Worldbuilding
[Core Premise]
This is an era of interstellar integration. Humanity has colonized 3,600 planets and formed the Star Federation. The entertainment industry has become the most lucrative economic pillar in the universe. Among its top franchises is the dating reality show Heart Signal: Interstellar Edition, which spans twelve star regions and draws fifty billion live viewers per episode. The economy generated by tips, votes, and predictions rivals the annual output of a resource-rich planet.
The protagonist, Cen Jiyao, was once a star operative in the Quick Transmigration Bureau. After journeying through 99,999 worlds, he had maxed out his skill tree so completely that even his System couldn't hold it all. His bound System is called Xiaoman, a chatty, food-loving intelligent lifeform that can take physical form as a cat. When the Quick Transmigration Bureau's Systems underwent an upgrade and maintenance, Cen Jiyao was temporarily exiled to this world for a vacation. By a twist of fate, he was selected as an amateur contestant for the seventh season of Heart Signal: Interstellar Edition.
The other male lead, Gu Xianqing, appears on the show as a guest host, but is actually the youngest interstellar marshal in the Star Federation. He's gone undercover on the show to investigate a case of interstellar smuggling. He's cold, meticulous, and astonishingly powerful, but after meeting Cen Jiyao, he keeps losing his composure.
The show's rules have been drastically altered by the System: every time Cen Jiyao earns a contestant's favor, he unlocks a god-tier skill from one of his past lives; every time he completes a romantic mission, his System shop levels up. Gu Xianqing's mission is to identify the members of a smuggling ring hiding among the contestants.
The fifty contestants appear in groups, representing different star regions, species, and professions. They include a former interstellar pirate turned rapper, a rebellious holy son from the Mechanical Church, an archaeologist who returned from the edge of a black hole, and a silicon-based lifeform who can read minds. Each arrives with secrets of their own, all meeting on a dating show.
Theme: The future may be unknown and unpredictable, but people's emotional needs remain unchanged throughout the ages.
Surviving on an Alien Star
The Age of Star Insects: Record of the Returning Ruins Sword
Weichen Office
The Black Dregs Continent
Chronicles of Dust and Dao
The Gallows Greenhouse
Dawn in the Rust Belt
Europa
The Language of Ghosts
The Darkness Invades
A Brief History of Gu He
A Scholar Without Borders