1 Unrealistic Yearnings

[Word Count 3224]

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On the rooftop of a magnificent huge building on the outskirts of Shanghai was a young man in his early twenties standing alone.

He looked aloof and totally withdrawn from reality; he was in a different world only reserved for him.

The constant howls of the evening wind could be heard and the nighttime was slowly creeping in at the horizon.

The streetlights below had already started flickering into existence and the bustling of corporate workers rushing from work could be seen from miles away.

It was rush hour and these hardworking individuals didn't want to miss out on the metro buses. Even if it was on the outskirts, life was never cheap in Shanghai.

The streets were always like this; always full of unremarkable people and lively with a plethora of activities.

With his hand tightly clutched on the shoddily painted black railing, the young man who was watching the city from a different perspective, suddenly released a bored sigh.

This young man was Zhao Wei. His looks weren't anything fancy, he was just above average and unremarkable as those workers below. Dressed in a pair of neat navy blue pants and a white shirt with sleeves rolled up his toned arms, he looked a little bit charming, to say the least, as the clothes complemented his lean athletic figure perfectly.

That was not all. He had a spotless white laboratory coat casually resting on one of his shoulders. On the breast pocket was a loosely hanging badge that recorded his identity and occupational status. Yeah, Zhao Wei was a registered nurse who mainly worked in the med-surg department.

Wasn't that just nice? Working in a large hospital in a major city like Shanghai? In addition to that, the salary, oh the salary, Zhao Wei did have a good salary that was never enough in the eyes of his overbearing, idealistic, and inflexible parents. In their eyes, he had been a 'failure'.

"Anything is worthless in the face of time. Emotions and memories do not last forever," Zhao Wei sighed again while shaking his head lightly.

His parents had been taken captive by death, an eventuality that awaited every living being on the planet.

A ruthless and unforgiving Pandemic was the one thing at the crux of their deaths.

"I have always been rebellious and rambunctious since I was young. I have never listened to anyone and did things the way I pleased. What was filial piety in front of greedy and unsatisfied parental figures? I have never considered their unneeded, biased advice even for a single second. My parents had never been satisfied, I guess it was just an inherent trait of humanity." Zhao Wei reminisced with a blank look on his face.

The memories he had of the past were slowly fading into obscurity, even those of his unremarkable parents.

But that was the least of his problems.

This spot. The rooftop, where one could oversee everything like the king of the world, was a special place for Zhao Wei. It was his haven after completing his work shift and dealings with dying patients. Patients that he had never felt attachment toward. He had learned the nursing curriculum perfectly and graduated with a solid BSN degree before adding a Master's to his Curriculum Vitae. His work ethic was flawless, and his communication skills were as natural as possible. Zhao Wei was the embodiment of a good employee. Young, intelligent, and charismatic.

But then why do a nursing career when he could have instead pursued Medicine and Surgery and become a certified doctor?

What did he want to accomplish by becoming an esteemed nurse in Shanghai?

"I wanted to at least feel… human emotions. Emotions of pity, understanding, affective empathy… but it seems I… never mind. I have always been selfish, self-centered, and irredeemable. I thought that these two years of spending time with the ill would make me feel something but alas, what I want still eludes me," Zhao Wei chuckled to himself.

"With Covid rampant and the medical staff under pressure, I wish moments like this could last forever. But that will make life predictable and more boring than it is. I am tired of seeing the same faces every day, and hearing the usual global news, ugh, everything seems programmed to work in a certain direction. Are we living in a simulation? What is my meaning? What is my purpose in this life?" Zhao Wei was having an existential discussion with himself.

Then he looked above the dark skies with a melancholic expression that looked quite comical.

"If there is a deity, Buddha, demon, or even Truck-Kun out there, hear my daily prayers of escaping this unhappy and predictable life of mine." That has always been his routine whenever his chilling moments at the rooftop were about to end.

