Chapter 1

Wu Lang died.

His short life of twenty-seven years ended just like that.

Wu Lang still remembered that before he died, he was passing by a street when some naughty kids threw firecrackers into a manhole. The manhole cover suddenly flew up and hit his face, which was stunningly handsome.

It was truly an unforeseen disaster.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Because when he opened his eyes again, he saw a very bizarre scene.

The sky above was dark, the river below was turbulent, and the surroundings were shrouded in mist, creating an extremely mysterious atmosphere.

In front of him, a group of wandering souls were queuing up. Further ahead, the queue had already crossed the Netherworld Bridge and was being shown their past and present lives on the Three Lives Stone.

The Road of the Netherworld.

The Netherworld Bridge.

The Three Lives Stone.

Wu Lang's lips twitched slightly. He looked up and down at the bustling Netherworld Bridge, feeling a sense of familiarity.

The layout was indeed very familiar!

It was just like the game "Netherworld Ghost Inspector" he had played before. The Underworld in the game was exactly the same as what he saw now. The Underworld was also the player's character creation page, where players would enter the Underworld, reincarnate, and start the game.

"Status panel??" As Wu Lang spoke tentatively, a status panel slowly unfolded before his eyes.

【Name】: Wu Lang

【Template】: NPC

【Race】: Wandering Soul

【Sect】: Netherworld

【Fate】: ??? (Need to see the Three Lives Stone)

【Cultivation】: None

So, he really did cross over?

"Brother, hurry up, we need to reincarnate!" Before he could think more, someone behind him pushed and shouted.

Clearly, he had crossed over into the Underworld of "Netherworld Ghost Inspector," waiting to be reincarnated.

But why did he have to cross over as this?

This game had mysteriously appeared and became incredibly popular, known as the second world of modern humans with 100% realism. However, it was famous for its hardcore soul-like style, making it an extremely dangerous mythological world. The cause of the disaster was the fragmentation of the Netherworld and the collapse of the Underworld, leading to the escape of demons from the eighteen levels of hell, causing chaos in the human world with demonic waves, monster disasters, and ghost plagues.

And he had crossed over right into the center of the disaster, the Netherworld.

Now, he was in a game where the average player died 54 times?

They really wanted to kill him.

"Maybe we should just go with the flow and try to get a good reincarnation, find a good father first?"

Wu Lang felt uneasy. As an ordinary office worker, he was somewhat panicked by this bizarre situation.

"Hey, brother." Wu Lang reached out and patted the person in front of him.

"I'm dead? Impossible, impossible... I remember my wife gave me medicine." In front of him was a short, dark, and ugly wandering soul. His lips were pale, and he was shivering, clearly unable to accept his death.

Medicine?

Brother, your life was quite intense.

But it was normal for the wandering soul to look dazed. Most wandering souls on the Road of the Netherworld were like this, unable to accept their deaths.

He was the same.

Speaking of which, his 27-year life could be considered successful. He had climbed to the management level of his company before the age of thirty, reaching the peak of his career. His boss entrusted him with important projects, and although he traveled frequently and was exhausted, he had many beautiful women around him, with whom he had close friendships.

To sum it up:

He was stunningly handsome and extremely capable in his work, but still an ordinary person.

Crossing over was not something he wanted.

He was dead, and who would inherit his millions of assets?

It was a huge loss.

Thinking about this, he felt like crying just like the brother in front of him. Life was tough.

But Wu Lang still tried to communicate and opened the conversation, "Brother, don't cry, it's just about the medicine. I can understand, I once had a friend who was like you..."

"Where are we going?"

After some conversation, the wandering soul in front of him was named Liu Ping. He had just come to his senses from the plot of drinking medicine, but his lips were still pale.

"We are crossing the Netherworld Bridge. Soon, we will see our past and present lives on the Three Lives Stone, see our true selves, drink the Forgetfulness Soup, and be reincarnated." Wu Lang thought carefully.

"Three Lives Stone?" Liu Ping didn't understand.

"You'll see soon."

Wu Lang told him to follow the crowd forward, "As the saying goes, on the Netherworld Bridge, we sigh at the Netherworld, and at the Three Lives Stone, we regret our three lives."

"The reason I was so sad just now is because we are on the Netherworld Bridge, where we will sigh at our lives, feeling helpless."

"Next, after crossing the Netherworld Bridge, we will regret our three lives?" Liu Ping still didn't understand, finding it too magical.

Soon, they followed the crowd to the Three Lives Stone.

It was a huge ancient stele, standing majestically, exuding an unimaginable aura of the heavens. Threads of rule energy fell, containing the destiny lines of all beings. The four large characters on the stone were as red as blood: "Early Arrival at the Other Shore."

Liu Ping stopped in front of the Three Lives Stone, like passing through a security check.

A faint light shone on him, revealing a blurry image of his life. Liu Ping reviewed his life like a slideshow.

A baby was born...

At one year old, Liu Ping fell and disfigured his face.

At three years old, his parents died.

At six years old, his grandparents died.

