of a pool of blood, most likely flowing from his own head.

As time passed and his consciousness returned, his vision cleared.

The walls were light gray, and the floor was pitch-black. A square cabinet stood not far away, with blood smeared on one corner. Aside from these, the narrow space contained only a single bed.

It looked like a prison cell.

“This isn’t my room…” he murmured unconsciously.

Hearing his voice, the man’s back stiffened. Holding a bulging bag, he turned around. Seeing someone who should have been dead actually sit up, his pupils contracted, and he quickly pulled out a knife.

You Guan: “…”

He had no ability to fight back right now, so he rolled his eyes and played dead first, planning to take the man down when he let his guard down.

Someone screamed outside. The thug, who had been about to approach and investigate, had a slight change in expression. He quickly turned on his heel, grabbed his things, and hurriedly left.

Only after confirming that the other man wasn’t coming back did You Guan finally relax. He closed his eyes and panted for a while. Before he could even figure out what was going on, another person suddenly barged in.

The newcomer was short, with a round face and a plump body. Seeing the person on the ground staring blankly at him, Wang Qiutian cursed impatiently. He grabbed You Guan and dragged him outside. “Why are you spacing out right now? Afraid you won’t die fast enough?”

You Guan staggered along behind the chubby guy, his eyes looking around.

On both sides of the white corridor, black glass walls appeared at regular intervals, reflecting his current appearance.

He wore a military green shirt marked with footprints, black tapered trousers, and a pair of high-top boots. The hair at the back of his head was sticky, and the collar of his shirt had already been stained dark green by blood.

Because of his build, the chubby guy up ahead was constantly panting and repeatedly overtaken by those behind him. You Guan wasn’t much help either. Soon, the two of them had fallen to the rear.

The corridor behind them was empty, and faint growls echoed from a distance.

You Guan shivered at the sound. He grabbed the person in front of him and pressed him for answers. “Where is this place? Who are you?”

The chubby guy couldn’t run anymore. He placed one hand on his hip and shoved You Guan’s head with the other. “Have you gone stupid? I’m Wang Qiutian, your good buddy! This is Night Owl’s research institute.”

“Night Owl?” You Guan raised both hands and made a flying motion. “The kind that flies?”

The chubby guy was close to passing out from anger, stomping on one foot. “The base! Night Owl Base! Did falling in love make you lose your brain, too? Stop standing there like an idiot and run! If we don’t hurry, the zombies will break in!”

“Zombies?” You Guan’s mouth twitched. It had to be because he’d read that infuriating piece of trash fiction before going to sleep that he was having such an absurd dream.

He shook off the chubby guy’s hand and plopped down on the floor. “I’m not leaving. Once I wake up from this dream, I’ll be saved.”

“Stop fooling around.” The chubby guy was frantic. “Fine, I’ll call you Brother Guan, okay? If we don’t run now, it’ll really be too late.”

Ignoring Wang Qiutian’s voice, You Guan leaned his head against the glass wall.

That gentle bump happened to activate the glass wall’s technological mode. The reflective black glass turned transparent, revealing a zombie crouched on the other side, its mouth gaping at You Guan’s bloodied head.

“Fuck!” The chubby guy stumbled back a step, his eyes wide with shock.

You Guan turned his head, once again amazed at how incredibly realistic his dream was.

The zombie’s face was a ghastly bluish-white, and its black eyeballs seemed to be covered by a film, turning grayish-white. Visible black veins showed beneath its skin. Its ruptured belly revealed organs stained dark red by dried blood.

He blinked and tapped the glass a few times.

Hearing the sound, the zombie began ramming its head against the glass. The thick, sturdy barrier trembled.

You Guan’s lips twitched, his mind feeling a bit muddled.

When he’d bumped into the glass just now, the pain in the back of his head had clearly intensified. After all, pain couldn’t be felt in a dream. He should have noticed this from the very beginning.

The zombie’s mouth widened to its absolute limit. Its teeth scraped against the glass, while its half-missing tongue licked the surface, leaving behind dark red streaks of blood.

