ROTSSG is owned by Lucky Old Cat. This is just a fanfic.
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Chapter 1: Starting Over Again!
Early morning when the sun had just risen.
Di! Di! Di!
The phone ringtone rang loudly, breaking the silence in the room.
Shi Feng woke up resentfully, rubbing his aching head. The bitter aftertaste of yesterday's drinking still loomed over him.
Di! Di! Di!
He blindly reached for the phone on his bedside table and saw the caller was his best friend, Blackie.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Brother Feng! It's me, Blackie. What do you mean 'what's up'? Didn't we agree to become pro gamers? Shadow Workshop's recruiting at the university today. You always wanted to join Shadow's core team, right?"
"Huh?"
Shi Feng froze with what he just heard.
Lan Hua financial Group, the head of the Shadow guild, just fired him, didn't they? Why would he try to join them again?
"Brother Feng? Are you listening? The test starts at ten. If you don't hurry, we'll miss it!"
"Blackie, stop messing around. I just got fired from Shadow. There is no reason for me to go there after what they did to me."
He had sacrificed everything for that guild, but in the end, they betrayed him because he stood against Shadow's decision to merge with the Super-Guild, World Dominators.
They also forced him to delete his Level 200 Sword King account, the very account he had poured ten years of effort, blood, and sweat into.
"Fired? Brother Feng, how much did you drink last night? You're dreaming. Shadow hasn't recruited anyone yet. Come on, hurry up."
Before Shi Feng could speak, Blackie hung up.
Confused, Shi Feng stared at his phone.
An old iPhone 6 was in his hand.
His phone was supposed to be the latest iPhone 12.
Finding this weird, he sat up quickly and looked around.
What met his eyes was a small messy room. All around, there were books on gaming strategies. An ancient laptop rested on a worn desk. Clothes scattered carelessly in the wardrobe.
Inside the wardrobe, there was a mirror; a mirror that currently showed a familiar face.
Shi Feng's heart skipped a beat when he saw this extremely familiar face.
"I... I'm young again? How is that possible?"
Shi Feng immediately rushed to the mirror. The reflection showed his younger self, full of energy.
Yesterday he slept in his luxury apartment. Now he was here, in this broken down place after waking up. Not only that, he also had become young again.
Ten years ago, he had rented this tiny room, struggling to survive university while playing God's Domain.
"Is someone messing with me? Is this some kind of prank?"
Shi Feng frowned, touching the mirror, touching his face.
"Impossible. Even the most advanced tech couldn't reverse age." Shi Feng couldn't help but shake his head, denying such a conclusion.
He checked the date on his phone.
19th April 2129.
"No way... I've been reincarnated?"
It should've been 5th August 2139.
To be sure, he powered up the ancient laptop.
Even if the time on his phone could be faked, the information on the internet definitely couldn't.
After surfing the web for several minutes...
All the information he found on the internet showed that today was 19th of April, 2129. Even the highly anticipated official release date of God's Domain was counting down to six days from now, the 25th of April.
"I really have been reincarnated! Did I really come back to ten years ago?"
He touched the screen gently, staring at the countdown to God's Domain's opening, emotional tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.
Shi Feng's feelings were hard to describe at that moment. He felt both regret, sadness, and joy.
It was as if everything before him was just a dream.
Looking at his phone, at the family photo he took when he entered university, Shi Feng realized that his parents were alive in this time.
In his previous life, the large amounts of debt, excessive laboring, and stress had caused both his parents to fall ill, gravely ill. Curing them required millions of Credits but, during that time, Shi Feng was merely a squad captain in Shadow. He could not save them, no matter how hard he tried.
But now...
He could change everything.
"This time... I'll earn enough. I'll save them."
"Great! This is just too great! Hahaha! Since I have been reincarnated, I have to change everything. I will earn enough money to cure mom and dad and I will let them live a life without worries." Shi Feng silently swore to himself as he wiped away the tears.
Just when Shi Feng was planning for his future, his head suddenly ached again.
"Ugh... what is happening now?"
A wave of memories flooded his mind. Strangely, they felt like his own, but completely new.
"Wait... these are memories from the future of this second life."
In an instant, scenes from now to ten years later flashed before him.
He saw himself playing God's Domain with Blackie, and earning enough to clear their whole debts and buying his parents a new house.
He also created the guild Zero Wing from nothing, and recruiting experts who had reached Tier 6 in the previous timeline.
Zero Wing grew strong, becoming a true power in God's Domain.
They built the first Advanced Guild Residence, established their own city, and won the recognition of the Secret Pavilion.
He also see the future of clearing ancient super-dungeons that no one else had touched, obtaining hidden Epic and Legendary ranked items, and leading massive wars against Super-Guild alliances.
Most shocking of all was him becoming the first Tier 6 Divine Sword Saint and discovering that God's Domain was not the only one.
There were other God's Domains, other worlds, called the Greater God's Domain and terrifying forces competing for the resources.
He even formed alliances with foreign realm experts and stood on battlefields where the fate of countless realms was decided.
Such revelations left him speechless.
He felt satisfied knowing that the future was filled with success and that he had achieved everything he could have ever wanted.
But the overwhelming flood of information made his chest tighten and his stomach churn.
Shi Feng clutched the desk, trying to steady himself, fighting the urge to throw up.
It took him several minutes to calm his breathing and clear his spinning thoughts.
"Oh god, Aren't you too good to me today? Not only I returned to the past but now I also have the knowledge of my future." Shi Feng was in very good mood.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Opening the screen, it was Blackie again calling him.
"Brother Feng! Where are you? Hurry or the registration closes!"
Shi Feng smiled as he confirmed the truth of this new memory.
Blackie's words were exactly the same as what he had just seen in his future memories.
"About that, Blackie. I'm not joining Shadow Workshop, and I suggest you don't either."
"Yeah, I'll be waiting just outs—wait, what?! You're not going for the test?"
"That's right, Blackie. I'm going to start my own Workshop. I want you to join me. So don't sign with any other Workshop until then."
"Brother Feng, are you seri—"
Before Blackie could finish, Shi Feng cut him off.
"I'm serious. And I know what you're about to say. Don't worry. I'll find a way to get the Credits we need to set up the Workshop. For now, just do what I say and borrow a God's Domain helmet from the university."
Having this exact conversation in his memories, Shi Feng knew what Blackie was going to ask, so he addressed it right away.
"Ugh... man, I was so excited for nothing." Blackie sighed, disappointed. "I really wanted to join Shadow... Well, whatever. I just hope you know what you're doing."
With that, Blackie hung up, grumbling.
Shi Feng chuckled softly. He knew Blackie was only worried about him. He wasn't someone who would get mad at Shi Feng.
After all, in both his past and future memories, Blackie had never betrayed him—not even once.
Shi Feng truly felt grateful for having such a friend who treated him like a real brother.
Moving on, Shi Feng followed the same steps as in his memory and rented a gaming helmet from the university.
Thankfully, the university provided God's Domain helmets for a ten-day free trial, so Shi Feng made sure to borrow one early before they were all taken.
Finally... the day came.
25th April, 9 PM.
Shi Feng lay on his bed. The room was dark and silent.
The VR helmet glowed faintly.
He pressed start, closing his eyes.
"God's Domain... Here I come."