Chapter 1

Sun Weiwei had been noticing Li Jiayu, who had been sleeping at the back of the classroom, for quite some time!

This boy!

This lousy boy!

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

At least the others would give her some face, putting on a show and occasionally telling a few stories to promote human warmth and shed a few tears...

But you, the only one, not only ignored everyone but also slept like a pig, and it's only the beginning of the second year!

"Li Jiayu, how long 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, her brows furrowed, and she demanded an answer.

"Who..."

Li Jiayu grunted, his head lifting 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 eyes that were like a stagnant pool, empty and exuding a desolate despair. She thought of a word—utter despair.

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 and domineering personality, 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 the rumors were true or not, the onlookers were hoping for another intense conflict between the two, leading to a melodramatic 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!"

"This voice... this familiar voice, you... you are Sun... Sun Weiwei?" The desolation and confusion in Li Jiayu's eyes were gradually replaced by 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 clearly blind, so why can I still see things..."

He seemed to see something unbelievable, his face changing drastically as he suddenly stood up from his chair, his expression filled with panic. He looked at Sun Weiwei, at the familiar classmates, at the desks, chairs, walls, and posters in the classroom. The mottled colors and faded memories stirred Li Jiayu's thoughts.

"Ha, pretending to have amnesia."

"Jiayu, don't play the amnesia card; it's outdated. Girls don't fall for that anymore..."

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

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

The surrounding classmates were amused, purely seeing Li Jiayu as someone trying to win a girl's affection in a new way.

Sun Weiwei was also furious, her eyes wide with anger as she glared at Li Jiayu 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?)

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

(Am I not dead? Why am I still here...)

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

(I can make up for the regrets that once made me weep, I can protect the most precious things that once perished...)

(Fate is unpredictable; perhaps I will walk a more rugged path, or perhaps I won't live as long as in my previous life, but at least... this time, I have a chance to turn things around!)

(Even if I bet everything I have...)

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 escape, he was pushed into the bloodsucking worms by a friend seeking to save his own life. Though he survived by a stroke of luck, he was severely injured, 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!

Regretting not heeding his father's advice, he went out alone to hunt giant insects, only to return to his home with severe injuries, barely alive. His father, to exchange a bottle of healing liquid for him, 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, and watched 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 silently supported him, was also brutally dismembered because of him; most of his former friends lived in misery, their fates unknown; the women he had once been involved with were never heard from again...

Full of regret and deep sorrow, Li Jiayu was haunted by nightmares, waking up in the cold and bleak nights.

He had a chance to become a powerful warrior but missed it due to a broken tendon; he had a chance to become a flame dancer but gave it away to repay a debt; he had a chance to inherit a large fortune but gave it up for various reasons...

The world had changed, and the people he cared about were all gone, leaving only deep-seated hatred 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, he ultimately 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 empire, the lowly village bandit, the despised 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 would be reshuffled!

A sudden wave of bitterness and melancholy welled up in his heart, his nose tingling, his eyes brimming with tears. But Li Jiayu forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and smiled faintly:

"Sorry, I was just trying to make you laugh. I saw you actively participating in the class meeting, so I wanted to make you smile. I didn't expect it to backfire and upset you, causing a misunderstanding..."

It was still Li Jiayu's characteristic gentle voice, but for some reason, it sounded more resonant and less calm, more clear and ringing, like the clash of metal.

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

Sun Weiwei liked to see Li Jiayu's smile, finding it very attractive, even though he wasn't her boyfriend.

"Fine, since you apologize, I won't pursue it further. But you must join the 'Youth Volunteer Association' and go out on weekends to distribute health leaflets, do volunteer work, and clean the streets. 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 must be bored. I'm sorry, but I might not have the time..."

Li Jiayu suddenly wiped away his smile, his lips curling into a faint sneer, 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 brows 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 said they were 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, and you could be eaten by insects or killed by your own kind, living a life worse than death, you won't 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... Well, since we're classmates, I'll tell you a bit more."

"Everyone has studied physics and 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 planes!"

"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 interference, 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 lightly, a cold smile on his lips, and said in a low 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 will suffer an unprecedented blow. Your phones, computers, air conditioners, even the lights, and the massage sticks used by girls, 99.9% of the electrical appliances that are integral 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 smile turning into a bitter self-mockery, his voice even lower, and he said slowly:

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