Reborn and Returned

Chapter 1: Rebirth Ⅱ

The angel pondered for a bit and then said, “Since the total value of your attributes is extremely low, you're classified as either a severely handicapped individual or an infant. This situation aligns with the game's ‘Regulations for the Care of the Weak’. So, would you like to accept the game's funding points?”

I let out a loud laugh. “I want to see how I can manage with these lousy attributes without any funding!”

The angel seemed taken aback for a moment. “You're the first person to turn down funding. Well, according to another option in the regulations, we can set the player, Contending with Heaven, as a ‘special growth type’. Do you agree?” I chuckled. I couldn't believe I'd come up with such a strange setting in my dream. Was this really a dream? It was getting weirder by the second.

This time, I chose to accept. The angel then asked me to pick a profession. But when he waved his hand, there were no displays of any combat or life professions in front of me.

The angel seemed flustered for a full five minutes. Finally, he said, “Since the player, Contending with Heaven, doesn't have any attribute above 1 and there's no suitable profession, the program, after some deliberation, has reset the profession system. It's temporarily adding a new profession, ‘Apprentice’. This allows you to learn skills from all professions up to an intermediate level of proficiency.” Hey, a jack - of - all - trades! That's always been my dream way of playing a game. This is getting more and more interesting. It seems like this program can actually ‘think’? Fascinating. I hope this dream doesn't end too soon.

The angel continued, “Now, we're accessing the player's real - life profile using the player's DNA, iris, and fingerprint information...”

A minute later, a form materialized in front of my eyes. It read: Yu Tian, born in 2025, 45 years old, from H City, Country L...

Family: Both parents deceased, unmarried, no other close family members. So, no relatives can be set in the game.

Education: Bachelor's Degree. In - game Gnosis set to 8.

IQ: 250, in - game creativity set to 10 (the highest).

Friend rating: Average. Social Rating: Average. In - game Player Charisma set to 5.

Previous Honors: None. Accordingly, the player's initial in - game reputation is set to 0.

Medical history: Had a bad cold at age 5, pneumonia at age 10... Became a vegetable at age 25 due to nerve damage. Correspondingly, the player's chance of getting sick in the game is set at 7 in 10,000 (a relatively high chance).

Initial game currency: 5 copper coins.

All attributes are determined. The player, Contending with Heaven, do you want to adjust your appearance? You have 30 seconds to decide...

My mind felt like it had been hit by a lightning bolt. I stood there, dumbfounded, my eyes blank, not knowing what was going on. Before I could snap out of my daze, the system's time limit was up. It automatically confirmed, and the automatic simulation of my appearance ended. A flash of white light appeared before my eyes, and I was whisked away to the game world.

I found myself in a desolate place. Was this even a village? There were a few run - down houses, a few NPCs standing scattered along the roadside. The trees outside the village were withered and yellow, and wild beasts roamed around. It was a bleak sight. But I wasn't even interested in looking around. I just blankly recalled the form the angel had shown me earlier.

If this was really a dream, then the creator of this dream was incredibly powerful. I was sure I couldn't have made this up, let alone create such a realistic game scene.

I desperately tried to find a rational explanation for what was happening in front of me, but I couldn't. No matter how hard I racked my brain, my thoughts would always be interrupted by that line on the form: “Became a vegetable at the age of 25 due to nerve damage.” Wasn't that the most fitting explanation for my current situation?

These days, games use electronic devices that connect directly to the human brain, converting brainwave signals into game commands. So, conversely, could certain incidents in the game affect the human brain too?

But how could this be possible? Don't game companies always assure players that their games promote physical and mental well - being and are completely safe? Back then, to persuade parents to let their kids play online virtual games, didn't a game company boss even put a virtual helmet on his newborn baby? With hundreds of millions of people playing online games every year, why am I the only one with nerve problems? No, it can't be true!

