Chapter 1

Yang Rui tidied up the fish stall, putting the last mandarin fish, two carp, and a soft-shelled turtle into the fish basket behind him. The carp were ones Yang Rui had deliberately left; he planned to make a sour fish dish for his sister for dinner, as she particularly enjoyed it.

"Xiao Yang, are you closing up so early?"

While Yang Rui was bending down to tidy up, a series of old bicycle bell sounds came from behind him, and he immediately knew who it was! It was Old Li, who had been their neighbor for seven or eight years!

"Oh, Uncle Li!" Yang Rui turned and moved closer.

"Xiao Yang, can you give Uncle Li a carp? A big one, if you have any?" Old Li was in his fifties but had already gone bald. He was a very nice person and had taken care of Yang Rui and his sister many times over the years.

"Sure thing." Yang Rui smiled slightly, readily agreeing. He turned and picked out a slightly larger carp from the basket, knocked it out, and quickly cleaned off the scales.

Actually, the two remaining carp were about the same size, but Yang Rui unhesitatingly gave the larger one to Uncle Li. On one hand, it was his personality, and on the other, Old Li had taken care of him and his sister many times over the years. Moreover, Yang Rui knew something that would happen to Uncle Li more than a year later...

Yes, more than a year later!

It might sound a bit unbelievable, but it really happened to Yang Rui—just a short while ago, when he was in a very dangerous situation, he suddenly returned to over two years ago, to this very moment!

Yang Rui truly experienced a rebirth! This story is long, and even today, Yang Rui has not fully accepted this reality...

"Uncle Li, take care!"

After a few more words, Old Li quickly rode away on his bike. Yang Rui tidied up again, drained the water from the tank, washed it, disassembled the stand, cleaned the ground, and moved everything out. Finally, he looked around the 20-square-meter shop and pulled down the roller shutter!

The shop on the first floor had been rented out a few days ago, and the contract would start tomorrow. Yang Rui and his sister lived in a 20-square-meter room on the second floor. This shop was almost the only property left by their parents.

Yang Rui was deeply attached to the fish stall, even though it didn't earn much money. After his parents passed away in an accident a few years ago, Yang Rui had to run the fish stall to make a living and take care of his bedridden sister!

Thus, Yang Rui had a deep affection for the fish stall. After his parents left, he resolutely left school and quietly broke up with his girlfriend, relying on this small fish stall to support his sister!

"Come, Xiao Hui, try my signature dish, your favorite—sour carp! Ta-da!" At dinner time, Yang Rui proudly served the sour carp he had been busy preparing for a while to his sister.

The difficulties and hardships of life made Yang Rui live stubbornly and happily, at least for his sister's sake.

"Hehe, big brother, I've already smelled it! Get the chopsticks, get the spoon!" Xiao Hui rubbed her hands, ready to pounce.

The siblings then quickly devoured the meal, a scene that didn't need much description. Since Yang Rui sold fish almost every day, getting up early to buy fish and closing the stall late, dinner time was almost the happiest moment for the siblings.

"By the way, big brother, is the game helmet you gave me for my 18th birthday really as magical as you said? Can I run freely in the game?" After eating most of the dinner, Xiao Hui couldn't help but ask. In a couple of hours, the game would open, and the helmet would be put to use!

"Don't worry, Xiao Hui. I have a classmate who works for the game company. He told me that this 'World War' has 100% virtual reality, almost indistinguishable from the real world!" Yang Rui said confidently.

If anyone knew this game best, it had to be Yang Rui! He had been reborn because of this 'World War' and had over a year and a half of game experience!

And it was precisely because Yang Rui inadvertently obtained a valuable piece of information in the game that he was pursued in reality, leading to his rebirth! It was a deeply etched memory!

"Big brother, you're in medical school, right? Did your classmate switch to the IT industry?" Xiao Hui pouted, puzzled.

"Ah~ hehe, my high school classmate, my high school classmate!" Yang Rui's words didn't hold up, so he dodged, "Anyway, the game will open in two hours. We'll see when we play, hehe..."

"Big brother, the game helmet is so expensive, I'm worried..." Xiao Hui didn't finish her sentence.

Yang Rui, of course, understood what she meant. In his previous life, to fulfill Xiao Hui's desire to walk and run freely in the game and to alleviate her frustration in reality, he spent a lot of money to buy her a helmet. He himself entered the game only half a year after it opened!

This time, reborn, Yang Rui knew the business opportunities in the game, so he almost spent all his money to buy a helmet for himself as well, which is why Xiao Hui was worried about their living situation!

"Don't worry, Xiao Hui. If it's not as I imagined, I'll quit the game and find other ways to make a living!" Yang Rui reassured her, his eyes filled with determination.

