Avenger

Nighttime, in a bustling second-tier city that revealed a sense of restlessness beneath its prosperity.

The streets were filled with a constant flow of traffic. As nightlife began, many young people escaped their stuffy rooms to squander their time to the fullest.

Su Xiao sat crouched on the roof of a two-story villa. A night breeze blew past, bringing him a sense of coolness.

Su Xiao was dressed in black, wearing a wide black hood that hid his figure within the darkness of the roof.

In the sweltering heat of summer, even at night, this attire would make anyone feel stifled.

But compared to his unfortunate experiences, this was nothing; he had already been waiting here for two hours.

At his age, Su Xiao should have been spending a wonderful time at university, but because of hatred, he had abandoned his studies three years ago to begin learning other skills.

Human anatomy, combat, rapid lock-picking, and other such knowledge.

The long wait began...

Two hours later, a black luxury car slowly drove into the villa courtyard. The dull engine sound died out, the door opened, and a middle-aged man walked out, swaying with intoxication.

Due to excessive drinking, the middle-aged man's footsteps were clearly unsteady.

On the villa roof, Su Xiao picked up a long blade beside him. The blade left its sheath; it was pitch black, making it difficult to notice in the night.

Leaping down from the six-meter-high roof, Su Xiao's agile arms caught a protruding corner of the villa in mid-air, slowing his descent.

Landing steadily, Su Xiao stood directly in front of his enemy.

Without a word of nonsense, the long blade in Su Xiao's hand sliced through the air, emitting a faint whimper before slashing open his enemy's throat in a single stroke.

Fresh blood gushed out. Although Su Xiao tried his best to dodge, his cuffs and the back of his hand were still stained with blood.

The drunken enemy, not yet understanding what had happened, had already collapsed backward onto the ground.

Such an injury was no different from death, so Su Xiao immediately ran toward a less populated area.

Scanning with his peripheral vision, Su Xiao saw a security guard in uniform.

Although he was in the middle of a crime, being witnessed on the spot didn't matter; he had hidden his appearance well.

But in the next moment, Su Xiao felt his hair stand on end. The security guard actually pulled a gun from his waist—a pitch-black, long-barreled pistol, clearly equipped with a silencer.

How could a security guard have a gun? Su Xiao had no time to think carefully.

Behind him was a villa at least ten meters wide, and the security guard was about twenty meters away. If he chose to run, his back would be completely exposed to the enemy, making him a living target.

When encountering danger, Su Xiao's first reaction was to eliminate the source of the danger, never to flee.

Charging forward, Su Xiao ran in an S-pattern, doing his best to avoid being shot.

"Puff, puff, puff..."

The silenced pistol emitted only faint sounds.

Su Xiao had only rushed about five meters when he felt a numbness in his lower leg, followed by the same sensation in his chest.

Su Xiao knew he had been shot. Although he was an avenger, he had never been shot before.

A feeling of powerlessness spread through his body. Su Xiao felt no fear, only a sense of unwillingness.

His revenge was not yet complete, yet he had already fallen, and he was being killed by an unknown enemy—what a pathetic way to go.

Using his last bit of strength, Su Xiao threw the long blade in his hand.

This strike was essentially left to fate, but the heavens seemed to perceive Su Xiao's unwillingness and his unjust circumstances. After spinning rapidly in the air a few times, the long blade miraculously pierced into the chest of the armed security guard.

Lying on the ground, Su Xiao wore a smile on his face.

He had coated that long blade with a neurotoxin, a mixed variety at that; the stabbed security guard was sure to die.

His consciousness began to blur. Su Xiao felt a heavy blow to his head, and then everything before his eyes turned pitch black.

In his final remaining consciousness, Su Xiao vaguely heard:

"Hunter, 'Reincarnation Paradise' is opening for you."

--

[Body transmission in progress...]

[10%, 50%, 100%, transmission complete. Detected that the Hunter's body has sustained massive damage, awaiting repair...]

[Hunter's consciousness not yet awakened, repair command postponed. Currently maintaining minimum survival state, duration: ten minutes...]

[Beep..., discovered that the Hunter's talent is a growth-type talent, survival time extended by two hours.]

In the midst of the darkness, several rows of pale blue text floated in mid-air, emitting a faint glow.

Beneath the pale blue text, Su Xiao lay in the void, covered in blood.

His fingers twitched, and Su Xiao slowly woke up.

After waking, Su Xiao was dazed for a moment, but recalling that pitch-black gun barrel, he immediately tried to stand up.

A sharp pain surged through him, and Su Xiao nearly fainted again.

Sitting up with great effort, Su Xiao scanned his surroundings. Aside from a few lines of glowing blue text, everything around him was pitch black.

[Hunter, welcome to 'Reincarnation Paradise'.]

A line of text appeared out of thin air before Su Xiao, but he didn't look at it, choosing instead to inspect the injuries on his body.

His lower leg had been pierced through, the flesh at the wound curled outward, and he could easily insert his fingers into it.

Facing such a bloody scene, Su Xiao merely frowned, showing no other reaction.

He had experienced situations ten times more brutal than this, so these injuries could not move him.

The wound on his chest was even more severe, yet neither the wound on his leg nor the one on his chest was bleeding a single drop of blood anymore.

"I'm not dead?"

Pressing his hand against his chest, Su Xiao felt his heart beating powerfully.

[Hunter, you have not died. Do you wish to join 'Reincarnation Paradise'? Everything you desire is here.]

Su Xiao had long since noticed those suspicious words, but out of vigilance toward the unknown, he had ignored them.

The current situation was somewhat bizarre; he had sustained fatal injuries, yet he had miraculously survived, and there was a line of blood-red numbers counting down before him.

[1:35:10], [1:35:09]...

One hour, thirty-five minutes, and nine seconds—if Su Xiao hadn't guessed wrong, that was what the numbers meant, and they were counting down incessantly.

These blood-red numbers gave Su Xiao an ominous feeling, as if he would lose his life the moment they reached zero.

[Hunter, please communicate with the 'Paradise' as soon as possible to sign the contract, otherwise you will die in '1 hour and 35 minutes'.]

Sure enough, those numbers represented the time he had left to live. Su Xiao had suspected as much earlier; his injuries were too severe, and he should have died long ago.

"Where is my blade?"

Su Xiao didn't care about any 'contract' or 'Paradise'; instead, he demanded his blade from the entity.

That blade was the only memento his parents had left him. It was said to be an officer's sword captured by his great-grandfather, passed down through the generations to him.

[Most real-world items cannot be brought into the 'Paradise'. Please sign the contract as soon as possible.]

Su Xiao remained silent. The pale blue text flickered, perhaps because it had never encountered a 'Hunter' like Su Xiao before.

"A contract? Tell me, what must I give, and what can I gain?"

The dwindling survival time left Su Xiao with little room for delay, and he felt that he had likely encountered some kind of 'supernatural' event, which caused a stir in his heart.

Su Xiao desperately needed power for revenge, and while 'supernatural' events carried immense risks, they could also grant extraordinary power.

[By signing the contract, you will travel through various 'Derivative Worlds' to complete missions issued by 'Reincarnation Paradise', obtain 'World Source', and ultimately have your rewards determined by the amount of 'World Source' you possess.]

['Reincarnation Paradise' is omnipotent.]

A large amount of text emerged, and Su Xiao read it carefully.

"Omnipotent? Can you resurrect the deceased?"

All the pale blue text suddenly froze in mid-air, then vanished entirely.

[Given your status as a Hunter, no.]