To escape his current reality, Zhao Wei read many novels which were mostly reincarnation-themed, transmigration, and Xianxia cultivation novels. Those weren't the only ones as his repertoire of knowledge required to be constantly filled. Isekai couldn't be left out and anime needed to be watched.

So Zhao Wei always wished to be spirited away from his current reality to somewhere exciting, unpredictable, and where he could find meaning and a reason to live a fulfilling life.

Sadly, nothing ever happened and he didn't have the courage or thoughts of taking his own life to accomplish his dreams. He loved his life more than anything else, not unless the reincarnation/transmigration ticket was already cut for him which he absolutely had no concrete knowledge about. No one knew when the grim reaper would come knocking on their doors. And such was life.

"Yet another useless day," Zhao Wei clicked his tongue before turning away from the magnificent view of the city.

"Positive thoughts. I should be optimistic." He then smiled before starting to walk toward the yet unremarkable rooftop door. It was time to go home, order something to eat, catch a few episodes of anime, read a few chapters, and sleep like a dead log until morning. A perfectly planned-out routine. Truly predictable, right?

Just before his right hand could touch the knob, he heard a cute purr above him.

"Meow~"

"Meow~"

"A cat? How did a cat reach here? The hospital has no cats." Zhao thought to himself before raising his head to curiously look at the new intruder.

Surprisingly, he didn't find any cat above him.

"Strange. I clearly heard the feline sounds from above but where is the source?" He wore a doubtful expression on his face.

He then shrugged. "Or maybe it was an illusion or sound carried by the blowing wind? Who knows."

Zhao Wei decided to dismiss the issue and treated it casually.

And just when he was turning the knob, he heard it again. This time the sound came from behind him.

"Meow~"

"Meow~"

He now heard it more vividly than before.

It was not an illusion but something happening.

He felt his body uncontrollably tense as if he was facing an unimaginable terror. Then slowly, he turned his head.

"Meow~"

Slowly. His actions looked silly. It was just a cat, where was the need for such drama?

Zhao Wei came face to face with a cat in the flesh, perched on the railing. Its body was covered by midnight dark fur that reminded one of the pitch darkness of the night. Its little body was, in fact, in perfect harmony with the night. It looked extremely cute, especially its huge eyes that twinkled like the boundless stars in the sky. Its long black tail wiggled hypnotically and anyone would be mesmerized by this simple, mundane action.

"Meow~" Zhao Wei found his brown eyes lost in the world beyond those perfect feline orbs that had no slits. It was truly strange for a cat to lack them.

"So cute," He murmured to himself.

"Little buddy, how did you arrive here?" Zhao Wei asked lightly while taking one step at a time. His steps were slow and calculated, he feared that he would startle the poor cat to fall down to its death down a 10-storey building. Even if it had nine lives to spare, he didn't know why he was still concerned with its safety. That was in itself truly a one-in-a-million occurrence since he had never felt like that. He could have ignored it and gone home to his usual crappy life but something, just something seemed to immensely glue him to the unique cat.

Hehe, was it by chance love at first sight? Ew, that's outrightly bestial.

Zhao Wei just didn't know the reason for being compelled to care for a living thing that he had never known his whole life. Even his ill clients weren't subject to that feeling of care and he was by no means a negligent practitioner.

"Puss puss, why don't you jump away from there?" Zhao Wei said with a coaxing tone to his voice while gesturing his hands toward himself.

He had never imagined himself talking to an animal since he wasn't a pet lover. There was no way he had ever let an animal run amok and ruin his neat and orderly house.

"Meow~" The little cat cutely tilted its head and looked at the man trying to summon it.

Who said that it needed saving?

"Oh I don't understand what you are saying but from the looks of it, it seems that you are enjoying the night's breeze, right?" Zhao Wei said in an unsure voice while trying to make himself understand the secret language of the cats.

"Meow~"

Contrary to his expectation, the cat nodded cutely in agreement. The kind of nod that felt borderline human-like. And Zhao Wei was taken aback, truly shocked beyond comprehension.

