Chapter 001: The Miraculous Treasure Cave

A long, long time ago—as for exactly how long ago, Wang Bo wasn't too sure either.

Anyway, it was a long, long time ago.

In the Arabian desert there was a beautiful kingdom called "Agrabah." Under the rule of the Sultan, the people lived in peace and contentment, leading harmonious and tranquil lives.

The Sultan's grand vizier, Jafar, was consumed by ambition. Unwilling to remain subservient, he schemed relentlessly to usurp the Sultan's throne.

Although Jafar was a sorcerer, his powers were rather mediocre, and he could not seize the Sultan's throne by himself, so he thought of a plan.

Legend has it that in the Arabian Desert, there is a magic lamp that can grant wishes.

As long as one finds the magic lamp and summons the genie within, the genie of the lamp will grant that person three wishes.

Legend has it that the genie of the magic lamp possesses boundless power and can grant any wish whatsoever.

So Jiafang racked his brains, searching everywhere for the legendary magic lamp that could grant wishes.

Heaven rewards the persevering.

After tireless effort, Jia Fang finally found the whereabouts of the magic lamp; it turned out to be in the Arabian Desert, inside a place called the Cave of Wonders.

Having found this clue, Jia Fang was beside himself with joy.

Then, he was replaced by Wang Bo.

...

Wang Bo spent a tiny bit of time, and after accepting the information in his mind, he quickly confirmed the world he was in.

The world of Aladdin!

And it's the Hollywood version of Aladdin, though I don't know if it's the animated version or the live-action one.

But it doesn't matter; after all, the animated and live-action versions aren't really that different, and they might even be the same world.

The reason Wang Bo is so certain is because of Jia Fang's task.

Because in the original Aladdin story, the main villain was not Jafar at all, but a magician from the Maghreb, who pretended to be Aladdin's uncle and played heavily on their emotional bond.

He used Aladdin to retrieve a magical oil lamp from a trap-laden cave.

After Aladdin was trapped in the cave, he begged the magician for help. The magician wanted Aladdin to hand over the oil lamp, but Aladdin insisted that the magician rescue him first before he would give up the lamp.

The magician, thinking that Aladdin had discovered the secret of the lamp, trapped Aladdin inside the cave.

Fortunately, Aladdin still had a magic ring that the magician had lent him. In despair, he rubbed his hands together, accidentally rubbing the ring and summoning a genie.

This genie also brought him home, and Aladdin brought back the oil lamp.

Just as his mother was about to clean the oil lamp, the lamp suddenly burst forth a more powerful genie, ready to await its master's commands.

With the genie's help, Aladdin became rich and powerful, and eventually married the princess. The genie also built a magnificent palace for Aladdin, even more splendid than the emperor's palace.

In this version, there is no Jafar.

In the original story, Aladdin was not an Arab or a Persian at all, but a Chinese—and a Chinese from the Tang dynasty period.

However, in the version Wang Bo now finds himself in, there are huge differences from the original. Many characters have been given new names; for example, the sorcerer has been renamed "Jafar" and is now a minister in the court.

Characters have new dramatic objectives: the Genie of the Lamp yearns for freedom, the Ring Genie vanishes, and a magic carpet takes its place. The story's setting shifts from China to the Arabian city of Agrabah.

But Wang Bo never expected that he would actually replace Jia Fang.

In the previous two worlds, Wang Bo had only replaced passersby who didn't appear in the plot.

But this time, what was replaced was actually the biggest villain in the plot.

This made Wang Bo exclaim in disbelief.

So Wang Bo contacted his cheat and asked if he had done it on purpose.

"Don't worry, Host. The characters you replace are all random—I didn't interfere. Replacing a major villain isn't some outrageous move. Who knows, next time you might even replace the protagonist."

Wang Bo: ...

"Alright, Host, no need for more idle chatter. Get to work quickly; I look forward to the new surprises you can bring me."

What else could Wang Bo say.

After the cheat artifact cut off contact, Wang Bo began to observe his surroundings.

He discovered that the current time was around ten to eleven o'clock in the morning, and the place he was in was a room filled with books and all sorts of curious objects.

Wang Bo casually picked up a book lying on the table. The text clearly recorded the legend of the Cave of Wonders, but did not record its location.

Wang Bo searched through the information left by Jia Fang and found that Jia Fang had already determined the location of the Cave of Wonders through various legends; it was not far from Agrabah.

It only takes a few days' journey to reach the Cave of Wonders.

If Wang Bo went at full speed, he could reach the Cave of Wonders in less than a day.

However, Wang Bo remembered that only those with a heart like a gem could enter the Cave of Wonders, and only by resisting all temptation could one obtain the magic lamp.

And in all of Agrabah, it seemed only Aladdin possessed such ability.

It was precisely because Jafar lacked such ability that he had no choice but to seek out Aladdin, ultimately benefiting Aladdin.

But Wang Bo was confident that with his own strength and speed, even without Aladdin, he could smoothly obtain the magic lamp.

In the story, the Genie of the Lamp is the most powerful spirit in this world, nearly omnipotent except for being unable to control human hearts. So Wang Bo suddenly had an idea.

Since the magic lamp genie is so powerful, can it grant Wang Bo the ability to travel between worlds?

If that were possible, wouldn't Wang Bo be able to travel between worlds at will, return to the world of Di Renjie, and find Hanyue and Yushu?

For a moment, Wang Bo's heart pounded violently.

Hmm, this sort of thing is worth a try.

As for whether the genie of the lamp could not do this, that could only be known by trying.

So Wang Bo tossed aside the book in his hand, turned and left the room. He decided to depart Agrabah now and set out for the Cave of Wonders.

Wang Bo left the room and walked along the resplendent corridor. This was the palace of Agrabah, the residence of His Majesty the Sultan, the king of Agrabah.

Only those permitted by the Sultan may reside here.

And Jafar, as the Sultan's vizier and the second most powerful figure in Agrabah, had long since taken up residence in the palace with the Sultan's permission, and had established a place for himself there.

It sounds almost unbelievable that a minister could actually reside within the palace.

However, although Agrabah is a country, it is in fact nothing more than a prosperous city; the domain and subjects of the Sultan, its king, are simply this city.

This situation seems to be very common in the Arabian desert.