From Demon Slayer to the Multiverse: The Ultimate Exploiter

"Breaking news! According to reliable sources, Jiang Gu, the famed adventurer and martial arts master from Dongxia, has been confirmed dead in the One Piece world. He was 53 years old…"

Tong Gu abruptly stopped in his tracks, yanked off his headphones in disbelief, and hurriedly searched for related news on his phone. The browser's interface had turned monochrome, and reports about Jiang Gu's death were flooding in.

"It's true... That old man... He's really gone." Tong Gu tilted his head back, hearing faint sobs rising from the crowd around him.

Two centuries ago, on an otherwise ordinary day, countless massive portals appeared suddenly across Earth, heralding the beginning of the unavoidable Game of Fate.

At the age of 18, every person is required to enter one of these portals for their first trial in the Game of Fate. They are transported to fantastical and often dangerous worlds, tasked with perilous missions. Success brings rewards; failure means death.

In a blink, human lives were reduced to cold, meaningless numbers. Within mere decades, the global population had plummeted by 70%. Governments worldwide scrambled to adapt, promoting childbirth, overhauling education, and teaching children survival skills for these alien environments. Yet, no matter the efforts, humanity continued to bleed out, consumed by despair and the relentless trials.

Even for those who survived their first trial, the nightmare didn't end. Every month, they were forcibly sent to complete another mission. Survival was fleeting, death always looming. The oppressive despair often eclipsed the dangers of the game itself, leaving many unwilling to have children or even to try.

Suicides soared, self-destruction ran rampant, and many abandoned themselves to hopelessness. Left unchecked, humanity seemed destined for extinction.

And yet, in the depths of despair, heroes emerged.

Over the past century, a new breed of human had risen—shining beacons of hope in a dying world. These heroes faced the future with determination, honing their physical and mental prowess while collecting information about the worlds of the Game of Fate.

They completed missions, grew stronger step by step, and shared their lives with the public through livestreams and social media. Their courage inspired others to face the Game of Fate, to conquer it, and to challenge the idea of destiny itself.

Jiang Gu was one of the brightest of these heroes. Born in Dongxia, he excelled in traditional martial arts from a young age, demonstrating exceptional talent and keen insight. Through the Game of Fate, he discovered new possibilities, ultimately creating the renowned Gu Style Martial Arts, a revolutionary system that incorporated techniques he'd learned from various worlds.

Thanks to his contributions, ordinary people could now train in extraordinary martial arts, achieving superhuman physiques to better face the challenges of the Game of Fate.

It's no exaggeration to say that Jiang Gu's existence significantly increased humanity's chances of survival.

And now, this luminary had fallen in the Game of Fate. To the people of Dongxia, it felt as though a piece of their hearts had been ripped away. Even in neighboring nations like Nihon and Goryeo, where Dongxia's culture held great sway, a somber air of mourning hung heavy.

Tong Gu quietly listened to his music as he walked to Shancheng College. The campus, bathed in the orange hues of dusk, felt oppressively somber. For the students, all of whom were on the brink of their first Game of Fate trial, the news of Jiang Gu's death was nothing short of devastating.

The once-crowded training grounds were now eerily empty, and the few students he passed wore expressions of fear and unease.

Standing nearly 1.9 meters tall, Tong Gu cut an imposing figure in his brown trench coat. His powerful physique exuded an overwhelming sense of strength. Normally, underclassmen would approach him for advice on training, but today, not a single person greeted him.

Tong Gu removed his coat, revealing muscles sculpted like stone. Just as he was about to begin his daily workout, his phone buzzed with a series of notifications.

The first was from his bank:

"Dear valued customer, the account ending in 8823 has received a transfer of ¥3,000,000 from Dongxia Destiny Corporation. Note: 'Royalties.' Current balance: ¥4,520,800."

Tong Gu sighed. He knew the funds came from the guides he'd published on the Destiny Game Forum. Jiang Gu's death had heightened people's sense of crisis, leading to a surge in sales of his strategies. Yet, the money brought him no joy.

His forum app, now displaying "999+ unread messages," continued to flash incessantly. Tong Gu had a good idea of what awaited him.

Opening the app, he saw his inbox flooded with messages, some from acquaintances, most from strangers. A trending post titled "Dongxia's Hero Has Fallen—Where Is the Exploiter Kirigaya?" dominated the front page, with hundreds of thousands of replies pouring in by the second. Tong Gu clicked on it.

The post began:

"Just now, Dongxia's hero Jiang Gu passed away. After my initial grief, I couldn't help but wonder—why? Everyone knows Jiang Gu and the so-called Exploiter Kirigaya were long-term collaborators. Jiang Gu personally trained Kirigaya in exchange for the latter's intelligence on the Game of Fate.

But if Kirigaya truly provided such comprehensive information, how did Jiang Gu still fall in battle against that pirate?

Did the Exploiter Kirigaya withhold critical information, leading to Jiang Gu's death? Or is Kirigaya's so-called expertise in the Game of Fate worlds vastly overstated?"

The replies were a chaotic mix of outrage, conspiracy theories, and defenses from loyal fans. Some demanded Kirigaya take responsibility for Jiang Gu's death. Others questioned the authenticity of his information. This Kirigaya was none other than Tong Gu.

Tong Gu, known online as "The Exploiter," had built his reputation by selling detailed strategies for the Game of Fate. His insights, eerily precise and far-reaching, earned him a mythic status—like a beta tester with insider knowledge or a god-like cheat code.

Through his forum activities, Tong Gu amassed significant wealth and connections. Yet, wary of exposing his true identity, he declined recruitment offers from governments and corporations alike, instead using his riches to purchase genetic enhancements, fortifying his body for his inevitable trials.

For Tong Gu, survival was paramount. Wealth and power meant nothing if he couldn't endure the Game of Fate.

But now, his fame—or infamy—was working against him. Accusations flooded his inbox, ranging from venomous insults to pleas for clarification. Even familiar names from the forum were conspicuously silent, unwilling to risk their reputations by defending him.

Tong Gu silenced the app notifications and set his phone aside. Tomorrow at sunset, he would face his first Game of Fate trial—the Awakening Trial.

If he survived, he'd address the fallout. If he didn't, none of it would matter.

For now, he turned his focus to his training.

Tong Gu took his stance in the empty training field, practicing a meditative martial art inspired by Jiang Gu's studies in worlds like One Punch Man. Balancing strength and calm, he sought the elusive energy known as "qi."

Despite years of effort, Tong Gu had never succeeded in grasping the essence of qi. Jiang Gu had once speculated that Tong Gu's genetically enhanced body was too powerful, making it harder for him to achieve the delicate balance needed to sense qi.

Though frustrated, Tong Gu remained rational. He knew qi was only one of many potential paths to survival. His encyclopedic knowledge of anime-inspired worlds provided a wealth of alternatives—Naruto's taijutsu, One Piece's Haki, Hunter x Hunter's Nen, and more.

His priority was clear: find the world and abilities best suited for his survival. Survival came first; everything else could wait.