Chapter 1: Rebirth – The Awakening of Zhao Long
November 20, 2024 — Nighttime, Cloudy Skies
Imperial Capital, Sixth Ring Road — East Gate of Youth Apartments
Screeeeech!
The sharp screech of electric brakes pierced through the chilly night as a delivery scooter skidded to a stop. A man wearing a yellow delivery uniform stepped off quickly and looked up at the towering building before him.
Without wasting time, he rushed to the entrance of the apartment complex and rang the doorbell repeatedly.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
No answer.
"Tch," he muttered, pulling out his phone and making a call.
Beep... beep... Still nothing.
He frowned. "What kind of idiot orders food and disappears? Seriously?"
He let out a long sigh, then looked up at the building.
"A twenty-story climb again? Climbing a low-rise is one thing... but this?"
Still, he had no choice.
Grumbling under his breath, he grabbed onto the exposed pipes and began to climb.
Three minutes later...
Tap tap tap!
The deliveryman knocked on the glass window of Room 1702, seventeen floors above the ground.
Inside, Zhao Long sat silently, his back against the window, knees pulled up to his chest. His entire body trembled slightly, as if caught in a nightmare.
His phone buzzed beside him.
Buzz... buzz...
He didn't even glance at it.
The knocking became louder, more urgent.
Bang bang bang!
Zhao Long slowly lifted his hand, peeking through his fingers. His eyes were blank... confused. His voice was a hoarse whisper:
"This... this is real?"
He stared at his reflection in the dark window. A familiar yet distant face looked back. His own. But younger — at least ten years younger.
He raised both hands and touched his face, trembling.
"I... I'm alive?"
Memories surged into his mind like a flood.
He remembered dying.
Yes — he had died three years ago.
When the Earth faced a sudden cosmic disaster, chaos reigned. The skies cracked, cities burned, and reality itself began to collapse. Amidst it all, Zhao Long had risen — a Tier 9 Enhanced Human, the supreme leader of the Resistance.
But at the peak of war, on the edge of victory... he had been betrayed.
His life was ended by someone he trusted the most.
Now, here he was — alive, reborn.
He clenched his fists tightly.
"I've... really been reborn?"
Bang! Bang!
"Hey! Open up! Your food's here!" the deliveryman shouted.
Zhao Long snapped out of his thoughts. He stood slowly, walked to the window, and opened it.
The deliveryman handed over the food. "Dude, what were you doing? I climbed seventeen floors just to bring you this. I called, I rang the bell — nothing!"
Zhao Long took the bag silently and nodded, then closed and locked the window again.
The room fell into stillness once more.
Then, deep inside his mind, something stirred.
A mechanical voice echoed from the void:
[System Activation Complete]
[Initializing Rebirth Protocol.