Chapter Two: I Can’t Believe I’m the Villainous Big Boss!

“Boss, I’ll head out first. My dad has already bought a place here, and I heard it comes with a training room. Once we’ve settled in, we’ll invite you over to work out.”

“Alright, we’ll get in touch by phone later.”

After parting ways with Hu Xian, Ji Cheng moved slowly toward the station exit, squeezed by the thronging crowd. Since he hadn’t been assigned to the same train compartment as his parents and sister, they had agreed to meet at the exit before departing.

As soon as he stepped into the station hall, he saw a young girl waiting outside, leaning on her luggage. Her eyes were covered with a blindfold, yet her skin was porcelain-white and flawless—her mere presence seemed to possess an irresistible allure.

The girl wrinkled her nose as if she had caught a familiar scent, and exclaimed with delight, “Cheng!”

“I’m here,” Ji Cheng replied.

The girl before him was his sister, Luo Rao, with whom he shared a deep bond since childhood. In the memories Ji Cheng had inherited, Luo Rao always attracted swarms of admirers, and the original owner had fought many times because of it.

“Sis, why are you covering your eyes?” Ji Cheng steadied her, puzzled.

“Oh, I’m imagining myself as a succubus.”

“I can’t make sense of what you’re saying,” Ji Cheng said, full of suspicion.

He pulled down Luo Rao’s blindfold, and a pair of bright, watery eyes met his gaze.

“Children shouldn’t ask too many questions,” Luo Rao burrowed into his arms, rubbing against him comfortably. “I missed you, Cheng.”

Feeling the warmth against his chest, Ji Cheng’s heart softened.

Five years ago, both siblings tested positive for genetic compatibility. But their parents were ordinary workers, unable to afford even a single dose of genetic serum.

The original Ji Cheng had been utterly crestfallen, until Luo Rao somehow managed to get a large sum of money to buy one dose of the genetic serum.

And Luo Rao had gone to any lengths to give Ji Cheng this opportunity. The injection of the genetic serum meant lifelong exemption from taxes, plus a monthly training subsidy of 1,500 credits—a substantial insurance policy that allowed one to focus entirely on training, free from the need to work.

Even if one’s talent was mediocre and they could never become a true ability wielder, the monthly subsidy alone ensured a comfortable life.

Considering their family’s circumstances, such a gift was beyond measure.

Ji Cheng pinched her nose and smiled gently, “Here I am, aren’t I?”

“If only it weren’t for all this luggage… Oh, the luggage!” Luo Rao grabbed Ji Cheng’s hand and rushed toward her suitcase.

She had been so excited earlier, she’d left the suitcase behind.

“Where are Mom and Dad?” Ji Cheng looked at Luo Rao’s delicate face, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.

Her appearance seemed oddly familiar—not from memories of this life, but as if he’d seen her somewhere before his transmigration…

“Dad’s rheumatism acted up when boarding, so they asked us to secure the allocated house first. They’ll take next month’s train to join us.”

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll carry the luggage.” Ji Cheng reached out to take it, but Luo Rao dodged.

“Cheng is too careless. Mom and Dad said you’re not allowed to look after the luggage.”

…

Despite Ji Cheng’s insistence, Luo Rao prevailed, and so she pushed the suitcase herself as they joined the group heading toward the residential area.

Families relocating to the new city received a housing allocation as a benefit, though the living conditions were far from ideal.

“By the way, Cheng, did you see that giant bug on the train? It was terrifying.” Seeing the long queue, Luo Rao opened up again.

“I saw it. Everyone in the carriage was petrified. I estimate that bug was several kilometers long,” Ji Cheng replied, making small talk.

“I was scared too~” Luo Rao seized the opportunity to act spoiled.

Ji Cheng could only free a hand to comfort her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

“Cheng, when do you think Baishan Star will reconnect with the Empire? Since we lost contact with them over fifty years ago, strange mutant creatures keep appearing…” Luo Rao suddenly looked worried. “If this keeps up, our planet might not last much longer.”

