Rebirth

Mason Phoenix slowly opened his eyes to the sight of the same bedroom he had lived in for over a decade. White walls, a hanging light, the curtains - everything was so familiar, as if time had frozen here. His younger daughter, with her doll-like hair, was cheerfully waking him up, her small hand leading him into the dining room. On the breakfast table were Li's rice rolls and Wang's potstickers, the taste bringing a wave of warmth to Mason Phoenix's heart.

His elder daughter was discussing her classmates' gossip at the tuition class while enjoying the rice rolls. His wife noticed Mason Phoenix coming over and gently offered him some rice rolls, while his younger daughter happily asked her dad to save her favorite potstickers. Mason Phoenix stared at the blurred faces of his daughters and wife, tears blurring his vision until he could no longer see them clearly. He tried to wipe away his tears, but his vision only became more blurred. He tried to hold his wife's hand, but couldn't grasp it, and his younger daughter next to him disappeared like a bubble, leaving only the voice of the elder daughter asking her mother, "Mom, when is dad coming back?"

Gradually, Mason Phoenix woke up from the dream, finding himself still trapped in the previous cage. In this cage, Aiden Storm's limbs had been cut off, his tongue removed, Jack Robinson and Professor Wu Kexin were brutally murdered.

Mason Phoenix had never truly integrated into this world. Deep down, he was still a 21st-century programmer, yearning for the extraordinary yet content with the ordinary.

Mason Phoenix had always treated this world like a game, where he was the protagonist. He liked geniuses like Aiden Storm, just as he liked powerful teammates when he played RPG games. This sense of detachment was always there, Mason Phoenix was always a spectator.

Aiden Storm lay on the wooden bed in the cage, occasionally letting out pained gasps.

In the world of the 537th year of the new cosmic calendar, the boundaries of medical science had been pushed to unimaginable heights. Thanks to breakthroughs in genetic engineering and regenerative medicine, it is now possible to use stem cells to regenerate a person's organs. These cells have the ability to develop into any type of cell in the body. They are cultivated in the lab, where they proliferate and differentiate into cells that make up specific organs.

Aiden Storm's limbs and tongue had been reattached - the very same limbs and tongue that had been cut off. William's men asked if they should attach the tongue. The image of Aiden Storm's determined eyes when he said he wanted to kill himself flashed through William's mind. He was a good kid, just unlucky. William didn't ask Zuo Qiu Wu if they should attach the tongue, he just hinted and assumed, letting his men do it for Aiden Storm.

The silence between Aiden Storm and Mason Phoenix lasted a whole day. In the quiet of the night, Mason Phoenix sat at the edge of the bed, his gaze out of focus as he stared blankly at the floor. As if he could return to his former life from there, or perhaps go back to two days ago and not touch that handwritten book.

Aiden Storm's hoarse voice rang out, comforting Mason Phoenix.

"We are only 16 years old."

"We are just students."

"Those people are cruel killers, we couldn't fight them in that situation. You did nothing wrong."

"Our reaction was normal at that time, we were all scared, we were all at a loss. You can't blame yourself and let yourself fall into pain because of that."

"People who are alive should not suffer for the past that can't be retrieved."

Mason Phoenix looked at Aiden Storm's serious face. Aiden Storm rarely spoke so much at once, especially since his tongue had just been severed. Mason Phoenix sighed, feeling comforted by a child.

After a moment of thought, Mason Phoenix spoke, "I know. Jack Robinson, Daniel Brown, and Professor Smith... they're living in another world."

"I've always treated this world as a game."

"You, Jack Robinson, and the others... you're just virtual characters in this game world."

"I was supposed to be the protagonist of this world, because I'm different from all of you."

"But when I saw your limbs being severed, and Jack Robinson... Jack Robinson was..."

Mason Phoenix felt a lump in his throat. Tears started to stream down his face.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "We are not different."

"Do you remember when I asked you if you believed in fate?"

"Fate is the sum of all possibilities. When we obtained the Elemental mecha, our fate had already embarked on a different path - an extraordinary path."

"I've always yearned for the extraordinary, but I never considered what it entails."

"With great power, comes great responsibility."

Without worrying about the surveillance outside the cage, Mason Phoenix continued to speak to Aiden Storm, "If we really are the protagonists, we will definitely escape. We will definitely defeat the Zuo family."

"Gurgle~"

Just as Mason Phoenix was about to say something else, his stomach growled with hunger.

Mason Phoenix got off the bed, walked to the table, and picked up a cold bun. He took a big bite.

To Aiden Storm, he said, "Now, let's focus on surviving."