Chapter One: The Invincible Man

Lan Yi was entirely absorbed in the task of savoring the pork bone broth dumplings before him.

He ate with meticulous care, making sure to suck every drop of soup from his spoon, not leaving a single trace of filling behind. It was as if he were feasting on some rare delicacy, perhaps Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, rather than simple handmade dumplings from a Sha County eatery.

Watching Lan Yi eat, one could not help but think of a single word: happiness.

Perhaps it was the infectious joy he derived from his meal, but the other customers in the shop seemed distracted, their gazes frequently drifting toward him. Some even glanced doubtfully at the dishes they had just ordered, as though questioning the reliability of their own taste buds.

Suddenly, the shop door swung open.

The unusual quiet was instantly broken by the clamor of the street and the heavy summer wind that swept in. The newcomer scanned the room, his eyes lighting up as he found Lan Yi, who was still slowly savoring his food.

He strode over in quick, eager steps, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Hello, Lan Yi. My name is Gao Xing."

"Your life is as dull and uneventful as the records suggest—otherwise, you wouldn't have become the Invincible One."

"Just recently unemployed, dumped, detained, no family or friends, living alone… not to mention being slandered for domestic violence, blackmailed, cyberbullied. No wonder, once the Battle Space opened, you became the top psychic cultivator in Starhan."

Gao Xing clicked his tongue in amazement, studying the bewildered Lan Yi as if he were some rare specimen.

"And you are…?" Lan Yi put down his spoon, looking up.

'He doesn't recognize me. Perfect. Right now, he's just an ordinary wage slave, not the Madman Lan who would destroy the world.'

Gao Xing let out a breath, the immense weight lifting from his heart and leaving only irrepressible excitement. What he was about to do—thousands, no, millions would dream of it in the decades to come. But only he had this chance, for he was a reborn soul.

A reborn man from twenty years in the future, from the very apocalypse unleashed by Lan Yi.

Time, unfortunately, was far too short. Circumstances did not allow for more.

Otherwise, Gao Xing truly would have tried to win Lan Yi over, or at least make him owe the Gao family a great debt. Solving Lan Yi’s current predicament—unemployed, cyberbullied, possibly facing jail—would have been effortless for Gao Xing.

"I am your future arch-enemy."

"In the future, you become a monstrous villain, committing unspeakable crimes—a raving madman in every sense. Killing comes as naturally as breathing to you; destroying life is as easy as eating or dressing. The world drowns in blood under the banner of your twisted justice."

"In half an hour, the Battle Space will open to all humanity. Without me, your first experience in the Artificial Divine Realm will grant you immense power, after which you’ll begin a string of tragedies."

"Those two scoundrels, the company that fired you without reason, the influential voices who bullied you online, the ‘temps’ who got things done through connections, even a pet dog—none will escape your revenge. Your life will unfold like the most thrilling web novel: you’ll reach the pinnacle, ruling over all!"

"I know how absurd this sounds. You won’t believe me…"

Before Lan Yi could react, Gao Xing drew an object from his coat and aimed it at him.

It was a gun—heavy, metallic, glinting.

Pulling a gun in a knife fight, pure cheating.

Gao Xing had managed to acquire a gun, but under normal circumstances, he would never have revealed it in public. Starhan’s firearm controls were so strict that even toy guns could get one in trouble.

But now, none of that mattered.

In just thirty minutes, the Battle Space would open. Individual power would leap to the point of leveling cities and nations—at that moment, the old order would collapse.

"Lan Yi, in the future you’ll commit countless crimes: crimes against peace, against humanity, genocide of non-human races, endangering mankind, destroying the Artificial Divine Realm, persecuting freedom of thought—and, most insane of all, the annihilation of the world."

"I am fortunate enough to have been reborn to this day, with a unique advantage. For the sake of countless lives in the future, before you grow into an unstoppable demon, I will kill you here and now!"

"Die!"

Gao Xing, his face flushed with excitement, flicked off the safety and began to squeeze the trigger. He was about to rewrite the future and create history.

He would replace Lan Yi as the only true god of the new era!

But in the next instant, Gao Xing froze. The flush drained from his face, leaving him ghostly pale.

A cold metal tube pressed against the back of his head, and a chilling, indistinct voice spoke from behind.

"Put down the gun."

In the reflection of the shop’s glass, Gao Xing saw the figures behind him: a squad of black-uniformed soldiers, fully armed. Like phantoms, they had slipped into the shop without a sound, easily neutralizing Gao Xing and confiscating his black market firearm.

What chilled Gao Xing even more was that in this unusually quiet shop, none of the other customers screamed, shouted, panicked, or even took out their phones to record. Regardless of age or gender, each wore a calm expression and scanned their surroundings with wary eyes, as if expecting a bullet to come flying at any moment.

Clearly, they all had their duties here.

And those duties were related to Lan Yi.

'How could this be?'

'Where did things go wrong?'

'Could it be that I’m not the only one reborn?'

'Damn it! Why are they taking me? They should kill Lan Yi, the real monster, first!'

Gao Xing’s questions went unanswered.

The well-trained soldiers wasted no words. Faced with Gao Xing’s resistance, they gagged him, struck him with the butts of their guns—once from the left, once from the right—with dull, powerful thuds. The pampered young master of a smuggling family instantly became meek, begging for mercy.

As he was dragged away like a dead dog, Lan Yi shook his head, half amused, half perplexed.

"Arch-enemy? I don’t even know who you are."

"And you said I’ll be invincible in the future?"

"The truth is, it’s not the future that’s invincible—it’s me."

Lan Yi had every reason to say so.

Even as he spoke, the area’s civilians had already been evacuated; two handguns, fifteen submachine guns, and twenty-two anti-materiel sniper rifles were aimed at his head. In addition, twenty aerial bombs, two artillery teams, fifty heavy bombs, and three tactical nuclear warheads had been set to fire at a moment’s notice.

Compared to all that, Gao Xing’s pistol had never posed any real threat to Lan Yi.

Like a mere pebble thrown to test the waters, Gao Xing was swiftly dragged away and would soon become an insignificant addition to the list of mysterious disappearances within the next twenty-four hours.

The unremarkable Sha County diner quickly returned to its former ordinary atmosphere.

Lan Yi glanced at his phone and raised his voice slightly.

"It’s about time."

"If you don’t make a move now—"

"You may never have another chance. Friendly reminder: if you use tactical nuclear weapons now, your odds of success are about sixty percent. Don’t you want to take the gamble?"