Late at night, Jinhai City, Qingzhu High-end Residential Area.
Shi Feng sat quietly on a soft leather sofa, holding a stack of documents as he gazed at the swimming pool outside the floor-to-ceiling window, his heart full of disappointment and resentment.
He had been the leader of Shadow, one of Jinhai City's four major gaming studios, commanding a large guild of tens of thousands. He was also a well-known expert in Jinhai City, the Sword Magician. Now, however, he could only sit at home and drink his sorrows away.
Ten years of gaming.
Ten years of bloodshed.
After enduring countless hardships and tribulations, he had finally led the Shadow Guild to establish ten city-states in God's Domain. They had been ready to compete with first-rate guilds and enjoy boundless glory, but one document had turned it all to smoke and vanished it forever.
Shi Feng had never imagined that ten years of effort would go to waste. He had given up so much for gaming, only to end up making a wedding dress for someone else. It all happened because he had opposed Shadow merging with the super guild Dominating the World. Before the next day was out, the Lanhua Consortium had given him its answer: delete the Level 200 Sword King account he had spent ten years painstakingly building, then go to the finance department to collect his wages.
All he had to show for it was five million Credit Points and a mansion. Compared to the ten city-states he had built and the virtual kingdom that brought in a fortune every day, it was less than a drop in the bucket.
Thinking of everything he had done for Shadow, of how much he had contributed to the Lanhua Group becoming a major consortium, Shi Feng was furious that they had thrown him away like a piece of trash. He would make the Lanhua Consortium pay for what they had done.
"I'm not going to let this go. If I have to, I'll start over."
Confidence and resolve flickered in Shi Feng's eyes. He tore the termination papers in his hands to shreds, then grabbed a bottle of red wine from the table and took several hearty swigs.
Even without his Sword King account or his team's support, the skills and knowledge he had gained in the game wouldn't betray him. As long as he still had his skills, he could rise to prominence in God's Domain and build a virtual kingdom of his own.
Morning came, and the sun had just risen.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
His phone rang incessantly.
Shi Feng woke in annoyance. He reluctantly sat up and picked up the phone beside his bed, his head still spinning from the previous night's drinking.
"Hello? What is it?"
"Brother Feng, it's Heizi. What do you mean, 'what is it'? We agreed we'd become professional players. Today's the day Shadow Studio is recruiting at the university. Haven't you always wanted to become a core member of Shadow?"
Shi Feng was a little confused.
The Lanhua Consortium had just fired him. Why would he be going to Shadow's tryouts?
"Brother Feng? Brother Feng? Are you listening? They're testing people at ten. If you don't hurry over, you'll be too late!"
"Heizi, don't joke around. I just got fired from Shadow."
"Fired? Brother Feng, how much did you drink yesterday? You still haven't sobered up. Shadow hasn't even started recruiting. How could you have been fired? Anyway, hurry over."
Before Shi Feng could react, Heizi hung up.
His head still groggy, Shi Feng looked at the phone and realized that this old iPhone 6 wasn't his at all. His own phone was the latest iPhone 12.
He looked around.
The bedroom was less than fifteen square meters and a complete mess. Books on gaming strategies were scattered everywhere. An old, outdated laptop sat on the desk in the corner, and clothes were strewn about inside the large wardrobe against the wall. In the wardrobe's full-length mirror, a familiar face appeared.
The sight of that unmistakably familiar face startled Shi Feng.
"Why do I look so young?" Shi Feng immediately got up and walked over to the mirror. He stared at his reflection again and again before finally confirming that he really had become younger.
Yesterday, he had gone to sleep in a spacious, luxurious bedroom. Now he had woken up in this shabby place—and he had become younger, too.
Shi Feng had some memories of this place. Ten years ago, while preparing to battle in God's Domain during his senior year of university, he had gritted his teeth and rented this tiny apartment. He had lived here for over half a year. Later, after making some money in God's Domain, he had rented a spacious apartment in the city.
Back then, life had been incredibly difficult. His family hadn't been well-off, and they had gone into debt to send him to university. Even so, his parents worked hard every month to send him enough money for living expenses, all so he wouldn't have to suffer.
Shi Feng had been focused on earning money to improve his family's circumstances. But universities were full of students, and finding a decent-paying job was harder than reaching the heavens. So he had thought of the most lucrative option: virtual games. To improve his gaming skills, he had steeled himself and bought a Virtual Helmet, aiming to become a professional player and honing his skills in virtual games.
