Death and Reborn

*Beep Burrr Beep Burrrt…*

Lin Feng, better known by his in-game name, Feng, lay on his bed, unable to move, as the sound of the machines' chimes rang beside his ear.

It had been nearly a year since the tragic accident, and all he could do every day was lie here on the bed. Perhaps it was karma for everything he had done wrong in his life.

He grew up as an orphan. His parents had died when he was 12 years old. He was weak as a child and was frequently bullied. However, the release of the virtual reality game Gods Art enabled him to make a significant change in his life.

His life concept completely changed as he built his guild within the virtual world. He had to resort to evil methods to ensure he could become more prosperous and powerful in both reality and the game, as he was unwilling to lose what he had built.

From a simple orphan, he became rich and powerful.

While society as a whole is lawful, there are always loopholes to be taken advantage of.

The source of his power and wealth is Shadowless Storm, the guild he founded with his best friend since childhood, Fatty and Long Tian Ba (IGN: Heavens Conquerer), whom they met in Gods Art.

The trio had risen through the ranks of an unknown guild to establish Shadowless as a top-tier guild in Gods Art. Feng had to get his hands dirty numerous times as he rose through the ranks of power.

It always starts with a simple bribe, and if that fails, threatening will help. Taking other people's lives was something he had never done, but he had undoubtedly used credits to hire help in real life to get rid of certain players.

Fatty, who had remained true to his character, had always been opposed to using such a shady method but had always succumbed to Feng's persuasion. Choosing to believe his childhood friend.

Long Tian Ba, on the other hand, fully supports using any means to gain an advantage for the guild. They eliminated threats to them by relying on Feng's intelligence and strategy, growing stronger by the day.

The 3 of them complimented each other well. Fatty, the administration manager. Long Tian Ba, the operation manager, and Feng, the brain and the guild's top player.

While they had met Long Tian Ba later in life, Feng and Fatty treated him as a brother and trusted him with their lives.

Recently there had even been rumours that a super guild is willing to pay a handsome figure to acquire the guild.

However, Fatty and Feng held no intentions of doing so. With their combine stake of 66% in the guild, they had complete control over daily matters, and they were both confident in bringing the guild to a higher level.

*Click!*

Feng heard the door to his room open. He could not talk nor open his eyes or move his fingers; He's lying in bed as if he was sleeping. His mind, however, was active as always and could sense his surrounding.

His beloved wife, MeiHua, would visit him every day in the hospital, and today was just like any other day. The only difference was that another set of footsteps followed her in.

"Let's do this and get over with it." A cold voice echoed in the room.

"Also, be sure that the documents are ready." The other person added.

Feng recognises this other set of voice. It belongs to Long Tian Ba.

"Yes, I am sure." The cold voice of Mei Hua replies sinisterly before adding, "Also, make sure it is all clean. I do not want a mess to occur from this. Especially Fatty, he is going to try and find out as much as he can."

"I am 100% confident. I got this by spending a lot of credits. No one will be able to discover anything; it will be just a jab into his water supply. The doctors would rule it a natural death in a few hours." Long Tian Ba reaches out his hand and caressed MeiHua butt cheeks as he assured her.

"Tsk, must you touch my butt in front of him?" The cold voice of MeiHua sounded more familiar to Feng this time as the coldness thaws off.

"Hehe, What is there to worry about? He is just lying there like a dead body anyway." Long Tian Ba assured Mei Hua before adding, " Well, he practically is going to become one soon. Once his shares are in your hand, we have nothing to worry."

"Haiz…. This idiot! Playing around with women behind my back as if I didn't know anything. Too bad I could not let him know how big of a green hat he is wearing." With a face of resignation, Mei Hua looked at Feng pathetically.

"Still, I must say he was like a cockroach. To think he can survive the car accident!" Long Tian Ba chimes in with an annoyed voice.

Hearing his words, Mei Hua chortled before replying, "That was his strength. The ability to overcome all that life has to throw at him, I guess." She continued coldly, "We just have to kill him twice."

Feng's rage grows as he listens to their conversation. Yes, he had been unfaithful, but it was primarily due to work when he needed to entertain his investors. Long Tian Ba, in fact, was the one who arranged for the girls without his permission. While there is no excuse, it irritates him that Long Tian Ba is the one banging his wife behind his back, despite the fact that he had trusted him as a brother.

He was 40 years old and had experienced a slew of setbacks while playing Gods Art over the previous 20 years. However, the betrayal of two of his most trusted companions hurts.

Fear crept up in Feng's heart as he heard the heavy footsteps approaching. However, after a few minutes, he felt nothing. The footstep was gradually moving away from him.

"There you have it. Let's go back." Long Tian Ba caresses Mei Hua's butt as they exit the room.

Feng could only hear the rustling of her dress and the door slowly opening and closing. His mind was still active, scanning the room for anything he might have missed. However, he could not pick up anything as the room remained deadly silent.

Gathering his thoughts, all he knows is that he will die in a few hours as a result of poison. What is the poison? Is it going to hurt? Why had it to be the people he had so much faith in? Questions raced through his mind, none of which he could answer.

Soon, his heart calms down as he realizes he has no choice but to lie in bed, waiting for death to come to him.

Accepting his death, a sense of calmness that he had never felt in his life overcame him. He even felt thankful. Thankful that he was given a chance to reflect on his life. Grateful to know the cause of his death. Thankful to know his best friend, Fatty, is someone he could still rely on.

