The System probably never expected to encounter such a character.
Here was someone with a System, a golden ticket, and he was still fixated on a bit of cash. Where was the ambition?
It wasn't that Ryan—now Alex Thorne—lacked ambition.
He'd had plenty of that when he was younger. It just got beaten out of him a few years after graduation.
Dreams? Ideals?
Those two things were incredible… at keeping you poor for your entire life!
Better to be a wealthy slacker!
"Isn't your dream to become a household name, an NBA star?" the System pressed.
"If I'm rich, I can buy an NBA team. I'll make NBA stars work for me!" Alex retorted.
"Don't you want to bring glory to your country?"
"If I hook up with enough girls, picking different nationalities, that's my kind of international diplomacy! Glory all around!"
You little punk!
The System was so mad it was about to curse. How did it end up with such a shameless jerk!
"Don't you... don't you want to go back?" the System asked, a hint of desperation in its tone.
Go back?
Alex Thorne stopped in his tracks. He turned his head as if he could actually see the System. "I can go back?"
"Yes. As long as you can continuously increase your popularity, you can return. With your money, with your abilities, you can go back."
Hearing this, Alex Thorne found a place to sit down.
He mulled it over for a good minute before finally asking, "Alright, tell me what kind of crappy functions you have."
He'd wrestled with it for a while, realizing deep down that he did want to go back.
That other world was his home, where his friends and family were.
Maybe he could ignore it for a short time, but eventually, he'd miss the people and things there.
And if he could make a fortune in this world, gain some awesome abilities, then go back and show off… that wouldn't be bad at all.
The thought of his parents' dumbfounded expressions filled him with a sense of satisfaction, a grin spreading across his face that was harder to suppress than an AK-47's recoil.
"It's just as you understand it," the System explained. "You need to play a role in this world, make an appearance as a character, and then gain popularity. Popularity Value is equivalent to how well-liked the character you portray is."
"Popularity Value can unlock abilities and can also be used for the gacha—or 'prize draws,' if you prefer. Simple enough for your intellect to grasp, right?"
Yeah, I get it, Alex thought, but I also get the feeling you're throwing shade at me.
He now understood the System's functions and how to acquire Popularity Value.
But there was one more thing he needed to know.
"Which anime world is this?"
"Kuroko's Basketball."
Oh, that one...
Instantly, images of a bunch of technicolor-haired basketball freaks flashed through Alex's mind.
He loved sports anime. Captain Tsubasa, The Prince of Tennis, Touch (the baseball one) – he'd watched every single episode of them.
But if he had to pick his favorites, it would definitely be Slam Dunk and Kuroko's Basketball.
No particular reason, other than he'd never actually played soccer, tennis, or baseball.
Only basketball. He'd been playing it since elementary school, with his friends.
Back in 2002, when Yao Ming became the first Chinese NBA draft pick, it completely ignited the passion for basketball in his home country.
Countless young people rushed to the courts to play. Back then, talking about the NBA was the cool thing to do.
If you didn't, if you couldn't name a few star players, you were totally out of the loop.
You could say that in China at that time, even if you didn't watch the games, you had to watch the sports news at night, or you wouldn't have anything to brag about with your friends the next day.
They were all just little kids, but every one of them talked like they were seasoned basketball analysts!
He even remembered how old internet forums used to be full of actual experts, unlike now, where it was all clueless newbies.
So...
He was very familiar with Kuroko's Basketball.
A fantastical story centered around a young man with not much basketball talent, who teams up with his buddies to take down boss-level opponents.
The main characters were few: the protagonist team from Seirin High, and the Generation of Miracles, whose popularity was sky-high, even surpassing the protagonist's.
"What stage are we at now? How old are Kuroko and the others?"
"Same age as you."
"How old am I?"
"You can check your information. I've already prepared it for you."
Information?
A data panel suddenly appeared before Alex Thorne's eyes. He tapped it open and saw his detailed information.
Name: Alex Thorne (Originally: 天道景严 - Tiandao Jingyan)
Sex: Male
Age: 12
Height: 174 cm (approx. 5'8.5")
Weight: 55 kg (approx. 121 lbs)
Only 12 years old...
174 cm at 12? That's pretty tall for a kid here in Japan!
Oh well.
"From today onwards, I'll be Alex Thorne!"
Ryan—no, Alex Thorne, as he should be called now—spent the whole morning coming to terms with this.
By the time he had sorted out his emotions and reappeared, he was already wearing a pair of sunglasses identical to Gojo Satoru's.
Since he had to act, he might as well give himself a captivating persona.
No need to overthink it; Gojo Satoru was a ready-made popular character he could use.
Handsome, arrogant, a bit unhinged, but deeply caring towards those around him, especially his "students," whom he treated like his own children.
It was just that the manga's ending kind of wrecked his character, though, triggering a lot of fans who then pretty much wanted to hunt down the author.
But no matter, he wouldn't mess it up!
Of course, to truly play Gojo Satoru, he was missing the most important thing:
Absolute power!
"There's some starting capital, right?"
"What starting capital?"
"A newbie gift pack!" Alex Thorne tilted his head, looking at the system's virtual avatar: a small, white, bobtailed cat.
The System finally caught on and immediately chimed.
"Ding! Newbie Welfare Gift Pack has been distributed!"
"[Curse King Sukuna's Cursed Techniqueの一つ (Hitotsu - One of): Dismantle]!"
Are you even listening to what you're giving me? Alex thought incredulously.
A Gojo Satoru face, and you give me Sukuna's moves? Do you genuinely not know how Gojo died?
Alex Thorne clicked on the skill description.
There was no description, just the single word: "Dismantle."
However, he knew that in a world like this, a real Cursed Technique couldn't possibly appear. This "Dismantle" couldn't go around actually slicing people up, nor could it kill anyone.
At the end of the day, this was a basketball anime!
He was here to play ball, not to be some midnight butcher!
"Alright then, let's head out. To Teiko!"
Alex Thorne cracked his neck and, under the covetous gazes of numerous women, strode off in the direction of Teiko Junior High.
It was called a "Popularity System," but he wasn't the protagonist of this show; Kuroko and the Generation of Miracles were.
The "camera" would be focused on those freaks over ninety percent of the time. If he wanted exposure, he'd have to piggyback off them.
"First, let me set a small goal for myself: become the most popular one among the five members of the Generation of Miracles."