My City Lord Father!

Adoptive father, you're here!

A storage spot for your esteemed brain.

"No!!!"

With a cry, Lin An jolted upright in bed, gasping for breath, his face still filled with terror.

Only after several breaths did Lin An come to his senses and look around.

What he saw left him astonished.

"Didn't I die? Where is this?"

Lin An looked at the room's antique furnishings, confusion in his eyes.

["Sin Abyss" activated!]

[Connecting... connection successful.]

Lin An's eyes widened at the messages that popped up.

Of course he knew Sin Abyss. This game had suddenly appeared on Blue Star, drawing countless players into it.

The game teemed with countless Sin Beasts. Not only were these Sin Beasts powerful, but they could even abandon their own bodies to possess living beings, awakening the evil hidden within them.

The players' goal was to hunt Sin Beasts and grow stronger.

It would have been fine if it had just been a normal game of killing monsters and leveling up, but one year after the game appeared, its entire world connected to reality.

Countless Sin Beasts poured into Blue Star, bringing about the apocalypse.

And Lin An had lost his life because of it.

But Lin An had never expected that, when he opened his eyes again, he, who should have been dead, would actually find himself in the world of Sin Abyss.

"So what's going on with me now? Rebirth? Transmigration?"

As he was thinking, another message popped up.

[Welcome to the game "Sin Abyss." Your information panel has been unlocked.]

[Your current identity information is as follows: Lin An, the only son of Lin Xiao, City Lord of Shenglin City. At the age of eight, he witnessed his mother being killed by a Sin Beast, leaving him deeply traumatized. He has been withdrawn ever since.]

[Your beginner's gift pack has been issued. Would you like to claim it?]

Lin An froze at the messages.

"I transmigrated into a native of the Sin Abyss world?"

"The young lord of Shenglin City?"

At that thought, Lin An suddenly frowned again.

"Wait, Shenglin City? Wasn't that the beginner village I spawned in when I first entered the game?"

"And in the third month after the game launched, Shenglin City was besieged by a large number of Sin Beasts and eventually fell. Even City Lord Lin Xiao blew himself up to take the Sin Beasts down with him."

"But why is Shenglin City still here? Or did I not only transmigrate, but get reborn too?"

Thought after thought flashed through Lin An's mind. He knew too little; he needed to go out and gather some information.

"Claim the beginner's gift pack," Lin An said.

Every player received a beginner's gift pack. There wasn't much inside, just three things in total.

A weapon, a bottle of wound medicine, and one attribute point.

The weapon could be freely chosen.

[You have opened the beginner's gift pack and received 1 attribute point and a bottle of wound medicine. Please select your preferred weapon.]

Another interface popped up, displaying a vast assortment of weapons: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and everything else.

Considering his identity, Lin An knew choosing a large weapon would inevitably arouse suspicion among the others in the city lord's residence, and it would be awkward to carry around. He simply chose a sleeve crossbow.

"This thing is pretty good for ambushing people early on. Even martial artists below black iron fourth grade would have trouble stopping it."

Once Lin An confirmed his choice, the interface vanished, and a compact sleeve crossbow appeared, with three bolts in total.

"Though it's only a mortal artifact, at least it gives me a little sense of security."

Lin An strapped on the sleeve crossbow, tucked the wound medicine into his robe, then opened his panel.

[Player]: Lin An

[Cultivation realm]: None

[Cultivation method]: None

[Divine abilities]: None

[Attribute points]: 1

Lin An wasn't surprised by the panel. Every player's panel looked the same when they entered the game.

"Next, I should go outside and gather some information."

With that thought, Lin An was about to head outside when a voice came from beyond the door.

"Young lord, are you awake? The city lord has asked you to come to the council hall."

Creak...

Lin An opened the door and saw a maid standing outside.

"What year is it in the Sin Abyss calendar?" Lin An asked.

A flicker of surprise crossed the maid's eyes. Her young lord could go days without saying a word; she hadn't expected him to speak today.

Though surprised, she didn't dare ask any questions and hurriedly answered, "Young lord, it is currently year 3214 of the Sin Abyss calendar. Today is June 4."

