Volume One, Chapter One: Everyone’s Reborn—Who’s Still Gonna Be a Sycophant?

The scorching summer sun baked the earth, causing heat waves to shimmer off the asphalt.

At the south gate of Qingteng University, a long queue of hundreds of people snaked away from the gaming store. Umbrellas and folding chairs were wedged haphazardly between the cordon lines. Among the crowd, Lin Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead; the back of his T-shirt was already soaked through. Despite this, his gaze remained fixed with intensity on the countdown ticking away on the electronic screen: only 27 minutes left until the official launch of *Gods and Demons Continent*.

"Brother Yu, are you really going to buy a gaming helmet for that Su Yao?" Lin Xin, dressed in a red shirt, asked from behind him, his tone laced with exasperation at his friend’s apparent lack of resolve.

The Su Yao he referred to was Lin Yu’s girlfriend, an absolute gaming fanatic. Hearing that *Gods and Demons Continent* was launching today, she had spent the last two days threatening to break up with Lin Yu unless he bought her a helmet. This matter had become the talk of the entire Qingteng University campus.

If Su Yao were merely capricious or obsessed with games, Lin Xin wouldn't have minded. However, behind her innocent facade, she was a handful. Just yesterday, he had seen her flirting openly with a stranger on the street, behaving quite intimately. This wasn't the first time he had witnessed such things. For various reasons, he had chosen to turn a blind eye in the past. But now, seeing Lin Yu prepared to spend twenty thousand yuan on a gaming helmet for this woman was something he found impossible to comprehend. Wasn't this just the behavior of a total chump?

He had made up his mind: if Lin Yu remained stubborn, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull out the stun gun he kept in his pants to snap this blinded fool back to reality.

"What are you thinking? Do you think my brain is fried, spending twenty thousand yuan on Su Yao?" Faced with Lin Xin’s interrogation, Lin Yu rolled his eyes.

"Brother Yu, you really can't handle Su Yao. If you insist on being this stubborn, I can only..." As he spoke, Lin Xin was already reaching for the stun gun in his pants. But the next second, he froze in place. It took him a long moment to snap out of his stupor, and he stared at Lin Yu with astonishment. "Brother Yu, what did you just say? You aren't buying this gaming helmet for Su Yao?"

He was completely bewildered. An hour ago, his friend had been insisting that he wanted to surprise Su Yao. How could he change his mind so suddenly? Even a chameleon wouldn't shift colors this fast. Furthermore, judging by his tone, he didn't seem to be joking.

"What? You were hoping I’d buy it for her?" Lin Yu raised an eyebrow and chuckled as Lin Xin’s brain seemed to stall.

"No, I mean..." Lin Xin was clearly stuttering. He never expected that the "lovestruck fool" known to all of Qingteng University would suddenly have a change of heart. After a long silence, he tentatively probed again, "Brother Yu, are you really not doing this for Su Yao?" In his memory, Lin Yu had loved Su Yao with a desperate, life-or-death intensity.

Lin Yu’s current behavior was completely at odds with his previous persona.

"Do I really look that much like a doormat?" Lin Yu rolled his eyes again. However, seeing the unconcealed concern in Lin Xin's eyes, he coughed to hide his embarrassment. Despite his words, he felt a warmth in his heart; he knew Lin Xin was doing this for his own good. He could understand Lin Xin’s extreme reaction. If it had been ten minutes ago, there would have been a 99% chance he was here for that woman. Although twenty thousand yuan was no small sum—enough to leave him eating dirt for weeks—he would have paid any price to make her happy. That was the old him—the "Number One Lovestruck Fool of Qingteng," a man who would give everything for Su Yao.

But clearly, he was no longer the man he had been ten minutes ago. The reason was simple: Lin Yu had been reborn. To be precise, he had traveled back in time from five years in the future. Having lived through those five years, there were certain mistakes he would not repeat. Su Yao was certainly one of them.

In his previous life, he had given his all to Su Yao without reservation. In return, after the Reawakening of Spiritual Energy, she had abandoned him without hesitation to throw herself into the arms of a wealthy heir, climbing the social ladder by trampling on his dignity. He would never forget the look of contempt on her face as she drove a sword through his chest, telling him, "Your sacrifices were just your own pathetic self-indulgence; I never had a shred of affection for you."

At that moment, Lin Yu’s heart had turned to ash. He realized that his years of devotion were nothing but a one-sided, self-deluded fantasy. Fortunately, heaven had been merciful, granting him a second chance.

"Brother Yu, I'm glad you think that way." Lin Xin smiled, genuinely happy that his best friend had finally found his way. Soon, however, he looked at Lin Yu with confusion. "But Brother Yu, if you aren't doing it for Su Yao, why are you buying the helmet?"

Lin Yu was a top-tier student, the kind who raked in scholarships even at a prestigious university like Qingteng. More importantly, in all the time they had known each other, Lin Xin had almost never seen him play a game.

"I heard this is the world's first holographic simulation game, and apparently, you can make money in it. I want to experience it for myself. Is that so wrong?" Lin Yu smiled faintly, but his eyes held a steely resolve. As a reborn soul, he knew this game wasn't just a simple project jointly developed by global powers as advertised.

In reality, the true purpose of the game was to prepare for a catastrophe descending in one year. A year later, Earth would merge with an alternate dimension called the *Gods and Demons Continent*. The world would formally enter the era of spiritual reawakening. Those who failed to enter the game would be mercilessly pushed to the bottom of the social hierarchy, potentially becoming prey for the demon race. Having lived through that brutal history, Lin Yu understood the importance of building strength within the game during this one-year window. It was no exaggeration to say that the game was a trial carefully designed to save Earth. For now, to prevent social panic, this secret was known only to a tiny elite.

"..."

Hearing this, Lin Xin’s expression grew strange. The current Lin Yu made him feel like a stranger. In his memory, Lin Yu was a typical model student, his eyes filled with the "wisdom" unique to college students. Now, however, he felt as if he were looking at a battle-hardened, mature elder. If it weren't for the fact that the guy’s appearance hadn't changed, he would have suspected that Lin Yu had been possessed.

Lin Yu, however, had no time to ponder Lin Xin’s thoughts. Watching the countdown on the big screen, he grew more and more excited. In his past life, he had missed the optimal time to enter the game because of Su Yao, and despite finding some opportunities later, he ultimately could not escape his tragic fate. Now that he was living a second life, he would never let the tragedy repeat itself.

Time passed quietly in the queue. As the store doors slowly opened, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. It was even more chaotic than a group of seniors fighting over free eggs.

"As expected of a game that spent billions just on marketing..." Lin Yu remarked, witnessing the madness. He recalled that in his previous life, the first batch of one hundred thousand helmets had sold out within an hour. He had thought that was an exaggeration at the time, but it seemed to be true. And this was just the launch; once the first wave of players shared their experiences, the game’s popularity would only skyrocket.

In his previous life, after realizing the benefits of *Gods and Demons Continent*, he had queued for over a week just to get his hands on a helmet. Fortunately, the staff worked quickly; after waiting only a few minutes and paying forty thousand yuan, Lin and Lin Xin each secured a helmet.

Looking down at the helmet in his hands, Lin Yu’s eyes were filled with determination. Having been reborn, he would write his own destiny this time!