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Chapter 001 How did the Host Die?

Here lies a void space.

Ling Mo’s consciousness floated aimlessly within it, feeling a bit dazed.

Did he… die?

He must have died, right? He got hit head-on by the main cannon of the space battleship; he couldn’t possibly survive.

But why does he still have consciousness?

Is this the world after death?

[System loading 99%…100%]

[System loading successful]

[? How did the host die?]

“……”

That question mark is quite witty.

If he could feel his body, Ling Mo would really want to chuckle at that moment.

What do you mean he died? He wants to ask what this system was doing all this time.

He wasn’t particularly surprised, as this system had already appeared in his mind long before everything began.

On the day he obtained the system, he thought he could rise to the pinnacle of life like the protagonists in novels and was excited about it all morning—

However, after the system loading bar hit 99%, it never moved again.

And then, there was no more after that.

He had to rely on his own raw strength to reach the peak of life and stand on the final stage—only to fail to hold on until the end, as he activated the main cannon of the space battleship and sent himself and a billion demons soaring into the sky.

He didn’t expect this system to finish loading only after his death.

He almost forgot this thing existed.

But, it doesn’t matter now… his ashes are probably scattered; there’s no way he can be resurrected…

[Detected that the host’s life signs have stopped, initiating Plan B]

Hmm? Plan B?

[Time reversal countdown, 3, 2, 1]

Wait, what is this……

[Begin]

In the black space, at that moment, a splendid burst of colorful light erupted, as if he had reached heaven.

His consciousness gradually returned, and the first sound that echoed in his ears was the ringing of an alarm clock.

Suddenly opening his eyes, he was greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling.

[Reversal successful, host, welcome back]

“……Go to hell!”

Is this forced reselling?! Who wants to start all over again?!

He was about to let everything go, only to find he had to be dragged back to relive the Cataclysm once more?!

Is this kind of torture amusing?!

However, as soon as he spoke, he froze.

That’s right, it’s her, not him.

This voice was clearly feminine, light and melodious—one he rarely heard before, even in the past.

If only it didn’t come from her mouth.

She immediately sat up from the bed and looked down at her body—

Beneath the loose pajamas, the wide lapel revealed a lot of fair skin, but the swaying spring light couldn’t bring her any excitement at that moment.

All she felt was a chilling sensation.

She instinctively touched beneath her.

Empty.

[The previous statement was a curse; girls shouldn’t say such things!]

The system’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

She paused, offering a slight smile: “Could you explain what’s going on?”

[Time reversal cannot cover existing processes; it can only create new processes to interfere with existing order.]

“Speak plainly.”

[This system cannot allow the host to be reborn as their current self; the host now occupies the identity of a new character.]

As the system explained, information about her identity popped into her mind—

Her name is Xia Xinyan, the campus flower of Linjiang University, and a heiress of the Xia Family Group.

…Aside from turning into a girl, all aspects of her condition are eight blocks better than before her rebirth.

This barely comforted her. With this identity as a premise, plus the system’s help, she might just live this time and not tragically fall before dawn.

[Reminder: The system’s judgment standard remains the host’s original form; this identity cannot influence the system. It is recommended the host find the original self for development.]

“?”

[Using this identity will not earn any score rewards for the host, but can provide score rewards to the original self; the host can then use it again.]

“…Are you joking?” Xia Xinyan paused for a moment, “Why did you bring me back then? You could have just taken over my past self!”

[In this timeline, the original self has already acquired this system and is similarly stuck at 99% loading.]

“So why is it stuck?! And don’t you feel any shame?!”

[Because of a BUG.]

Xia Xinyan felt like hitting someone: “Then what’s the point of your existence? Are you messing with me?”

[This system aims to help the host save the world.]

“Save the world? Who saves me? Turning me into a girl is bad enough, and now I’m just a player for someone else?”

[The host need not be angry; as long as the world is saved, this system can help the host… um, return to their original form.]

“Why did you pause there?”

[BUG.]

“……”

Xia Xinyan, still half-convinced: “Really?”

[Absolutely true, and after the host successfully saves the world, unimaginable rewards await, making everything worthwhile. So please hurry to find the original self!]

Xia Xinyan remained silent for a moment before getting off the bed: “I’ll trust you this once.”

She wasn’t the kind of person easily fooled by a few words, but since the one saying it was the system, trusting once wouldn’t hurt.

After all, if a game could bring on the apocalypse, what else couldn’t be believed?

That’s right, the reason behind her previous life’s death—and the system’s claim about saving the world—stemmed from one cause:

A game.

A game created by a deity.

The game was called “Realm of Divine Presence,” and it was the first truly virtual reality online game, known to the world as the Second World—proving how real this game was, far surpassing contemporary technological standards.

The game was simultaneously launched by countries worldwide and included free Game Pods; anyone could get one with an application, at no cost—a miracle for some impoverished nations. As for who created this miracle, no one knew.

And today, it wasn’t long since that game launched.

Today was Miracle Day.

Early this morning, everyone around the world simultaneously regained their health; even late-stage cancer patients miraculously healed overnight. No one knew why, so it was dubbed Miracle Day, with many believing it was a manifestation of divine grace.

Yet no one knew this was precisely the beginning of the world’s catastrophe.

Before her rebirth, Xia Xinyan was called Ling Mo, also a student at Linjiang University. He was quite handsome but a steel straight man, so he hadn’t dated throughout his four years in college. Apart from classes, his hobbies were just basketball and fitness—a monotonous way of life.

So finding his former self would be simple.

At the basketball court, Xia Xinyan unexpectedly spotted that familiar yet strange figure.

It felt odd to observe herself in the third person for the first time.

Also… self-development, huh…

Dealing with her past self would be too easy.

After buying a bottle of water from the nearby vending machine, she walked over.

Several courts nearby were bustling with basketball games, but someone suddenly shouted, “Holy crap? Goddess Xia?!”

Then all the players instinctively stopped and turned to look.

Xia Xinyan kept her expression unchanged, bearing all their gazes as she slowly approached her former self—Ling Mo—and handed him the water, offering a slight smile: “Ling Mo, wanna take a walk?”