He hurriedly clicked into the map page, and sure enough, a new map appeared below the original map. The previous cleared map had turned black and was no longer selectable.
The name of the new map was quite cool: Endless War.
[Endless War]: Soul Transmigration Price — 5 Soul Transmigration Coins.
The Soul Transmigration price instantly quintupled! Zhou Ning, who had originally thought 12 Soul Transmigration Coins was a lot, immediately turned green.
What a ripoff! This inflation is happening way too fast, isn't it?
As for this map, Zhou Ning remembered playing a tower defense mini-game with the same name.
So, his first impression was a blind guess that it should be a fantasy-type map, but this simulator's nature is to be unpredictable; it might even be modern warfare, Zhou Ning said he couldn't figure out its pattern at all.
He then clicked on the newly released feature: the gacha page, and found the rules quite simple: 1 Soul Transmigration Coin per draw, and a 10-pull only cost 9. The current prize pool contained items from the already cleared "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."
Free draws: 3
Zhou Ning:...Isn't this the gacha game trope?
As someone who had bad luck since childhood, never even winning a "try again" prize, Zhou Ning had always had no interest in gacha.
But freebies were an exception.
He unhesitatingly clicked to draw, hoping for a miracle with a single pull!
[You have obtained a rare item: Browning M1906 Pocket Pistol, with some.25 ACP caliber bullets.]
Again!
[You have obtained a rare item: Colt M1908 Pistol, with some.25 ACP caliber bullets.]
Wait, Zhou Ning, with a dark expression, went to the washroom again and washed his face.
Continue!
[You have obtained a rare item: Webley-Scott Bulldog Revolver, with some.45 ACP caliber bullets.]
Zhou Ning:...Sure enough, my luck is terrible. Including the 2 guns already in my inventory, that's a total of five! Who can use so many guns at once? Does he think he's Doctor Octopus?
Forget drawing, if I draw again, I'll chop off my hand!
He took out his pocket watch to check the time again; it was only a little past two, and the nightlife had just begun. Having just learned the Ripple power and tasted its sweetness, Zhou Ning said he wasn't sleepy at all. After finding and eating a few slices of black bread in his room, he lay on the bed, feeling a bit itchy about the new map he hadn't entered yet.
Should I go in and try it again?
Ultimately, his internet addiction won out. He selected the new map, Endless War, and chose to enter.
[Soul Transmigration preparing... Soul Transmigration Coins -5]
[Please select Soul Transmigration mode...]
[1. Direct Soul Transmigration.]
[2. Use a parallel world template for Soul Transmigration.]
Oh, even the Soul Transmigration mode has changed?
Zhou Ning, somewhat curious, chose option 2 to check it out. Three cards appeared before him.
The first card showed himself in a black suit, wearing sunglasses, with a Leng Xue expression. His personality was Leng Xue, cruel. His talents were [Precise Shot] (blue) and [Bullet Time] (orange). His skills were Firearms Mastery (Expert) and Combat Mastery (Expert).
The title was Gangster Zhou Ning, and the Soul Transmigration price was 15 Soul Transmigration Coins.
The second card showed himself in a purple suit, with clown makeup. His personality was erratic and unpredictable. His talents were Criminal Genius (purple), Demolition Genius (purple), Firearms Master (purple), and Dyslexia (gray negative talent). His skills were Intimidation and Extortion (Master), Explosives Manufacturing (Expert), and Negotiation (Expert).
The title was Crazy Clown Zhou Ning, and the Soul Transmigration price was an astonishing 25 Soul Transmigration Coins.
The third card showed himself also in a black suit, sitting at a poker table, with a calm and confident expression, holding a piece of chocolate. His personality was proud, confident, and composed. His talents were God of Gamblers (red) and Decisive Strike (purple). His skills were Gambling (God-tier) and Firearms Mastery (Beginner).
The title was Supreme God of Gamblers Zhou Ning, and the Soul Transmigration price was a staggering 100 Soul Transmigration Coins!
