Chapter 1

Sun Weiwei had been paying attention to Li Jiayu, who was sleeping in the last row, for quite some time now.

This boy!

This terrible boy!

How dare he sleep on the desk while she and the class were discussing the class program "Love and Peace"?

At least others would give her some face, putting on a show, occasionally telling a few stories to evoke some tears...

But you, the only one, not only ignored everyone but also slept like a pig, and this was just the beginning of the second year!

"Li Jiayu, how much longer do you plan to be so absent-minded? Is my program that uninteresting to you? Do you have a problem with me? Is this how you treat the class president?"

Sun Weiwei's face turned red as she paced up to Li Jiayu, frowning, and questioned him.

"Who..."

Li Jiayu grunted, lifting his head lifelessly, like a piece of rotten wood. His expression was blank and devoid of any vitality, as if he had lost his soul.

Sun Weiwei felt a strange tremor in her heart. She had never seen someone's eyes look like a stagnant pool, so hollow and desolate, evoking a sense of utter despair. She thought of a word—utter hopelessness.

Like a poor soul about to die of thirst in the depths of the desert, or a critically ill patient with no hope of recovery, devoid of any sign of life.

"There's going to be a show."

The surrounding classmates became restless, whispering to each other—Sun Weiwei was known for her competitive nature, while Li Jiayu was known for his gentle and polite demeanor. Rumors had it that there was something going on between this pair of opposites.

Regardless of whether it was true or not, the onlookers were hoping for another intense conflict between the two, leading to a dramatic and entertaining scene.

Hearing the whispers, Sun Weiwei's face turned even redder, her ears burning. She bit her lip and glared at Li Jiayu for half a minute before shouting in anger:

"I'm talking to you! Get up!"

"That voice... that familiar voice, you... you are Sun... Sun Weiwei?" The desolation and confusion in Li Jiayu's eyes gradually turned into immense fear, as if he were immersed in an ice cellar.

"Weren't you already killed by the soul-devouring beast, your skull cracked open and your brain drained? No... my eyes, my eyes are already blind, so why can I still see things..."

He seemed to see something unbelievable, his face changing dramatically as he stood up abruptly, looking at Sun Weiwei, at his familiar classmates, at the desks and chairs, the walls and posters, the faded colors and old memories stirring a myriad of thoughts in Li Jiayu.

"Ha, pretending to have amnesia."

"Jiayu, don't play the amnesia card, it's outdated. Girls these days don't buy it..."

"Wait, what if it's not amnesia but a rebirth?"

"Idiot! You've been reading too many rebirth novels. There's no such thing as rebirth in this world."

The onlookers laughed, purely seeing Li Jiayu as someone trying to win a girl's attention in a new way.

Sun Weiwei, feeling both angry and embarrassed, glared at Li Jiayu with wide eyes and stomped her foot:

"Li Jiayu! Can't you be serious for once? Did you provoke me just to get my attention? Let me tell you, you're boring!"

"..."

Li Jiayu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start. He tried to listen to what the classmates were saying, but couldn't hear a word. It felt as if hundreds of thunderbolts were exploding in his mind, a chaotic mess of regret, remorse, and pain, almost suffocating him.

(Class meeting? Which class meeting?)

(That ironic "Love and Peace" opening ceremony class meeting?)

(I'm dead, so why am I still...?)

(Rebirth? No, not rebirth, it's a rebirth! Fate has heard my soul's cry, and I have been reborn! Back to the moment before the apocalypse, back to the starting point of all my regrets!)

(I can make up for those heart-wrenching regrets... I can protect those precious things that were once lost...)

(Fate is unpredictable. I might face a more arduous path, or I might not live as long as I did in my previous life, but at least... this time, I have a chance to turn things around!)

(Even if I bet everything on it...)

In his previous life, he was still naive, suffering many setbacks, blaming himself for being too soft and making the wrong friends. During the first school-wide evacuation, he was pushed into a vampire bug by a friend seeking to save his own life. Though he survived by a stroke of luck, he was severely weakened, almost becoming a dried-up corpse. Even after recovering, he fell behind others in the race for strength.

Because of his arrogance, he brought a colossal enemy to the demon-hunting team he once served. In a fit of rage, the entire team was massacred, with blood flowing like a river. His deeply respected team leader was flayed alive, executed by a thousand cuts, and fed to dogs.

He regretted not listening to his father's advice and going out alone to hunt giant bugs. He returned to his home, injured and on the brink of death. His father, to exchange for a bottle of healing fluid, volunteered to be transformed into a "bio-zombie," a puppet with only the instinct to kill...

Blinded by hatred, he failed to notice his sister's feelings, watching helplessly as she was taken away by a powerful figure. He thought she would find a safe and warm haven, but eventually heard the news of her suicide by wrist-cutting...

