Chapter 1
“At the beginning of man, human nature is good.”
Inside a kindergarten classroom, one childish little face after another swayed back and forth as the children recited from their books.
They grew up quickly. Their bodies stretched taller, their features matured, and a proper smile appeared at the corner of each person’s lips—only for them to become vastly different under the dazzling lights and wine-soaked revelry of the adult world.
“Human nature is evil; what is good in it is artificial.”
In the court of morality, the judge faced a sea of books and delivered the verdict word by word:
“Human nature is the most interesting book of all. One lifetime is not enough to finish reading it.”
—What kind of person are you?
Ding.
Exactly eight o’clock in the evening.
[Honestly, I’m so done with this crappy show. It’s already the third season. Can they have a little creativity? Can’t they change the opening sequence?]
[Hurry up, hurry up! I want to kill that old dog Sun. Why won’t they officially announce the cast? Why won’t they announce it? Let me see which lonely brave—unlucky fools—are here this year!]
[Why don’t they officially announce it? Go out and look at the popularity ranking and you’ll know. Other shows rely on people to boost their popularity. Our “Being Human” uses popularity to boost people, okay?]
[I heard no one in the industry dares to come now. Our “Being Human” overshadows every hit variety show and drama of the year in popularity every year. With this heaven-sent traffic, somehow nobody dares to accept it.]
[I suggest the higher-ups classify our “Being Human” production team as an official mandatory program. Every artist has to come. Anyone who doesn’t come is assumed to have a guilty conscience and poor character. Get out of the entertainment industry.]
[No, are you sick upstairs? This crappy show gives each guest an insanely unfair persona every season. How does that test human nature?]
“What Kind of Person Are You?” was a variety show themed around exploring human nature. Two years ago, it had appeared out of nowhere and exploded in popularity, leaving every other show far behind.
The audience affectionately called it “Being Human.”
Just as the opening said.
The production team’s original intention had been to clarify the ancient debate of whether, at the beginning of man, human nature was inherently good or inherently evil.
No one could find the answer from the mouth of a newborn baby.
But what if there was a group of people who were initially set with “personas”—some evil, some good, each with a different heart?
Then, when they faced survival crises and temptations of human nature, what kind of behavior would they show?
Therefore, the production team of “Being Human” used advanced technology to construct a virtual world, artificially creating a life experience or fixed personality setting and implanting it into the minds of the guests participating in the variety show.
The guests inside the virtual world forgot their past. They only remembered a persona that was either similar to or opposite from their real selves.
The good show began.
In the first season, a top-tier Best Actor who was praised for his godlike acting skills and excellent character was implanted with the persona of being sincere and always telling the truth.
As a result, in the variety show, he was arrogant, foul-mouthed, abusive toward animals, belittled women, and even held the wrong political stance.
After his true character was exposed, once the show ended, the top-tier Best Actor was completely finished.
In sharp contrast, a certain washed-up former king of pop, surrounded by scandals and caught in a plagiarism controversy, was implanted with the negative persona of “bullying the weak and fearing the strong.”
As a result, when facing a survival crisis, he sacrificed himself without hesitation.
He chose to point his sword toward the stronger and protect the weaker.
Such a contrast caused an uproar in public opinion.
The entire internet spontaneously dug into the past, and the washed-up king of pop’s innocence was restored. Now, his popularity was comparable to that of a super A-lister.
The stars who went through “Being Human” on “What Kind of Person Are You?” almost all underwent drastic changes in life.
A tough-guy male star famous for military films turned out to be greedy for life and afraid of death, aiming all his fighting skills at his teammates first.
A female celebrity known for being otherworldly, detached, and as pure as a chrysanthemum betrayed others and framed people for money.
An idol who had firmly maintained a single-person image let himself go completely on the show and accepted both men and women.
A highly educated celebrity struggled at every step in intelligence-based tests…
Of course, there were also lucky ones who became wildly popular and turned their lives around through “being human” again.
A second-generation rich young lady famous for being arrogant and domineering was actually a silly beauty who would apologize even after stepping on an ant.
An unknown martial arts stunt double turned out to be chivalrous and righteous. With his combat ability, he carried the whole show and was chosen by an internationally renowned director, leaping straight into Hollywood.
In short, the situation was complicated.
Wealth and status depended on heaven. Life and death depended on the few months spent “being human” again.
[So I’m really curious. Who’s coming to “be human” again this season?]
[Did the director even see the candidate we recommended with our ten-thousand-person blood petition?!]
[Are those names being passed around online true?]
After a short one-minute opening and a long two-minute advertisement placement—
Director Sun Xinping stared fixedly at the exploding bullet comments filling the screen. “Xiao Li, do we have the online viewing data yet?”
Amid the clamor, the staff were gathering information, locking onto data, checking cameras, and coordinating with every department as the livestream was about to begin. Everyone was busy beyond belief.
Finally, an excited scream rang out.