Back then, he had eaten steamed buns and instant noodles every day. To save money, he had never attended class gatherings or mixers, and had become invisible to his classmates. The boys looked down on him, and the girls kept their distance. Whenever he went to the supermarket to buy instant noodles, he would have less than ten Credit Points in his wallet. He didn't even dare buy a sausage that cost one Credit Point. The female cashier took pity on him and recommended a discounted sausage. Shi Feng looked at the tempting sausage, then checked his wallet again, and gritted his teeth as he turned it down.
"Is someone playing a joke on me?"
Looking at the familiar surroundings and his younger self in the mirror, Shi Feng couldn't help shaking his head and dismissing the thought.
Even the most advanced America had no technology capable of making people young again. Who would play a joke on a down-and-out middle-aged man?
Shi Feng looked at the time on his phone again.
April 19, 2129.
"Could I have been reborn?" Shi Feng wondered with a wry smile, joking to himself.
He remembered that today was August 5, 2139. There was no way he was still a senior in university in April 2129.
Shi Feng shook his head, trying to clear it. Still, a thread of hope lingered in his heart. He hoped he had been reborn, that he had truly returned to ten years ago. He went to the desk and turned on his laptop.
If the time on his phone could be faked, surely the news online couldn't.
After spending a few minutes online,
Shi Feng was utterly stunned. Everything he found online confirmed that today really was April 19, 2129. Even the official website clearly listed the opening date of the globally popular game God's Domain, with a countdown to April 25—six days away.
"I really have been reborn! I really came back ten years?" Shi Feng stared intently at the news about God's Domain, tears of excitement welling in his eyes.
Shi Feng's feelings were impossible to describe. He felt regret, grief, and joy.
It was as if everything before him were a dream.
But the cicadas chirping outside and the cool air blowing from the air conditioner reminded Shi Feng that it was all real.
Looking at the family photo on his phone from when he was in university, Shi Feng had never noticed that his father had gray hair and his mother had wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. They had truly grown old. They no longer seemed as full of energy as before.
He had only noticed that his parents were growing old a year and a half after God's Domain had launched. The heavy debt, hard labor, and stress had left both of them seriously ill and bedridden. Treating them and helping them recover would have cost several million Credit Points, but back then Shi Feng had only been a squad leader in Shadow. He couldn't possibly earn enough to cover such an exorbitant expense.
Shi Feng had tried everything he could to raise the money, but it still wasn't enough. No matter what he did to keep them going, his parents passed away a few months later.
In his previous life, he hadn't taken good care of his parents. Who could understand the pain and regret he felt?
Even after Shi Feng had gone on to earn several million Credit Points, this remained an eternal ache in his heart.
He never expected fate to play such a trick on him, letting him truly start from zero and return everything to the beginning.
"Good, this is great! Hahaha. Now that I've been reborn, I'll change everything. I'll earn enough money to treat my parents and make sure they never have to toil just to get by." Shi Feng wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and made a silent vow.
Just as Shi Feng was planning his future, Heizi called again, urging him to hurry to the university for the tryout.
Shi Feng, however, took his time. He got dressed, tidied himself up, and only then set out for Jinhai University.
He knew Shadow better than anyone.
He remembered that when he was in university, Lan Hailong, the eldest son of the Lanhua Group, had founded Shadow Studio and provided it with substantial funding. He had gathered expert students from Jinhai University to battle in God's Domain. Shi Feng had gone to try out and become a core member, while Heizi had joined as an ordinary member. He had been happy for a long time.
Three years later, under his leadership, Shadow Studio had helped the Lanhua Group make a fortune in God's Domain, turning it into a major consortium. Yet in the end, Lan Hailong himself had fired him.
Now that he had been reborn, Shi Feng had an advantage in God's Domain that no one else could match. Naturally, he had no intention of joining Shadow again and becoming someone else's tool, making money for others. He would take a different path and fight for his own future. He wouldn't make his parents send him living expenses anymore, and he would pay off all their debts. So he would start a business, open his own studio, create his own company, and build his own virtual empire. He would make a better life for himself.
When Shi Feng reached the front of Teaching Building No. 1, he saw a tall, thin young man with dark skin pacing anxiously by the entrance. It was Heizi.
"Brother Feng, you finally made it. Good thing registration hasn't closed. Let's hurry inside and sign up," Heizi said anxiously when he saw Shi Feng.
