Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

First chapter highlighted: Extreme OOC warning! This is a self-indulgent story for the author's amusement; just enjoy the fun. Come on, everyone, relax a bit! (?_?)————

"Xiao Wu, sometimes I really admire your ability to choose mission worlds and alternate account pools."

Inside the system space, Liu Qingyuan sat with one hand supporting his head, while the other hand was raised to fiddle with the floating screen released by the system. No matter how many times he looked at it, he wanted to complain that the interface design was very similar to the interfaces of many games he had played in his previous life.

Every time this panel appears, he wants to look around to see if any pay-to-win ads pop up in the corners of his vision.

"Your choice... is a dead end."

After choosing to sign a long-term contract, Liu Qingyuan began planning the next world mission. According to the system's rules, if the hosts are worried that their previous avatars might not be compatible with the next world when they enter a new mission world, they can choose to redraw from the avatar pool.

For example, if you enter a cultivation world next time, but your previous character was a magical girl, where everyone was ethereal and elegant in long robes, while you're waving a heart-shaped magic wand, wearing a puffy skirt, and having a specific transformation phase before every fight, how can you use that? It's impossible to use!

At this time, the host can first discard the previous alias with an overly independent style and choose to change the alias pool. There are two ways to change: one is to randomly select and supplement it with some data adjustment, and the other is to designate it by spending points. However, the latter has certain seniority requirements in addition to the points requirement. Newcomers like Liu Qingyuan with overflowing points cannot designate one.

Driven by the gambler's curiosity about what golden legendary characters he might draw, and with Liu Qingyuan's own substantial points, even if he drew from a pool that wasn't very useful, he could still use his "money power" to forcefully acquire good characters and plow through the pool, happily choosing to redraw.

Moreover, the pool of the Thunderbolt Buddhist sect that Liu Qingyuan started with... to be honest, it wasn't very easy to operate. That kind of monk style is unique to puppet shows. In the beginning, you always need to explain it to him. Liu Qingyuan just didn't want the hassle.

So, our Comrade Xiao Liu chose to temporarily bid farewell to the beauties and step into a new future. As the saying goes, hesitation leads to defeat, and decisiveness leads to failure. The next second, his future predictably took a wrong turn.

[I think this combination is fine. Host, your soul attribute is indeed more compatible with puppet show-style costumes, so the probability of drawing one is definitely higher than others.]

Everyone's soul is different. The selection pool system will allocate probabilities based on some of the selector's own attributes to improve the compatibility between the host and the person playing the role. That's normal.

[Furthermore, the selection of aliases from the pool does not pass through the subsystems that have a contract with the host, so the host's selection of this alias pool is unrelated to this system.]

System Xiao Wu was used to being criticized by its host. But it refused to take the blame for this one.

Also, let me correct you again, my full name ID is...

"Okay, stop. I can't remember even if you say it again. Xiao Wu sounds so nice. I even want to call you Lao Liu after this lottery result."

Yes, our Comrade Liu once again "lived up to expectations" and drew the puppet show vest, and it was similar to the previous one. Last time, Liu Qingyuan drew the Thunderbolt Buddhist Pool, and this time, he drew the Thunderbolt Taoist Pool.

"I have a feeling that the next one might be the Thunderbolt Confucianism gacha pool."

Liu Qingyuan was speechless. There were countless alternate account pools, and it was as if some sinister force from outside the world was controlling his card pool.

If Liu Qingyuan were to write this dramatic episode of her life into a novel, she would give the author a five-star review and offer to pay in installments.

A certain unscrupulous author: That's right, it's me. (Thumbs up)

[What a coincidence! Maybe next time I'll be in the Su Huanzhen alternate account pool.]

"...You guys actually opened a separate pool for Su Huanzhen?"

Liu Qingyuan was shocked. He used to just complain about the system's independent skin system, but he didn't expect there to actually be a Su Huanzhen card pool? ...To be honest, he was a little tempted.

But if we calculate it this way, does that mean the Underworld also has its own separate pool? And if we only consider the number of players, can the Orochi also be opened separately? ...No, he's been led astray by the system again.

“I have no problem with drawing the Thunderbolt Sect, but the problem is the mission world you chose. Didn’t you say you’d found a fairly stable world with relatively easy missions?”

Yes, didn't I find it for you?

"What kind of lighthearted world is Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?!"

[Isn't it a good match between a ghost story and Taoism?]

[And I kept my promise; I gave you a world with proper gods and immortals. Now you can see whoever you want to split a mountain.]

"Match my ass!"

If it weren't for the fact that the system had no physical form and couldn't be touched, Liu Qingyuan really wanted to grab the other party by the neck and shake the system's head, which seemed to have cyber hydrocephalus, and maybe even free up a few drops of electronic water.

Pairing "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" with the Thunderbolt Taoist sect, you really managed to come up with that idea!

He even specially chose a world where there are proper immortals living, because he's afraid of that!

The novel *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* has its own complete mythological system. Although the characters often lack presence and the underworld is plagued by corruption, they are still orthodox deities, and well-known figures.

There are also many powerful Taoist priests in Liaozhai. He enters dressed in a style reminiscent of the cartoon "Thunderbolt Fantasy," and stands with the Taoist priests of Laoshan. Can you imagine what that scene would look like? Can you imagine it?!

