Chapter 1

Heaven's Dynasty……

The southern Jiangsu region, WX……

8:00 AM……

In a bedroom of a house in a suburban residential area, a young man, clearly still groggy from sleep, grumbled as the alarm clock rang, "What's going on? I don't remember setting an alarm, and it's such an old-fashioned one at that…" Although he continued to complain, his drowsiness had dissipated, so he reluctantly got up.

This man's name is Yue Yuan. He has been living alone since his parents died in a car accident when he was 16. He has never met any relatives, and naturally, there has been no melodramatic plot of evil relatives trying to swindle him. The savings, insurance, and compensation from the accident left him with enough money to live on. Since Yue Yuan is not a big spender, he managed to get by, albeit not very satisfactorily, and attended a technical school, at least learning a survival skill.

Due to the loss of his parents, Yue Yuan became increasingly reclusive. With almost no friends in reality, he spent most of his time in the world of movies, anime, and novels. After graduation, with over a million yuan still left from his parents' inheritance, Yue Yuan, to the sighs of those around him, stayed at home and became a pseudo-hikikomori.

"Today's schedule should be to finish the new anime I didn't finish last night, and don't forget to check the novel updates," Yue Yuan said, rubbing his eyes and preparing to wash up.

However, as soon as he looked in the mirror, his drowsiness was almost completely gone. He saw a 16- or 17-year-old face, clearly still that of a high school student, with no trace of adulthood.

Yue Yuan examined himself carefully, ran his fingers through his hair, pinched his cheeks, and even made a funny face and stuck out his tongue, only to see the person in the mirror do the same. He couldn't help but exclaim in a mix of surprise and confusion, "Damn!" followed by several more "Damn?" "Damn!" "Damn…" He kept cursing, pinching his cheeks and pulling his hair, almost punching himself. Wasn't this the face of his younger self?

Realizing what was happening, Yue Yuan immediately ran to the living room and looked at the calendar hanging there. The date was July 17, 201X, the first summer vacation without his parents, the last summer before high school.

Is this a rebirth? Ten years, if I'm not mistaken, this is ten years ago. Yue Yuan sat on the sofa in the living room, asking himself softly. But then he asked himself another question: What should I do now?

Why not a little earlier? Just half a year, no, just three months earlier, and I could have gained my parents' trust, created an opportunity to save them, and changed everything.

Rebirth to trade stocks, do business, or buy lottery tickets? No experience, no memory of this, even if I saw the winning numbers a few times, I didn't remember which issue or type.

Rebirth to enter the entertainment industry? The entertainment industry is too deep, no connections, no capital, and I can't play. Music, my appearance is decent, but not idol-level, and my voice and musical skills are not enough to be a powerhouse. Drawing comics, I remember the plots, but influenced by "Chinese Chef" and "Food," I studied culinary arts in technical school. I can draw simple sketches, but comics are too much of a stretch.

It seems I can only be a web novelist. In my previous life (having accepted the rebirth setting), I was a web novelist, but I didn't do well, just a third-rate writer. I wrote a few signed books, but they weren't very successful. But with the foresight of this life, I should be able to become a big shot.

After making up his mind, Yue Yuan didn't even bother with breakfast and ran to the study to turn on the computer. He planned to register as an author on the Yuan Dian Novel Network first. But when he entered the URL, the browser page displayed:

"Dear user: The domain you entered is incorrect or the site cannot be accessed. Please try re-entering or using the following service functions."

Is there a problem with the Yuan Dian Network? Not believing it, Yue Yuan opened the search engine Qian Du to try another way in, but the search results made him break out in a sweat. There was not a single result related to the Yuan Dian Novel Network. Still not giving up, Yue Yuan searched for "web novels," but the results were still a bunch of unrelated URLs. Realizing something, Yue Yuan started typing a series of keywords: novels, Jin Yong, games, popular songs, world history...

The search results left Yue Yuan feeling both powerless and a bit elated.

Powerless because, in this world, although it is still Earth with seven continents and four oceans, and the United States is still a world power, history has taken a different turn in modern times.

After World War I, the Heavenly Dynasty enjoyed the benefits of a victorious nation. In World War II, it seemed to have a cheat code, sweeping away domestic enemies and directly counterattacking, forcing the enemy to surrender. It also supported the European front, and after the war, it became one of the most influential countries in the world. The Heavenly Dynasty government reorganized internally, developing the economy, science, and education comprehensively, with its comprehensive national strength rivaling that of the United States. There was no ten-year turmoil, and the entire world seemed to be 10 years ahead of the original world due to the production boom in the Heavenly Dynasty.

In contrast to the technological boom, the cultural and entertainment industries worldwide seemed to have stagnated. It was as if everyone had poured all their potential into scientific research, leaving no points for cultural development. The cultural and entertainment levels were still at the level of World War I.

There were no innovative games, no modern web novels, and even anime had not developed because the enemy country was nearly destroyed in World War II. Modern pop music was still in its infancy and showed no signs of development. The popular mainstream in movies and TV was war films, and in the East, there were only a few old kung fu films.

Although the history had changed, Yue Yuan's consciousness was still the same. Before getting familiar with the new world, Yue Yuan planned to continue his reclusive life, afraid of being noticed for any anomalies.

While feeling powerless about the historical changes, Yue Yuan also felt a sense of elation. Such changes could allow him, a seasoned entertainment enthusiast, to lead a better life in this entertainment-starved world, even sparking an entertainment revolution.

With various fantasies in his head, he continued to browse the web, trying to gather information about the parallel world as quickly as possible to avoid any embarrassing situations.

Just as Yue Yuan was engrossed in absorbing new world information, an advertisement suddenly popped up on the page. Having seen thousands of such pop-up ads, he was about to close it when he was stunned by this one.

It was a game advertisement. Yes, Yue Yuan confirmed it was a game advertisement. In a world that was a cultural desert, the sudden appearance of a game advertisement that caught his eye was truly bizarre.

What made Yue Yuan even more anxious was the game's introduction: "Want to understand the meaning of life? Want to truly... live?" Just seeing these words felt like a bomb had almost stopped his heart.

The ad continued on the next page.

The ad ended on the next page.