Lin Yu walked down the street, watching the people around him. He saw men and women holding each other and kissing. He saw all kinds of couples. He even saw a man dressed as a woman. He felt amazed by this free and open country.
"That is just too much for my eyes," Lin Yu said to himself. At that moment, he passed two men who were kissing very passionately. Their bodies were large and strong. The scene was so intense that he could not bear to look. He quickly walked faster to get away from them.
The year in this world was 2014. This was different from the Iron Man movie timeline Lin Yu remembered. So, he did not know which version of the X-Men he would find at the Xavier school. Even though the timeline was different from the movies he knew, the main events seemed to be the same. The story of Iron Man had happened just as he remembered it, only the timing was off.
He wondered which number this Marvel universe had.
Boom! Boom! Tat-tat-tat-tat! Chug-chug-chug!
Just as Lin Yu was looking at a small food shop by the road, thinking about buying more snacks before going to the Xavier school, a loud noise of crashing cars and rapid gunfire erupted.
Lin Yu looked towards the high bridge where the sound came from. His eyes were much stronger than a normal person's. Even though the bridge was far away, he could see everything clearly. On the bridge, two groups of people were shooting at each other. One group had over a dozen people, all shooting at a single man in a red suit.
"Deadpool? Is that him?"
He saw a very familiar figure. The man in the red suit was the one some people called the Merc with a Mouth.
Lin Yu saw Deadpool get shot in the backside by a bullet. Deadpool fell to the ground with a yell. The man who shot him started walking closer, but Deadpool quickly lifted his own gun and shot the man in the head before he could get near.
"It really is him. And this scene... this must be the timeline for the first 'Deadpool' movie," Lin Yu said, rubbing his chin as he thought.
Deadpool was a unique person in the Marvel universe. He was the only one who knew he was a character in stories. He lived as if he was the only one awake while everyone else was asleep.
The question of whether he himself was a fictional character was something Lin Yu had thought about many times during the last year in his old universe.
He remembered how a normal person, like a nerdy fan, might suddenly get a special power or a system. Then that person would start a new, amazing life. That was how many stories began. Well, he himself might be the main character of a story where he was all-powerful. He did not need to go through the usual steps of getting stronger and training.
Was he also a fictional character?
Maybe he was the main character of a book?
Perhaps the book was even named after him, like "The Probability Control System."
This problem had made Lin Yu feel very confused for a while. But his system had given him a clear and logical explanation.
[ The universe is endless ]
the system had said [ The possibilities are also endless. Any idea a person has, anything that seems impossible, might be happening right now in one universe, or even in countless similar universes. All the characters from movies, comics, and books, including all the main characters, truly exist. Whether an author writes about them or not, they are real. Telling them that someone is writing their stories might make them think they are only fictional. This would make them confused, like Deadpool is. It is pointless for them to try and find the so-called real world. ]
[ To be strict, they are always in a book, no matter how real the author makes their world seem. But you could also say they are never in a book. They might not realize that their existence is absolutely real. There are countless versions of them, all existing in the endless universe. The authors are just lucky to write down the story of one of those countless possibilities. ]
[ Also, the authors who write about them are not the only ones. The universe is infinite. Countless authors are writing stories about countless different main characters. But the story of one main character, one of his possible lives, might be written by many authors at the same time. Or, many authors might be writing about the many different lives of that one main character. ]
[ Whether an author writes about them or not, they are still real. It does not change anything for them to know they are in a story or that someone is writing about them. ]
[ The same is true for you, host, and for this system. We might be living in a book. But everyone in the infinite universe, including us, might also be watched by a being from a higher dimension. ]
[ But even if you knew which book you were really in, what would it matter if you were being written about? Is not the author of that book also being written by a higher-dimensional 'author'? ]
[ And who can be sure? Maybe the brain waves of the so-called authors just happened to connect with the universe where the so-called fictional characters live. Maybe the authors just wrote down the stories that were already happening. ]
"Writing an infinite universe? Then who wrote the universe where the person writing the infinite universe lives?"
"Creating infinite universes with a single thought? Then who created the universe where the person who creates infinite universes with a thought lives?"
''If there is a God, who created God? Who created the humans who created the idea of God?"
[ You, host, are not the only one. There can be an infinite number of hosts named Lin Yu. There are an infinite number of hosts named Lin Yu who have this system. Many of those hosts have probably searched for the so-called truth. But it might not mean anything at all. You, host, do not really need to care so much. ]
After the system finished speaking, Lin Yu was quiet for a long time. Then, he finally felt better.
So what if he went to the world of the so-called author?
This was a path that had no end. He did not need to worry about it too much. At least, not now. Maybe one day in the future, he would start a journey to find the truth of the universe. But that day was not today.
"I think, therefore I am. At least he knew he was alive. He could live a happy life. That was enough for now."
Lin Yu had all these thoughts in just a few seconds. When his mind returned to the present, he saw Deadpool on the bridge far away. Deadpool used his last bullet to shoot three enemies who were standing in a straight line.
"Why think so much? Being happy is the most important thing," Lin Yu said. He shook his head, letting all the heavy thoughts go. A calm smile returned to his face. He entered his super speed state and ran towards the bridge where Deadpool was fighting.
"Get out here, Francis!" Deadpool yelled.
He was jumping around like a child, looking for his main target, a man named Francis. He ran to a car where he thought Francis was hiding, but the car was empty. He cursed in anger.
Just then, a man who should have been shot in the head stood up shakily. He had been at the back of the line earlier. Maybe the bullet had gone through the heads of the two men in front of him, so it had lost most of its power. It did not go through his skull. It only got stuck a little in his forehead.
"Oh, come on!" Deadpool said, turning his head with a crazy look. "You are not him."
The man used his fingers to pull the bullet out of his forehead. He then rolled up his sleeves, showing his arms. He pulled out two sharp knives. He looked ready to fight Deadpool one on one.
"Why did you work so hard to roll up your sleeves?" Deadpool said, sounding annoyed. He quickly pulled out the two long knives from his back. He stabbed the man as he ran forward. The force lifted the man into the air.
"You are probably thinking," Deadpool said, talking to no one anyone else could see, "my friend told me this is a superhero movie. I already agreed to watch it, and now this guy is doing all this."
"I am super, sure. But I am not a hero. Yes, to be strict, this is murder. But some great love stories start with a person getting killed. And this is a love story. To explain it, we have to go back in time. Back to before I put on this red suit."
"Hello, Deadpool," a voice said from behind him.
Deadpool, who was talking to the air, stopped. He turned his head and saw a young Asian man standing there. The man had a friendly smile on his face. He was looking at Deadpool, but his eyes seemed to glance every now and then towards the spot on Deadpool's suit where he had been shot.
"Aren't you tired of holding him up like that?" Lin Yu asked. He tried very hard not to look directly at the bullet wound on Deadpool's backside. He tried to keep himself from laughing