The strongest intermediary in all realms

Zhou Ming was awakened by a piercing metallic scraping sound.

He suddenly opened his eyes and found himself lying face down on a peeling wooden desk, with a puddle of unidentified viscous liquid pressed against his face.

My head was throbbing as if someone had been repeatedly slapping it with a frying pan, and I still had the pungent taste of cheap liquor lingering in my mouth.

"What's going on...?"

He struggled to sit up and looked around. It was an office of less than ten square meters, with mottled walls, cobwebs hanging in one corner of the ceiling, and the only window covered with thick dust, letting in dim, yellowish light.

Opposite the desk was a rickety guest chair, and in the corner were several cardboard boxes with the words "Yongsheng Trading Company" printed on them.

Fragments of memory flooded my mind like a tidal wave.

Zhou Ming, 26 years old, an orphan, had just resigned from a shell company called "Yongsheng Trading" three days ago. Last night, feeling depressed, he drank alone in his rented apartment, and then…

Then he drank himself to death.

No, Zhou Ming pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain. This body wasn't his, or rather, this world wasn't his original world.

He shakily pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. The lock screen wallpaper was a news screenshot: "Global Crossing Authority announced today that the 137th stabilization channel has been opened in the East China Sea. The public is advised not to approach it without authorization."

Crossing the Bureau of Investigation?

Zhou Ming swiped his finger to unlock the screen, and his browser history was full of entries such as "How to determine if you have awakened your time travel talent", "A brief history of the revival of spiritual energy on Earth", and "A survival guide for ordinary time travelers".

He gasped.

This is a parallel world where "time travel" exists.

The original owner's memories told him that this world experienced a "spiritual revival" a thousand years ago, after which it was discovered that Earth had mysterious connection channels with countless "fantasy worlds." Some people could travel through these channels to those worlds, bringing back cultivation techniques, technology, and rare artifacts. Traveling became the fastest way to change one's fate, the government established an administration bureau, and the people flocked to it.

The original owner was just one of the millions of ordinary people who longed to transmigrate but lacked the talent. After several years of fruitless efforts, he couldn't even stay at a shell company.

"So this is... a soul transmigration?" Zhou Ming muttered to himself, "and I'm still a loser after transmigrating?"

Just then, a semi-transparent blue screen suddenly popped up in front of him, displaying several lines of text:

[Host has been fully integrated. The Intermediary System of the Heavens is activating... 10%... 50%... 100%]

[Binding successful!]

[Host: Zhou Ming]

Race: Earthlings

[Talent: Transcending Heavens (Unique)]

Current credit rating: E ​​(Random Person)

Account Balance: 0 Universal Points

Zhou Ming blinked and rubbed his eyes.

The screen is still there.

"System?" he asked tentatively. "A cheat system?"

The screen flickered, and a childish yet impatient voice rang in his mind: "What are you yelling about? Can't you see I'm starting it up? Can't you have a little patience for your first job?"

The next second, a fist-sized, blue ball of light floated out of the screen, circled twice in mid-air, and exploded with a snap. As the smoke cleared, a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with pigtails and wearing a small suit, floated in mid-air, hands on her hips, looking down at Zhou Ming.

"Hello host, I am the AI ​​assistant of this system. You can call me Xiaoqi."

Zhou Ming stared at her for three seconds: "...Loli?"

"It's an AI sprite!" Xiao Qi's cheeks puffed up with anger. "Watch your words! I'm in charge of evaluating your performance!"

"Alright, alright, AI sprite." Zhou Ming rubbed his temples, trying to process everything before him. "So what exactly is this 'Intermediary System of All Heavens'?"

Xiao Qi floated in front of him, stretched out her little hand and swiped it twice on the screen, and an interface that looked like an instruction manual unfolded.

"Simply put, you are the chosen 'interdimensional merchant'." Xiao Qi cleared her throat and read solemnly, "There are barriers between the myriad realms, but occasionally 'passages' appear, allowing a very small number of people to cross them. However, existing passages are extremely unstable, and those who use them face a near-death experience. But you—" She pointed at Zhou Ming, "possess the ability to 'stable travel,' carrying items and people, with no cooldown period between realms."