Shirk, it has to be that Shirk. It's his doing, isn't it? He's manipulating the game equipment to make my brain hallucinate, right? Shirk, if you're brave enough, let's have a real fight. I won't even use the Holy Spirit Suit. Let's have a fair duel. What's the point of using such underhanded tactics!

Am I really hallucinating? No, I can't deceive myself. Can an illusion last this long? The time I spent in the darkness was just way too long......

Two hours passed, and with an IQ of 250, I finally managed to regain a bit of my rationality. After piecing together all the information, I had no choice but to accept this desperate truth: in that last game, the intelligent computer had used the only real - world weapon it could control, the game helmet, to “seal” my consciousness. Now, twenty years later, for some reason, there was a c***k in that “seal” that allowed me to escape. Given that when I exited the game, I still ended up in the darkness, it's clear that my consciousness can no longer control my body at all. Medically speaking, I'm now a vegetable.

Since I've been diagnosed as a vegetable, unless a miracle happens, there's no way for me to recover. So, from now on, I'll have to live in this game forever, right?......

Once I accepted all this, aside from mourning the passing of my parents, I felt even more heart - broken for myself. Ever since I was a kid, my IQ was far superior to that of my peers. My parents had such high hopes for me. I was always their pride. Even though our family was poor, my parents saved up to send me to the best university. However, in college, I got addicted to online games. I didn't go on to grad school. I bounced around from job to job and finally chose my dream career - a “professional gamer”. My parents suffered a great deal because of this, but I didn't care. I just wanted to make money to prove to them that my choice was right.

But instead of repaying my parents for raising me, I made them endure so much pain. I ruined their lives......

Everything is gone - family, possessions, health, friends, hopes, and ideals. Now I'm just a lonely soul. All I have left is this game.

My hands clenched into fists. Even though I was in a game, I still felt darkness before my eyes. Sadness, loneliness, guilt, and despair all welled up in my chest. My brain couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was about to explode. I frantically lunged at the wild dogs and cats not far away......

I lost count of how many times I resurrected. Every time I respawned at the starting point, I didn't think at all and charged straight at the small monsters around me again. I just kept dying over and over, feeling the pain I hadn't experienced in twenty years. Even though my five - senses sensitivity was at a minimum of 1, this game helmet was clearly very advanced, so my pain sensation was about 20% of what it would be in reality. Maybe all the other players adjusted their neuralgia shock to 5% or even lower, but I definitely wouldn't. I almost perversely relished the pain because it made me feel like I still existed in this world.

With my continuous suicidal attacks, I actually managed to t*****e two small wild dogs to death. But the 4 experience points I gained were gone in an instant due to dying. At the same time, the system notified me that because the number of deaths exceeded 50, my HP growth rate was reduced by 10%, and it deducted from me twice in a row. But I didn't feel the slightest bit of regret. Instead, I threw my head back and let out a loud roar, crying and laughing at the same time.

Finally, I managed to vent most of my grief. My loneliness lessened a bit, and I regained a little of my former calm as a professional player. I'm a unique genius, both in heaven and on earth. How could I destroy everything like those alcoholics in the movies? People should cherish what they have rather than lament over what they've lost.

Since I became a vegetable because of the game, and the game and my nerves are interconnected and affect each other, then when my in - game attributes improve, and when various things in the game give me strong nerve stimulation, perhaps it can also have an impact on my real body, right? I haven't completely lost hope!

Even though my body could no longer recover, my consciousness was still there, and this game simulated reality so realistically, along with the virtual five senses, so I was equivalent to just changing my existence.

Unable to return to reality, I could only prove my worth in the game, only then could I find more of my own existence!

Strongly holding back the emotions that were churning in my heart, although my heart was still aching, my sanity had gradually returned, and I decided to start a new life. In any case, coming from the world of total darkness to the virtual digital world, I've sort of gained some sort of regeneration, and I should be grateful for that! I'm going to pull myself together! -------------