Shi Feng shook his head and said with utmost seriousness, "Heizi, I'm not joining Shadow. I'm going to start my own studio. Are you in?"
Shi Feng had met Heizi in a virtual game, where Heizi had been quite skilled. They had gone through thick and thin together and were practically brothers. While they had worked together at Shadow, Heizi hadn't had much gaming talent, but he had been an excellent manager, keeping a guild of hundreds of thousands running smoothly. With Heizi's help, Shi Feng could get closer to achieving his goal. Still, he would respect Heizi's choice. After all, Shi Feng had nothing now, and Heizi's family was also struggling. He had decided to become a professional player and join Shadow to earn a living.
Heizi froze, then lowered his head in silence. Shi Feng's words had come too suddenly, and there was something very different about him today. He seemed to radiate confidence and calm, unlike his usual restless self.
A full minute passed before Heizi looked up at Shi Feng.
"Brother Feng, don't talk nonsense. Do you know how much a Virtual Helmet costs? Eight thousand Credit Points! You need at least six people to start a studio, plus a work space, wages, and all the rest. Just the startup costs will be seventy or eighty thousand, and then there are ongoing expenses. That's a lot of money, but do you have that kind of cash?" Heizi knew Shi Feng's circumstances well. He knew Shi Feng's family wasn't well-off, and he wanted to talk him out of this crazy idea.
"You're right. I don't even have enough to buy a Virtual Helmet for God's Domain right now." Shi Feng nodded and admitted it. As Heizi had said, seventy or eighty thousand was probably an underestimate. He remembered that the hundred-person studio Lan Feilong had recruited had cost more than five million, and later they had spent even more to improve the studio's quality and strength.
"If that's the case, why take the risk? Wouldn't joining Shadow be more stable? At least Shadow can provide Virtual Helmets. Otherwise, we couldn't even play the game, let alone become professional players." Seeing that Shi Feng understood the problem, Heizi breathed a sigh of relief and tugged him toward the teaching building.
Shi Feng shook off Heizi's hand and looked him in the eye, his expression utterly serious. "Still, I plan to start my own studio. I don't want to be under someone else's thumb. Heizi, are you in?"
Shi Feng wouldn't force Heizi. He had no guarantees to offer, and he couldn't reveal the secret that he was reborn. He could only hope Heizi would believe in him.
Seeing Shi Feng's serious expression, Heizi couldn't shake the feeling that something was strange about him today. He was acting too recklessly. Everyone knew it was impossible to make money in the early days of a virtual game. Could Shi Feng have some way to earn money in God's Domain? Even if they did make money, it would take several months, and they didn't have that much time to waste.
Heizi hesitated for a long time, then gritted his teeth and finally agreed. "I understand. You're the big brother, so I'll start a studio with you. But what about the Virtual Helmets? How can we play without them?"
Shi Feng's furrowed brows relaxed at once. Happily, he patted Heizi's shoulder and smiled. "That's more like it, brother. Don't worry about the Virtual Helmets. I remember God's Domain has a free trial for university students. They're handed out at every university, and as long as we show our student IDs, we can claim a Virtual Helmet and try it for ten days. Let's go check it out."
"What happens after those ten days?" Heizi's dark face turned ashen. He could see nothing but darkness ahead. Why had he believed Shi Feng? Was it because of that confidence and calmness? Would starting a business with Shi Feng really work out?
What could they do in God's Domain in ten days?
Once the ten days were up, they would surely miss the best time for all the studios to recruit. In the end, they would still have to buy Virtual Helmets. But where would the money come from?
Even a team of professional players couldn't earn sixteen thousand Credit Points in the ten days after God's Domain launched!
"Leave the money problem to me."
Shi Feng patted Heizi's shoulder and smiled confidently.
Earning sixteen thousand Credit Points in ten days was a pipe dream, but Shi Feng had the resolve of someone reborn. No matter what difficulties he faced, he would overcome them one by one.
And the launch of God's Domain would be the beginning of his rise.
Afterward, Shi Feng took Heizi to claim trial helmets, then spent all their money on instant noodles and stacked them beside the computer desk in their rented apartment—two huge boxes, enough food for more than ten days. After explaining a few things about God's Domain, he waited quietly for the game to launch.
At nine o'clock on the night of April 25, a few glimmers of light flickered in the dark, silent room.
Shi Feng lay quietly on the bed. He closed his eyes and gently pressed the helmet's power button.
"God's Domain, here I come."