Chapter 4: Young Man, Do You Desire Power? (Part 2)

Gao Fushuai's question prompted Hua Ling to fall into deep thought. Though he resembled Theresa, he was far from foolish; in fact, he was much smarter than the hulking simpleton beside him.

"We need to stay calm," Hua Ling said. "The car left us a stable air bubble when it brought us here. It clearly doesn't intend to kill us."

"When one door closes, another opens. A solution might be on its way."

As Hua Ling spoke, Gao Fushuai stared in shock at something behind him.

"Whoa! It's really here! A massive galaxy is crashing toward us!" Gao Fushuai screamed in terror.

Hua Ling's face stiffened. He turned around and saw a white dwarf filling his entire field of vision, hurtling straight toward them.

Just as they were about to close their eyes and await certain death, the swarm of white dwarfs and neutron stars suddenly phased through them. Hesitantly opening their eyes, they found themselves confronted by a single, colossal scale that filled their entire field of view. Countless arcane runes were etched into its surface, and colorful flames danced silently across it.

The two men stared in awe, unable to comprehend what kind of being had discovered them. As ordinary humans, they watched in growing dread as the colossal figure seemed to realize something and began to shrink rapidly.

The boundless, immeasurable entity shrank to a mere thousand kilometers in size.

Only then did they realize what had discovered them.

"It's a massive, multicolored dragon—the Yinglong from Primordial mythology! Have we been transported to the Primordial world?" Gao Fushuai exclaimed in astonishment.

"I think the more astonishing thing is that we haven't been scared to death by something this colossal," Hua Ling replied, gazing at the gigantic Yinglong coiling around them, its iridescent draconic eyes fixed upon them.

"Hello?" Hua Ling ventured cautiously, summoning his courage.

For some reason, he detected a flicker of amusement in those massive eyes, as if the dragon had stumbled upon something intriguing.

"Welcome to this realm, little ones," a majestic voice boomed. "Hmm, you all feel strangely familiar... especially you, Little Lady."

Hua Ling's face darkened at the diminutive title, while Gao Fushuai struggled to suppress his laughter.

"I didn't ask for this, you know," Hua Ling muttered, glancing at the tall, clueless Gao Fushuai beside him, who clearly couldn't handle negotiations with this being. "May I ask who you are?"

"I am the Permanence Dragon—Qin."

"It's rare to encounter such interesting creatures. I shall grant each of you a single wish and help you escape your desperate predicament. In exchange, I require amusement—you must entertain me."

The Immortal Dragon God, Lin Qin, smiled as he communicated telepathically with the two tiny figures before him. He had unexpectedly arrived in this universe, which bore a striking resemblance to the Star Rail World, yet its development eerily mirrored that of the game.

Lin Qin wasn't native to this universe. After transcending the Five Declines of Immortality and attaining Golden Immortal status, he had ventured into a neighboring realm, severed his karmic ties by eliminating the Collective Will, and was preparing to return to his own universe when he intercepted a peculiar buzzing sound. Drawn by it, he had discovered these two Earthlings who seemed like fellow countrymen.

What particularly intrigued him was the uncanny resemblance between the Theresa cosplayed by the young woman and the original character. For Lin Qin, a self-proclaimed fun seeker who thrived on mischief, this was an irresistible opportunity for amusement.

On a whim, he promised each of them a single wish.

The perspective now shifts to Hua Ling and Gao Fushuai.

"Come, young one," the Immortal Dragon God, Lin Qin, asked, "do you yearn for power?"

"No! I crave dumplings!" Hua Ling blurted out instinctively, then clapped a hand over his mouth, utterly mortified. Gao Fushuai stared at him in disbelief, his expression practically screaming, "So you really do want to become a girl!"

"I crave the System!" Gao Fushuai shouted urgently, recognizing Lin Qin as an immensely powerful being capable of juggling white dwarfs and neutron stars like toys.