The maid's answer sent a jolt through Lin An.

If he remembered correctly, the players arrived on September 1, year 3215 of the Sin Abyss calendar.

In other words, there was still about a year and three months before the players entered Sin Abyss.

Early login + rebirth + transmigration?

His buffs were fully stacked.

Lin An took a deep breath, but he felt no joy.

Because on December 15, year 3215 of the Sin Abyss calendar, Shenglin City would fall under the siege of the Sin Beasts.

It was also the fall of Shenglin City that had turned its players into wandering players.

Without a city's protection, wandering players had nowhere to replenish supplies or rest and could only become food for the Sin Beasts.

Many wandering players had quit the game outright because of this, Lin An among them.

Only later, when the Sin Abyss world connected to Blue Star and he saw the countless Sin Beasts sweeping toward them, had Lin An been filled with regret.

Had he known, he would never have quit, even if he had to be a wandering player.

Now that heaven had given him another chance, he naturally wouldn't give it up.

"There's about a year and a half left before Shenglin City falls."

"But although a year and a half isn't short, it'll still be hard for me to become a gold tier expert."

"Besides, even if I reach gold tier, I might not be able to stop what happens to Shenglin City. After all, City Lord Lin Xiao was a gold tier expert himself."

Lin An's brows furrowed tightly, deepening the surprise in the eyes of the maid beside him.

Her young lord seemed to have changed. Usually, he looked utterly unapproachable, with almost no changes in his expression.

Yet today, she had actually seen the young lord frown, as though he were worrying over something. It was truly strange.

Just as the maid was puzzling over Lin An's change, his tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

"I was looking at this the wrong way. I'm the young lord of Shenglin City now. I don't lack resources at all, and with a player's special traits, ordinary people simply can't compare to how fast I can grow stronger."

"Even if I can't stop Shenglin City from falling when the time comes, with the strength I'll have then, escaping this place and heading to another city shouldn't be a problem."

Having figured that out, Lin An stopped worrying. He looked at the maid. "Lead the way."

"Yes."

The maid didn't dare waste words and led Lin An toward the council hall.

As Lin An entered the council hall, two people inside were enjoying a lively conversation.

Seated at the head was a middle-aged man: Lin Xiao, City Lord of Shenglin City and the only gold tier expert in the entire city.

The other person was an old man. Though Lin An didn't know him, the conspicuous bright-red skull above his head sent a jolt through him.

A Sin Beast!

This old man was possessed by a Sin Beast.

For natives of the Sin Abyss world, it was very difficult to detect a Sin Beast after it possessed someone, but things were different for players.

The game system automatically marked every Sin Beast, even those possessing living beings.

Lin An hadn't expected this Sin Beast to be so bold as to enter the city lord's residence.

But...

He remembered that if a player managed to kill a Sin Beast before attaining a cultivation realm, they could directly seize one of its abilities and turn it into a divine ability of their own.

A lucky player in his previous life had discovered this. It counted as a hidden Easter egg in the game.

But less than a month after this Easter egg was discovered, Sin Abyss had connected to Blue Star.

"An'er, come here. Let me introduce you. This is Physician Liu. I invited him here especially to treat your illness."

Lin Xiao rose with a smile. "Physician Liu, this is my son. I'm sorry for troubling you over his condition."

The old man addressed as Physician Liu glanced at Lin An, then smiled at Lin Xiao. "Rest assured, City Lord Lin. I will do everything in my power."

Physician Liu then came up to Lin An and examined him carefully. "Please extend your hand, young city lord. Let me examine you."

Lin An nodded and slowly raised his right hand.

Just as Physician Liu was about to take Lin An's pulse, Lin An unleashed his ultimate right in his face. Cold glints shot from his sleeve.

Not only Physician Liu-even Lin Xiao, a gold tier expert, hadn't anticipated this sudden turn of events.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Three sleeve bolts in succession pierced Physician Liu's skull with ease.

"You..."

Physician Liu stared at Lin An in disbelief, then his body slowly toppled over.

P.S. Please show this new book some love!