At nine years old, to survive, he joined a martial arts school, practicing hard, but was treated like a punching bag.

At fourteen years old, after years of hard work, he became a famous escort, strong and skilled, known throughout the region.

At seventeen years old, he suffered a severe injury, and his meridians were destroyed.

At eighteen years old, he retired as a famous escort and started selling steamed buns.

...

Wu Lang was shocked!

Brother, you're quite something.

Flash!

Life converged, and the Three Lives Stone revealed his true self.

A row of golden, majestic ancient characters slowly projected in the air:

Fate 1: 【Rotten Romance (Green)】: When encountering high-quality human partners, you will pursue them with an extremely humble attitude, with a chance of success, but you won't be able to control them, and they will likely cheat on you.

Fate 2: 【Low Luck (Purple)】: You will have bad luck throughout your life, with everything going wrong.

Judge's Evaluation: Despite your hard work, you are a pitiful person with bad luck and a green hat.

This fate is terrifying!

Wu Lang was surprised in the back row.

In a certain sense, being this miserable could be considered a rare and unique fate, one in ten thousand.

"How can this be?"

Liu Ping was completely devastated, wailing uncontrollably, unable to be consoled.

"Turns out life is predetermined, and everything is written by the heavens."

"I was so miserable, I once thought having a beautiful wife meant having love..."

Wu Lang ignored the crying and despairing person in front of him. This was a necessary process of reincarnation—regretting the three lives. It was a process of repentance and reflection on one's past and present life.

Instead, he took a step forward and stopped in front of the Three Lives Stone.

Because it was his turn.

"The fate on the Three Lives Stone is determined by a person's life, revealing their true self and the cycle of rebirth."

"But as a player reincarnating in the Netherworld, there is no past life to speak of."

"The fate of the past life is random."

In short, players would roll the dice at the Three Lives Stone to determine their fate, with white, green, purple, orange, and gold fates.

Then, they would log into the game, which was the same as being reincarnated!

"But I am not a player, I am an ordinary NPC, a common member of the masses. I should have my fate determined by my past life, just like Liu Ping now." Wu Lang recalled his life in the modern world.

Twenty-seven years old.

Millions of assets.

Extremely capable at work.

Excellent with women.

Considering all aspects, his fate was definitely not low!

Thinking about the worst-case scenario, in his 27-year life:

No beautiful woman broke up with him.

No parents died.

No one gave him medicine.

His fate was secure!

Rustle!

The Three Lives Stone revealed nothing, just a blur, as if his fate was obscured.

"Is it because of the crossover? Can't see me? But it's good, if this world saw my past, it would be a big problem." Wu Lang didn't have time to think more. Then, two brilliant purple lights emerged from his true self, like the first rays of the rising sun, grand and majestic, illuminating half of the Netherworld.

Even the distant Lady Meng, who was giving the wandering souls the Forgetfulness Soup, raised her head in surprise, "Your fate is not low, surpassing the average ordinary person."

Then, she continued to give the wandering souls the soup.

Although his past life couldn't be seen, the Three Lives Stone, as a divine tool of the Netherworld, still revealed Wu Lang's true fate:

【Nine Lives of a Salaryman (Purple Fate)】: In your past nine lives, you were a salaryman. Your work ability is extraordinary, and your endurance is astonishing.

Evaluation: Don't let the capitalists find you, or you might work them to death.

【Good Guy Card (Purple Fate)】: Handsome as a celestial being, +200% attractiveness to the opposite sex, -200% romantic success.

Evaluation: You will have many close relationships but no romantic ones. No matter how excellent and handsome you are, you will only be a good friend.

Judge's Evaluation: In your 27 years in the modern world, you seemed to work hard and reach the peak of your career, with a bright and successful life and excellent relationships with women. In reality, you were a pitiful salaryman working 996 with no women liking you.

Wu Lang's smile gradually faded.

"Brother, I understand, I once had a friend like you..."

But Liu Ping, who was still under the influence of the "regretting the three lives" process, was even more agitated.

He never imagined that his handsome, tall, and talented brother was in the same world as him.

Tears streamed down his face.

"Brother."

Clearly, the one who had just comforted him was now the one to save his good brother.

Slap!

He tightly held Wu Lang, tears streaming down his face, finally finding a lifelong comrade.

"My friend was also like you, working crazily, selling steamed buns every day, working hard, and becoming famous in the region, but no women liked him! A woman who offended a powerful person was forced to marry him, and he treated her very well, serving her tea and washing her feet, and playing the flute for her, but she always complained that he was just a good guy..."

"This is a sad story."

"You think? Should he have let go earlier?"

Wu Lang opened his mouth, but didn't have time to stop the collapsing brother.

Liu Ping, already regretting his three lives, opened up to his friend, completely letting go, and shouted:

"He's not even a toad, how can he be so arrogant?"

"He was also like you, always thinking that if he worked hard and pleased others, he would eventually be happy, with women liking him and a successful career, everything would be perfect..."

???

Brother, don't speak if you don't understand the fate. My friend and I are not the same fate.

Wu Lang felt offended.