1: The Half-Demon Lord—Dragon

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Midsummer, night.

A sudden, violent storm had plunged the entire city of Jiutouniao into an apocalyptic gloom.

The tributaries of the Three Rivers converged here, in the heart of nine provinces, merging into the Long River. Towering waves crashed furiously against the head of the delta, muddy waters surging backward into the city. The meager defenses along the riverbank were instantly destroyed, countless cars submerged, their alarms wailing in despair.

Over the city, a canopy of dense clouds pressed down, lightning webs crisscrossed the sky, and a boundless curtain of rain—laced with scattered hail—poured mercilessly. In a single night, the temperature plummeted suddenly back to winter. Yet, this atrocious weather did nothing to dampen the fervor inside the Jiutouniao branch of the Xuanyuan Military Academy on Luojia Mountain, where the graduation trial mobilization for officers was in full swing.

The Xuanyuan Military Academy was a special institution established to prepare for the upcoming "Wall and City" mega-project, training officers to deal with all manner of warfare and emergencies that would arise.

The program lasted four years.

As a privileged academy founded by imperial edict from His Majesty the "Emperor Xuanyuan," not a single ordinary person was admitted to the first cohort; even the least gifted among them possessed a twenty-seven-star potential.

After three and a half years of rigorous study and cultivation, today marked the official countdown to their departure.

At that moment, on the auditorium stage, Headmaster Sikong Yan was delivering his rousing final address.

With impassioned words and heartfelt conviction, he laid bare every stirring battle of humanity's ten-year defensive war, exposing the bloody reality before his students. The cadets, each one seething with righteous indignation and high spirits, wished nothing more than to rush onto the battlefield and obliterate the dimensional space with their bare hands.

But in the front row, Chen Longshi’s thoughts had drifted far away: everything before him seemed both familiar and alien, as if he were witnessing scenes he’d once seen in a movie.

“Have I transmigrated into that globally renowned monster movie universe?”

Though over the past week he had already confirmed this fact from various sources, a stubborn thought still tumbled relentlessly through his mind—How on earth did I become the ultimate supervillain?

…

In his previous life, Chen Longshi had been an idol star. Debuting at fourteen, he quickly amassed a vast following, adored by millions.

Yet as a star, he lacked acting skills—so much so that watching his own dramas made him nauseous, though they always broke ratings records. He was tone-deaf, so when it came time to release a song, only an army of sound engineers burning the midnight oil could salvage the tracks.

He could never keep to the beat while dancing, relying instead on his physique to catch eyes. His peers seethed with envy, but whenever he stepped on stage, he was always the center of attention.

A few casual poses were enough to evoke shrieks from fans, and should he be in a good mood, he’d lift his shirt to reveal his hard-earned abs, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Fans fainting from excitement at his concerts became one of his signatures.

Even that wasn’t enough. When snapped on the street, his manager would remind him to tug his pants a little lower, and flashing his underwear or even half his backside became a not-infrequent marketing ploy.

The first half of his life was almost entirely orchestrated by others. Upon reaching adulthood, he was swept into a life of extravagant debauchery, lost in nightly revels.

At times, he found it all unbearably dull, and after reflecting on his own excessive life, he’d sigh: “Honestly, I have nothing going for me but this face.”

“Heck, I… I always wanted to act well, to sing properly, to experience an ordinary love. I wanted to keep a low profile, but my talent just wouldn’t allow it!”

The entertainment world was a vast dye vat. By thirty, he was still a regular on the world’s handsomest men lists. But looks fade, and even the most naïve youth turns shrewd after years in showbiz. He had reached the pinnacle of his career.

Yet none of it was what he truly wanted. The deeper he went, the more he loathed it all.

There are always people around you whom you can’t just cut ties with. Even when you see through someone, you can’t afford to turn your back. You have to smile at people and things you despise—this is what we must learn: disgust.

He fancied himself a philosopher, believing his life should be a free-spirited quest for dialectical truth, pondering the origins of the universe and the mysteries of life.