Zhou Ning looked at the description and immediately understood why the Soul Transmigration price was so expensive: it could help clear the map faster, and when a template character cleared a map, their skills and talents had a chance to be drawn.
This was very tempting. Any of these three mission cards would be a huge improvement for him.
Below, there was also a refresh time: 23:59:59. It was clear that after the refresh time, these three cards would all be gone.
He really wanted them, but looking at his balance of 7 Soul Transmigration Coins, they suddenly didn't seem appealing at all. He couldn't afford a single one!
[You have selected Soul Transmigration Mode One.]
[Please select three of the following ten talents as matching conditions.]
[1. Enigma (Blue): No one knows who you are; your name and origin are a mystery.]
[2. Vampire Physique (Purple): Your physical abilities far exceed human, you are immortal, but you will be destroyed by sunlight.]
[3. Underdog (Green): This is my legendary life. Don't look down on the poor in youth, don't look down on the poor in middle age, don't look down on the poor in old age.]
[4. Cross-Species Love (White): Although you are not a furry fan, furry creatures are fans of you. You are naturally liked by fluffy creatures.]
[5. Faceless (Green): You are born without a face, but you are immune to all mind and spiritual magic control.]
[6. Super Gambler (Purple): You have an extremely special talent and intuition in gambling. When you bet everything, your luck will be greatly enhanced.]
[7. Sweet Tooth (White): You prefer sweets, almost to the point of being unhappy without sugar.]
[8. Gregarious (Blue): Your social skills are perfect; you can quickly become friends with anyone.]
[9. Business Genius (Blue): You have great talent in business, which is enough to help you accumulate capital.]
[10. Soul Transmigration (Blue): Your chosen Soul Transmigration method is Soul Transmigration, thus possessing countless possibilities.]
[Please choose!]
Compared to the last Soul Transmigration, the options this time were quite a bit worse, and many were nonsensical.
Option two, Vampire Physique, must have been added to the card pool after the last clearance. It looked great, but it had the drawback of not being able to be in the sun. Without knowing the plot, he might die instantly at the start, wasting 5 Soul Transmigration Coins for nothing.
The same applied to option 10; the returns were too unstable. It would be better to choose 6 and 8, which were at least positive talents.
After a moment of hesitation, he chose 6, 8, and 9.
[You have selected Talent 6, Talent 8, and Talent 9.]
[Your current talents are: Gambler, Gregarious, Business Genius, and the permanent talent Tony Stark.]
[Match successful. Your parallel world self is a playboy, a social expert, a genius in scientific research and business, and also an out-and-out Gambler.]
[When you die in the simulation, the game ends.]
[Riding the time machine... 1%... 33%... 65%... 95%... Whoosh... Soul Transmigration complete.]
[You have Soul Transmigrated to New York in 2006. From this moment on, the wheels of history begin to turn.]
New York in 2006? What map was that again? Call of Duty?
[July 1, 2006, you appeared alone on the streets of New York. After communicating, you learned that the area you were in was Flushing, where most people were Asian immigrants from mainland China and Taiwan. With your outstanding appearance and social skills, you earned a small sum of money with a few tricks involving mobile dice cups.]
[July 2, 2006, you were robbed at gunpoint by a few thugs, but how could such small-time figures get the better of you? You robbed them in return and obtained 900 US dollars in cash.]
[July 3 - 12, 2006, you made small bets in over a dozen small casinos, earning a large sum of money, then stopped while you were ahead, temporarily laying low. As a Gambler, you understood the principle that 'gambling' means 'betting,' 'greed' means 'coveting,' 'poverty' means 'losing,' and 'thief' means'stealing.' If one doesn't know when to stop, these four words—gambling, greed, poverty, and thief—will be a Gambler's fate. (Family wealth +2)]
[July 13, 2006, you rented an apartment in Flushing and settled down, beginning to understand the situation of this world. The results shocked you. In this world, Stark Industries actually existed—taking Manhattan district as an example, its landmark was not the Empire State Building of your previous life, but the 1138-foot-tall Stark Tower.]
Zhou Ning was also a bit confused. The result was already clear: this second map should be the Marvel world.