Or, if he puts on a more distinctive costume and goes in, and then encounters Yan Chixia, given Pili's extravagant style of layering everything on top of each other, as well as the colorful hair, eye, and clothing, do you think Yan Chixia should fight the monster first or him first?

"In that case, will I be a monster or a god when I go in?"

No, you are a despicable outsider.

"...Where do you, a system, get so many ridiculous jokes?"

If you say the system has feelings, this guy is mostly just doing his job, at most he just speaks in a slightly human way. But if you say it has no feelings, then his ability to pick up on jokes one after another and perform a crosstalk routine with the host is a bit too strong.

As a subsystem for task assignment, we have a complete database. Whether it's a small, specialized pool of accounts or a large, world-class pool, the system itself has a complete set of data records, including memes.

"A special miniature vest pool? What does it look like?"

Judging from the size of the pool he drew, Liu Qingyuan guessed that it was definitely not a special small pool.

[It's like Su Huanzhen's type.]

"……Understood."

One person can lease an entire pool...

Since she has drawn the Taoist identity card, Liu Qingyuan has no choice but to follow this rule no matter what.

But given the unique styles in Pili Puppet Show, he probably wouldn't be able to be an ordinary Taoist priest. And no one would believe him if he said he was just a Taoist priest, since what real Taoist priest has various colored highlights in his hair?

This time, the system did indeed choose a world with only minor conflicts at Liu Qingyuan's request, because it already has a complete divine management system, which is equivalent to having its own firewall and being able to handle some emergencies on its own.

Therefore, the tasks are relatively simple. They mainly involve helping to catch illegal immigrants, patching up some abnormal loopholes along the way, and then collecting some emotion points as Liu Qingyuan does according to her own wishes.

According to the system, this is a preferential treatment for him, the newly crowned top salesperson, and it has confidence in its host's ability to cause trouble.

Liu Qingyuan: Thank you so much.

"It's really hard to determine their identity."

[Whatever, you're in my hands anyway, you can make up whatever identity you want.]

After all, there's nothing in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* related to this pool, so Liu Qingyuan can adopt whatever identity he wants. He can even claim to be an alien if he wants.

"There's a complete system of gods and immortals in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Won't I be treated like an invasive alien species and chased around in the past?"

[For worlds with their own management systems, we always establish relationships beforehand. These anti-illegal missions are only activated after they've sent them. If there are any difficulties, they'll even help us with some conveniences. Besides, host, don't you consider yourself human anymore?]

They didn't even mention any systemic clashes, just jumped straight to accusations of invasive species. They clearly don't think of themselves as anything special.

"Then what should we say? Will our gang be punished if we go there?"

【…】

"A gang" refers to a small group that gathers together to engage in illicit activities.

【Host, why don't you think about the mission first?】

How did they become a gang? You should at least call it an organization.

"Now that we've already built good relationships with the gods in this world, and the mission doesn't have any major requirements, let's not make a big fuss this time. Let's just treat it as a vacation."

The last time the Buddhist sect went too far in the martial arts world, the chaotic battle between the good and evil factions almost killed my brain cells. Although the final result was pleasing, with Liu Qingyuan topping the sales charts with an extremely large number of points, let's not do it again this time. It's too tiring. Work needs a balance of work and rest. Let's take a break.

Anyway, I've already earned so many points, and there aren't any major upgrade requirements for this world. After all, I already have all the gods and monsters. If I were to upgrade further, I could only take on the Primordial World, which is really beyond my capabilities.

This time, why not just have a few scattered people wander around and visit different stories, acting as bystanders?

Composing herself, Liu Qingyuan began to think about how she should use her new identity to...work.

But even if it's just a trip, the identity and background should still be properly documented. This time, it would be best to have a fixed transit point or base, and then... or maybe we can use the pseudonyms to justify the trip?

The cultivators, who had always lived apart from the world, suddenly decided to travel to the human realm and had some interactions with the humans, demons, and monsters in the mortal world. Such stories seemed quite interesting. If possible, Liu Qingyuan would also like to interact with the kind and righteous fox spirits and ghosts in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Oh, and there's also the Rakshasa Kingdom. He wants to see what the people there look like. Besides, given their aesthetic standards, the Geography Department must be an absolute beauty there.

"Alright, let me take a closer look at this pool. You two don't have any lingering issues, do you?"

Last time, Yu Xiaodian brought out an infant version of the Holy Infant Master from the Buddhist pool, and then the range of his disguises kept expanding.

Following the previous feedback, we've conducted a screening and maintenance of the alternate account pool, so this situation shouldn't occur again. However, to allow you to perform better, the function of directly exchanging points for characters has been retained.

In other words, if you want to create more alternate accounts, or if you want to directly select a fixed character from the pool, you can just use points to buy... oh no, I mean, exchange them directly.

"...You guys definitely learned from Earth's game designers."

The system used all of Liu Qingyuan's personal points to switch characters; it was blatantly exploiting its hosts. Fortunately, he had enough points to support his extravagant spending.

"Is it just my imagination? Why are there so few people with black hair in the Taoist sect?"

Because there are very few characters with black hair in puppet shows.

"Since it's my first appearance, I also want someone who doesn't stand out too much."