When reality became inescapable, he would sometimes muse: “I’ve made enough, maybe I should just quit the business, buy a house by the sea, feed horses, chop wood, travel the world…”

Fortunately, he had at least some self-awareness.

Chop wood?

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He had no idea how.

So those dreams remained dreams. Once awake, he’d return to his reckless ways.

Though he never fit the mainstream mold and often became the scapegoat for veteran actors’ criticisms, Chen Longshi never strayed on major issues. There was only one China; he never touched anything unreliable, and his tax payments always ranked at the top among celebrities. He could never personally go to the countryside for charity, but he donated generously, funding dozens of schools every year without fail. His only moral flaw was being surrounded by too many women...

As the saying goes, “You can’t walk by the river and not get your feet wet.” On his thirtieth birthday, trouble finally caught up with him.

A top-tier, bear-like female celebrity had just divorced, and the next day paparazzi caught her arm-in-arm with him, heading to a hotel to celebrate his birthday, leaving only in the dead of night.

Unbeknownst to them, paparazzi had staked out the entrance. As soon as they emerged, a swarm of reporters surrounded them: “Mr. Chen Longshi, are you two together?”

“When did you start seeing each other? Was it before the divorce?”

“Will you get married?”

“What did you do in there? How many times? For how long?”

Though the actress was divorced and he was single, making it all technically proper, such a scene was inevitably awkward, especially since the actress, well past her prime, still played the innocent ingenue. Falling in love right after a divorce was hard to justify.

Chen Longshi was always considerate with women; he quickly shielded the panicked actress and called out, “You’re mistaken, we were just reading scripts.”

In the chaos, Chen Longshi jumped into his car and floored the accelerator. The paparazzi gave chase, and a real-life car chase ensued. But just as his multi-million-dollar sports car turned off the avenue, a speeding truck came out of nowhere and slammed into them. In that critical moment, the only thing he could do was shield the actress with his own body.

When he awoke, he found himself in a military hospital in the parallel world’s Jiutouniao City.

It turned out that this world’s Chen Longshi had been in a bizarre traffic accident, falling into a coma until the third day, when he was finally found and rushed to the hospital.

Upon waking, he was completely fine—the doctors said he’d only been knocked out.

The very first thing Chen Longshi did after confirming he had transmigrated was rush to the bathroom mirror and scrutinize his face. “Thank goodness, still the same face.”

He then carefully checked his second most important asset, and finally breathed a long sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, still as… naturally gifted as ever.”

In this world, he was still named Chen Longshi, nicknamed “Long’er.” Born into a wealthy, harmonious family, his father was kind and his mother wise, the three of them living in perfect happiness. He himself was outstanding—discovered to have martial talent as a boy, awakening his star chart destiny at twelve. At sixteen, he was selected for focused training at Xuanyuan Military Academy. He was diligent, upright, principled, sincere, a youth of passion and integrity. Wherever he went, he was well-liked.

Though not as wild as in his previous life, he was extremely popular.

Moreover, his peak strength in the Star Forging Realm placed him among the top of his class, soon to head for the front lines to defend the nation.

“This is the life I always wanted!” Chen Longshi couldn’t help but sigh.

Having accepted the reality of transmigration, he took just a week to fully adapt to this world and looked forward eagerly to the future. But everything took a bizarre turn when he discovered an urgent problem: he was actually the main supervillain of the monster movie universe’s first phase—the “Half-Demon Lord” Long?

Could it be true?

He’d been ready to settle in as a carefree background character, content to while away his days as a spectator. Only to discover that he wasn’t some nameless extra, but the archvillain destined to be taken down by the heroes.

The feeling was a strange mix of bitterness and amusement—he didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

Because the timeline here didn’t match the films he’d seen, it didn’t dawn on him at first. But when classmates started calling him by the nickname “Long,” suspicions arose. Of course, it was a stretch to connect a mere nickname to the ultimate villain.

But once the thought took root, it was impossible to ignore.

Better safe than sorry.

Only when you’re the one afflicted do you know the pain.

