Chapter 1 (Assassin Reborn)

[Translated by ChickenBakuba]

I'm back with another gaming novel. ;D Ratings are terrible on Novelupdates but honestly, the first chapter looks great. Admittedly, I was triggered with the sudden surge of popularity on Qidian after they took it up but I'm fine. Learnt my lesson — not to touch Qidian novels, no matter what.

Chapter 1, Reborn

A world of darkness. Xu Xiang slowly opened his eyes, only to discover that his surroundings were pitch black. Was he dead? His eyelids flickered back close again.

The sudden ringing of a phone alarm shook Xu Xiang awake. Blinking, Xu Xiang realised that he was sprawled on his bed. The familiar feeling of his old bed was distinct, pronounced. For a second, Xu Xiang suspected it was merely a dream, a trick played on him by his vivid imagination. His room was just as he remembered. Yangde district, room 504. A cheap flat applicable only for the lower-income group.

A series of muffled thumps came from his door. Someone was knocking.

Although Xu Xiang was still unsure if he was in a lucid dream, he got up to answer the door.

It was Zhang Fan, his best friend.

Zhang Fan was ugly. Indeed, it was for this reason that Zhang Fan had not touched hands with a female despite having chased after countless girls from elementary school to high school.

“Hey, Xu Xiang, what time are you going to sleep until? Today is <i>Dispute's</i> grand opening. Don’t tell me you forgot.” Something was slightly off about Xu Xiang today, Zhang Fan noted, although he couldn’t tell what. He shoved it to the back of his mind. Zhang Fan was much more concerned about the game now.

“<i>Dispute</i> is released today?” Xu Xiang repeated dumbly. <i>Dispute</i> was the game he had played for two years, the game where he had met Wang Xue. If it was released today, that could only mean that...

Xu Xiang grabbed his handphone roughly, fumbling to confirm the date.

2015, June 28th.

Xu Xiang’s pupils contracted. 2015, June 28th. It was displayed as clear as day on his phone’s screen. It really was five years ago! Even a cheap counterfeit of a phone couldn’t have such a large discrepancy error in time.

“What year is it now?” Xu Xiang turned to Zhang Fan.

“2015. Huh, I’ve heard of people not getting the days of the week right, but to think I now know someone who can’t even tell the year.” Was Xu Xiang pulling some sort of test on him?[footnote]Raws put testing his intelligence but rly.[/footnote]

'Five years ago, it really is five years ago!' Xu Xiang broke into a fit of laughter. The Xu Xiang five years ago was still an otaku,
a professional gamer, but more importantly, a pure and naïve schoolboy who had not entered the world of <i>Dispute</i> yet. He had also not met Wang Xue, and did not have three years of the experience of a mercenary yet...

Nature loved to toy with people. In his last life, he had carried guilt and regret with him. Who would've thought the heavens would yield him another chance?

'Wang Xue, this time, I won't allow you to repeat that disaster. Bai Xinming, if you continue bothering Wang Xue, I have no qualms with sending you to hell.' Xu Xiang's fingers closed into a fist and his eyes shone with an unspeakable determination.

"Oi, Xu Xiang, you didn't sleep till stupid did you? Tragic, a big and good youth has been ruined just like that." Zhang Fan wrung his wrists and sighed.

"You're the stupid one." Xu Xiang punched Zhang Fan lightly. They shared a moment of laughter.

'Come, I'll let you know that I'm not the same weak and poor brat!' Xu Xiang swore.

"What are you choosing for your occupation and your username?"

"Sky..."

Xu Xiang paused. 'Wings of the sky' was his previous ID in the game. The level 65 thief he had poured his blood and sweat into for two years...although it could not contend against the strongest players, it was still of top-quality. But...

"Feng Xiang." The Phoenix symbolised Nirvana and Rebirth. Now that he could start anew, everything would be different. As a reborn person, if he could not sweep away all obstacles like the autumn gale, he would have squandered away the chance the rebirth had given him.

The 'Xiang' (翔) word was to commemorate his parents. He was born an orphan. When he was born, his parents had immediately coined him a name 'Xu Xiang' (徐徐). 'Slowly fly', was it? His lips twisted into a wry smile. In his previous life, he had done exactly that - 'slowly fly' - only to find that when he reached his destination, everything had changed. Objects could remain the same, but people would always change.[footnote] 'Xu' 徐 means slow, and 'Xiang' 徐 means soar/to glide.[/footnote]

His occupation was Thief. This was indisputable. If he continued to play as a Thief, he would have an immense advantage over the other players. His understanding towards the Thief profession was certainly unrivalled. There wasn't much to think of for his occupation, as he also had his three years experience of a mercenary.

