Midnight…
In the empty hospital corridor, two men in white coats pushed a medical bed toward the morgue.
The flickering fluorescent lights reflected off the white cloth covering the body, making the pale sheet look even colder. The corridor was so quiet that only their footsteps and the squeak of the bed's wheels echoed in the still air.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
"Why, are you afraid?" The older man asked with a smirk, glancing at the nervous young orderly beside him.
The young man had only been working for a few days, and this was his first time escorting a body to the morgue. The fact that it was just past midnight made his nerves worse.
"A little…" the younger one admitted in a whisper.
"You're a grown man. Why so timid?" the elder chuckled.
"Weren't you scared the first time you delivered a body?" the younger asked back.
"Afraid? What's there to be afraid of? I don't fear ghosts, I only fear—FUCK!"
Just as he was boasting, the corpse under the sheet suddenly sat up.
The older man screamed, nearly collapsing on the spot. "Ghost!" he shouted before turning and bolting down the hallway.
The stunned young orderly remained, trembling, as the sheet slipped away to reveal a pale yet strikingly handsome face.
"Ugh… my head hurts," Alex groaned, rubbing his temples. Blinking at the terrified young doctor, he sighed. "Seriously… I drank myself straight into the hospital?"
"You… you—you're alive!" The young man stammered in shock.
"…What?"
It took Alex two full days to accept the truth: he had transmigrated.
The last thing he remembered was drinking graduation wine with his college roommates… then everything went dark. Somehow, he had crossed over into another world—and into a body that looked exactly like his own. Same face. Same name. Even his parents here looked the same as the ones in his past life.
But their lives couldn't have been more different.
In his previous life, Alex had been just an ordinary student. His mother died young, his father worked abroad and rarely returned, and he grew up in boarding schools, often feeling no different from an orphan.
Here, however, this Alex had a complete, loving family—and not just that. He was an heir to wealth. His grandfather had already been a successful entrepreneur in this world's most prosperous nation, Aurelia, and his father now ranked among the ten most powerful industrialists in the entire Federation. His mother was alive and well, a brilliant businesswoman. He even had an older sister who doted on him—something he had lost in his previous life.
The contrast was staggering.
This world itself was a parallel version of Earth, but its technology tree was crooked. Supercomputers had been developed before personal computers, VR technology had outpaced smartphones, and the internet itself was leagues ahead. By now, 6G transmission was commonplace, while portable VR glasses and smart devices had replaced smartphones entirely.
And most importantly—this world had birthed "Infinite Time and Space", an immersive VR game with billions of users and a thriving ecosystem where anyone could design dungeons, worlds, and storylines.
The original Alex had been a notorious prodigal heir, burning through fortunes on games, scamming relatives for money, and ultimately disgracing his family. His addiction to Infinite Time and Space had cost him everything. His father had eventually forced the sale of his account—only for it to fall into the hands of a rival guild leader, who used it to wreak havoc and humiliate Alex's once-famous avatar. The betrayal broke him, leading to a fatal heart attack after a bitter fight with his father.
And that's when the new Alex—our Alex—crossed over.
A fallen heir. A broken prodigal. A second chance.
"Great," Alex muttered. "A prodigal start. Couldn't have asked for a more cliché setup…"
But unlike the old Alex, he wasn't about to wallow. His pride, his drive, and his determination wouldn't let him. This time, he would erase the label of wasted heir. This time, he would carve out a future where he was respected—not pitied.
Just as his thoughts churned, a cold, mechanical voice rang in his ears:
[Host detected. Binding in progress…]
[Game binding… complete.]
[System activation successful.]