REINCARNATION PARADISE

It was nighttime in a bustling yet restless second-tier city.

The streets were filled with cars and people. As the night came alive, many young people escaped the stifling heat of their rooms to indulge in the nightlife, wasting time without care.

Su Xiao crouched on the roof of a two-story villa. The night breeze swept by, bringing a coolness that he appreciated.

He wore black clothes, with a large hood hiding his figure in the shadows of the roof. This outfit, though suffocating in the summer heat, even at night, was nothing compared to the misfortunes he'd endured. He had already been waiting for two hours.

At his age, Su Xiao should have been enjoying his time in university, but three years ago, he abandoned his studies due to hatred. Instead, he focused on learning different, more dangerous knowledge: human anatomy, combat techniques, and even lock-picking.

The long wait continued...

Two hours later, a black luxury car slowly entered the villa's courtyard. The engine hummed to a stop, and the door opened. A middle-aged man, reeking of alcohol, staggered out. His footsteps were unsteady from excessive drinking.

From the rooftop, Su Xiao picked up a long blade lying beside him. The blade, dark as night, was nearly invisible in the shadows. Without a word, he leaped from the six-meter-high roof. His agile arms grabbed a protruding ledge, slowing his descent.

He landed steadily, right in front of his enemy.

Without exchanging a single word, Su Xiao's long blade sliced through the air with a low hum, slashing the man's throat wide open. Blood spurted out, and although Su Xiao tried to avoid it, his sleeves and the back of his hand were still stained.

The drunk man barely understood what had happened before collapsing to the ground. With a wound like this, death was certain, so Su Xiao immediately dashed towards a secluded area.

From the corner of his eye, Su Xiao spotted a security guard in uniform. Despite having just committed murder, being seen didn't bother him much—his face was well hidden.

But in the next moment, his instincts screamed danger. The guard unexpectedly drew a gun from his waist. A silenced pistol, the long barrel clearly outfitted with a suppressor.

A guard with a gun? Su Xiao didn't have time to think.

Behind him was the wide expanse of the villa, and the guard stood about twenty meters away. If Su Xiao ran, he'd expose his back and become an easy target. His first instinct when facing danger was never to flee but to eliminate the threat.

He charged forward in a zigzag, trying to avoid the gunfire.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

Even with the suppressor, the gun made faint sounds as it fired.

After covering just five meters, Su Xiao felt a numbness in his leg, followed by the same feeling in his chest. He knew he'd been shot. Though he was a man out for revenge, this was the first time he had ever been hit by a bullet.

The weakness spread through his body, but there was no fear—just a sense of frustration. His revenge was incomplete, and yet he was already going to die. And to make it worse, it wasn't even his intended enemy that killed him, but some unknown assailant. What a disgraceful end.

Using his last bit of strength, Su Xiao hurled the long blade in his hand.

This final strike was left to chance, but it seemed fate sympathized with Su Xiao's resentment and the injustice of his life. The spinning blade miraculously lodged itself in the guard's chest.

Lying helpless on the ground, Su Xiao smiled.

That blade had been coated in a neurotoxin, a lethal mix. The guard would certainly die.

As his consciousness began to fade, Su Xiao felt as though his head had been struck. His vision turned black. In his last moments of awareness, he faintly heard a voice.

"Hunter, the 'Reincarnation Paradise' is now open for you."

[Body Transfer in Progress...]

[10%, 50%, 100% – Transfer Complete. Detecting major injuries on the Hunter's body, beginning repair...]

[Hunter's consciousness not yet awake. Repair instructions delayed. Maintaining minimum survival state for ten minutes...]

[Ding... Hunter possesses a growth-type ability. Extending survival time by two hours.]

In the void of darkness, several lines of light-blue text floated in the air, glowing faintly.

Beneath the glowing text, Su Xiao lay covered in blood, suspended in the void.

His fingers twitched, and Su Xiao slowly woke up.

At first, he was dazed, but the memory of that dark gun barrel quickly rushed back to him, and he tried to stand.

A surge of pain nearly caused him to pass out again.

With great effort, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. Aside from the faint blue words floating in the air, all around him was pitch black.

[Welcome to the 'Reincarnation Paradise,' Hunter.]

Another line of text appeared in front of Su Xiao, but he ignored it and began inspecting his injuries instead.

His calf had been shot through, the flesh around the wound was torn, and he could easily fit his fingers inside.

Despite the gruesome sight, Su Xiao only furrowed his brows, showing no other reaction. He had experienced far worse, and such injuries barely fazed him now.

His chest wound was even more serious, but neither his leg nor chest was bleeding any longer.

"I'm not dead?"

Pressing his hand to his chest, Su Xiao felt his heart still beating strong.

[Hunter, you are not dead. Do you wish to join the 'Reincarnation Paradise'? Everything you desire is here.]

Su Xiao had already noticed the strange text earlier, but out of caution, he had ignored it.

The situation was bizarre. He had sustained what should have been fatal wounds, yet somehow he was alive. In front of him, blood-red numbers were counting down.

[1:35:10], [1:35:9] ...

An hour and thirty-five minutes left. If Su Xiao's guess was right, this was the amount of time he had left to live. The numbers kept decreasing.

The blood-red countdown gave Su Xiao a bad feeling, as if when the numbers hit zero, his life would be over.

[Hunter, please communicate with the 'Paradise' and sign the contract, or you will die in 1 hour 35 minutes.]

As he suspected, the numbers represented his remaining time to live. Su Xiao had already guessed as much—his injuries were too severe; he should have died long ago.

"Where's my blade?"

Su Xiao didn't care about the contract or the "Paradise." He demanded the return of his blade.

That blade was the only thing his parents had left him, said to have been a military officer's sword confiscated by his great-grandfather and passed down through generations.

[Most items from reality cannot be brought into the 'Paradise.' Please sign the contract promptly.]

Su Xiao fell silent. The blue text flickered slightly, as if it had never encountered someone like him before.

"A contract? Let's hear it. What do I have to pay, and what do I gain?"

With his remaining survival time dwindling, Su Xiao couldn't afford to delay any longer. He also sensed that he might be dealing with something supernatural, which stirred him deeply.

Su Xiao craved the power to exact revenge, and while supernatural events came with immense risks, they also promised unimaginable power.

[Upon signing the contract, you will travel through different 'Derivative Worlds,' completing the tasks given by the 'Reincarnation Paradise,' earning 'World Source.' The amount of 'World Source' you collect will determine the rewards you receive.]

[The 'Reincarnation Paradise' is omnipotent.]

...

More text appeared, and Su Xiao read it carefully.

"'Can do anything'? Can it bring back the dead?"

All the blue text suddenly froze in midair before fading away.

[Given your status as a Hunter, no.]

(End of Chapter)