The middle-aged man’s body slowly faded away. The surroundings brightened, and his voice began echoing repeatedly through the air.
“The Soul-Transfer Coin has been bound to Chen Youzai’s name. Only Chen Youzai himself can see it with the naked eye. If Chen Youzai loses it, no one else will gain the right to use it. If the order of time and space is disturbed, the Soul-Transfer Coin will automatically change its properties and may no longer remain under human control.”
Chen Youzai was not listening at all. He was too busy thinking about slipping into his love rival’s body before the dream ended and using the opportunity to take advantage of the girl he liked. While his thoughts ran wild, the man vanished completely. The room disappeared with him, Chen Youzai’s mind went blank, and then everything sank into darkness.
When Chen Youzai woke, daylight was already streaming in. He stretched, looking thoroughly dissatisfied. The sound of something falling to the floor immediately reminded him of yesterday’s dream.
“What a joke,” Chen Youzai muttered. He must have gone completely crazy from wanting to become handsome. A mysterious middle-aged man? A Soul-Transfer Coin? Rubbing his bleary eyes, Chen Youzai picked up the alarm clock beside him. Perfect timing: it rang at that exact moment. He yawned enormously and started getting dressed.
Suddenly, a flash of light stabbed into his eyes. Chen Youzai shook his head, but his vision was still awash in gold. Squinting, he groped toward the glow. As he approached, the light gradually dimmed. The instant he held his breath and picked up the silver coin, its glow vanished entirely, leaving it looking no different from an ordinary coin.
Chen Youzai’s lips began trembling uncontrollably, and soon his whole body was shaking. He slapped himself hard across the face. The sharp sting was unmistakably real. His expression changed at once, and he opened his mouth and yelled.
“No way… Oh my God… Oh my God… My God!”
Chen Youzai tore out of the room in excitement. Mother Chen was making breakfast in the kitchen. She had heard him shouting and was just about to go see what was wrong when he came running out on his own.
The moment he saw Mother Chen, Chen Youzai broke into a sweat and started babbling. “Mom… ah… the silver coin… I’m telling you, look at this… the coin… Can you see this silver coin? This thing is really… my God… it’s not an ordinary coin…”
Mother Chen stared at him with a thin, humorless smile, then suddenly smacked him on the head. “Have you gone crazy from playing games, you brat? Your head’s full of coins, coins, coins…”
Chen Youzai panicked. Holding the coin in trembling fingers, he tried again. “No, Mom, look! I’m telling you…”
“Look at what? There isn’t even a fart there…” Mother Chen knocked his hand aside, gave him an impatient shove, and told him to hurry up and brush his teeth and wash his face.
Chen Youzai did not hear a word of it. He remained rooted to the spot, staring at the silver coin. Mom can’t see it? Am I the only one with this power? Am I going to become some kind of immortal? Like Sun Wukong, able to turn into whoever I want? That’s incredible! He burst out laughing. When he noticed Mother Chen glance over, a plan immediately popped into his head.