Before him lay the unknown ocean and world.

How should he carry himself and live in this world?

Those familiar people who suddenly vanished around the corner made Ryan Carter feel the immense power of time and space. In the blink of an eye, those lives intertwined with yours, those countless faces and voices you could recall in detail, just disappeared—without even the buildup that death brings. In the face of the misalignment of life and death across time and space, everything seemed so insignificant.

Ryan Carter sat in a daze for a long time.

His knowledge beyond the era and memories of the past made him understand that he had many opportunities. But should he rush to tinker with those things right now? First of all, for some things he was familiar with and confident about, the right moment hadn’t arrived yet.

Secondly, isn’t every bit of what’s before him also part of life? Isn’t it worth enjoying, worth cherishing? What he was experiencing wasn’t just a world of rebirth, but a parallel world. The very fact that his knowledge surpassed that of an entire world meant he was destined to have many opportunities in the future—perhaps ones not even limited by time itself.

Making money—he knew he wouldn’t lack for wealth. But to rush into it now, as a middle school student, with all the obstacles from his family and other aspects, he’d have to overcome so much. And years from now, when he looked back on today, after he had gained a comfortable life and status, would he regret missing something? He was almost certain he would.

Yes, he needed to cherish those who were still here, to greet those he would meet with hope, and to face this world with reverence and awe.

So, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to this world that was both familiar and strange… harboring grand ambitions, just waiting for the winds to rise.

And as for the student life before him—if he had the chance to live it all over again, to have new experiences, if he could face the familiar things of this world without regret, why not give it a try?

The reason student days are such a precious treasure in life is because they represent the period when you almost burn through all your youth in growing up. Later on, you might keep maturing, becoming shrewd and worldly, but those unforgettable memories—there’s only this one chance to have them.

So, Ryan Carter was willing to continue along this path. Of course, the most urgent matter was to defeat The Butcher Thompson.

Ryan Carter noticed, in the corner of the bookshelf, the brush and inkstone he once used to practice calligraphy, along with a large roll of old newspapers. Xuan paper was a luxury; newspapers were much more economical for practice.

His mind wavered. He took out the brush, washed it, trimmed the bristles, dipped it in ink, and then spread out those old newspapers.

He moved the brush, pressing and lifting.

His gaze was far-reaching and calm, as if he was using an incredibly deep soul to withstand the shocks brought by this world.

That night, he wrote again and again.

“A cup to the morning sun, a cup to the moonlight…

A cup to my hometown, a cup to the distant lands…

A cup to tomorrow, a cup to the past…

A cup to freedom, a cup to death…【Note】”

“No regrets, no shame.

Life and death… without fear!”

……

【Note: From Mao Buyi’s song “Eliminate Sorrow”】

Chapter 5: The Poetry of Time, Never Ending

Ryan Carter woke up to the faint rustling sounds coming from the kitchen. It was still dark, probably around six in the morning, but somewhere in the apartment building, a rooster had already started crowing. The sounds in the kitchen were from Lana Foster getting up to make breakfast for Ryan Carter, using tongs to place honeycomb coal into the stove, and operating the hand-cranked blower to help light the fire. Even though she was moving as quietly as possible, normally Ryan Carter would have been completely unaware at this hour. But the reborn Ryan Carter, perhaps with habits from his previous life etched into his soul, woke up instantly at the slightest noise.

Actually, he still had some lingering sense of unreality about his rebirth. But now, waking up on this bed from more than a decade ago in his memory, he fully accepted it.

He’d gone to bed late last night and vaguely heard his parents arguing. Now, he flipped out of bed, quickly got dressed, and opened the door. Lana Foster was a bit surprised. “Did I wake you?” In her memory, her son had never gotten up this early before.

“No, Mom, I just wanted to watch you cook.”

Lana Foster was so surprised she almost messed up the fried egg. Ryan Carter noticed his mother’s eyes were a bit swollen—she had clearly cried last night.

Memories surged like a tide. His father belonged to the older generation of engineering soldiers. Back then, the family had three sons and a daughter; he was the eldest. After graduating from middle school, to ease the family’s burden, he enlisted in the army. Later, he taught himself in the barracks and got into a military academy.

In his father’s words, their unit was stationed at a coal mine, and their bedding was always covered in a layer of coal dust, making it impossible to sleep. So he would light a lamp at the desk and study, gritting his teeth and teaching himself until he passed the military entrance exam—changing his own fate.