He began to piece together clues, scouring his memory for every detail, and the more he thought, the more he became convinced he really was that final boss.

…

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As Chen Longshi listened to the headmaster’s speech, he racked his brain for everything he could remember about the “Half-Demon Lord” Long from the films.

But those movies had been released so long ago, his memories were hazy. Besides, Monster Pictures’ superhero films were mostly popcorn flicks, increasingly formulaic as time went on, easy to forget after watching.

Fortunately, as an actor, he had studied the most prominent franchise in China’s film industry well.

In fact, Monster Pictures had once approached him to audition for a wildly popular role. But he’d turned them down, dissatisfied with the low pay and the prospect of being locked into a multi-film deal. He felt the company disrespected his superstar status, so he refused.

They ended up casting a rival idol in his place. During promotions, they even dredged up his name for buzz, and when the movie became a hit, he regretted it for a while.

That episode was a humiliation he preferred to forget, and he forbade any assistant from mentioning it. Yet now, it was ironically helpful. While he wasn’t encyclopedic about the movie universe, he at least remembered more than the average viewer.

After some reminiscing and careful study, he realized—damn it, he still didn’t know much!

After all, back then, Monster Pictures had started as a comic book publisher, not a film powerhouse, and their pivot to movies was met with skepticism. With limited resources, they launched their universe slowly, introducing one hero per film. Only after gaining popularity and profit did they plan crossovers and finally introduced the “Dimensional Movie Universe” concept.

By the time Chen Longshi was reborn, the company had released hundreds of superhero movies, with dozens of spin-off TV shows and animated series. Not to mention the video game adaptations.

Though not every film was a blockbuster, decades later the franchise was still the focus of national attention every time a new film debuted.

Xuanyuan Military Academy, as it happened, was set during the early timeline of the movie universe—the foremost cradle of heroes for the forces of justice.

He recalled that, in the initial films from Monster Pictures, the Half-Demon Lord as the main villain had little screen time, mostly appearing in post-credit scenes, acting mysterious before vanishing again—always the shadowy mastermind behind the scenes.

Only when the forces of justice had assembled did he make his move.

When he finally appeared, he was awe-inspiring, crushing every leader with overwhelming force, destroying the Wall of Hope humanity had spent a decade building with a snap of his fingers, then establishing the infamous “Half-Demon City” in the dimensional world.

Afterward, however, he made a string of baffling decisions, suffered defeat after defeat, and was ultimately taken down in a reversal by the heroes’ alliance, perishing in the end.

The films never delved much into Long’s personal history—the runtime was already stretched by the heroes, there was no time to flesh out the villain’s past.

Fans once petitioned for a standalone film about Long. The studio seemed tempted, even commissioning a script, but it fell through when the lead superhero actor objected to the script and salary, and the project was dropped.

Now Chen Longshi was conflicted. Based on this world’s memories and experiences, he had all the makings of a superhero, not a villain—he couldn’t imagine ever turning dark, let alone becoming the Half-Demon Lord.

Yet the “facts” left him ill at ease. After all, if transmigration could happen, what was impossible?

He dared not indulge in wishful thinking. If he truly was “Long,” then his life was bound to follow the script, doomed to become the villain and end in annihilation.

He’d had enough of being manipulated as a brainless idol in his past life—was he really fated for such a tragic destiny again?

A flicker of confusion crossed Chen Longshi’s eyes, but it quickly faded, replaced by a steely resolve that branded a new mark deep into his soul.

“I don’t believe in fate.

“Even if the Heavens operate with fifty, leaving one unaccounted for, in this new life, I am that one!

“I never intended to stir up trouble, but since the heavens refuse to let me be a mere spectator to the real-life movie, so be it. No more acting. I’ll write my own script and be beholden to no one.

“After Jiang Taigong fished, Jiao Ge presented salt. If I can’t be a salted fish, then I’ll leap over the dragon gate as one instead.”

…

…

(For supplementary reading, see “Phase One: The Wall-Building Era” and “Monster Movie Universe” in related works!)