“The initial livestream viewership has reached fifty million! And it’s still rising!”
“My god, that high?” A nearby staff member was startled.
The talent show that wrapped up some time ago had only had just over forty million viewers on the livestream during its group formation night.
Sun Xinping clenched the fist he had been gripping tightly since earlier even harder, his face revealing joy. “Continue monitoring it. Once all the guests show their faces, the popularity should rise again!”
“If it doubles, we’ll hold a celebration banquet after we finish today!”
Xiao Li nodded excitedly, but after a moment, his expression became somewhat hesitant.
“Director, are our personas really set? Will we get cursed at?”
“That one for Shen Jinfeng…”
Sun Xinping did not even look at him. “We gave him an opportunity, the most screen time, and the best persona. If he doesn’t perform well, who can he blame?”
“You have to think of it this way. If Shen Jinfeng manages to accomplish something under this kind of persona, it’ll be impossible for him not to become popular.”
Xiao Li fell silent.
Still, he couldn’t help grumbling inwardly: With a persona that ridiculously over-the-top, how could anyone possibly pull it off? Accomplish something? Yeah, right.
If there really was someone like that, they might as well ascend to heaven.
“Enough. Go watch the data for me.” Sun Xinping tapped Xiao Li on the head with his microphone.
“Technical team, focus completely. Make sure the scene construction doesn’t break immersion and rationalize every setting!”
“Publicity team, pay attention. In half an hour, the trending searches can go up.”
“Editing team, keep a close eye on the cameras. Make sure not a single highlight shot is missed!”
Three, two, one!
Start!
Inside the workroom, the enormous high-definition screen that almost took up an entire wall finally finished playing the advertisement.
After going black, the image lit up again.
Blue sky, white clouds, a scorching sun hanging high, and not a soul in sight.
Even the air seemed to carry waves of oppressive heat.
On the beach, several people lay scattered all over the place.
Not far away on the surface of the sea, a huge wave swept in and completely smashed apart the already broken ship.
Parts of the ship swayed and drifted away with the waves, like a vast, leisurely painting.
The scenery was infinitely beautiful. It was just that, for the few people lying on the ground, it was probably equivalent to losing their only hope of escaping this deserted island.
The virtual world had no cameramen, but to the people watching the livestream, it was no different from watching a movie.
The focus of the image slowly gathered on one person’s face.
[Here it comes, here it comes! Let me see who the first warrior is!]
[I’ve already sharpened my knife and can’t wait!]
[Brother, hold on. According to the production team’s usual pattern, the first guest to appear is generally a “good person.”]
That was right. In the previous two seasons, the first guest to appear had always received a good-person persona.
At the very least, it was much better compared to those immoral bad-person personas that were deliberately arranged.
If the initial persona was good, the possibility of growing crooked was always lower than if the persona was bad.
At the center of the high-definition shot, the young man slowly opened his eyelashes. Droplets of water slid from the corners of his eyes toward his temples, making those eyes look almost clear to the bottom.
But it was only for a brief instant. Once those eyes opened hazily and then regained clarity—
The slightly obedient look the young man had while unconscious seemed to be instantly covered with the coldness of a snowy mountain.
His features were flawless. As he lay there quietly, there was a faint sense of laziness around him.
Only after a few seconds did he slowly sit up and look around with great interest, making no move.
The bullet comments were briefly stunned into silence for a few seconds.
[My god, the way my husband looks when he just woke up is too charming!]
[Sorry, who is this guy? There’s such a handsome man in the entertainment industry? What has he acted in?]
[No, upstairs, how much are you getting paid per comment? Shen Jinfeng lives on the trending searches every day, and you don’t know him?]
[Shen Jinfeng actually still has fans?]
[Holy crap, this is Shen Jinfeng? He looks completely different!]
[To be fair, Shen Jinfeng’s face really is good. Otherwise, he wouldn’t still be able to hang around in the entertainment industry now.]
[No, are they sick? The production team arranged a good-person persona for Shen Jinfeng?]
[As everyone knows, being popular through scandals is still popularity. But most black-red celebrities only have minor flaws that don’t really hurt anyone. Shen Jinfeng has so many confirmed scandals and is still hanging around the industry only because his family has mines, right?
But this world was never fair to begin with. “Being Human” putting him first and obviously arranging a good-person persona for him means what? I don’t need to say more, right?
It’s just that a good-person persona also depends on who it’s placed on. I bet Shen Jinfeng will absolutely ruin this good persona in his hands and personally prove that human nature is evil from the start. If I lose, I’ll stand on my head and eat shit.]
[Hehe, I’m really laughing. Don’t judge before knowing the whole picture. I won’t comment on what Shen Jinfeng himself is like. I only know that people who love making bets all lose in the end. (smile)]
[Exactly. Don’t say things so early. It’s not like there haven’t been people in the previous seasons who were covered in scandals and later proved to be innocent.]