"Very well," Lin Qin replied. "As you wish. A warp-capable Astral Express will arrive shortly to retrieve you. It's about time I returned myself."

"As you wish! Transform!"

As Lin Qin spoke, a vibrant, multicolored light enveloped both of them. Noticing Hua Ling's plastic Oath of Judah, Lin Qin decided to play along and transformed it into the genuine article.

But that wasn't all. Remembering Theresa, an old acquaintance, Lin Qin conjured the Core of the Herrscher of Binding and the Stone Mask. He couldn't resist imagining Hua Ling grabbing the Stone Mask, shouting about abandoning humanity to become a vampire—what a riot that would be!

He also sealed the Hypermutation Factor Vishnu within the System that Gao Fushuai had become, programmed to activate only upon fulfilling specific conditions.

Then, turning to Gao Fushuai, who had craved the System, Lin Qin granted his wish, transforming him into exactly that—a System. He casually bound it to Hua Ling and then transformed Hua Ling into the true Theresa, upgrading her cosplay into the genuine Celestial Hymn.

"Finally, I bestow upon you the Permanence. I eagerly anticipate the Aeons' amusement as they sense the aura of The Permanence radiating from you. What fun that will be!"

Lin Qin unleashed a final burst of vibrant, multicolored light upon Hua Ling, who was undergoing his transformation. His mission complete, he gracefully withdrew and returned to his own universe.

With Lin Qin's concealment gone, the Aeons scattered across the cosmic void immediately sensed the aura of The Permanence emanating from Hua Ling.

His colossal male form vanished, leaving behind Theresa in her true form. She slowly opened her beautiful azure eyes, bewildered as she explored her completely transformed body. Lowering her gaze, she froze at the sight of her B-cup breasts straining against her shirt.

Trembling, Hua Ling reached down to touch her lower regions. The imaginary appendage she'd once possessed was gone, replaced by female anatomy. A strange sensation washed over her, flushing her cheeks with crimson.

"Hmm, the message he left... I've been granted the power of Permanence? So you're the Dragon Aeon? But I thought Long was extinct!"

Hua Ling went numb. Suddenly realizing Gao Fushuai was nowhere to be seen, she panicked.

"Gao Fushuai! You big idiot, where are you?!"

Hua Ling cried out in panic. Despite her earlier composure, which had been bolstered by the presence of her wealthy and handsome best friend, Gao Fushuai, she now felt utterly alone and terrified.

[Ding! Hua Ling, I think I've become a System...]

[Damn it! I wanted a System, not to become one!]

[And now I'm bound to you, with System objectives to complete. Let me check them...]

[Step one: Join the Astral Express. Reward: Vishnu Super Transformation Factor. Failure: Annihilation.]

"Huh?!" Hua Ling screamed in terror.

[Just kidding! Failure means becoming space debris, keeping Kars company.]

[But you actually transformed into Theresa! And your buns are even bigger than hers! Nice, nice. I'm very pleased with this outcome! (^▽^)]

[Since you've become Theresa, I should at least adopt a name that complements you. Everyone knows Theresa loves Homu, so I'll rename myself the Homu System!]

[And Hua Ling, since you're impersonating Theresa, you'll need to change your name to Theresa as well. Otherwise, that suspicious old man Yang will start asking questions, and my dear Hua Ling, you wouldn't want to end up as mindless space debris, would you?]

Gao Fushuai, now the Homu System, addressed Hua Ling, who was now Theresa. Hua Ling felt a twinge of reluctance, but becoming Theresa didn't seem so bad after all. With a resigned nod, she conceded.

"Fine," Hua Ling said with a sigh. "To avoid becoming mindless space debris, from now on, I'll go by Theresa." After all, she was used to abandoning her principles; she might as well accept her fate with a resigned shrug. ╮(╯▽╰)╭

In the distance, spatial distortions rippled. A massive black steam train tore through the fabric of reality and barreled into existence nearby.