Chapter 1: The Day I Chose to Disappear
The sky was the same.
Gray. Heavy. Silent.
Just like the day I died.
I stood by the window, my fingers trembling slightly as I stared at the clouds rolling in from the horizon. Anyone else might think it was just another incoming storm.
But I knew better.
This was the beginning of the end.
The apocalypse.
A bitter smile crept onto my face.
"I'm really back…" I muttered.
Behind me, footsteps echoed through the house—familiar, irritating, unforgettable.
My brother.
In my last life, he had been the one to end everything. Not the storm. Not the monsters. Not hunger.
Him.
And now, fate had dragged us both back to this exact moment—the day everything began.
The day the systems appeared.
A sharp ding echoed in my mind.
[System Awakening in Progress…]
[Choose Your System Carefully.]
I closed my eyes.
It was happening again.
Two glowing options appeared before me, just like before.
[100x Amplification System]
[100x Reduction System]
In my past life, I hesitated.
That hesitation cost me everything.
Because my brother didn't hesitate.
"MOVE!"
A sudden shove sent me crashing into the wall. Pain shot through my shoulder, but I barely reacted.
I already knew what was coming.
My brother rushed forward, eyes burning with greed.
"100x Amplification System—I choose YOU!"
The moment he shouted, the golden light surged toward him, wrapping around his body.
He laughed.
A loud, arrogant laugh that made my stomach twist.
"I got it! I actually got it!" he yelled, clenching his fists. "With this, I can multiply anything! Food, water—everything!"
I slowly pushed myself up from the floor, watching him.
Same as before.
Every word. Every expression.
Unchanged.
He turned to me, grinning like a winner who had already claimed the world.
"Too slow," he mocked. "Guess you'll have to take the trash option again."
The second system flickered in front of me.
[100x Reduction System]
Trash?
No.
In my last life, I thought the same.
And I paid for that mistake with my life.
This time, I smiled.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I'll take this one."
[100x Reduction System Selected.]
A soft, silver light enveloped me.
Unlike my brother's overwhelming power, mine felt… gentle.
Controlled.
Precise.
And full of possibilities.
He snorted. "You seriously picked that? What are you gonna do—shrink ants?"
I didn't answer.
Because there was no point.
He wouldn't understand.
Not now.
Not ever.
Outside, thunder roared.
The first storm had begun.
In my last life, we ran around in panic—buying supplies, hoarding food, fighting over space.
This time?
I already knew what mattered.
Not more.
Smaller.
Safer.
Hidden.
While my brother rushed out the door, shouting about buying food and proving himself to someone named Lu Yao, I walked in the opposite direction.
Toward my room.
Toward my future.
I locked the door behind me.
Silence filled the space.
Then, slowly, I raised my hand.
"Let's try it…"
I picked up a bottle of water from my desk.
Focused.
Activated the system.
The bottle shrank.
Smaller.
Smaller.
Until it was no bigger than a grain of rice.
My heartbeat quickened.
"It works…"
A laugh escaped my lips—low, quiet, but real.
In a world where resources would run out…
Where people would betray each other for a single meal…
I didn't need more.
I just needed less.
I looked around my room.
Then whispered:
"This time… I won't die."
Far away, thunder split the sky.
And the world began to fall apart.