The Feeling of Starting from Zero

"Rumble..."

On the street, giant lizards pulled horse-drawn carriages, rushing past amidst the monotonous sound of wheels, keeping the street still very lively.

The constant flow of people seemed to continue indefinitely, with humans, demi-humans, and beastmen dressed in strange costumes brushing past one after another, creating an incredible and fantastical scene that repeated itself countless times.

In that plaza-like street scene, in front of the fountain, Fang Li suddenly opened his eyes.

Surprise, suspicion, and solemnity flashed through his dark eyes one after another, but in the end, they all turned into a thoughtful expression, causing Fang Li to fall into deep thought.

At that very moment, a voice suddenly rang out beside him.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah---!"

A terrified scream suddenly rang out across the street, startling passersby who all turned to look at the scene with bewildered expressions.

Fang Li raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and looked at the person beside him.

There, Subaru Natsuki clutched his heart, as if he had just woken from a nightmare, sweating profusely and panting heavily.

It wasn't until a while later that Subaru Natsuki seemed to come to his senses. With unfocused eyes, he nervously turned his neck and stiffly looked around, his face extremely pale.

Immediately, Subaru Natsuki spoke up, looking bewildered.

"I... I'm not dead?"

Subaru Natsuki remembered that he had been pierced through the heart by a sharp blade just a second before and died on the spot.

"Was it a dream?"

Even Subaru Natsuki himself didn't believe that statement.

Because the fear of impending death, the helplessness of bleeding, and the cold feeling of life coming to an end were all clearly etched into Subaru Natsuki's body and mind, so vividly that it was unimaginable.

If this is a dream, isn't it too real?

Thinking of this, Subaru Natsuki wiped the sweat from his face and forced a somewhat strained smile, saying something as if trying to make the best of a bad situation.

"I knew it! Every protagonist summoned to Other World possesses some kind of powerful ability. Could it be that my superpower has only just awakened?"

At this point, Subaru Natsuki's lack of awareness was less a sign of unawareness and more a sign of escapism.

If Subaru Natsuki were the only one here, he would probably treat this as a delusion.

Unfortunately, Subaru Natsuki isn't the only one here.

The next second, a voice from beside him responded to Subaru Natsuki's words.

"You're right, that's your only privilege, an ability that no one else can have, and it's also the first and last card you can rely on in this Other World."

Upon hearing this, Subaru Natsuki's expression froze for a moment before he slowly turned his head to look at his side.

There, Fang Li didn't meet Subaru Natsuki's gaze, but looked straight ahead and spoke like this.

"Return by Death a special ability that can only be activated after you die. It can turn back time and take you back to a point in time before your death."

That's why Fang Li chose to come to this world and take Subaru Natsuki as his subject of observation.

Because, for this person, their own death means the reversal of time, or even the reset of the world, which carries extraordinary weight.

Ryougi Shiki sent Fang Li to observe people who frequently lived with death.

But Fang Li that time, Fang Li questioned whether his own death could provide him with answers.

Therefore, when Fang Li saw "Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World- ", he immediately thought of Subaru Natsuki's special characteristics.

In addition, the Reiji Maigo's ability to interfere with time allows Fang Li to avoid being manipulated by the special ability of Return by Death. This causes his memories and consciousness to return to the state when time stopped during the reversal, and he is reset along with time and the world. Therefore, Fang Li chose this world and Subaru Natsuki as his subject of observation.

"To explain it in the context of a game, it means you have the ability to automatically save beforehand. When you die, this ability will automatically load the save and return you to the point in time when you were saved."

Fang Li Subaru Natsuki's stunned gaze, Fang Li continued, "So, after you were killed, we came back here."

"We've returned to the time when we first arrived in this Other World."

That's right.

The current timeline is when Fang Li and Subaru Natsuki had just transmigrated to this world, discovered each other, and were staring at each other blankly.

So? How do you feel?

Fang Li turned his head and looked at Subaru Natsuki, staring at Subaru Natsuki's somewhat dazed face, and said something with a half-smile.

"The feeling of starting from scratch."

Upon hearing Fang Li's words, Subaru Natsuki's expression grew increasingly stiff, and finally, he couldn't help but laugh.

It was a dry and weak laugh.

"Time reversal?" Subaru Natsuki chuckled weakly. "It sounds impressive, but don't people often say online that, theoretically, this is actually more difficult than creating a new world?"

"But it has really happened now, and it's happening to you." Fang Li said calmly, "To be honest, it's because I've been eyeing this ability of yours that I've been working with you all this time."

"You...have your eye on my abilities?" Subaru Natsuki was stunned.

"That's right." Fang Li looked directly at Subaru Natsuki and said, "For some reason, I want to observe people who are often accompanied by death, and you have the ability to Return by Death. No matter how many times you die, you can start over. Therefore, for me, you are a very good subject of observation."

That's why, when Subaru Natsuki was about to be killed, Fang Li just watched from the sidelines and didn't interfere at all.

After all, Fang Li's purpose was to observe.

In that case, interference with the target audience should be prevented.

This is Fang Li's idea.

Under such circumstances, Subaru Natsuki clearly saw it.

I saw the look in Fang Li's eyes.

That was a chilling calmness and rationality.

Seeing that calmness and rationality, Subaru Natsuki couldn't help but step back.

"So... so what's the situation now?"

Subaru Natsuki looked at Fang Li with a frightened expression and couldn't help but raise his voice.

"You... you want to kill me too?"

Seeing the unavoidable fear in Subaru Natsuki's eyes as he looked at him, Fang Li smiled faintly.

"As I said, my purpose is to observe."

"Therefore, I will not kill you."

"But I won't help you either."