The situation was truly awkward. Super weird.

"Ahem, if you are not in distress then I think it's better that I go home. The deities above normally don't hear my childish and impossible wishes so, yeah uh, little cat, I don't doubt your nimbleness but stay safe. You hear me, little black?" Zhao Wei cleared his throat before speaking. Well, he looked insane while trying to talk sense to some cat. Even to the extent of giving it a lame nickname. Like hell, who names a pet 'Little black'?

The mysterious cat meowed in displeasure at Zhao Wei's lame-ass naming.

"Ah little-" Zhao Wei started before correcting himself.

"I mean beautiful cat please pardon my bad naming sense. You are random so I thought that your name should also be random."

"Meow~" The mysterious cat nodded and had a smug expression on its cute face for being called beautiful.

Zhao Wei scoffed at its actions before turning his back to the cat. His stomach rumbled in protest. He was immensely famished after a seemingly long day of rushing everywhere in the medical wards. He urgently needed something to eat and so spending more time talking with a strange cute would prove to be counterproductive in the long run. He fixed a surgical mask on his face, encased the knob with his thick hand, and then opened the door.

'I would miss that little thing. It's been like forever since I talked freely with anyone.' Zhao Wei smiled to himself.

Just as he was about to step inside, a mysterious voice stopped him dead in his tracks. It was feminine, soft, and immaculate.

"Weren't you tired of your predictable life? Didn't you want to escape your mundane lifestyle?"

"Weren't you so devoted in praying to supreme entities to grant you the ticket to experience another life?"

"Didn't you want to have a meaning? Unpredictability? Fulfillment?"

"Your wishes were all heard by me and if you still have second thoughts about them, then go on. Continue with your steps."

Zhao Wei didn't know how or why his body did a perfect and swift turn. It was so smooth and fluid, something that he knew he'd never replicate again. It was that type of spin that would make Michael Jackson proud.

He found himself yet again looking at little b…

"Meow~"

"Tch, flaunt not your ignorance, ingrate! I am the most supreme, beautiful, immaculate, divine, unparalleled cat in all of existence!"

His mouth was wide agape, slowly dropping down onto the hard floor. Zhao Wei couldn't believe what he was hearing. A talking cat?!

Talking Tom? Talking Angela?

"You are truly unrefined to compare this eminence to digital constructs!"

A quick-tempered cat with a sharp tongue?!

"Are you insulting me, human?"

The most beautiful cat in existence!

"It seems you know the ways of pleasing to the core, oh little human."

And the same mysterious cat could easily read his thoughts like an open book.

Great, just great.

Like a devout believer in everything religious, Zhao Wei threw all of his masculine pride out the window and prostrated himself beneath the awesome existence. The Almighty cat.

A window of opportunity had presented itself in front of him and his obsession with escaping his current cycle of predictability was so intense that he couldn't ignore this mysterious entity. Even if it was a demon god or Lovecraftian aberration, Zhao Wei didn't care.

A man's dreams should never be taken lightly. If a man wants to be a harem king, leave him be. If he wants to be transported to a world where breast milk production is a stable source of income, also leave him be. You could never begin to imagine how powerful dreams are.

That's why Zhao Wei didn't care about anything at the moment, he had to be shameless and so out of character to get his dream actualized.

"Oh mighty one, the virtuous, unparalleled, supreme, and the most beautiful existence in all of existence, I ask for your forgiveness for failing to acknowledge your magnificence when it was right in front of my face," Zhao spoke reverentially and it sounded natural even to himself.

"Oh-Ho, you are making me shy." The cute little cat covered its small mouth with its neatly manicured paw.

"You are one weird human. You can stand up now. I no longer need to see your stinky ass up in the air, hehe." And with a wave of its little hand, it telekinetically lifted Zhao Wei from the ground until he was standing.

Zhao Wei couldn't hide the fascination from his face. 'This is a power only shown in fiction.'

