In the southern part of Chula Vista City, California, just a stone's throw away from the border wall with Tijuana, Mexico.
The basement of a solitary old house was brightly lit, with two men slumped against the wall.
The middle-aged man was covered in blood and emitted a faint odor.
Across from him, a young man covered in wounds leaned against the wall, his right hand gripping a Glock pistol, while his left hand tightly held a blood-stained parchment. His head tilted to the right, and his pupils dilated slowly, with his breath becoming barely audible.
Suddenly, his drooping head jerked up, and he started gasping for breath.
The parchment emitted a beam of light, entering the young man's mind.
His wounds quickly healed.
Ronan woke up from the darkness!
......
Without hesitation, he raised the barrel of the gun, scanning the basement to ensure temporary safety. Ronan skillfully removed the magazine, finding it filled with multiple rounds.
He looked at the middle-aged man across from him, noticing signs of decomposition on his arms and face.
Furrowing his brow, Ronan realized that he was in northern Myanmar just moments ago.
Due to betrayal by an insider, his identity was compromised, and a gun was pressed against his head...
Suddenly, Ronan's head throbbed with pain, and a myriad of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind.
These were the life experiences of an American man named Ronan.
He was born in Nida, grew up in San Diego, received a rough education, struggled in the lower echelons of society, spoke both English and Spanish, and from the age of around ten, he lived with his father making a living near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The middle-aged man, nicknamed "Hound," was Ronan's father.
Since they refused to get involved with drugs and were reluctant to join any gang, they didn't do well in the criminal world, usually taking on some private commissions to earn a living.
Recently, they discovered an ancient underground passage built by Prohibition-era bootleggers in a hidden corner of the city. It led directly to Tijuana, so they accepted a commission from a major client in Los Angeles to use the passage to infiltrate Tijuana and retrieve a parchment belonging to the Mexican crime boss, Garcia, from his private residence.
Just yesterday, after they returned, they were pursued by the local Moros gang supported by Garcia's group. Both of them got injured and sought refuge here.
However, Ronan and his father, Hound, didn't make it through.
The Ronan who originally died in northern Myanmar had somehow come to life in the body of the American Ronan.
Was this a transmigration?!
After a long time, the memories of an American life merged into Ronan's own memories.
Now it was winter 2003, in the city of Chula Vista, which belonged to San Diego County in California, not far south from Tijuana.
One of the strongholds of Mexican traffickers.
Ronan further sorted through his memories. This world was different from the previous one. For example, there was no Landston or Bush; the current White House leader was named Thomas, and the world's richest man was not Bill Gates, and so on...
However, there were also similarities, such as 9/11, the chaos in the Middle East, and the five major rogue states...
There were also things he couldn't compare with the original world, such as the super chaos at the US-Mexico border, as he had never been to the US before.
Was this a parallel world?
Ronan couldn't comprehend the complex theories of time and space and could only understand it this way.
Now, he was Ronan, and Ronan was him.
The things his predecessor experienced were bound to fall on him.
The pursuit by the Morales gang, supported by Garcia, would not stop, as the parchment was vital to Garcia.
Father and son ended up in such a predicament because of that parchment.
Oh right, where is the book?
Just as Ronan raised this question, a golden light flashed before him, and a nearly transparent book appeared. On the cover was a line of text that he couldn't recognize but could understand—Book of Dominion!
Even transmigration had occurred, so Ronan found it not too difficult to accept this strange book.
As he thought of opening the cover, the page turned automatically without him raising a hand.
Controlled by thoughts?
There were words on the left page.
Activation condition: Born from death, two spirits merge into one, one spirit dominates, activated!
Talents activated:
Spiritual Vision: Perceive the souls of intelligent beings and deceased creatures. Mentally invoke to activate or deactivate.
Soul Absorption: Extract the souls of deceased intelligent beings with your hand, creating soul fragments stored in the Book of Dominion. There is a certain chance of obtaining special outstanding abilities and a few memory fragments from their lifetime. Note: Soul fragments are crucial media in this system!
Soul Gate: Consume the soul fragments of the ancient beings and a large number of soul fragments to randomly open gates leading to other worlds.
Having read this, Ronan's first thought was to verify it and mentally invoked the Spiritual Vision.
Above the corpse of the middle-aged man, a vague red halo appeared!
A person educated with materialism couldn't help but be curious.
Ronan subconsciously wanted to touch the red halo. As his left hand rose, the red halo turned into a red light and penetrated into his hand from a distance.
Information flashed in his mind.
Soul Fragment +1.
Ability obtained: Sharpshooting of a veteran—Vietnam War veteran's combat experience and shooting skills honed over many years.
Ronan gripped the gun in his right hand, feeling a brand-new sensation; the gun felt like an old friend. He had undergone strict training in his original world, and the American Ronan had also been trained by Hound.
Now, with decades of experience and skills from an experienced shooter, Ronan's understanding of marksmanship deepened.
Thinking about soul fragments, he saw an additional red dot on the Book of Dominion. As he touched it with his left hand, he obtained a deep red crystal the size of a fingernail.
Releasing his hand, the crystal returned to the page, shrinking into a red dot.
Ronan looked at the middle-aged man's corpse and silently said, "When I have the chance, I will avenge you."
The one who shot the middle-aged man was the big demon Padi of the Morales gang.
He deactivated the Spiritual Vision and looked again at the page. He had a feeling that this world might be more complicated and dangerous.
He continued reading.