“Yeah,” Ji Cheng answered absently.

Wait—the Empire? Which Empire?

“You mean…the Galactic Empire?” His expression stiffened.

“Of course, is there any other empire?” Luo Rao giggled, her mood brightening. “Cheng, your joke is so old-fashioned.”

Ji Cheng could no longer hear Luo Rao’s words; his mind echoed with the phrase “Galactic Empire.”

Galactic Empire.

The game he played before transmigrating was called “Grand Galaxy,” but the Galactic Empire was a country that had already crumbled before the game’s story began.

He had transmigrated to the period before the game’s story started?

That meant all the plotlines he remembered were useless for now.

At the start of the game, the Galactic Empire was already on the brink of collapse, and the universe was ablaze with endless wars. Stories before the Empire’s split were mentioned only in a few missions, and even seasoned players like Ji Cheng knew little about them.

No, he had to figure out what point in history he was at.

“Sis, do you remember what year our planet lost contact with the Empire?” Ji Cheng avoided directly asking the current year, not wanting to seem ignorant.

“I remember! Galactic Year 1257. It’s been fifty-five years since then,” Luo Rao answered eagerly.

So it was Galactic Year 1312… The Galactic Empire wouldn’t split until 1320, when the fourth emperor, Ji Xia, died, marking the official division. There were still eight years before the timeline he was familiar with.

Since his storyline wouldn’t start for another eight years, he truly had to rely on himself now.

As he pondered, fragments of memory from the original owner surged forth, forming a coherent stream in his mind. Except for a few trivial details, most everything had blended into his consciousness.

He was adopted as a child, grew up on Baishan Star, excelled academically, especially in mechanical modification, enjoyed fighting and bullying classmates, and had an irrepressible urge to do dangerous things.

His father was an electrician, his mother a laborer at the market. With the training subsidy, their family’s monthly income barely reached three thousand credits.

Thus, his lifelong goal was to earn a miner’s certificate, work in the mines, and improve his family’s quality of life.

A single standard unit of energy crystal ore could be exchanged for twenty thousand Baishan credits.

So the first step was to get some money and improve his family’s life. Since he had inherited this body and its memories, he naturally had to shoulder its responsibilities.

And Luo Rao—she needed to get her genetic serum as soon as possible. Her talent couldn’t be wasted; the sooner she received the injection, the better.

Finally, he needed to reestablish contact with the Galactic Empire.

“Cheng, what are you thinking about? It’s our turn.”

Ji Cheng snapped out of his thoughts. Before him was a wide counter, and their turn in the housing allocation queue had come.

“These are our documents.” Ji Cheng handed over a thick stack—proof of identity and eligibility for housing.

The clerk, sitting upright, barely glanced up, selected one sheet from the pile, and tossed the rest aside.

“Deng Zhigang?”

“That’s my dad. I’m Ji Cheng.” Ji Cheng pointed to his own name below.

The clerk nodded. With frequent attacks by mutated animals, adoption was so common it had become tradition. He was used to it.

“Gray Zone, Shed District Four, Unit 151. Previous resident died of heart disease. This will do.”

Half an hour later, the siblings arrived at Shed District Four and found their assigned house. The structure, thrown together with sandwich panels, barely kept out the wind and sand, and its appearance was far from satisfactory.

Bang.

The bolt door swung open, and they entered the prefab room.

The interior was small, divided into a bedroom and half a living room. The furnishings were meager: a cot, a wooden cabinet, and an old folding table covered with thick plastic sheeting.

Luo Rao clung to Ji Cheng’s arm, unable to resist complaining, “This place is such a dump.”

“It’s pretty lousy, and there’s a leak over here.” Ji Cheng set down his backpack. “Go buy four plastic stools and four sets of tableware. I’ll tidy up the house.”