Zhou Ming's eyes lit up: "Then I'm invincible? Even transmigrators have to fight tooth and nail to get there, but I can just go whenever I want?"

"Theoretically, yes," Xiao Qi nodded, "but there's a small problem."

"What?"

"Your abilities cannot be directly used for combat, cultivation, or plunder." Xiao Qi gave a meaningful smile. "The system stipulates that all your travel activities must be related to 'intermediary services.' That is to say, you cannot go to other worlds to collect treasures yourself; you can only help others buy and sell things, coordinate needs, and facilitate transactions. Earn commissions and credit ratings to level up."

Zhou Ming: "..."

"Furthermore, each time you travel, you consume 'travel energy,' which can only be obtained by completing intermediary quests," Xiaoqi added. "Simply put, you're an intermediary, not an adventurer."

Zhou Ming was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"A middleman?" He recalled the novels he'd read in his past life, how those transmigrators either fought to the death or underwent arduous seclusion. "Middleman business is good. Fighting is risky, but doing business is a sure thing."

Xiao Qi looked at him in surprise: "Aren't you disappointed? Usually, when a host hears that they can't get the benefits themselves, they'll curse the system for being a rip-off."

"What's there to curse about?" Zhou Ming stood up, dusting himself off. "In my past life, I worked in real estate for five years, then went to work in business development at an internet company. Sales, matchmaking, connecting needs... that's my livelihood."

He walked to the window and pushed it open forcefully. The outside world unfolded before him: skyscrapers and ancient-style pavilions stood side by side; young people rode hovercrafts on the streets, while middle-aged men in flowing robes and carrying long swords swept across the rooftops. In the distance, a huge hemispherical building displayed a neon sign—"Yuecheng District Crossing Passage Registration Center."

This is what a parallel world should be like.

Zhou Ming took a deep breath; the air was filled with exhaust fumes and a faint sandalwood scent.

"So," he turned to face Xiaoqi, "where's the first order?"

Xiao Qi tilted her head, her twin ponytails swaying: "The system just detected a faint 'interdimensional resonance' in the block next to yours. Someone is using a very primitive method of travel—most likely through the black market—to try and contact a martial arts dimension. That person's mental frequency is very agitated; they're probably urgently looking for something."

"Black market travel?"

"Hmm, unregistered illegal passages have a low success rate and often result in accidents." Xiao Qi pulled up a simple map projection, marked a red dot, and asked, "Want to go take a look?"

Zhou Ming thought for a moment: "In what capacity should I go?"

"Just adapt to the situation," Xiao Qi shrugged. "You're the middleman; your job is to find the needs and then meet them. As for what those needs are, you'll have to negotiate that yourself."

"OK."

Zhou Ming pushed open the office door and glanced back at the dilapidated room. All the original owner's belongings consisted of this rented office and a meager bank account balance of less than a three-digit number. But it didn't matter; from today onward, things would be different.

He crossed two streets and, following Xiao Qi's directions, arrived at an old residential building. The security door downstairs was ajar; he pushed it open and went up the dimly lit stairs to the third floor. A faint yellow light shone from the crack in the door of the room at the end of the corridor, along with the sound of a man pacing anxiously.

Zhou Ming knocked on the door.

The room fell silent instantly. After several seconds, the door opened a crack, revealing half a wary face. It was a man in his early thirties, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, a stubble beard, and wearing a faded tracksuit. In his right hand, he held a yellowish jade pendant.

Who are you?

"Hello," Zhou Ming greeted with a standard professional smile, the kind honed from his business negotiation skills in his past life, "I'm from the Yorozuya real estate agency next door. It seems you have some needs?"

The man frowned. "Odd Jobs Shop? Never heard of it. I didn't call a middleman."

"It's like this," Zhou Ming said calmly, "I sensed a very strong 'signal' emanating from the jade pendant in your hand, like it's communicating with some martial arts world? Friend, illegal travel is very risky; one wrong move and you're gone. I have a safer channel; would you like to learn more?"

The man's pupils suddenly contracted.

He looked Zhou Ming up and down several times, finally opening the door just enough for one person to pass through: "Come in."

