Die Tage, als ich meine Ex-Schwägerin heiratete

Kapitel 1

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Chapter 1: The Gate to All Realms

"See you tomorrow, Xu Le." After saying goodbye to the other employees of the company, Xu Le strolled leisurely down the street. As dusk approached and the sun set, pedestrians hurried along the street, and the whole city seemed to be moving at a faster pace, as if a videotape had been fast-forwarded.

Passing by a food stall, Xu Le felt a bit hungry, so he went in and found a secluded table to sit at. Sitting on the plastic stool, looking at the spotless table, Xu Le's first impression was not bad. At least the owner paid attention to hygiene.

Sitting at a roadside stall, I ordered a plate of stir-fried snails with soy sauce and a side of green peppers with fried pork cracklings. I took out a bottle of chilled beer from the refrigerator next to me, and as the cold beer went down my throat, I felt instantly calmed down.

The beer was a bit harsh and bitter at first sip, not very pleasant, but the aftertaste was very pleasant.

Looking back on the first half of his life, Xu Le felt that he must have done something terrible in his past life, otherwise why would his life be so tragic?

Twenty years ago, in the winter, he was abandoned at the gate of an orphanage when he was only three years old. If the orphanage director hadn't happened to be out buying groceries and found him, he might have frozen to death in the snow. From then on, he stayed in the orphanage, where the kind old man gave him a name, Xu Le, meaning that he would be happy and joyful throughout his life.

But his good fortune didn't last long. When he was eleven, the headmaster fell ill and passed away on a stormy night. From then on, he began his journey into society. Although hiring child laborers was illegal, the low price still attracted many employers, who hired him.

Other twelve-year-olds are growing up under the care of their parents, but he lives in a dilapidated dormitory with a dozen migrant workers, working from dawn till dusk every day just to earn a meager wage that can support his survival.

He tried working nine hours a day under the scorching sun, collapsing from exhaustion while carrying goods and injuring his leg, but he dared not complain. There were too many people who could replace him, and if he didn't work hard, he would starve to death on the streets. So he could only grit his teeth and persevere. "Knowledge changes destiny"—this saying might seem like nonsense to many, but for Xu Le, it was his only way out. He often went to the garbage dumps in his neighborhood or school to collect discarded books and study physics and mathematics on his own. When he was exhausted after a day's work, he would use a flashlight he found to illuminate his books and study.

His roommates mocked him, saying, "So what if you studied? You'll still be working here like us. Just accept your fate." Xu Le initially considered giving up, but reality weighed him down. If he didn't work hard, he would live at the bottom of society for the rest of his life. He wanted to climb up and become someone important.

Whether it was divine intervention or not, he has now graduated from university and works as a programmer at a software company in Hangzhou. Although it's tough, at least he has a stable home and a secure job.

Coming to his senses, Xu Le found himself surrounded by the noisy food stalls. He chuckled, downed his beer in one gulp, took out his wallet from his coat, pulled out a bill and handed it to the owner. He straightened his clothes, took the change the owner offered, put it in his pocket, and left the food stall.

Walking through the alley, the darkness didn't frighten Xu Le; instead, it brought him a sense of tranquility. "The Gate to All Realms is binding. Please check, host." A neutral voice sounded in Xu Le's ear. His previously calm face showed panic. Xu Le slowly looked around, leaning against the wall, his body slightly forward, and said coldly, "Who's playing tricks on me? If you don't come out, I won't be polite." For a long time, nothing unusual happened in the alley. Xu Le wrapped his coat tighter, quickened his pace, and quickly returned home. He locked the door, leaned back on the sofa, closed his eyes, and recalled everything that had just happened.

"The Gate to All Realms is now bound. Please check your attributes." The neutral voice sounded again, and this time Xu Le calmed down completely. He thought: The Gate to All Realms? What is that? Is it some kind of cheat code? After getting a stable job and improving his living conditions, he also developed a hobby of reading novels and watching TV, and he knew about these cheat codes.

Thinking of this, Xu Le took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Turn on the attributes."

Host: Xu Le

Race: Human

Spirit: 3 (Your childhood experiences have honed your spirit, giving you a more resilient character than most people)

Strength: 1.2 (Long-term physical activity has improved your physical fitness)

Physical fitness: 1.5 (Your physical structure is superior to that of the average person, so your long-term hard work has not caused permanent damage to your body)

Agility: 1 (Your agility is average)

(The attribute value of a normal adult male is 1)

"Besides agility, you're above average. That's not bad. So who are you? What's your purpose in contacting me?" Xu Le wasn't like the protagonist in a novel who gets a cheat code and goes crazy with joy. There's no such thing as a free lunch. He understood this when he was twelve. He wasn't stupid enough to think that he was the so-called chosen protagonist and that all good things should come his way. Besides, there aren't many protagonists as miserable as him.

"Host, the Gate of All Realms possesses the ability to traverse countless worlds. The reason it sought you out is because it scanned the entire Earth when it broke through space, and only you met the requirements for choosing a host, so it bound itself to you. As for the origin of the Gate of All Realms, you will learn about it later. As for me, I am a mind without emotions created by the Gate of All Realms, much like software on a computer. I am responsible for teaching the host how to operate and use the Gate of All Realms. Once the host has learned how to use it, I will return to the Gate of All Realms."

