Late at night, in a bustling yet restless second-tier city.
The streets were packed with cars. As nightlife began, many young people escaped the heat of their rooms to indulge in the evening.
Su Xiao squatted on the roof of a two-story villa. The night breeze brought a welcome chill.
He was dressed entirely in black, with a large black hood concealing his figure in the rooftop shadows.
Wearing such an outfit on a hot summer night—even in the evening—was stifling.
But compared to his tragic experiences, this discomfort was nothing. He had already been waiting there for two hours.
At his age, Su Xiao should have been enjoying his university life. But three years ago, driven by hatred, he gave up his studies and began learning… other things:
Human anatomy, hand-to-hand combat, lock picking, and more.
And now, the long wait began...
Two hours later, a black luxury car slowly pulled into the villa's courtyard. Its engine fell silent, and the door opened. A middle-aged man, clearly drunk, stumbled out.
His steps were wobbly from overdrinking.
On the roof, Su Xiao picked up a long sword. The blade was black and hard to notice under the night sky.
He leapt from the six-meter-high roof, grabbing a protruding ledge midair to slow his fall.
He landed smoothly—right in front of his enemy.
Without a word, Su Xiao's sword slashed through the air, letting out a low wail before slicing open the man's throat.
Blood sprayed. Though Su Xiao tried to dodge, his sleeve and hand were still stained red.
The drunken man didn't even realize what had happened before collapsing backward.
Such a wound was fatal. Su Xiao immediately sprinted toward a less populated area.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in a security guard uniform.
Being seen during a killing didn't matter much—he had hidden his face well.
But then, Su Xiao felt a chill run down his spine.
That "guard" pulled out a gun from his waist—a long, black pistol clearly fitted with a silencer.
A security guard with a gun? That shouldn't be possible. But Su Xiao had no time to think.
Behind him was the wide courtyard—at least ten meters across. The armed guard was about twenty meters away.
If he turned to run, his back would be fully exposed, making him an easy target.
Su Xiao had always responded to danger by confronting it head-on, never by running.
He dashed forward in a zigzag pattern, minimizing the chance of being hit.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft..."
The silenced shots were barely audible.
After only five meters, Su Xiao felt a numbness in his calf—then the same feeling in his chest.
He'd been shot. Although he was an avenger, he'd never been shot before.
The numbness spread through his body. There was no fear—just regret.
He hadn't finished his revenge. To die now, by an unknown enemy, was painfully humiliating.
Using the last of his strength, Su Xiao threw his sword.
It was a desperate move, but somehow, perhaps moved by fate or Su Xiao's unwillingness to die, the sword spun through the air and pierced the guard's chest.
Collapsed on the ground, Su Xiao smiled faintly.
The sword had been coated in a neurotoxin—a lethal mix. That guard would surely die.
Darkness overtook him as he felt a heavy blow to the head.
In his final moments of fading consciousness, he heard:
[Hunter detected. 'Reincarnation Paradise' is opening for you.]
[Transmitting body…]
[10%, 50%, 100%. Transmission complete. Massive damage to hunter's body detected. Initiating repair…]
[Hunter's consciousness inactive. Delaying repair. Sustaining minimal life functions for 10 minutes…]
[Beep… Hunter's talent is a growth-type ability. Additional survival time granted: 2 hours.]
In pitch darkness, several lines of pale blue text floated in the air, glowing faintly.
Below them, Su Xiao lay bleeding, suspended in void.
His fingers twitched. Slowly, he woke up.
At first, he was confused. But remembering the gun pointed at him, he tried to get up.
Pain wracked his body, nearly causing him to black out again.
He forced himself to sit up and looked around. Besides the glowing blue text, there was only darkness.
[Hunter, welcome to 'Reincarnation Paradise'.]
The new line of text appeared before him. But Su Xiao didn't read it—he was busy inspecting his wounds.
His leg had a gaping hole, flesh torn and twisted, so deep a finger could fit inside.
Su Xiao only frowned slightly. He had seen things ten times more brutal.
His chest injury was worse. But strangely, neither wound was still bleeding.
"I'm not dead?"
He placed a hand on his chest. His heart was still beating—strong and steady.
[Hunter, you are not dead. Do you wish to join Reincarnation Paradise? Here, you can obtain everything you desire.]
Su Xiao had already noticed the suspicious text. But cautious of unknown things, he hadn't responded.
Still, something was clearly wrong. He should've died from those injuries, yet he lived—and a red timer now hovered in the air:
[1:35:10] [1:35:09] …
One hour, thirty-five minutes, and counting down. Su Xiao guessed correctly: this was how much time he had left to live.
[Hunter, please communicate with Paradise and sign the contract, or you will die in 1 hour 35 minutes.]
So it was true—he was alive only temporarily.
"Where's my sword?"
Su Xiao ignored the contract and asked for his sword instead.
It was the only thing left to him by his parents. Supposedly captured by his great-grandfather in the war, passed down through the generations.
[Most real-world items cannot be brought into Paradise. Please sign the contract quickly.]
Su Xiao fell silent. The glowing text flickered—perhaps unused to dealing with someone like him.
"Contract? Fine. What do I have to give, and what do I get?"
Time was running out, and he couldn't delay. He also sensed he had entered some sort of supernatural realm—and that stirred something in him.
Su Xiao needed power for revenge. And though danger came with the supernatural, so did strength beyond reason.
[By signing the contract, you will travel between various 'derived worlds' and complete tasks assigned by Reincarnation Paradise. In return, you will earn 'World Source'. The more you collect, the greater the rewards.]
[Reincarnation Paradise can do anything.]
…
A large amount of text appeared, which Su Xiao read carefully.
"Anything? Can it bring the dead back to life?"
All the blue text froze, then vanished.
[Due to your role as a Hunter, that is not possible.]
(End of Chapter)