His cousin's wife, who had supported him silently, was dismembered by a mob because of him. Most of his former friends lived miserable lives, their fates unknown. The women he had been involved with were never heard from again...

The deep regrets and heart-wrenching sorrow made Li Jiayu regret endlessly, waking him from nightmares in the cold, bleak nights.

He had missed the opportunity to become a powerful warrior due to a broken tendon, the chance to become a flame dancer because of a debt, and the opportunity to inherit a large fortune for various reasons...

The world had changed, and the people he cared about were all gone. What remained were countless deep-seated grudges and irreconcilable enemies...

Li Jiayu remembered that in his previous life, he had nowhere to hide, pursued by insect and zombie races, and even by human forces. Isolated and helpless, his old injuries flared up, and he died alone in a dark, damp tree hollow.

No one knew that the wild summoner who had caused headaches for the major forces of the Heavenly Dynasty, the lowly village bandit, the notorious anti-human warlord, and the dark summoner who made significant contributions in resisting the insect and zombie invasions, had died at the young age of twenty-four, buried in an unnamed place...

Everything was about to be reshuffled!

A wave of bitterness and melancholy welled up in his heart, his nose tingling, his eyes brimming with tears. But Li Jiayu held back the trembling in his heart, took a deep breath, and calmed himself, smiling faintly:

"Sorry, I was just trying to make you laugh. I saw you actively participating in the class meeting and wanted to cheer you up. I didn't mean to upset you or cause a misunderstanding..."

It was still Li Jiayu's characteristic gentle voice, but for some reason, it sounded more substantial and resonant, less calm, and more uplifting, like the sound of metal clashing.

His smile was also subtly different from before, though Sun Weiwei couldn't quite pinpoint how. It was a very restrained, very light smile, different from the bright, handsome smiles of other boys.

Sun Weiwei liked to see Li Jiayu smile. She thought he looked very handsome when he smiled, even though he wasn't her boyfriend.

"Fine, since you apologized, I won't pursue it further. But you have to join the 'Youth Volunteer Association' and go out to distribute health flyers, do some volunteer work, and clean the streets on weekends. You have nothing better to do anyway." Sun Weiwei laid down her conditions, thinking that Li Jiayu wouldn't refuse a girl's request, especially hers.

"Youth Volunteer Association? Ha... You're just bored. I'm really sorry, but I might not have the time..."

Li Jiayu suddenly wiped away his smile, a faint sneer curling at the corner of his mouth, which felt like a knife to Sun Weiwei.

"Bored? How can you say that? Do you look down on the Youth Volunteers?"

Sun Weiwei felt a sudden panic, her eyebrows knitting together, her face pale as she angrily pointed at Li Jiayu.

The surrounding classmates also joined in, condemning Li Jiayu. After all, many of them were members of the "Youth Volunteer Association," and Li Jiayu had just called them bored.

The sneer on Li Jiayu's lips deepened, and he spoke faster:

"Youth Volunteers are based on an excess of labor, allowing you bored college students to vent your excess energy and satisfy your sense of honor... But when your lives are in constant danger, when you could be eaten by bugs or killed by your own companions, living a life worse than death, I doubt you'll remember this term..."

Li Jiayu took out his phone and checked the time—August 29, 2013, 4:32:39 PM.

"There's not much time left, less than a minute. It's too late to call your family... But since we're classmates, I'll tell you a bit more."

"Everyone has studied physics, so you should know that one dimension is a line, two dimensions are a plane, three dimensions are a solid, and four dimensions add a time axis... By extension, there are N-dimensional spaces in the universe, which explains the existence of different worlds and dimensions!"

"Rubbish! We know that! Don't beat around the bush..." Sun Weiwei wasn't about to be grateful, interrupting loudly.

"Let me finish!"

Li Jiayu shook his head, ignoring Sun Weiwei's interruptions, and dropped the first bomb:

"In half a minute, the Earth's surface will experience a shock, and countless tiny spatial rifts will appear. At the same time, a cosmic storm from another dimension will sweep over the Earth, causing massive changes in gravity, climate, and geography!"

Seeing the still confused and disbelieving faces of his classmates, Li Jiayu shook his head, a cold, bitter smile on his lips, and said in a low, solemn voice:

"You don't understand the terror of a cosmic storm. When it happens... most electronic devices and precision instruments will fail! In other words, human civilization and technology will suffer unprecedented damage. Your phones, computers, air conditioners, even the lights and massage sticks used by girls, 99.9% of the electrical appliances that are essential to your lives will be paralyzed. It will be a... primitive, dark, savage, and bloody end of human society!"

Li Jiayu's expression darkened, his bitter smile turning into a self-mocking one, his voice even lower, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"And this is just the beginning. Even more terrifying and fatal things will follow..."