"I'm going with Sheng Zhishang, I think I'll become a warrior for my profession." Although Xu Xiang had already confirmed it, confirming that things were going along with the past events allowed him to relax. If the 'butterfly effect' held true, then he would be the butterfly. His advantage as a reborn person would either cause a disaster or it would be greatly lowered.[footnote]If you don't know what the butterfly effect is, go https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect. It talks about how something small like a butterfly can lead to a tornado in Texas.[/footnote]

Xu Xiang decided to bring out his savings to buy a gaming helmet. <i>Dispute</i> was supported by a game helmet and a game cartridge. It was 2015, and computer were practically ubiquitous. Almost everyone had one. However, the computer could only access the internet, but the game helmet could allow one to access the game. Furthermore, the game helmet was 80 per cent virtual degree, so one would have perfect and immediate control over the body in the virtual world. Playing the game with a game helmet would make the gameplay several times smoother and easier. As for the game cartridge, it was something Xu Xiang could only dream of now.

Xu Xiang knew that <i>Dispute</i> would eventually monopolise the entire gaming industry and market within the coming year. Making ends meet wasn't the issue, as Xu Xiang was confident that he could use his extensive two years of experience to his advantage.

Most of Xu Xiang's cash was his own hard-earned money. He worked a job after school and whenever he had spare time, so he had quite a bit of money. However, this had allowed his grades to go into shambles and he hence did not enter College. However, he still had around RMB 5,000 on him (approx. USD 789.56) and the cheapest gaming helmet was around RMB 3,000 (approx. USD 473.74). As for the remaining RMB 2,000 (approx. USD 315.83) he could save it for future needs.

<i>Dispute<i/> only allowed ten hours of gameplay daily, but it did not restrict when the ten hours applied. After the online timer hit ten hours, all loot/gain would be reduced to 1. That would mean all experience would be 1, practicing skills would only give you 1 proficiency, and so on. There was also the concept of day and night in the game, but as China's time and reality had a time ratio of 1:1, day and night in reality was more or less the same as with the game.

Xu Xiang grabbed his money and headed to the nearest <i>Dispute's</i> retail outlet.

Throngs of people flooded the outlet. Even the plaza outside the retail outlet was swarming with people.

"Who's the pervert who dares to feel I, your mother?"

"I don't swing that way, big brother, please don't touch me."[footnote]A guy is molesting another guy...[/footnote]

"Who trod on my shoe! Use your mouth and properly clean it!"

"Ah, One Thousand Years of Death!"[footnote]For those of you who don't get this reference, it refers to Kakashi's move on Naruto during their test to retrieve the bells. Also known as Kanchō in Japan. Fucking hilarious... http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/One_Thousand_Years_of_Death[/footnote]

...

This flooded square spoke volumes of <i>Dispute's</i> flourishing business. This was not surprising. Ever since 2015's big liberation of manpower, other than orphans like Xu Xiang who were left to fend for themselves, many people had more disposable income to burn. Being in the virtual world of <i>Dispute</i> was equivalent to sleeping. For one to be able to sleep <i>and</i> play, it was virtually impossible for the game not to make a big hit.

Although Xu Xiang was a professional gamer, he paid close attention to his health and body. Xu Xiang believed that if his body deteriorated or collapsed, everything would be for naught. Health first, job second. So he exercised regularly. He stood at 180 cm, (~5'11") and weighed 68 kilograms. (~150 lbs/pounds) Xu Xiang forced his way through the mass of people, treading on countless people's shoes as he made his way to the outlet. It was a good thing his body was fit, even if it was not as strong as his peak during his mercenary years.

"Miss, one gaming helmet please." Xu Xiang dug out his ID and handed it to the service lady working at the <i>Dispute</i> outlet. Every helmet was identity coded, something personal to the owner. Other people could not use the helmet. This prevented selling of accounts, hiring someone to train/farm for you, et cetera.

And just like that, RMB 3,000 was quickly spent. Xu Xiang hugged the case with his helmet inside as he squeezed his way out of the crowd again. While stepping on more shoes, of course.

Then he returned home.

Chapter 1, END

Well, looks a lot like Emperor of Solo Play. (EOSP)