Chapter 1.1: Starting Over

Late at night, in the quietness of the Qingzhu Premium Residential District in Jinhai City.

Shi Feng sat silently on the soft leather sofa, holding a stack of documents in his hand, gazing out at the swimming pool through the floor-to-ceiling windows, filled with a sense of loss and unwillingness.

Despite once being one of the leading figure of Penumbra Studio, one of the four major gaming studios in Jinhai City, commanding tens of thousands of active members in the Penumbra Gaming Studio Guild — Duskwalkers Union— as their Guild Leader, and also a renowned expert player in Jinhai City, he now could only sit at home, drinking to ease his sorrows.

Ten years of gaming career.

Ten years of bloody battles.

After experiencing countless pains and hardships, he finally led the [Duskwalkers Union] to establish ten major city-states in [God's Domain], ready to compete with other High-Tier Guilds and enjoy endless glory. But now, all of that had become a fleeting memory with just a piece of paper, never to return.

Shi Feng had never imagined that his ten years of hard work would be in vain. For the sake of the game, he had sacrificed so much, only to end up as someone else's pawn. Everything was because he opposed Blue Flower Consortium — Penumbra Studio parent company—, decision to merge into one of the [Premier Guild], [Warlord Dominion]. The next day, the Blue Flower Consortium gave him a reply: they deleted his LV.200 Sword King account, which he had spent ten years nurturing, and settled his salary at the finance department.

All he could get was five million credits and a luxury mansion. Compared to the ten major city-states he had built and the virtual kingdom that brought in riches every day, it was nothing.

Thinking of how much he had contributed to Penumbra Studio Parent Company, turning the Blue Flower Consortium from some random company into a one of the city entertainment bigwing, most of the credit was his. Yet the result was being discarded like garbage. Shi Feng vowed to retaliate against the Blue Flower Consortium for their actions.

"I will not let this go easily. I'll start over if I have to."

Confidence and determination gleamed in Shi Feng's eyes as he tore the termination contract into shreds, then picked up a bottle of red wine from the table and gulped down a few mouthfuls.

Even without the Sword King account and the support of his team, his skills and knowledge in the game would not betray him. As long as his skills remained, he could rise again in God's Domain and establish another virtual kingdom of his own.

Early in the morning, as the sun was just rising.

Bibibibibp—! Bibibibibip—!

The sound of the phone ringing incessantly.

Shi Feng, displeased at being woken up, reluctantly got out of bed and picked up the phone beside him. He was still feeling the effects of last night's drinking.

"Hello, what's up?"

"Feng, it's me, Hei Zi. What do you mean, what's up? We agreed to become professional gamers. Today is the day when the Penumbra Studio Club at school is recruiting new members. Weren't you always wanting to become a core member of Penumbra Studio?"

Hearing his friend's words, Shi Feng was a bit confused.

He had just been fired by the Gaming Studio Parent company, what use would it be for him to go for the Penumbra Studio assessment?

Even if the team leader of the assessment is the Gaming Studio leader, he wouldn't even dare to accept him, right?

"Hei Zi, did you go hiking in the mountains yesterday? The Gaming Studio had just fired me, how come you don't know about it?"

"Hah? Fired? Feng, how much did you drink yesterday? You're still not awake? Penumbra Studio hasn't recruited anyone yet, how could you be fired? Alright, hurry up and come over."

Before Shi Feng could react, Hei Zi hung up the phone.

With a heavy head, Shi Feng glanced at the phone and realized that this old iPhone 6 was not his phone at all; his phone was the latest iPhone 12.

He looked around the messy room, less than fifteen square meters in size, filled with books about gaming strategies. There was also a laptop on the desk, a very outdated model. In the corner of the room, there was a wardrobe with many clothes scattered around, and in the wardrobe's full-length mirror, a familiar face appeared.

Seeing this incredibly familiar face, Shi Feng was suddenly startled.

'Why do I look younger?' Shi Feng immediately got up and walked to the mirror, repeatedly checking his reflection to confirm that he had indeed become younger.

Yesterday, he was sleeping in a spacious and luxurious bedroom. Now, he woke up in this shabby place, and he was younger.

He still had some memories of this place. It was a small house he rented ten years ago to focus on conquering God's Domain during his senior year. He lived here for over half a year. Later, after earning some money in God's Domain, he rented a large apartment in the city.

Back then, life was extremely difficult. His family wasn't well-off, and they had accumulated quite a bit of debt for him to attend college. Despite this, his parents worked hard every month to send him enough money to live on.

Shi Feng was determined to earn money to change his family's situation. However, with college graduates everywhere struggling to find decent-paying jobs, he realized it was harder than he thought. So, he turned to the most profitable virtual game. To improve his gaming skills, he reluctantly bought a virtual helmet and aimed to become a professional gamer, practicing diligently in the virtual world.

During that time, he survived on plain steamed buns and instant noodles. In order to save money, he never attended any gatherings or social events organized by his classmates, making him an invisible figure in the class. The boys despised him, and the girls kept their distance. Whenever he went to the supermarket to buy instant noodles, he barely had ten credits in his wallet. He couldn't even afford a one-credit sausage. The female cashier took pity on him and recommended discounted ham, but Shi Feng, despite being tempted, resisted with gritted teeth.

'Could someone be playing a trick on me?'

Shi Feng shook his head at the familiar scene and his younger reflection in the mirror, denying the thought.

Even the most advanced technology in Japan wouldn't be capable of reversing aging like this, and even if they do have it, who in their right mind would use it on an old man like him?

Shi Feng glanced at the time on his phone.

April 19, 2129.

Huh, that's weird, I'm pretty sure my phone isn't broken, did I accidentally sleepwalk my way into the Doraemon time machine and go back in time?' Shi Feng's face revealed a bitter smile as he joked.

He remembered today was August 5, 2139. It couldn't be April in 2129, when he was still in his senior year.

Shi Feng shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but he couldn't help but hold onto a glimmer of hope. He hoped he had really been truly sent back ten years. So, he walked to the computer desk and turned on the laptop.

If the time on his phone could be manipulated, then the news on the internet couldn't be faked, right?

After browsing the internet for a few minutes...

Shi Feng was utterly shocked. All the information he searched for online confirmed that it was indeed April 19, 2129. Even the official website clearly stated that the globally popular God's Domain would officially open in six days, on April 25th.

'I really have come to the past!' Shi Feng stared fixedly at the news about God's Domain, tears of excitement brimming in his eyes.

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