1 Divine Punishment System_1

"Don't underestimate the middle school exams; what high school you get into could decide your life!" a gaunt middle-aged teacher, standing at the podium, passionately addressed the students who had just started the ninth grade, rallying them at the beginning of the school year. Suddenly, he snapped the chalk in his hand in two and fiercely hurled it at a student who was lying on his desk asleep in the back row: "Ren He, get up! Sleeping on the first day of school, you have no shame at all!"

Ren He, who got hit by the chalk, raised his head in a daze and looked at his surroundings. The pain from the chalk hitting his head was so real, he knew he wasn't dreaming.

The homeroom teacher saw him get up and didn't say anything more, continuing his previous topic, having essentially given up on this student who constantly performed poorly.

But as Ren He looked around at the familiar yet somewhat strange surroundings and at his hands, now slender again, he realized that he had traveled through time.

An overwhelming flood of information rushed into his mind at that moment, causing such a severe headache it was almost enough to make his nose bleed! These memories left by the original owner made him realize that this was not a rebirth but a sudden arrival into a parallel world, into another "himself."

At this time, he was still a ninth-grade student.

In his previous life, Ren He lived quietly until the age of 26, with no twists or turns, nor any significant achievements, until one day when he suddenly awoke from a dream and started to question his life intensely after reading a phrase: "Do not drudge through an entire life claiming that a plain and simple life is the truth."

Indeed, this life, his was a drudging existence, and Ren He was disheartened.

Then his consciousness grew more and more blurred until it sank into darkness, and he transmigrated here.

Ren He frantically sifted through the information flooding his brain: the direction of history seemed consistent, without any discrepancies. Qin Shi Huang unified China, and it was still the People's Republic of China with no differences, and the domestic legal system and rules were even more perfected than in his previous life, especially in the field of intellectual property rights.

This world also had piracy, but because the culture was too backward, the country had to adopt stern measures to protect genuine works, ensuring creators could confidently innovate and even make a living through original works. When original creation could be profitable, more people would engage in it.

And most importantly: the language textbooks had changed!

The essays that should be in the ninth-grade language textbooks, like the "Memorial on the Deployment of Troops," "The Spring Snow in the Garden," and two foreign poems, were all gone, replaced by new content! Content that Ren He had never seen before!

Because of his fondness for "Memorial on the Deployment of Troops," Ren He had a deep impression of the ninth-grade language textbook from his previous life. He had always liked literary stuff in his previous existence, classical as well as modern, even including online literature.

He also had a super-effective brain; he'd heard that the founder of New Oriental English could memorize a law book in just a few hours and that memorizing an English dictionary was a breeze for him. Such feats had amazed others, but not Ren He, because he could do it too.

But this kind of memory was not endless. Being able to remember something did not mean he could remember it forever; after all, the brain's capacity is limited.

Ren He had a suspicion that in the cultural field of the parallel world, there had been some deviation, and thus many works that were once considered classics were no longer extant.

For some reason, the cultural industry of this world was also thriving, but its level was not as high as that of Earth.

The simplest example: there were ancient poems, but not as many that were widely famous and passed down through the ages.

In the field of online literature, the difference was even more exaggerated as it seemed to still be in the early stage of transitioning from traditional literature, without even the routines of leveling up through martial arts training.

He looked towards his desk mate, feeling that some things were better to ascertain: "Have you heard of Song Jiang, Monk Tang, Monkey King?" Young people's favorite TV dramas were usually "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West," so asking about characters from these two masterpieces seemed more reliable.

His chubby desk mate peered at Ren He through thick glasses and replied calmly, "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nothing, just saying you look really cool," said Ren He. The expression on his desk mate's face at that moment was quite something—someone actually called him cool! Inside, however, Ren He was ecstatic, wasn't this his area of expertise?

The cultural paths of the two worlds, akin to train tracks, had diverged at some point, creating a vast difference, and Ren He had crossed over with the classic literary works stored in his mind.

Even without copying the classics, Ren He, with the online literature patterns from his brain that were beyond this era, could still rise to stardom.

Thinking of "Memorial on the Deployment of Troops," the verses began to form in Ren He's mind: "When our late Emperor started his undertaking, he had not yet completed his work when he passed away..."

Wait, what comes next? Ren He suddenly found he couldn't remember the rest of "Memorial on the Deployment of Troops"!

Ren He was now somewhat fearful that the classic works in his mind might be forgotten. While his memory was extraordinarily strong, that didn't mean it could expand indefinitely; eventually, old memories would be obscured by dust, never to be recalled again. Texts like "Memorial on the Deployment of Troops," which had been studied and then rarely mentioned again, were exactly like this.

He decided to try writing down the classics first to prevent them from being forgotten. As he thought, his hands began to automatically write the most learned of texts: the "Three Character Classic."