The room was small, containing only a bed and a table. On the table were various talismans and several tattered copies of martial arts manuals. The man carefully placed the jade pendant on the table, sat down on the edge of the bed, crossed his arms, and stared at Zhou Ming.

"How did you figure that out?" he asked. "This jade pendant is a 'transfer talisman' I bought at a high price on the black market. It can connect to a world called 'The Condor Heroes' remotely. But that connection is extremely unstable; I can only transmit a weak amount of mental energy there, and at most, I can only exchange a few words before the connection is lost."

Zhou Ming glanced at Xiao Qi, who was hovering beside his shoulder and visible only to him. Xiao Qi quickly checked the data and typed a line on the screen: [Jade pendant quality is substandard, connection efficiency is 12%, effective communication time is approximately 15 seconds per session, and it consumes a great deal of mental energy.]

"Your talisman, the call duration is no more than twenty seconds, right?" Zhou Ming said calmly, "and you need to rest for several days after each use."

The man's expression changed: "What are you doing...?"

"I'm a professional." Zhou Ming pulled up a chair and sat down. "Tell me, what do you want to contact them for? My connections are stable, and I can transport goods back and forth. As long as the business is reasonable, the fees are fair."

The man was silent for a moment, as if trying to determine whether Zhou Ming was a fraud. Finally, he pulled a photo from under his pillow and handed it to him.

The photo shows a five- or six-year-old girl wearing a faded floral dress, with two pigtails, smiling at the camera with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"My daughter," the man's voice was hoarse, "contracted a strange illness three years ago. Modern medicine is useless, and we can't afford the elixirs from the cultivation world. But I heard that in the world of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes,' there's a place called 'Valley of Heartbreak,' which produces a kind of 'Love Flower.' The flower's stamen can be used as medicine to cure her illness. I'd like to contact the people there to help me gather some and send it over."

He gave a wry smile as he said this: "But I couldn't even get a complete sentence through. I sent out 'plea for medicine' messages for months, but they couldn't understand a word I said."

Looking at the smiling face of the little girl in the photo, Zhou Ming felt a gentle pang in his heart.

He turned to look at Xiao Qi.

Xiaoqi crossed her arms, and a task panel popped up on the screen:

[Available Quest: Purchase Love Flowers in the Valley of Heartbreak, Divine Realm]

[Mission Difficulty: D-level]

Estimated commission: 5%-15% based on the transaction price.

[Customer Credit Assessment: C (Genuine Needs, No Fraud)]

[Accept? Yes/No]

Zhou Ming looked at the "no" sign and smiled.

He held out his hand: "My name is Zhou Ming. I'll take this order. What's your daughter's name?"

The man paused, his eyes suddenly reddening: "Xiaoyue. Her name is Xiaoyue."

"Okay." Zhou Ming stood up, patted the man on the shoulder, and said, "Wait for good news."

As they stepped out of the apartment building, the evening breeze carried the scent of everyday life. Xiao Qi floated beside him, asking curiously, "This job doesn't actually make much money, why are you so enthusiastic?"

Zhou Ming put his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky, which was dyed orange-red by the sunset.

"It's the first order, just building up my reputation." He paused, then added, "Besides, that girl looks a lot like someone I knew in my past life. Anyway, let's not talk about that."

"Where do we go now?"

"Back to the office." Zhou Ming strode forward. "First, we need to figure out what exactly this 'Condor Heroes' world is, then plan what to bring on our first 'business trip.'"

The corners of his mouth turned up.

All the heavens and myriad worlds, right?

Lao Tzu is here.

Xiao Qi rolled her eyes behind him and muttered under her breath, "Tch, pretty hot-blooded. But..." She looked at Zhou Ming's retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips, "He's a bit better than the previous host."

The evening breeze carried her voice across the street.

Meanwhile, behind the mottled wall of Zhou Ming's office, an invisible ripple quietly spread—it was the first time the "Intermediary System of All Heavens" was activated, and it was captured by an "eye" hidden in the shadows.

But Zhou Ming didn't know that yet.

Right now, all he can think about is how to win over that lover.