【They are skin and bones. The wounds on their bodies neither fester nor heal. Their teeth have mutated into sharp, beast-like fangs that can easily tear through tough flesh. Through that layer of ashen skin and the film covering their eyes, you can feel their craving for fresh blood as clearly as if it were right in front of you.】

This was the description of zombies in 《The Mermaid Handbook》, a novel You Guan had read recently.

The stiff, lifeless words matched the scene before his eyes perfectly. You Guan shuddered, suddenly jolted to his senses. Night Owl Base… He was at Night Owl Base!

Night Owl Base appeared only once in the entire novel because it was almost completely wiped out right at the beginning. Of the base’s tens of thousands of people, fewer than ten managed to escape in the end.

He couldn’t afford to think about anything else. You Guan shouted at the chubby guy, “Run!”

After receiving the danger alert, the research institute descended into chaos. They were among the most important talents of this era. People from other bases had already arrived and were preparing to carry out a rescue and evacuation outside.

Fatty: “The vehicles from Falcon Base are right outside Gate 1. When we get there, I’ll charge ahead and clear the way. You grab onto my clothes and follow me. Whatever you do, don’t fall behind. I’m afraid someone as scrawny as you will get shoved out of the crowd.”

If they failed to get onto the vehicles, there were only two possible outcomes: either they would die without leaving an intact corpse, or they would become part of the zombie horde.

Looking at the young man’s sweaty face, You Guan desperately searched his memory for information about Wang Qiutian.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

That meant Wang Qiutian was nothing more than an insignificant side character. The original owner of this body was no different.

What You Guan couldn’t understand is, if even Wang Qiutian, a friend, was willing to come looking for him, then what about the original owner’s lover?

For some reason, You Guan thought of the thug who had run away.

More than ten minutes later, the two arrived at Gate 1.

Looking at the densely packed crowd ahead, Wang Qiutian grew as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. The people at the front were afraid of being cut in line. Their tall, burly bodies formed a solid barrier like a small mountain, blocking Wang Qiutian completely. One of them even shot You Guan a warning glare.

You Guan put on an obedient expression and took a step back with his buddy. Wang Qiutian had no choice but to abandon his plan to clear a path. He asked his friend worriedly, “With so many people blocking the way up front, can we really get onto the vehicles?”

“No idea,” You Guan said. “Pray, I guess.”

Wang Qiutian was startled. “Since when did you become a believer of the Descendants?”

The Descendants were a powerful religious organization in 《The Mermaid Handbook》, with their influence permeating every base. The appearance of this term once again reminded You Guan of the fact that he had transmigrated into this world.

The Descendants were ruthless. People both feared and despised them. Worried that someone else might overhear and beat him to a pulp, You Guan hurriedly waved his hands. “I’m not! I was just talking nonsense.”

“Buddy, watch what you say.” Seeing that they wouldn’t be able to get out anytime soon, Wang Qiutian pulled You Guan aside, craning his neck to look at the door where someone was trying to crack the password.

All the equipment inside the research institute was operating normally. The air-conditioning breeze blew against You Guan’s neck, cooling his overheated brain.

Just fifteen minutes ago, he had been happily sitting there watching TV with a watermelon in his arms.

The power went out just when the TV had been showing the most exciting part. You Guan had hurriedly jumped off the sofa to check the circuit breaker, only to trip over a chair leg halfway there and fall so hard that his vision went black.

Remembering how he’d landed face-first, You Guan touched his forehead and nose. Thank goodness he hadn’t injured himself badly.

“What happened to the back of your head?” Wang Qiutian reached out and touched it, immediately hearing his friend suck in a sharp breath of pain.

You Guan cautiously shielded the wound. “Before you came in, did you see a man running out of my room?”

Wang Qiutian thought carefully. “I think I saw that bastard.”

A bad feeling rose in You Guan’s heart. “A man?”

“Of course!” Wang Qiutian slapped his thigh and cursed. “You’ve been working like a horse for him lately. Even if you haven’t earned any merit, you’ve certainly put in the effort, right? So why did he run off alone? Didn’t he say anything about taking you with him?”

