"Are you sure you want to select the six characters: female leads Su Qianmo, Liu Mingrui, Bai Yutian, Tang Yunjin, Hoshino Kannon, and supporting female character Fang Yuanyuan?" the system asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," Gu Chenan nodded without hesitation. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he waved his hand. "Wait, can you let me ask for their opinions?"
The female leads lived lives of luxury in this world. There was no need for them to return to the real world with him.
Moreover, their families didn't exist in the real world. He couldn't be so selfish as to possess them.
"The host hasn't understood a key point. This world exists because of the host. Once the host leaves the novel world, this realm will close, and all the characters in the novel world will cease to exist. To be precise, they are virtual to begin with," the system explained coldly.
The system's explanation eased Gu Chenan's psychological burden.
As long as he returned, this world would only exist within the words of the novel. Bringing the female leads back would be equivalent to turning virtual characters into reality.
"I understand," Gu Chenan nodded.
"The host has chosen six characters. You have four choices remaining. Please select."
"Hmm..." Gu Chenan sat on the sofa, pondering for a moment before speaking. "Bring back the villain Gu Chenan's background, wealth, and ancient martial arts skills. And..."
Gu Chenan rubbed his chin, thinking further.
The system had just said he could make ten choices in this world, but it hadn't specified what kinds of things could be chosen. That meant anything was possible.
If that was the case...
Could he choose the system itself?
If he could bring this lousy system back, wouldn't he become overpowered again?
"You have one final choice remaining. Please select quickly," the system urged impatiently, seeing that Gu Chenan hadn't spoken for a while.
Gu Chenan grinned, leaning back on the sofa with his hands behind his head. "For the last one, I choose you."
System: ?
"What... do you mean?"
Gu Chenan smiled. "You are you, my system."
"..."
The system fell silent for a moment. Its originally cold tone showed a clear emotional fluctuation as it said, "Selection... selection complete. Sending the host back to the real world immediately."
[It worked! I can really bring this unfortunate system back!]
[Although this system is considered trash among the army of transmigrators, it'll be different in the real world!]
[Woohoo, taking off!]
Gu Chenan stood up, intending to shower the system with flattery, when suddenly he felt the world spin!
In the next instant, a spatial rift like a vortex abruptly appeared in the void before him, flashing with eerie blue-purple light.
A powerful suction force suddenly emerged from the vortex, pulling Gu Chenan in before he could prepare himself.
...
Earth, Magic City.
In a rented room on Huaibei Road, Gu Chenan's eyes snapped open.
Outside the window, old plane trees gently swayed their branches in the breeze. Dappled sunlight filtered through the plane tree shade and the window, peacefully falling on the bed.
The air carried the scent of a scorching summer day. The sound of cicadas reached his ears, playing a melody in the blazing sun, adding a touch of realism to the summer scene.
The calls of street vendors and the hustle and bustle of traffic added an extra stroke of life to this sense of reality.
Gu Chenan sat up in bed, looking around in a daze.
His eyes fell on the familiar computer chair with its anime girl figurine, and the bedside table where a cup of soda was still bubbling.
"I'm back..." he murmured, lowering his head, but immediately noticed something was off.
He had chosen the female leads and his wealth and background before returning, so why was he still in this tiny rented room?
Could it be...
A terrifying yet reasonable thought occurred to Gu Chenan.
Could it all have been just a dream this whole time?!
Realizing this, Gu Chenan's eyes widened.
He quickly grabbed his phone from beside his pillow. The screen was paused on the final chapter of the novel "Supreme Dragon King".
Suddenly, Gu Chenan remembered that the night before he transmigrated into this book, he had fallen asleep reading this dragon king novel.
Could it be that all of this was just because I read this novel before bed, so I dreamed about it?!
No, that's not right. It felt so real, how could it have been fake?
Gu Chenan immediately sat up straight and asked in his mind: "System... are you there?"
After waiting for a moment, there was no response in his mind.
"Sigh, it seems it really was just a dream."
Gu Chenan leaned back against the headboard dejectedly, looking out at the plane trees swaying in the breeze.
The memories of all the plot experiences with the female leads were deeply etched in his mind, making him feel bitter, sour, and sorrowful.
"How could it have been a dream? It felt so real."
Gu Chenan picked up the cup from the bedside table and gulped down the soda.
But just then...
"I'm here," the system's cold voice transmitted in his mind once again.
Gu Chenan's eyes immediately reddened, as if he had seen the light of salvation while sinking in a deep swamp.
But in the next second, Gu Chenan became furious.
"You bastard, when did your reaction time get so slow? I thought I had dreamed the whole thing!" he fumed.
"The system needed to reload after the host returned to the real world," the system explained.
"Never mind that, where are the female leads and other things I chose? I can't see any of them," Gu Chenan demanded.
Forget about the wealth and background for now, where are the female leads? What's going on with choosing them but not getting them?
"The wealth and ancient martial arts skills the host had in the novel world were granted the moment the host was transported back. The background is still loading. As for the characters the host chose, they will arrive one after another."
"One after another?" Gu Chenan noticed the issue in these words and asked, confused, "What does that mean?"
The system explained, "The female characters from the novel are virtual beings. The system is transporting them from the virtual novel world. Please wait patiently."
"Just tell me, how long do I have to wait?" Gu Chenan wore an expression that said 'let's see how you answer this'.
"Please be patient."
"Tch!"
Gu Chenan gritted his teeth, but for the sake of the female leads, he endured.
...
"Ding, the first character has finished transmitting," the system's voice suddenly appeared just when Gu Chenan was getting impatient.
With this sound, a bright white light suddenly filled Gu Chenan's room, and a figure slowly appeared within this white light.
Gu Chenan's eyes widened, and he quickly jumped off the bed. "Qianmo!"
Su Qianmo in the white light looked confused for a moment, but her face lit up with joy when she saw Gu Chenan.
"Chenan!"
The two embraced, and Su Qianmo wept with joy.
"Thank goodness, I thought you had really gone back."
Gu Chenan was slightly taken aback.
It seemed Qianmo still thought they were in the novel world.
He spoke, "I did go back, but I brought you with me."
"What?!"
Su Qianmo was startled and immediately looked at her surroundings.
In her memory, there was no scene of passing through a spatial rift.
Instead, the scene of her kissing Gu Chenan goodbye had seamlessly transitioned to the current scene.
The unfamiliar surroundings didn't surprise Su Qianmo too much. On the contrary, after hearing Gu Chenan's words, she let out a sigh of relief.
She hugged Gu Chenan tightly, tears falling from her eyes as she whispered, "Thank goodness. I thought I'd never see you again. I'm so glad..."