Perhaps it was karma for all the evil he has done. While he did not rape nor kill, he had caused such to happen to others before. A devil within, death was his retribution. At this moment, he regrets being selfish.

He regretted the harm he had done to others in order to strengthen himself. 'We were born naked and without wealth. We return to the earth with nothing.' These are the thoughts that run through his mind.

All of the time and effort he had put into amassing his wealth and power had now been for naught. In his mind, he scoffed, wondering what he had spent all his time doing. He couldn't take anything with him to the afterlife.

All he had done was to deliver everything he had built to the person who wanted his life.

*Beep... Burr… Beep… burr… beep!!!*

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*Beep Beep Beep Beep…*

'????'

Question marks rose in the mind of Feng. He had felt his consciousness fading earlier; however, now it is as sharp as it can be.

'Wait, that is not the sound of the machine in the hospital! Instead, it sounded like an alarm clock!' He thought with his eyes closed.

The air lacks the smell of the disinfectant he was so used to, and the sound from the window was different from usual.

Slowly, his eyelashes flutter as he tries to open his eyes. An action he has not done for a long time. Looking up, he saw a dirty semi-white ceiling which paint is flaking.

Feng sat up quickly, realizing he was in a room he was well-acquainted with. It was the one bedder in which he had spent his entire life prior to making a decent living in God Art.

Feng went to the mirror as soon as he realized something was wrong, and the person staring back at him was his younger self! Feng quickly turned on his old obsolete desktop and noticed the date had changed to December 31st, 2108. A total of 20 years had been rewinded!

'The launch of God Art was on 1st Jan 2110. 1st Jan…' Feng thought in wonder.

Not sure what had happened, Feng slummed down on his bed.

'Time rewind? Reincarnation?' His eyebrows raised as he collected his thoughts.

"HAHAHA!" As he realizes how ridiculous things have become, he bursts out laughing. 'What has life given me...?' With a bitter smile, he reflected.

Feng calmed his mind by taking a deep breath in and collecting his thoughts on what he should do next. Since he had been given a second chance in life, he remembered the only person he had left to trust, Fatty.

He couldn't do much now that he had nothing to his name. Still, with his knowledge of the future, particularly God's Art, he would have an advantage! With that, he should be able to bring his friend along and live a completely different life than before.

In his previous life, Feng had started playing God Art late in order to earn a living after graduating. He is currently in his final year of high school and will graduate soon.

His parents died in an accident when he was 12, and their insurance did leave him with some credit, but it wasn't much, and he had to scrimp and work part-time to make ends meet.

His relatives offered to help, but he was never close to them, and none of them could offer much assistance.

Being 18 this year and graduating from Senior High School meant he had one more chance to rise in God's Art. This one year before the game's release is critical to him.

With today's technology, a human could live to be 200 years old or more. However, martial art is an important component in accomplishing this. It gives you a much more active and youthful mind and body than you've ever had.

Feng had a year before the release of God Art to train his body and mind while also raising funds for the game. He needed to get off to a better start than he had before.

Feng thought about this and took out his old phone, which is now somewhat obsolete because everyone uses a Quantum watch.

*Ring, ring…. Ring, ring…*

"Hello?" A person answered on the other side.

"Hey, Fatty! Where are you now?" Feng asked urgently.

"Me? I'm at home, bro! God damn~! You are interrupting my happy time bro!" Fatty responded irritably.

"Damn your happy time! This is urgent, meet me at the macs in 1 hour!" Feng retorted angrily.

"Hey bro, I know it's your birthday, but dude... get a girlfriend and stop clinging to me!" Fatty remarked sarcastically.

"Damn, Fatty, just do it! This is really urgent!" Feng responded once more, did not wait for Fatty to respond, and hung up the phone.

Feng began working out after putting down the phone. He needed to get in shape if he was going to be at his best when God Art debuted. While virtual reality games have been popular for some time, God Art is the one that takes them to the next level.

Real-life abilities do have an impact on a character's performance in-game. Gods Art incorporates a player's database into the game, and what occurs in the game has an impact on reality. Of course, this was not disclosed at the start of the game.

This alone distinguished God Art, and in the future, nearly the entire population of the planet was involved in the game. Aside from that, there is a time difference that makes it appealing.

At the start of the game, three days in God Art were equal to one day in real life. That is, by participating in the game, humans can technically live longer and experience more things.

Still, his current body is unsuitable for the game. Rather than not being ideal, it would be more accurate to describe it as being in an unhealthy shape.

Feng is currently a skinny kid with very little muscle on him. Even though he stands at 1.83 meters, the best way to describe him right now is weak and inconspicuous all the way down the food chain. His hunched back doesn't help much because it makes him appear weaker.

His current goal is 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10km run around the block. But, with his body, as it is now, he knows it will be difficult to reach this goal.

9…

10…

11...

'Shit! My body is currently in a terrible state! 11 push-ups, 42 sit-ups, and ten squats...' As he lay on the ground, Feng reflected.

"Damn, I don't have much of a choice! Nutrition also plays a role, and I am currently not at the appropriate level." In frustration, he murmured.

Forcing himself to get up, he pushed his body to continue his workout. after finally reaching his target of 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats, he took a quick shower.

After showering, Feng checked his account as he dried his hair. The insurance money that his parents had left him was running low.

He currently has 20,000 credit plus left, which is only enough to rent out this one-bedroom for another year for 12,000 credit and have an 8000 balance for food and other minor expenses. Changing into his shirt and jeans in preparation for his meeting with Fatty, Feng dashed out the door.