Chapter 1: Clichéd Transmigration
In a rental room of an ordinary community, a young man dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase dragged his exhausted body through the door.
Zhang Chu was an orphan (following the three laws of Transmigration: either lose both parents or start as an orphan). He had a somewhat thin face but looked quite handsome. Having just left the orphanage to make his way in the world, he made a living by selling insurance.
Fortunately, thanks to the professional knowledge from his training, his sincerity, and a bit of luck, his life was manageable. Zhang Chu would often joke with his friends from the orphanage that he was a member of a Fortune 500 company.
But friends who knew Zhang Chu well were aware that this guy was actually a closet otaku. Aside from the mandatory days each month spent visiting clients, he stayed home playing games and binge-watching anime.
"Ah! Finally finished this month's quota. My happy shut-in life begins! Hey, where's my aged ice-cold Coke?" Zhang Chu said.
Zhang Chu turned on the computer and began his anime-watching journey. I remember Pirate King has an update today! I've accumulated several months' worth of episodes; I'm going to have a blast watching today, Zhang Chu thought while eating snacks stored on the computer shelf.
"My god, how did Luffy get taken out by Kaido in one hit? How is this going to work? Is it going to be like the Enies Lobby arc? A sudden collective power-up?" Zhang Chu said somewhat indignantly.
I wonder what Oda was thinking? If the glint-glint fruit were given to the protagonist, how cool would that be?
Thinking back to the scene when Kizaru first appeared, taking down a Supernova with every kick. There's even a joke online: 'When the salary doesn't arrive, he slacks off; when the salary hits the account, he kicks the Four Emperors into oblivion.'
Reaching out, he found the Coke was already finished. He got up and prepared to go out to buy more. The convenience store was only one street away from Zhang Chu's home.
Just as he stepped out and saw the grayish-black sky, he thought, ah, it's going to rain again, so annoying, I need to hurry up.
Watching a truck speeding down the street, Zhang Chu stopped to wait for it to pass. However, at some point, a toy ball rolled past him toward the middle of the road. A child darted past Zhang Chu so quickly that they didn't notice the speeding truck at all.
In a moment of tension, Zhang Chu didn't even think before rushing out to grab the child and throw him back. Then he felt a surge of sharp pain and lost consciousness. His last thought was whether this counted as an act of heroism. What Zhang Chu didn't know was that at the moment of impact, a bolt of lightning also struck him.
When Zhang Chu regained consciousness, he was in a vast white space. He was sitting on a stool, and in front of him was a table and an old man wearing glasses sitting across from him. There were two cups of tea on the table between them, and the tea leaves were standing upright! Zhang Chu was completely bewildered; there was only one tea leaf in the cup, and it was standing vertically—this must be poisonous.
Zhang Chu thought strangely: I don't know why, but looking at this tea, my heart is full of calm, even though I just died.
"Hello, young man. I am very sorry for accidentally striking you with lightning and bringing you here," the old man began, explaining the reason behind the situation.
This respectful-looking old man was actually a god. During practice, a Spell went out of control and struck Zhang Chu dead. Out of guilt, he summoned Zhang Chu's Soul to his home, hoping to provide some compensation.
"Then can I be resurrected?" Zhang Chu asked doubtfully. He thought seriously; if the old man hadn't struck him, he would have been killed by the truck anyway. If he could be resurrected, he would actually come out ahead.
"Sorry, I can't. Due to certain rules, I am unable to do that. However, I can let you experience Rebirth in another world. Would that work?"
Another world, Zhang Chu thought.
"Then can I choose which world I go to?" Zhang Chu asked.
"Uh, sorry, that's also a no. Because of an agreement between us gods, every world can only be a random transmission."
"Then just help me with the Rebirth," Zhang Chu said calmly.
"But can I ask something? Why am I so calm? I don't think I'm a calm person," Zhang Chu said in confusion. This doubt had been there since the beginning.
The Old Immortal Grandpa said awkwardly, "It's because of this tea. This is our Divine Realm's Spirit-Clearing Tea. From the name, you should know its use. Since I'm not good at communicating with angry people, I had to prepare it in advance. My apologies."
