After ending the call with his parents, the takeout Luke ordered also arrived.
He calmed his emotions and felt he needed to do something. He couldn't just sit there letting pain and anxiety gnaw at him.
Even while recovering, he couldn't waste time.
He dragged over the creaky chair, sat down at the peeling desk, and turned on the old laptop that had accompanied him for seven years, its fan buzzing loudly.
The screen lit up, reflecting the lingering bruises on his face and a pair of unusually clear eyes.
His goal was clear — rewatch Game of Thrones.
Not for entertainment, but for study and research.
He needed to become more familiar with the world's details: geography, characters, factions, major events, and even easily overlooked customs and common knowledge.
This might help him avoid future traps or seize more opportunities.
He opened his torrent client, found the downloaded files, and started from Season 1, Episode 1.
The familiar opening theme played as the grand map and gears unfolded.
At first, he habitually glanced at the Chinese subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
But soon, he realized… he didn't seem to need them?
The characters' dialogue, spoken with various accents…
Ned Stark's steady Northern accent, Littlefinger's slippery and low murmurs, Daenerys's initially timid but gradually firmer tone, even the roaring commands of the Dothraki…
Every word, every phrase came through crystal clear and instantly translated into precise meaning in his brain.
He thought it was because he was too familiar with the show — after all, he had watched it twice and could guess most of it.
But gradually, he felt something was wrong.
Some rapid dialogue filled with archaic English vocabulary or specific slang that he had barely noticed even with subtitles before — he could now understand effortlessly!
His heart skipped a beat.
He paused the video, randomly opened another Western movie he had almost never watched, and turned off the subtitles.
Clear. Fluent.
Whether it was fast American slang or heavily accented supporting lines, he understood everything!
It wasn't guessing — it was rock-solid comprehension, as natural as listening to Chinese.
"This…"
Luke froze, rice still in his mouth, forgotten.
He dropped his chopsticks, grabbed his phone, and opened Douyin.
He searched for "English pronunciation," "London accent," "American accent," "modern RP"…
He scrolled through more than a dozen related videos.
No subtitles. No hints.
All kinds of English pronunciations and dialogues, even some deliberately exaggerated ones, he understood completely!
Not only could he understand them, when he tried replying in English in the comment sections, the speed of his typing and the accuracy of his wording surprised even himself.
It felt as if those vocabulary and grammar rules had long been deeply imprinted in his mind, ready to be used at will.
"This is insane…"
He muttered to himself, his heartbeat accelerating.
Could it be… because of that brutal beating?
The near-death beating in Westeros, the extreme pain and the stimulation of hovering on the edge of life and death — had it somehow opened some "language meridian" in his brain?
The explanation sounded too mystical, but the facts before him were undeniable.
An overwhelming joy surged over him like a tidal wave!
The language barrier — the biggest shortcoming that had plagued and restricted him in the other world — had been solved in such an unimaginable way!
What did this mean?
It meant he could communicate freely, gather intelligence, conduct more complex transactions, and even… disguise himself and blend in!
He couldn't help pumping his fist, which pulled at his rib injury and made him grimace in pain, but the smile on his face could not be suppressed.
However, before this wave of joy could settle, an even greater, earth-shattering shock came without warning.
Right at the next second after his mind was stirred by the language breakthrough.
The air in front of him rippled with an extremely faint, water-like shimmer.
Then, a semi-transparent, pale blue glowing electronic screen with a futuristic design suddenly floated right in front of his eyes!
The interface was simple and cold, displaying rows of glowing text:
[Name]: Luke [Gender]: Male [Age]: 25 [Strength]: 3 [Constitution]: 4 [Intelligence]: 1 [Spirit]: 1 [Ice Affinity]: 0 [Fire Affinity]: 0 [Light Affinity]: 0 [Dark Affinity]: 0 [Ice Resistance]: 0 [Fire Resistance]: 0 [Light Resistance]: 0 [Dark Resistance]: 0 [Free Attribute Points]: 3
Luke's breathing stopped completely in that instant.
Time seemed to stretch and freeze.
He stared wide-eyed at the floating interface, his brain going blank. Only those simple yet profound numbers burned into his retinas.
System…
This fucking thing was the legendary… System interface?!
It wasn't an illusion.
"System bro, it really is you. Don't say anything, just stab me."
"I really can't live without a system."
It existed stably, moving in sync with his slight gaze shifts, radiating an undeniable sense of presence.
Strength 3? Constitution 4? Intelligence 1? Spirit 1?
Were these base values or something else?
Those ice, fire, light, and dark affinities and resistances… did they point to supernatural powers?
3 Free Attribute Points… could he add them?
A massive, world-shaking flood of information smashed through all the dams of reason.
"Haha… hahahaha…"
First came low, incredulous laughter from his throat, which quickly rose into wild, hoarse, unrestrained madness and release!
"All things under heaven are mine! Who dares disobey?! Hahahahaha!!"
He shot up from the chair, ignoring the pain from his injuries, waving his arms wildly in the tiny rental room.
He imitated the domineering posture and lines of Dong Zhuo from the old Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama, his voice distorted by excitement.
The next second, he suddenly restrained his smile, straightened his back (pulling at his wounds and grimacing again), and put on a solemn yet mocking expression, pretending to act opposite an imaginary opponent:
"Hmph! The affairs of the world belong to the Emperor and all loyal ministers! And you… are nothing but a usurper. What can you do?"
He recited the entire Yuan Shao Denounces Dong Zhuo scene!
He was completely immersed in an extreme, almost hysterical ecstasy and catharsis.
The breakthrough in language ability had already been an unexpected delight, but the sudden arrival of the System completely ignited all the suppressed fear of an uncertain future and the fiercest desire to change his fate in his heart!
This was no longer just an opportunity for buying and selling or barely surviving!
This was the real… Golden Finger of a transmigrator!
It was the possibility of transcending the ordinary!
It was the starting point to control his own destiny and even influence the world!
Like a madman, he spun around the room — sometimes laughing at the ceiling, sometimes gesturing wildly at the wall, sometimes squatting down covering his face as his shoulders shook violently from overwhelming emotion.
It took a long time for this sudden frenzy to slowly subside.
Panting heavily, he sat back down in the chair. His eyes, however, were brighter than ever as he stared fixedly at the still-floating semi-transparent interface.
The bruises and pain on his face remained, but an unprecedented confidence burned like a raging fire in his eyes.
Westeros… King's Landing… Blue Star… Dragon Nation…
Fuck it — it's finally my turn to be a Heavenly Dragon!