"At the beginning, humans are naturally good. Their natures are similar, but their habits make them different..."

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It can be said that the Three Character Classic was the first classic ancient text that Ren He recited in his childhood. He started to memorize it even before he knew how to read in kindergarten.

Hard work pays off, play yields nothing, beware, one should exert oneself. When that last sentence was finished, Ren He felt a sense of satisfaction. This could be a classic that would be passed down through the ages! And since history was the same, there wouldn't be any inconsistencies in the references within the Three Character Classic.

However, at that moment, a buzzing electrical sound suddenly resonated in his mind: Divine Punishment System has locked onto the host!

Ren He jumped in shock, what the heck? Divine Punishment System? What kind of weird thing was that? He had only casually written a couple lines of the Three Character Classic, so why had this eerie incident occurred?

A neutral voice echoed in Ren He's mind: As the host has brought cultural achievements from a parallel world into this one, for the purpose of preserving the original world's trajectory, the Divine Punishment System will issue a Divine Punishment Mission. If completed successfully, the Divine Punishment System will acknowledge the host's methods as legitimate, and there will be additional rewards.

Ren He suddenly came to a realization—it was because he had brought the cultural achievements of a parallel world here, akin to forcibly altering the course of history's train, that such a Divine Punishment System had manifested. Only if the mission was successful would the Divine Punishment System recognize these cultural achievements!

Yet, it could also be inferred that the Divine Punishment System wasn't entirely opposed to the introduction of cultural achievements from the parallel world. Its primary motive seemed to ensure Ren He didn't reap rewards without effort!

Otherwise, it would have simply struck him dead with a thunderbolt, avoiding all this fuss, and there would even be a reward after completing the mission!

But Ren He suddenly felt a pang of annoyance... Son of a gun, other people's transmigration came with the golden finger, why did he have to deal with this so-called Divine Punishment System the moment he transmigrated? Just for copying something, he'd have a mission to deal with – wouldn't he have to tread carefully?!

And now, what had he copied? The freaking Three Character Classic, for crying out loud. If he tried to make money off it, wouldn't it raise suspicions? This was too much of a scam!

Ren He felt no hostility; the Divine Punishment System seemed to be more of a constraint, simply to prevent him from indiscriminately using the cultural achievements from a parallel world.

However, Ren He had a question: the Divine Punishment System did not prevent him from using or publicizing the Three Character Classic right now. That is to say, even if he used the Three Character Classic to make money now, it would be okay, and... it didn't mention what would happen if he failed!

It only said that there would be additional rewards upon success!

The neutral voice spoke up again: Mission: Because the host has brought the cultural artifact Three Character Classic from a parallel world, within one month, without any protective measures or resorting to trickery, leap across Building No. 1 and No. 2, with a running start allowed.

As soon as the voice faded, a torrent of knowledge about the perfect method and experience for running and jumping filled Ren He's mind. It was as if this was the correct way and experience for running jumps infused into Ren He's body, and he just needed to train to master it.

Ren He was dumbfounded...

In the school, Building No. 1 and No. 2 were both seven-story buildings of equal height, but there was a gap of more than three meters between the two side-by-side buildings! That's the height of seven stories – if he failed in mid-jump, wouldn't he be screwed?

He suddenly understood why the Divine Punishment System hadn't explained what would happen if he failed; there was no need to explain, for upon seeing the mission, Ren He naturally understood that failure meant death... Either death or disability!

This wasn't any kind of Divine Punishment System; it was a bloody scam system...

Although there was a possibility of surviving, because a little over three meters wasn't an insurmountable distance for a running jump, it seemed like the Divine Punishment System was being lenient. Completing the mission wouldn't be extremely difficult for Ren He.

But that was the height of seven stories! Ren He felt dizzy just looking down from the edge of the seventh floor...

And what if there were even more twisted tasks in the future? What if the distance between buildings became four meters, five meters... or if it involved other kinds of challenges?

For instance, a wingsuit flight with only a 30% survival rate, or free solo climbing? Ren He's imagination was unleashed, as though a door to the path of adventure was opening right before him.

In his mind, Ren He asked, "Can I... refuse this mission? What will be the consequences if I don't accept? You can send me back to my original world, that'd be fine, big brother!"

"If the host hasn't accepted the mission by the deadline, elimination."

Elimination, what the hell is that about, big brother? All I did was copy something, do you have to be like this?

At that moment, Ren He nearly pissed himself – in this short span, he felt his life had been threatened several times! It seemed that the mission was do or die, with no choice but to comply!

He hesitated and probed, "Is there no way to avoid elimination, maybe a different punishment?"

"Not now," the Divine Punishment System calmly replied.

Huh, although it said no, there seems to be some other information there – does that mean the punishment might change in the future?!

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