[Innocent? Who forced him to say that acting is just a job and it’s normal not to take work seriously? He takes a sky-high salary and still righteously skips work and recites “12345” while filming?]
[With all due respect, at least the people who became popular again in the previous seasons all had some skill. What does Shen Jinfeng have? Laziness? Acting like a big shot? Hitting people on set? Ingratitude? Bad acting? Low character?]
Sun Xinping stared at the bullet comments arguing wildly across the screen and revealed a satisfied smile.
He was not afraid of the audience arguing. He was only afraid the audience would not want to watch.
Sure enough, a pretty face who had recently caused a citywide storm because of scandals being given a “good” persona—how could that not make people both furious and expectant?
Curse him, curse him.
The harsher they cursed now, the worse Shen Jinfeng performed under the good-person persona, the bigger the public opinion would become. It would perfectly verify the show’s theme.
And if, by some chance, Shen Jinfeng handled the persona well… then the traffic that fed back to the show would be even greater.
However, that “by some chance” was probably only one chance in ten thousand.
Because the persona he had arranged for Shen Jinfeng was truly “good” to a heaven-defying degree.
Thinking of this, the curve of Sun Xinping’s mouth became even more smug.
“Where’s the publicity team? You can get ready to release Shen Jinfeng’s persona.”
The publicity team leader quickly responded, “Got it! As soon as Shen Jinfeng moves, I’ll release it.”
“Wait, why isn’t this kid moving?”
“Isn’t he hungry?”
In the virtual world, after the guests woke up, their set initial physical state was supposed to be extreme weakness, hunger, and exhaustion.
Unlike other variety shows that had scripts or could be manually interfered with during filming,
“What Kind of Person Are You?” truly practiced absolute authenticity.
Implanting personas and setting the guests’ initial physical states were already the biggest tricks the production team could pull.
According to the setting, Shen Jinfeng’s current physical condition was comparable to having been hungry for three days.
And right beside his hand, there was a jug of water, two slices of bread, and three pieces of compressed biscuits.
Xiao Li frowned as he looked at the screen. “There’s only this little bit of food for six people.”
“If the others wake up and find out Shen Jinfeng ate the last rations, there will definitely be conflict.”
Sun Xinping gave him an approving look. “If there’s no conflict, where will the entertainment value come from?”
“But why isn’t this kid moving? After waking up, instead of immediately thinking of eating, is he spacing out?”
The audience watching the livestream was also puzzled.
Two minutes had already passed since Shen Jinfeng opened his eyes. Why had he still not moved?
[I actually watched him sit there without moving for two minutes. (And somehow didn’t feel impatient.)]
[What is he doing? Did he go stupid?]
[An ordinary person would be scared facing this kind of survival predicament, right? It’s normal to need a moment.]
[I’m done. If Shen Jinfeng isn’t moving, can you let me see the others first?]
[Why haven’t those “corpses” beside him woken up yet!]
Completely unaware that everything he did was being broadcast live to the entire nation, Shen Jinfeng slowly looked around while saying goodbye to his old partner in his mind.
[Ding! Congratulations to Host No. 1587, Shen Jinfeng, for successfully completing 999 small-world missions!]
[Ding! Loading retirement world according to host’s wishes!]
[Ding! Loading successful!]
Shen Jinfeng could no longer remember how long ago it had been when he was selected by System 888 to join the Quick Transmigration Mission Bureau. From then on, he had diligently and conscientiously completed missions.
Until just now, when he detached from his 999th quick-transmigration small world.
The system told him he was free.
Now, according to their agreement, it was sending him into a retirement world.
“888, what kind of identity did you choose for me?” he asked lightly in his heart.
[Host, headquarters is urgently calling me. My next host is about to die. I have to go bind with him immediately!] 888’s tone was somewhat anxious.
Shen Jinfeng: “…Fine. Send me the memories.”
888 was a little embarrassed and quickly clicked to transmit the world and identity information it had just received.
[Wuwu, Host, you are my favorite host! I can’t bear to part with you!]
It rapidly recited its lines, expressing reluctance to leave: [Host, we shall meet again someday. If I have the chance, I will definitely come back to see you!]
[Don’t worry, Host! I fulfilled all your requirements for your identity in this world! Young, rich, handsome, no parents, no attachments.]
888 quickly skimmed through the information, and its tone suddenly paused for a moment. [There are also other surprises waiting for Host to discover yourself!]
[I can’t, I’m out of time. I’m leaving first!]
[Don’t forget me!]
Shen Jinfeng looked at 888, who had followed him through 999 worlds yet was still as hurried and fiery as ever, and smiled helplessly.
After completing so many missions, 888 was now already a major system, yet it was still like a newly fledged system that had just entered the industry.
It had turned the novice task of binding with a host into something like rushing from one venue to another.
What he did not know was that the rushing 888 had only skimmed through half of the information.
Because of 888’s hurried departure, the progress bar for memory transmission had also gotten stuck halfway.
