Looking around, the sky was full of stars—it was already night.

My phone was nowhere to be found, and the clothes on my shoulder behind me were stained red with blood. Even the slightest movement sent waves of excruciating pain through me.

While I felt lucky, I was also worried about Grace Bennett. Was she safe after being taken to the hospital? Why did those people want to kill her? And there were still so many mysteries left unsolved...

I couldn’t think about all that now. I’d better go home first. My stomach was growling, and I had no idea how long I’d been hungry.

Staggering, I made my way to the road, feeling a bit confused. When Grace Bennett was in danger, I had instinctively used my own body to shield her from harm. Why did I do that?

I shook my head. Who knows why.

Buses were rare in the suburbs. After waiting for more than half an hour, one finally came. The driver looked at me with a shocked expression: “Dude, did you fall into a sewer?”

I nodded and smiled. “Pretty much. What bad luck.”

The bumpy ride continued. My phone was gone, but luckily the card Grace Bennett gave me was still there. That meant I’d be able to get by for now. Tomorrow night was the launch of “Tian Zong.” With my skills, even if I couldn’t rule the game, at least I’d be able to make a living.

I touched the back of my head—it still hurt a bit. There was always a question in my mind: after taking such a heavy blow from a blunt object, my skull should have been cracked open, and I’d been buried in the dirt for who knows how long. How did I manage to walk out alive?

Looking back at the area where I’d been buried, now shrouded in night, I saw it was an undeveloped zone, looking very much like a mass grave, with rows of low, scattered mounds.

After thinking for a long time, I suddenly laughed at myself: “Forget it, it’s good enough to be alive. Why overthink it?”

……

By the time I got home, it was completely dark. I lived in a one-bedroom apartment, rent 2200 RMB per month. Yeah, just last month I almost couldn’t afford it, but thanks to a brother’s generous help, I made it through. Of course, the price for his loan was that he took a low-level artifact-grade two-handed sword from me for fun. But Ling Tong was about to shut down in a few days anyway, so those items weren’t really worth much.

I walked up the dim staircase, habitually reaching for my keys, when suddenly a figure darted out from my apartment door.

“Damn! Why are you only getting back now? Where have you been these past two days? You didn’t even answer your phone!”

Just from the voice, I already knew who it was.

Henry Cooper, my best buddy. By “best,” I mean I want your good stuff, and you want mine. We’d been classmates from elementary school through college, and were very close. Other than not sharing girlfriends, there were almost no secrets between us. Of course, the reason we didn’t share girlfriends was because I never had one, while Henry Cooper changed girlfriends faster than women changed clothes.

In the dim light, Henry Cooper looked at me in shock. “Ethan Carter, what happened to you? You look terrible! Sigh, I heard about it—you got your account deleted by Zhu Ying Luan... Forget it, Zhu Ying Luan is at its peak now, dominating China. Your Gu Jian Hun Meng really can’t compete.”

I smiled slightly, patted Henry Cooper on the shoulder, and said, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Zhu Ying Luan is at its peak now, but what goes up must come down. Besides, getting my account deleted is no big deal. Young man, you have to stay optimistic.”

“Optimistic, my ass...” Henry Cooper looked helpless. “Am I supposed to be comforting you, or are you comforting me...?”

“Thirteen, what are you doing here?” I glared at him. “Tomorrow night is the launch of Tian Zong. Shouldn’t you be at home preparing your inventory instead of hanging out at my place?”

Henry Cooper took a bite of cucumber, looking shocked. “Are you out of it? The official launch of Tian Zong is tonight at midnight. How did it become tomorrow?”

“What? Tonight?! What’s the date today?” I was a bit confused.

“The 10th. Isn’t it?”

“The 10th...”

I was stunned. I’d met with Grace Bennett on the 8th, but today was the 10th. Did that mean I’d been unconscious in the dirt for a whole day and night? How was that possible?!

“Hey, are you okay, bro?”

Henry Cooper patted my shoulder and asked, “Why do you look so out of it? Today’s the 10th. Is something wrong?”

I took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s nothing. So Tian Zong launches tonight. Why are you still hanging around here?”

“Damn, you heartless guy!” Henry Cooper spat as he spoke. “I couldn’t reach you for days, so I came to check if you were dead. Now that you’re back, I’m heading home. I should make it before midnight. See you in the game! Quick, what’s your ID going to be? Still ‘Luo Chen’?”

“I don’t know, probably not. What about you? What’s your name going to be?”

“I don’t know either. Too many people are trying to grab names. I wanted something like ‘Cool Guy’ or ‘Handsome Hero,’ but it looks like my chances are slim.”

“Alright, you head back first. We can get in touch again after we leave the newbie village.”