Luo Rao blinked expectantly. “Can I get an ice pop while I’m out?”

“Yes, go ahead. And bring back some greens too.” Ji Cheng sent her off, and during her absence, he pulled out a book to review.

Although he had absorbed the memories, it was best to refresh his knowledge from books.

“Giant’s Staircase: A dense cluster of basalt columns formed by mysterious processes, characterized by natural hexagonal pillars interlinked into a chaotic step formation. Each pillar ranges from one to several meters tall. High probability of energy crystal clusters; low probability of intermediate energy crystal clusters.”

“Earth Chimney: The most common landmark in mining areas, generally appearing in pairs as irregular pits. Dark brown smoke rises above them, visible within a kilometer. Low probability of energy crystal clusters.”

Ji Cheng was one of the few students able to memorize the entire “Energy Crystal Mining and Exploration Compendium.”

The compendium totaled over seven hundred thousand words, covering natural environments, mining area characteristics, supply points, exploration methods, extraction processes for various energy crystals, and detailed descriptions of mutated animals—a vast ocean of knowledge.

“Agger’s Deep Sinkhole: A subterranean cavity formed by roof collapse, serving as a water inlet from the surface, similar to a funnel in karst terrain. Low probability of advanced energy crystal clusters. Extremely dangerous.”

Baishan Star was peculiar. Once a habitable planet, after losing contact with the Galactic Empire, civil wars ruptured the ozone layer, cities shrank, and deserts and wastelands rapidly spread across the surface.

“Curiously, under these conditions, Baishan Star never lacked water. Instead, lakes and basins appeared everywhere in the deserts and wastelands, and water remained abundant.” Ji Cheng turned the pages, puzzled.

He rummaged through his backpack for another book, its red cover titled “Baishan Star High School History.”

“In the deserts and water bodies that appeared on the planet, countless insects and beasts underwent atavism over the past fifty years, and formed bizarre connective tissue with metal objects from urban ruins. The exact cause remains undetermined.”

Ji Cheng studied the illustrations, brow furrowed:

A three-eyed mutant fish, its body composed of rusty gasoline drums; a ferocious giant eagle, its wings wrapped in meat membranes and alloy plates; a monstrous hermit crab using an entire armored vehicle as its shell…

“…During the reclamation process, experts discovered vast energy crystal deposits beneath the sand dunes of abandoned cities, with unique surface features. This phenomenon was scientifically termed ‘Natural Entropy Reduction Wonders,’ commonly known as mining zones.”

Ji Cheng was familiar with energy crystals—universal fuel in the cosmos. In his previous life as a top-tier player in “Grand Galaxy,” he had used massive amounts of advanced energy crystals. Though he’d never mined them in person, he knew that proper ore veins never produced such strange surface features.

Sudden loss of contact… mutant connectives… peculiar topography… mining zones…

This planet was in serious trouble. Ji Cheng closed the book, reaching a conclusion in his mind.

“Cheng, I’m back!” Luo Rao’s sweet voice called from the door. Ji Cheng stowed the book in his backpack and got up to open the door.

A dusty dressing mirror hung on the door; he hadn’t noticed it coming in, but now he looked, curiosity piqued about his appearance in this life.

He wiped the glass, despite some cracks, and saw reflected a young face: sword-like brows, heroic spirit, a natural trace of sternness, and striking features.

Tall, lean, and muscular, with sharp, chiseled features—a maxed-out charisma stat if it were in a game.

Far more handsome than his former self; Ji Cheng was quite pleased.

Wait—that’s him! That man!

Ji Cheng was startled, his strength unchecked as he shattered the mirror.

He knew his identity now.

Centuries later, he would become the Pontiff of the Church of the Machine God, master of the Iron Scar Legion, scourge of the universe, a demigod walking among mortals, honored as the “Undying Mechanic Kingdom.”

The final boss of “Grand Galaxy.”