"I don't care. I'm just a nobody anyway, and I'm not afraid of anyone harming me. So how should I use it?" Xu Le thought for a moment. He was just a nobody now, and no one would deliberately try to harm him. Since he already had the cheat system, he might as well use it well to make himself stronger. He could worry about the future later. "Please silently recite 'Gate of Myriad Realms'."

Xu Le calmed his mind and silently recited the Gate of Myriad Realms. It was as if the world had turned upside down, and in an instant, he arrived in a void. The void was filled with halos of different lights. He counted them carefully and found that there were seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Starting with red, each subsequent color shone more brilliantly.

A circular sphere of light appeared beside Xu Le. "Host, this is the gateway to all worlds. The worlds depicted in many literary, film, and animation works on Earth also exist here."

Earth is indeed a wondrous world. Despite being different from other worlds, it can receive the development processes of other worlds and record them in writing. If you wish to travel to a particular world, simply utter its name, and a portal will appear before you. Pass through the portal, and you will enter that world. But I must remind you, a work of fiction is ultimately just fiction. You are going to a real, vast world. If you approach this world entirely according to the fictional narrative, you will surely regret it. My mission is complete. Goodbye, host.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sphere of light suddenly exploded, turning into specks of light that slowly disappeared into the void. A surge of information flooded Xu Le's mind, explaining how to use the Gate of Myriad Realms and the classification of worlds. Each world has a different level, divided into seven levels according to the Gate of Myriad Realms: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, with red being the lowest and purple the highest. Different levels represent different levels of world strength and different upper limits of the powerful beings they can accommodate.

For example, one's own main world, or a world similar to The Return of the Condor Heroes or The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, might be considered Level 1, meaning it lacks supernatural abilities and powerful technological products. However, worlds are not static. If Earth builds spaceships and enters the interstellar colonization era, or if someone in a martial arts world breaks through the void, the nature of that world will be elevated, becoming a Level 2 world.

In the void, Xu Le gazed at the countless interdimensional gates, lost in thought. Even with such a supreme treasure, which world should he go to to quickly grow stronger? A wise man avoids dangerous situations; he absolutely couldn't go to a world of high martial arts or high magic. In such a world, he might be killed by the aftershocks of a battle between powerful beings at any moment—he'd have nowhere to cry then. So where should he go? But going to a world that was too low-level would be a waste of time; starting cultivation from scratch wouldn't provide him with sufficient protection. He should go to a world where he could quickly develop combat power without hindering his future development.

Suddenly, an idea took shape in Xu Le's mind: "I've decided, I'll go to that world. Based on my abilities, I should have a chance to seize those opportunities."

"Gate of All Realms, let me return to the real world," Xu Le murmured to himself.

Back in the real world, Xu Le took out his phone, opened his contacts, found a number for Manager Lu, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed the number.

Beep! Beep!

"You finally called me. So, what's up, Xiao Lezi?" The call connected, and a woman's voice came through, beautiful and soothing like a gentle spring. Her name was Lu Siyun, and she was his boss.

"Manager Lu, I need to ask for a week's leave." Xu Le pretended not to hear Lu Siyun's affectionate address, organized his thoughts, and formally asked her for leave.

"What happened? Why do you suddenly need to take leave? Are you sick? Do you want your sister to come and see you?"

"No need, manager, I just have some small things to take care of, I'll hang up now." Xu Le realized the situation was getting worse and quickly hung up the phone.

On the other side, in a pink-themed room, a woman with long, flowing hair, as charming as a peony, looked at the phone that had been hung up, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and said, "That guy really has no sense of romance."

Xu Le naturally didn't know what had happened, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He might have run away before because of the difference in conditions, but now that he has obtained the Gate of Myriad Realms, there are countless worlds waiting for him to explore, and romantic feelings can no longer be an obstacle.

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Chapter Two: The New World

In San Francisco, USA, a young man dressed in white casual clothes and wearing a black baseball cap strolls through Chinatown. He is Xu Le, who has passed through the Gate of the World and arrived in San Francisco, the place where the story begins.

The Gate of All Realms placed him in San Francisco, USA, but he didn't know where the story was at. If he arrived too late, he wouldn't be able to integrate into the protagonist's group, which would seriously affect his plans. He didn't want his first time in this world to end in a cold reception.

Xu Le stopped and asked a middle-aged man in a Tang suit passing by in English, "Excuse me, do you know where Old Man's Antique Shop is?" The man in the Tang suit looked Xu Le up and down, realizing he was a foreign tourist, and judging from his appearance, he was Chinese. A sense of kinship arose within him, and he replied, "Young man, just walk straight ahead, turn left, and walk about 300 meters. I know Old Man. He has a strange temper and is greedy. If you want to buy something, you'll have to flatter him a lot. But if you can come up with enough money, then pretend I didn't say anything."

"Thanks, Uncle." After bidding farewell to the middle-aged man in Tang suit, Xu Le found his father's antique shop as instructed. From the outside, the shop looked much like the one in the anime, only the characters were more three-dimensional. Being about to meet a character from an anime, Xu Le was inevitably a little nervous. He took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.

The shop wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. The overall layout was layered, giving it a vintage feel. Inside sat an elderly man wearing a yellow vest over a white short-sleeved shirt. Despite his advanced age, his hair wasn't white, but rather a vibrant silver. He wore reading glasses and was intently reading a newspaper. Hearing the door open, the old man adjusted his glasses, looked up at Xu Le, and asked, "Sir, what kind of shoes or shoes would you like to buy?"