"Oh, I see. Then help me with the Rebirth." Zhang Chu could feel that the tea only broadened his mindset and didn't seem to control his mind or anything.
"Is it really that simple?" the Old Immortal Grandpa asked in surprise.
"I already understand your predicament, and I'm very grateful to be able to be reborn." Zhang Chu thought to himself that the old director of the orphanage had always taught them to be forgiving people.
"You truly are a person of excellent character. By the way, as an atonement, is there anything this old man can do for you?"
"Do what?"
"I want to hear your wishes."
"Wishes? Then can I have the abilities of the glint-glint fruit from Pirate King and the Three Types of Haki?"
"This?"
"Can I add more?"
"Yes, you can. I am very powerful, after all."
Zhang Chu thought for a moment; abilities like these should correspond to the world. "Can I choose what kind of world I might go to?"
"Yes. While I can't choose the exact world for your Rebirth, I can choose the general direction."
"Then help me choose a world with magic. My last wish is to have a very high talent for magic."
"Alright, any other wishes?" the Old Immortal Grandpa asked patiently.
"No more. Our director often taught us to be content."
"Truly a great director," the Old Immortal Grandpa said with some emotion.
Yes, the director was indeed great. He almost single-handedly supported the entire orphanage and gave us orphans a home.
"Since you've decided, reach out your hand." The Old Immortal Grandpa extended a hand. Zhang Chu reached out and held it. A flash of light appeared, and a warm current flowed from the Old Immortal Grandpa's hand into Zhang Chu's body.
"There, I have bestowed upon you everything you wanted, and I also strengthened your future body in passing. Your future physical strength and memory will surpass those of ordinary people," the Old Immortal Grandpa said calmly.
"Furthermore, I have imprinted all the magic I know from one world into your mind for your future use."
"Mm, thank you so much, Old Immortal Grandpa."
"Hahaha, what a polite child. Well then, child, we shall meet again. Go now." After saying this, the Old Immortal Grandpa tapped Zhang Chu's forehead, and Zhang Chu felt a gravitational force pulling him. Zhang Chu quickly said goodbye before being pulled away by the gravity.
Zhang Chu's vision went black. He felt a warm energy enveloping him; it was a very comfortable feeling, as if all his troubles were gone, just like... just like the embrace of a mother he had imagined. Zhang Chu couldn't help but smile, whispering a name he had never called out in his life: "Mom."
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Zhang Chu regained consciousness again, he felt his body had become small, and his limbs felt very weak. He couldn't really open his eyes. However, he could faintly hear a sound of crying and feel droplets sliding down his cheeks. But perhaps because he was a newborn...
Everything was a faint sensation. After Zhang Chu let out a cry to ensure he wasn't mute, a wave of fatigue hit him, and before long, he fell into a deep sleep.
When Zhang Chu woke up again, he was in a simple room. Looking at his tiny hands, Zhang Chu fully realized that he had been reborn.
Zhang Chu wanted to first sort out his current situation.
"I remember the Old Immortal Grandpa also gave me magic knowledge from a world. I recalled it carefully and found many things added to my mind."
Zhang Chu suddenly realized he knew the world from which the Old Immortal had transmitted the magic. If it wasn't the same world, it was very close, because their magic was exactly the same.
"Isn't this exactly the comedy invincible-style anime I watched before, 'brought a cellphone to another world'?" Zhang Chu suddenly found that his experience was very similar to the protagonist of that anime.
Both were accidentally struck dead by an Old Immortal, then compensated by having their wishes granted and being sent to transmigrate... Motherf— could that old man be the same person...
While Zhang Chu was constantly complaining in his mind, a bald lady walked into the room. Wearing a spotless yellow monk's robe, she looked to be about 40 years old. She gave off an air of transcendent grace as she walked slowly toward him with a baby bottle in her hand.
But when Zhang Chu saw her, he felt completely unwell. Because he knew this person. The famous Ancient One.
"Oh my god, this is a disaster! This is Marvel!" Zhang Chu thought in despair.
This Transmigration part is modeled after an anime I like. It's called 'brought a cellphone to another world.' If you're interested, you can check it out; it's quite funny.
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Thank you for reading to the end of this chapter, and if you can help by giving me votes of confidence, I would appreciate it ^_^