You Guan shook his head, now understanding what had happened.

It was nothing more than a scumbag lover abandoning the original owner when disaster struck. Before fleeing, he’d even tried to strip the original owner of every last supply.

The original owner had wanted the scumbag to take him along, but the scumbag refused and then resorted to violence.

“I told you ages ago that he was no good, but you just wouldn’t listen! I saw him carrying a bag, too. Don’t tell me it was full of your stuff?!”

You Guan nodded solemnly. “Probably.”

Wang Qiutian clenched his fists in anger. “We should’ve just gotten you two into bed together first! Look at you now. You’ve lost both the man and your belongings.”

“You mean I never slept with him?” A spark of joy danced in You Guan’s eyes. He wasn’t into men, and even knowing that whatever the original owner had done with the scumbag had nothing to do with him, he still felt a little uncomfortable about it.

Thank goodness, thank goodness. He was still an innocent young man.

“Keep dreaming! You two haven’t even kissed on the lips.” Wang Qiutian felt that the person in front of him was very strange, as if he had become a different person. Given how much You Guan had liked Chen Feng, there was no way he would have forgotten even these things.

His brows furrowed tightly, and sharp cold light burst from his round eyes. “You…”

Feeling exposed, You Guan panicked and leaned back. “What about me?”

Wang Qiutian: “Did you hit your head so hard that you damaged your brain?”

“…” You Guan’s tense shoulders relaxed. “Yes. Don’t believe me? Listen.”

He leaned his head forward so Wang Qiutian could hear more clearly. Wang Qiutian looked utterly bewildered. “Listen to what?”

You Guan: “Listen to the sea. The ocean of knowledge.”

Wang Qiutian: “…”

He really was different. The old You Guan had never been funny.

You Guan patted him on the shoulder. “My head hurts a lot. Don’t say anything. Let me have some peace and quiet.”

Wang Qiutian immediately fell silent.

With his eyes closed, You Guan kept calling out to the system.

Other people who transmigrated into books all had one. There was no reason he shouldn’t have one, too. Yet even after calling out dozens of times in a row, he received no response.

Just as he was about to give up, a series of “beep, beep, beep” sounds rang out in his head.

【System 250 is now online.】The electronic voice was mechanical and flat, giving off an extreme sense of composure.

You Guan sat up straight, his heart swelling with joy. He tentatively asked in his mind, “I’ve transmigrated into 《The Mermaid Handbook》, right? Who am I now?”

【The original owner shares your exact name. He is a mermaid caretaker at Night Owl Base, responsible for feeding low-tier mermaids. The person beside you is named Wang Qiutian, the original owner’s only friend. However, the original owner doesn’t see him that way. He finds Wang Qiutian extremely greasy, both in terms of his physique and his personality. The reason he became friends with Wang Qiutian is that Wang Qiutian is Chen Feng’s cousin.】

There was no need for an explanation. Chen Feng was obviously that scumbag.

You Guan tapped his fingers against his knees a few times. “Is it a coincidence that I look exactly like the original owner? Why did I end up here?”

【The 《The Mermaid Handbook》 you read is merely a projection of this world in another world. Someone with a particularly strong sense of inspiration happened to capture this information and express it in the form of written text. As for the matter of appearances, there are always points of overlap among the myriad worlds.】

【As for why you came here, you’ll have to ask yourself what exactly triggered the key point for transmigration.】

You Guan folded his arms, and a sudden flash of inspiration struck him.

The protagonist of 《The Mermaid Handbook》 was a frail, pitiful little mermaid, and a saintly one at that. From the beginning of the novel to Chapter 30, the protagonist had been selflessly helping humans while also having to endure live dissections and research at the institute.

You Guan had been so frustrated that he felt like clawing his hair out. The story had infuriated him to the point of nearly spitting blood, yet he desperately wanted to know what happened next.

So he couldn’t resist looking up spoilers first.

If you enjoy my works and would like to support me, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. Thank you for your support.