On the endless blue sea, a small wooden boat drifted aimlessly with the waves. Three figures lay sprawled across its weathered deck, and the pained voice came from one of them—clearly the first to regain consciousness.
"I should have take it easy with the drinking, but no, Ib had to keep pushing for 'just one more round.' Seriously..."
Gustave clutched his throbbing head and slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight.
Gustave lived up to his name with his striking, masculine features. His good looks and flowing meium length hair, combined with his role as captain of the university basketball team, had earned him quite the following of admirers during his college years. But that popularity paled in comparison to his real achievement: at only twenty-five, he had been recognized in "Food & Wine's "Best New Chef"" and became the youngest world renown chef.
His first major test came when the French President visited. Gustave was personally assigned to handle the banquet—a responsibility that had many veteran chefs waiting to see the young prodigy fail. Unfortunately for his critics, Gustave thrived under pressure. The greater the stakes, the better he performed.
The moment the French President finished the last bite of Gustave's signature cod in wine sauce and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, everyone knew the twenty-five-year-old had not just succeeded—he had triumphed spectacularly.
To celebrate this career-defining victory, Gustave had invited countless friends to a massive celebration party. His last clear memory was finishing the third round of toasts before his friends, still unsatisfied, pressed even more drinks into his hands. Everything after that was a complete blank.
"Note to self: no more marathon drinking sessions. Uncle Verso, could you bring me some of that homemade chicken broth to…"
The words died in his throat as Gustave's brain finally processed what his eyes were seeing. This wasn't his apartment. This wasn't even solid ground.
Stretched out before him was an endless expanse of ocean, its surface sparkling under the sun. He was lying on a small wooden boat, and somewhere overhead, strange bird calls echoed across the water.
"I must still be drunk. This has got to be some kind of alcohol-induced hallucination."
Gustave pinched his cheek hard, hoping to wake himself up. The sharp pain that shot through his face was unfortunately very real.
"Hiss!"
The painful reality sank in—he wasn't dreaming. He was actually floating in the middle of an ocean with no land in sight.
But before Gustave could even begin to process how he'd ended up in this impossible situation, he noticed his two unlikely companions lying behind him on the boat.
The first was a giant panda, round and chubby with an adorable pot belly. The creature wore simple linen shorts, small cloth shoes, and white leg warmers. Even in sleep, it was smacking its lips contentedly, probably dreaming of delicious food.
The second was a cat with primarily blue fur, white markings around its mouth, paws, and tail tip. It slept peacefully under a small quilt, wrapped snugly in red cloth.
"What the hell?! Okay, a cat I could maybe understand, but a giant panda?! This has got to be illegal! Which maniac thought this was a good idea?"
"And why is this panda dressed like a person? Same with the cat—why does it sleep like a human being? Are these even normal animals?"
Gustave's mind raced with complaints, but he kept his voice to a whisper. Despite their cute appearance, he knew giant pandas were still bears—powerful, potentially dangerous bears. While his basketball training had given him decent strength, he was nothing compared to a panda. For the sake of his own survival, he didn't dare make any noise that might wake the human-like creature.
Of course, the universe seemed determined to test him. Before Gustave could even move, the giant panda stirred and began to wake up naturally.
"Dad, I want noodles for breakfast..."
The panda mumbled drowsily, rubbing its eyes and letting out a massive yawn.
Gustave's jaw dropped. The giant panda could talk!
Wait a minute...
A flash of recognition hit him. This panda looked incredibly familiar. After a moment of intense concentration, it clicked—this was Po, the protagonist from "Kung Fu Panda," down to every last detail.
Po yawned again and stretched his arms, preparing to roll over and properly wake up. That simple movement would have been fine under normal circumstances, but as he turned, he rolled directly onto the sleeping cat beside him. Gustave reached out instinctively to save the unfortunate feline, but he was too late.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The cat's piercing scream shattered the peaceful morning as it launched into the air like a blue and white rocket. The sound immediately jolted Po into full consciousness.
Watching the familiar silhouette and hearing that distinctive yowl, Gustave realized exactly who this was—Tom, the eternal victim from "Tom and Jerry.".
"Huh? What happened? What was that noise?"
Po, completely oblivious to his role as the cause of the chaos, jumped to his feet and spun around frantically, searching for the source of the scream.
The panda searched high and low but couldn't locate whoever had made that awful sound. Only when Gustave pointed skyward did Po finally spot Tom, still tumbling through the air above them.
As Tom's scream finally died down, gravity took over. Just as the poor cat was about to plummet into the ocean, Gustave's reflexes kicked in. He lunged forward and caught Tom in a perfect rescue.
Finding himself safely in Gustave's arms instead of drowning in saltwater, Tom let out a relieved sigh, wiped the sweat from his brow with one paw, and shook it off dramatically.
The morning's excitement had completely awakened both Po and Tom, and they finally took stock of their dire situation: one small wooden boat carrying a human, a panda, and a cat, adrift on an endless ocean.
"W-where exactly are we?" Po asked nervously.
Tom, still cradled in Gustave's arms, wore an equally confused expression as he looked up at their human friend, clearly wondering the same thing.
Gustave could only offer a bitter smile and shake his head helplessly.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I just woke up the same as you two."
"Ding! Detection complete: all three hosts are now conscious. Mission parameters are now being issued:Navigate to land and establish a base of operations.Acquire sufficient funds to purchase an ocean-worthy ship and convert it into a mobile sea restaurant.Upon completion of the sea restaurant, the Gate of All Worlds will activate, allowing the three hosts to serve customers from multiple worlds.Once the Gate of All Worlds is operational, the three hosts will gain the opportunity to return to their respective home worlds."A mechanical voice spoke directly into their minds, clear and unmistakable.
Gustave glanced at Po and Tom with raised eyebrows.
"Please tell me you two heard that voice as well."
Both Po and Tom nodded vigorously, confirming they'd received the same message. Clearly, the "three hosts" referred to Gustave, Po, and Tom, and the speaker was some kind of system—the kind he'd read about in web novels.
"The Gate of All Worlds is now being distributed. Once the three hosts successfully establish their mobile sea restaurant, the Gate will automatically activate. The system wishes all three hosts the best of luck in their future endeavours!"
"Additionally, to ensure smooth communication with beings from various worlds, all three hosts now possess universal linguistic comprehension for humanoid species."
Suddenly, Gustave felt something materialize around his neck. Looking down, he discovered an ornate pendant shaped like a miniature door—obviously the so-called Gate of All Worlds.
Then, with a thunderous BANG! some kind of explosion erupted above their heads before everything fell silent.
"System? Hey, System, you still there?" Gustave called out cautiously.
Only the sound of waves lapping against their boat answered him.
"Are you kidding me?! What kind of garbage system just dumps a mission on us, hands over some mysterious artifact, and then disappears without so much as a 'good luck'?! The least it could do is point us toward the nearest land!"
Realizing the system had vanished, Gustave exploded in frustration. He'd never encountered such a useless, irresponsible system in any story he'd ever read.
Po and Tom, having processed the situation, now wore expressions of complete despair. While they didn't fully understand what a "system" was supposed to be, they could already predict their own tragic fate stretching out before them.