Chapter One: Condemned to Death at the Start

New York Xingge Prison.

When Zhong Shenxiu saw the news about "Playboy Tony Stark Missing" on the prison's communal television during the day, his mind was in turmoil for a long time.

He had actually crossed over into the Marvel universe!?

This was truly a high-risk world, where superpowered beings were as common as stray dogs, and world-ending crises seemed to occur every other day. In a few years, a purple-skinned villain would snap his fingers and bring about a passionate game of chance.

Zhong Shenxiu instinctively began to ponder his future safety, considering whether he should move out of New York to avoid the first alien invasion...

Suddenly.

A sharp crack echoed through the prison.

All the lights in the cells instantly went out, and the impatient voice of a guard came over the intercom:

"Lights out! Sleep!"

This series of actions abruptly brought Zhong Shenxiu back to reality.

He realized then that all the thoughts he'd had about the future were completely useless at this point.

Because... Although he possessed none of his original memories, he'd learned through conversations with other inmates over the past few days about his current identity:

A death row inmate scheduled for execution by electric chair in three days.

Although the electric chair had long been abolished in his previous life’s New York, this was the Marvel universe, where many things he once considered common sense no longer applied.

He could not emulate the predecessors who crossed over and managed to clear their names by studying their case files.

New York law held strict standards for capital punishment; typically, an inmate would spend anywhere from six months to decades between sentencing and execution, with numerous appeals and reviews. Some might never see the day of execution in their lifetime.

But Zhong Shenxiu was set for execution in three days, which meant all his paperwork had gone through multiple rounds of approval and that there was irrefutable evidence against him.

To overturn the case and escape the death sentence, or even be acquitted, was now almost impossible.

In other words, if he wanted to survive, there was only one path left:

Escape!

But in New York Xingge Prison—a steel fortress funded by the New York State government and technically supported and renovated by Stark Industries—escape was the distant dream of countless inmates, utterly unattainable.

Since its first renovation in 1961, the number of successful escapes from New York Xingge Prison stood at: “Zero.”

And now, Zhong Shenxiu had only three days left. To break out from such a fortress was a nearly insurmountable challenge...

What should he do?

Lying on the narrow single bed in his cell, his eyes fixed on the night-vision camera’s red blinking light in the corner, Zhong Shenxiu was at a loss.

No hope for appeal, no chance of escape.

Was his hard-won second life really going to end, resignedly, in just three days?

Zhong Shenxiu was unwilling to accept this.

Other transmigrators had golden fingers, crushed the natives, and dominated the world. Why was his journey so miserable?

Where was the mysterious old sage... the invincible, world-shaking system... the divine reincarnation...

He’d accept any of them!

After raging helplessly in his heart for a while and venting his frustrations, Zhong Shenxiu regained his composure and began desperately thinking about his next steps.

Relying on heaven or earth was less reliable than relying on himself.

He resolved that, within these three days, he would find a way...

But then, something dramatic happened.

[Beep! System activated]

The sudden mechanical voice in his mind made Zhong Shenxiu spring up from his bed!

A system?

Had his transmigrator’s golden finger finally arrived?

Was he finally about to embark on a journey where he could kick the purple villain and punch the supreme gods?

Zhong Shenxiu was excited, and though his face stung from earlier disappointment, he hoped for more such moments—let them come!

[Host’s unique ability detected and automatically digitized]

[Novice mission released: complete to receive a starter package and unlock the full system]

[Please check]

Hearing these three emotionless, synthesized sentences, Zhong Shenxiu’s mood gradually stabilized. In his mind, he whispered, “Check.”

A system interface, composed of white text, appeared directly in his pitch-black vision.

In the upper right corner was a countdown:

81 hours, 32 minutes, 51 seconds... 50 seconds...

A quick calculation told Zhong Shenxiu this was likely the time until his execution.

He continued reading:

[Slacker System]

Host Name: Zhong Shenxiu

Ability: Healing Arts Lv.1 (Variant)

Novice Mission: Successfully heal one human (other than host) to gain three weeks of survival time (0/1).

A brief self-introduction; and the freshly issued novice mission. The entire system consisted of a title and three sentences—so concise that Zhong Shenxiu inwardly exclaimed, "As expected of a slacker system." It truly lived up to its name.

But regardless of its laziness, the information it provided was explosive.

First, the phrase “host’s unique ability” implied that his body’s original owner had been some sort of superpowered being, perhaps a mutant.

Second, the appearance of a novice mission gave Zhong Shenxiu exactly what he needed most: time.

Just by healing one person, he could gain three weeks of survival, plus the starter package and full system access promised by the mechanical voice.

This undoubtedly lit a path toward hope through the darkness ahead!

However...

“What does Healing Arts (Variant) mean?” Zhong Shenxiu asked the system mentally.

[Indicates Healing Arts has mutated due to certain causes]

“Mutated? What, am I going to heal someone and accidentally kill them instead?”

[Theoretically possible. Mutated abilities may have additional effects.]

“For example?”

[System not fully unlocked, cannot answer]

“…Fine.”

“How do I use the ability?”

[Ability has been digitized by the system. Simply recite its name mentally.]

With this answer, Zhong Shenxiu asked no more. He lifted the thin blanket and covered himself completely, then lay motionless in the darkness, pretending to be asleep.

There was surveillance in every prison cell, so he couldn’t risk trying the ability in plain view. This thin blanket was his safest shield.

He waited.

When he felt the moment was right, Zhong Shenxiu slowly turned sideways within the cramped space, his hands clasped together.

He whispered in his heart:

“Healing Arts—”

Sure enough, a faint green glow suddenly appeared between his hands!

It resembled the healing jutsu from Naruto; presumably, applying this green light to a wound would heal it.

Just as the system had said—he truly possessed a superpower!

With the green light continuing for about ten seconds, Zhong Shenxiu started feeling his mind grow heavy...

Apparently, Healing Arts consumed energy, though the slacker system didn’t display this.

Afraid of any adverse effects if he continued, Zhong Shenxiu immediately focused, shutting down the Healing Arts. The green glow vanished without a trace.

Before sleepiness overtook him, Zhong Shenxiu habitually listed his next steps in his mind:

Nothing was more important than survival. Tomorrow, during free time, he would find an injured person to heal, complete the novice mission, and gain three weeks of life!