Chapter 1: The Day of Rebirth

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A rented apartment off campus, bathroom.

The shower was running, spraying mist wildly into the air.

Fu Chen woke in a daze, instinctively rubbing his aching head as he struggled to rise from the slippery floor.

Cold droplets pelted his body, making him shiver uncontrollably. "Ah... so cold!"

But as soon as the words left his lips, Fu Chen froze in disbelief. "Cold? How can I feel cold if I’m already dead?"

He stared blankly at the showerhead, then at the bathroom around him, and finally at his slender, agile hands.

Suddenly, Fu Chen bolted from the bathroom, grabbed the phone lying by the bedside, and stared intently at the screen.

The time displayed: August 10th, 2024, 20:36.

He surveyed the familiar rented room, identical to the one in his memories.

Finally, Fu Chen was certain: "I’ve been reborn—back to the very day of the Advent."

In his previous life, something happened on this very night that forever altered the trajectory of human civilization.

At midnight, some young people, asleep in their beds, were inexplicably transported to a completely unfamiliar world.

After enduring initial panic, speculation, peril, and desperate flight, they ultimately faced death.

Only then did they discover that it was merely their souls that had arrived—it was impossible to truly die there.

It was then they learned the name of this place: the Perfect Continent, a world vast, fantastical, and inscrutably mysterious.

With the threat of death gone, people were filled with both wonder and curiosity for this strange land.

They treated the Perfect Continent as a kind of immersive, virtual-reality game, and began their journeys of exploration and adventure with excitement.

From that day forward, wave after wave of newcomers continually entered the Perfect Continent.

In time, people learned its systems of civilization and slowly embarked on an alternative path of evolution.

A little over a year later, the Perfect Continent had quietly and thoroughly merged with Blue Star.

To commemorate the event, the day was named the Perfect Continent Advent Day—simply, the Advent.

Standing by the bed, Fu Chen still gripped his phone tightly, staring blankly.

Having already died once, memories of his past life came flooding back, and tears streamed down his face before he even realized it.

His expression shifted with swirling emotions—guilt, regret, and a hatred so intense it was almost murderous.

"Yang Siyao, after four years together, I never saw through your vicious, treacherous heart."

He had started dating Yang Siyao at the beginning of his sophomore year, and their relationship had always seemed strong.

They attended classes together, ate, went shopping, and after a while, naturally moved in together.

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After the Advent, they were inseparable in the Perfect Continent—fighting monsters, leveling up, crafting gear side by side.

Every resource and piece of equipment Fu Chen obtained was given to Yang Siyao first.

To upgrade her gear, he’d even traded his rarest items to others more than once.

And to improve her weapon, he spent every last cent he’d earned from four months of part-time work.

By the time of his death, Yang Siyao, armed with top-tier gear and weapons, had carved out a name for herself.

Fu Chen, though skilled in combat, was always held back by his inferior equipment, rendering him mediocre overall.

On their last outing as a four-person team, while passing through the territory of the Netherdrake, disaster struck.

Yang Siyao, in collusion with another teammate, suddenly ambushed Fu Chen and the others.

The final member of their party—Fu Chen’s own mother, Qin Wuyan—was killed on the spot.

Fu Chen himself, caught off guard, was sealed and immobilized, forced to watch helplessly.

Staring at the corpse of his slain mother, Fu Chen was overwhelmed by rage and grief, his bloodshot eyes blazing with murderous intent.

Yang Siyao, unaffected, remained calm and composed, as if everything was unfolding according to her plan.

She threatened Fu Chen by humiliating and desecrating Qin Wuyan’s body, forcing him into utter despair.

And then, right before his eyes, she had her accomplice feed his mother’s body to the ferocious Netherdrake.

That was his flesh and blood, the only family who had raised him alone through hardship.

At that moment, Fu Chen’s heart was consumed entirely by hate.

He hated Yang Siyao’s malice and treachery, wishing he could flay her alive and cut her to pieces.

He hated his own blindness and naivety for failing to see her true nature.

His mother had died because of him, her body fed to the monster, not even bones remaining.

But at that time, Fu Chen had no way to escape or seek revenge.

In utter despair, he charged the monster, only to be swallowed alive.

Inside the Netherdrake, death did not come swiftly. The stench of blood and acid was suffocating.

Agony wracked both his body and soul, tormenting him relentlessly.

The pain drove Fu Chen mad, to the brink of collapse, until finally, consciousness faded.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself returned to the night of the Advent.

"Everything is still here. Mother is still alive and well!"

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Thinking first of his mother, Fu Chen was overwhelmed with joy, weeping uncontrollably.

"The hatred of a mother’s murder is irreconcilable! Yang Siyao, I swear I’ll tear you to pieces and see you die a miserable death!"

The thought of Yang Siyao filled him with boundless hatred, but he did not lose his reason.

For now, he could not seek vengeance on that vile woman—otherwise, he would surely be brought to justice under the law.

He had to wait patiently, biding his time until the Perfect Continent fully descended before taking his revenge.

"A gentleman’s revenge is never too late—even if it takes ten years. Yang Siyao, I’ll let you live a little longer."

This gave him time to use every means possible to become stronger before that day arrived.

"This time, I won’t be foolish enough to sacrifice everything for someone else. I must focus on improving myself."

"I swear I’ll become powerful, protect my mother, and never let her be harmed by anyone."

As a reborn, Fu Chen possessed advantages no one else had—the memories and hard-won experience of the past three years.

This gave him unshakable confidence and determination in the life ahead.

He recalled the Advent in his previous life—how he’d been among the first to enter the Perfect Continent.

Confronted with a strange and perilous world, he, like everyone else, moved with utmost caution, always fearful that a careless misstep would cost him his life.

By the time he finally faced death and truly entered the Perfect Continent, half a day had already slipped by.

Now, with a second chance at life, Fu Chen would not waste the precious hours of the first day as he once had.

He resolved to seize the initiative from the outset, entering the Perfect Continent ahead of everyone else.

With this in mind, Fu Chen checked his phone; it was nearly nine o’clock.

Just as before, he needed to sleep early to ensure he’d be among the first to enter the Perfect Continent.

To avoid being disturbed, he set his phone to silent mode.

He wanted nothing to interfere, nothing to disrupt his path into the Perfect Continent.

Lying on the bed, he forced himself to calm his breath and mind. Gradually, his eyelids grew heavy and sleep crept over him.

"Perfect Continent, I’m coming back!" he whispered in his heart, before soon falling into a deep slumber.