Prompt: Your soul does not belong to this world and is rejected by the world's rules. If you cannot ascend to the Predator within ten days and truly master the Book of Dominion, your soul will disintegrate and dissipate.
Ronan couldn't help but furrow his brow. Only ten days?
Upon careful sensing, he indeed felt that something was amiss; it seemed like a force was repelling him and squeezing him.
This world seemed unwelcoming to him as an otherworldly guest.
Time was running out!
Tier 1: Predator.
Promotion method: To become a qualified Predator, one must master hunting skills and strategies, initiate a life-and-death battle between two armed groups with a third party involved, and place twenty soul fragments on their chest during the battle to catalyze absorption using the aura of slaughter.
Must become a Predator within ten days!
Since he was born from death, even if it was not his original world, Ronan wanted to live well!
If he could return to his original world, it would be even better.
After all, his parents were still there, and he had not fulfilled his filial duties.
Ronan looked at the previous line again.
Soul Gate: Consume the soul fragments of the ancient beings and a large number of regular soul fragments to randomly open gates leading to other worlds.
Was it possible to find the original world?
What were the ancient beings?
After finishing this page, Ronan wanted to turn the page; there were clearly many more pages behind.
A new prompt appeared on the book: To view the abilities after promotion, one must become a Predator.
Ronan tried several times but couldn't open it, so he closed the book. The book disappeared automatically but reappeared when he mentally invoked the Book of Dominion.
It was simple and convenient to operate.
This Book of Dominion gave him some hope to establish himself in this world.
The premise was to become a Predator within ten days!
Promotion required a special occasion and soul fragments!
He needed to find a solution as soon as possible!
Ronan further sorted through his memories, and the situation was not favorable.
Following his habitual way of thinking, he listed various unfavorable conditions.
First was the book.
The local Morales gang supported by Garcia, the previous owner of the parchment, was ruthless and would not only try to retrieve the book but also resort to killing as punishment.
If he appeared in front of the Morales gang and related individuals, he would inevitably attract pursuit.
Next was the ancient underground passage.
The length of the passage was astonishing, allowing one to bypass the US-Mexico border patrol zone and key monitoring areas, making it a golden passage.
After discovering the passage, Father and son had contacted the local African-American gang, Carter Investment Company. They provided a real-time video of the passage, and the leader of the Carter gang, Jim Carter, had a history with Hound and was interested in having a stable business channel, making him very interested in the passage.
The Morales gang controlled the traditional white business channels and was a direct competitor to the Carter gang, leading to multiple conflicts between them.
This could possibly be used to his advantage.
Then there was money.
Few Americans had a savings habit, especially those on the margins, who would typically earn a sum and spend it extravagantly.
The down payment from the Los Angeles major client had been spent.
In modern society, it's difficult to go far without money.
Based on his situation, Ronan formulated his goals.
The most urgent one was to become a Predator within the ten-day time frame!
At the same time, he had to escape the pursuit of the Morales gang.
Only by surviving did he have a chance to consider the long term.
Ronan thought of the Book of Dominion; this world might not be ordinary.
Therefore, the most important thing was to become stronger.
The Book of Dominion had many pages, providing immense development potential; being a Tier 1 Predator was not the end.
If he had the abilities of a super agent from a movie, he wouldn't have suffered and died in northern Myanmar; at the very least, he could have taken some people down with him.
After dying once, he realized that in critical moments, he could only rely on himself.
If this world had extraordinary individuals, he wanted to become one of them.
Ronan searched the basement and found a Nokia brick phone, a fully loaded magazine, a large bunch of keys, and scattered almost three hundred dollars.
After briefly familiarizing himself with the gun, Ronan covered the middle-aged man with a cloth; with his current situation uncertain, this was the best he could do for now.
He opened the basement door, gripping the gun with both hands in a standard posture, and ascended slowly.
On top, there was a messy storage room. Ronan went through the storage room and entered the kitchen, then proceeded to inspect each room, including the living room and bedrooms, to ensure the house was empty.
The house was not large, and the floor and furniture were covered in dust.
This was the safe house prepared by the middle-aged man, Hound.
Ronan approached the washstand, took off his blood-stained shirt, washed away the stains from his body and face, and looked at the mirror.
Black hair, brown eyes, about 1.85 meters tall, well-built with distinct muscular lines.
Ronan felt something and mentally invoked the Book of Dominion. Once again, he saw the nearly transparent book, but it did not appear in the mirror.
"The Book of Dominion exists only within my field of vision?"
Ronan found a shirt, jeans, and a dark coat from the wardrobe, changed into them, and burned his old clothes in the kitchen. After carefully cleaning up the house, he sealed the basement.
After considering all the unfavorable conditions and his plan's objectives, he had an idea.
To become a Predator, he needed to create a war between two criminal forces.
The Carter gang and the Morales gang were typical border gangs between the US and Mexico and had clashed multiple times over business disputes.
Instead of rushing outside, Ronan took out his handgun and further familiarized himself with firearms, combining it with the sharpshooting skills he acquired as a veteran, trying to integrate those experiences and techniques.
As he worked until his stomach growled, Ronan had a simple meal with some stored biscuits. He then took out his phone and found Jim Carter's number, giving him a call.
Then, he put on a baseball cap, a common sight among Americans, opened the door, and prepared to face this entirely new world.
Avoiding wasn't the solution.
---
The content of the book will involve Hollywood movie plots, but most have been significantly modified to fit into the background of the protagonist's world. For those who haven't seen the related movies, there won't be any reading obstacles.
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