He couldn't prevent his body from shaking with excitement.

Currently, he had the option of asking about the identity of the little, beautiful cat. But even if he asked, it wouldn't be useful to him anyway. What mattered to him was if what the cat had said about a possible chance at transmigration was still valid.

"Don't worry about the validity of my words, mortal. I am legit. I am the real deal," The mysterious cat patted its chest smugly while holding its head high with pomposity.

"So you were bored of your life… that I can relate to. I was also bored, that's why I decided to answer your funny and rather peculiar prayers."

"Are you really dead set on going to another world?" The cat asked casually while gracefully and elegantly walking about the railing, its cute behind shifting from one direction to another.

Zhao Wei nodded vehemently. "Yes!"

"Which world would you like to go to? You can name it all." The black cat started licking its paw.

'This is the moment that I have been waiting for all my life.' Zhao Wei thought in excitement.

Despite his excitement, he didn't rush to blurt out the name of the world in which he wanted to start his second life.

He had to think first. A list of universes started flashing in his mind: Marvel, DC, Toon Universe, Anime, and even cultivation verses. This was the knowledge of everything he had read during his free time.

Against the Gods, Martial World, Ancient Strengthening Technique, Stellar Transformation, Lord Xue Ying, Dual Cultivation, Coiling Dragon, God of Slaughter, Dragon-Marked War God, Tales of Gods and Demons, King of Gods…

'King of Gods, King of Gods…' Zhao Wei mulled over his thoughts while digging deep into his mind to remember everything about this novel.

"Eye power… now that's what we call cool," he said to himself while touching his chin.

"Have you arrived at a conclusion?" The cat ignored the cute little poses it was doing and asked Zhao Wei.

"Yeah, I have. I wanna go to the 'King of Gods' novel," Zhao Wei said unwaveringly.

"Okay. But do you know that you have to die in order to start another life?" The cat brandished a Cheshire grin on its little face that made his heart palpitate quickly against his chest.

Zhao Wei felt raw fear gnaw at his being during that moment. The cat had scared the living shit out of him.

But he knew he had to be brave. He had to be ready. His mortal body had to be sacrificed for his soul cast into the cycle of reincarnation or transmigration. He had all the necessary procedures and scenarios memorized well.

Zhao Wei closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and then exhaled to calm himself. And when he opened them, he knew there was no going back. It was now or never.

"I know."

The grin etched upon its lips intensified. The cute little cat then giggled while looking at Zhao Wei.

"And aren't you going to ask for another wish? Like the powers to warp reality? Drink milk to gain strength? System?" The cute cat asked curiously.

Zhao Wei arched in surprise and answered honestly. "You only offered me one thing and I think it is best if I don't mess up the only chance I have at achieving my dream by infringing upon your magnanimity."

"Hmm, I like your answer or you could have been like those other poor souls," The cat said nonchalantly before jumping down to the ground.

Zhao Wei really thanked his lucky stars. Those poor souls might have been deprived of their only chance at isekai by showing unnecessary greed.

Greed was good but in excess, it was harmful.

"Meow, now then…" It slowly circled him and then sat in front of him. It then touched its chin as if in thought.

"That will do," The cat talked to itself.

Zhao Wei watched all of these in silence. There was a universe out there awaiting his exploration.

The cute little cat then levitated high enough so that it was at the same eye level as Zhao Wei.

"For being a good boy, I have a surprise prepared for you in your next world."

"Now then…" That Cheshire grin again.

Zhao Wei's eyes widened in shock when its mouth opened abruptly into a ginormous maw structured like an eldritch entity and from there onwards, everything felt like a dream as his world descended into a void of nothingness!

He had been swallowed in one fell swoop!

But that single action wasn't without its own benefits. That moment changed the fate, destiny, and future of the entire Fan Universe, even more so, the whole Primal Chaos Plane!

Zhao Wei's name will eventually come to overrule everything in existence and that was merely the beginning after the end, the sequel to his life's epilogue!

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