If it were before his rebirth, Yang Rui wouldn't have taken such a risk.

"Okay, I believe big brother!" Xiao Hui answered cheerfully. She wasn't really worried about this issue because her big brother had always been decisive and thoughtful.

Time quickly passed, and it was time for the game to open. Yang Rui helped Xiao Hui put on the helmet, adjusted it to a comfortable position, took a deep breath, and then slowly and firmly put on his own helmet.

"I'm back, Yang Rui! I will uncover the mystery of the real-world pursuit!"

The scene went dark, then brightened, and Yang Rui entered the game interface.

At this moment, his character was in a pavilion. The pavilion was exquisitely crafted, with intricate carvings and paintings, perfectly capturing the ancient Chinese style, which made Yang Rui, who had been away from the game for a long time, feel refreshed.

However, Yang Rui didn't waste time admiring the details. He knew that a series of promotional videos and a quiz would follow, so he directly chose to skip them!

Players who participated in the quiz had a certain probability of obtaining a talent and could influence the distribution of attribute points. However, in his previous life, someone had done a statistical analysis, and the number of players who obtained talents was extremely rare. Moreover, regardless of how the base attribute points were distributed, the total was always 30 points, otherwise, the game would be unbalanced from the start.

"Welcome to 'World War.' You are in the Chinese Three Kingdoms background. Please name your character!"

After skipping a few interfaces, a beautifully dressed NPC woman appeared before Yang Rui. The 100% virtual reality was impressive, with her slim waist, soft chest, and plump buttocks, making her look almost real!

"Lieryang!" Yang Rui answered casually.

"Character identity confirmed. Starting identity binding, please wait... DNA confirmation complete! Brainwave frequency locked! Attribute settings complete..."

"Your character information is as follows:

Title: Lieryang

Talent: None

Class: None

Reputation: 0

Identity: Commoner

Achievements: 0

Level: 0

Strength: 6 Intelligence: 7 Politics: 9 Leadership: 8

...

Money: 100 copper coins...

Do you confirm?"

"Confirm!" Yang Rui answered quickly without wasting time.

Actually, each character had three chances to randomly distribute attribute points. Yang Rui glanced at the four attributes and found that the Strength was a bit low, but 6 points were barely enough at the beginning, and the health would be a bit thin. To save time, Yang Rui didn't choose to randomize the attributes again.

The scene changed again, and Yang Rui appeared in the newbie village. The village was still quiet, and most players were probably still dealing with the NPC women!

He quickly ran to the mayor's position to check in, then followed the mayor's guidance to find the owner of the clinic, where there was a gathering task. He also went to the butcher's stall to accept a task to collect rabbit meat and then quickly ran out of the newbie village.

Although Yang Rui had played the game for over a year in his previous life, the newbie village was a special area, and he didn't remember much information. There should have been many newbie guides on the forums, but after the newbie stage, who would still care about those things!

Recently, Yang Rui had also recalled and organized some newbie leveling information, but he only remembered a few small tasks. He remembered a few classic tasks on the main map, but those would have to wait until he reached level 10 and left the newbie village.

Taking advantage of the low player traffic in the newbie village, Yang Rui rushed out of the east gate and started attacking the scattered white rabbits, using the "Gathering" skill to collect rabbit meat for the task.

The system only gave newbies a wooden stick with 1-2 attack power, a small pack of bandages, and a set of almost defenseless clothes. Trying to fight higher-level monsters was just a fantasy, so at this stage, the most practical way was to fight low-level or same-level monsters.

In 'World War,' except for humanoid NPC monsters, other monsters rarely dropped valuable items. Fortunately, each player had a basic "Gathering" skill to collect materials, which could be used to complete small tasks or sold to the system shop for a bit of money, though the profit was minimal.

After about ten minutes, with one white rabbit after another falling to Yang Rui's wooden stick, he quickly leveled up to level 1 and completed the rabbit meat collection task. Since he was still near the entrance, he quickly returned to the village to turn in the task at the butcher's stall.

Such tasks didn't give much experience, and turning them in at a higher level wouldn't be very effective.

Sure enough, after turning in the rabbit meat collection task, Yang Rui's experience bar was already at about 70-80% of level 1, and he would soon reach level 2.

At this point, there were already a few scattered players in the newbie village, some running around looking for tasks, some heading out to attack white rabbits, and some standing around, still in awe of the game's high virtual reality.

"I wonder which newbie village Xiao Hui is in?" After turning in the task, Yang Rui thought as he ran out.

But it was just a thought. There were so many newbie villages, and the probability of being in the same one as his sister was almost zero. He would have to wait until the main map to meet up with her.

---

The page is filled with ads.