As if deep in thought, Ye Kong stared blankly at the apartment door.
After a long while, he finally relaxed. His breathing calmed down, and his expression grew serious.
"In my past life, Ye Bai was suffering from a very rare and serious disease—a genetic disorder that only the newly developed Nuclear Gene Medicine could cure. The problem was that one dose of the Nuclear Gene Medicine cost 40 million Federal Credits.
"The bulk of the cost for treating the genetic disorder lay in this single dose of Nuclear Gene Medicine.
"So long as Ye Bai's disease remained dormant, she was no different from a normal person. The symptoms only started appearing a year and a half from now, in the year 2109 of the Earth Federation.
"I still have enough time to save her!"
In his past life, Ye Bai was diagnosed with this condition before her college entrance examinations, but she had kept it a secret so as not to burden Ye Kong.
She went to the extent of deliberately flunking her exams, abandoning her dreams of entering a university in order to take up a job as a cashier. She even worked two full-time shifts (a total of 10 hours) so that her older brother would have enough money to survive on when she was no longer with him.
One fateful night, Ye Kong saw that dinner wasn't on the table. He opened the door to Ye Bai's room, only to find her lying quietly in her bed like Sleeping Beauty, showing no sign of life...
Ye Kong owed her so much in his past life, and he'd never gotten the chance to repay her.
Now that he had a second chance at life, he refused to let this tragic history repeat itself!
In a year and half, Ye Kong would need to have earned 40 million Federal Credits from scratch. It seemed like a pipe dream.
However, Ye Kong had gone through a rebirth and retained six years' worth of memories from what was now the future. This was his greatest trump card, and it was the key to saving Ye Bai!
For a time, a large amount of memories came surging back to him. From these, Ye Kong came up with several options, but he ultimately rejected all of them. "Even though I know where the future of the world is headed, I don't have any cash on hand, so I can't make any financial investments.
"Even if I had the capital, I wouldn't be able to invest in the financial sector—now in the 22nd century, the financial sector has long been monopolized by the major tycoons, and the stock market is the personal plaything of those rich capitalists. As a new independent investor, even if I could earn a small profit by using my knowledge of the future, I wouldn't be able to escape their stranglehold in the end!"
Ye Kong clearly understood how this era worked. After all, during his time as a core member of the Ethereal Mirage Guild, he had come into contact with the upper class, and had personally met with some extraordinary talents who were geniuses at finance. These people wanted to reject the olive branches the tycoons held out to them and rely on their own talents alone to start their own independent businesses.
In the end, however, the major financial powers banded together to crush these people with their sheer economic scale. All of them ended up bankrupt, with millions of dollars of debt, and those who ended their own lives got off easy.
For the desirable women who'd fallen into the hands of these corporations, death would've been a welcome escape.
Ye Kong was well aware that all he had was the advantage of information. He wasn't an elite in the financial sector, and he didn't have any relevant talents. Compared to those real financial geniuses, he was no more than a half-wit.
If even geniuses could suffer such a crushing defeat, what hope did he have as a half-wit?
Ye Kong shook his head and judged things logically.
"Finance isn't an option. I can't rely on trading stocks to earn money for Ye Bai's medical expenses.
"I can't copy creative works either. I can remember some songs and novels that became extremely popular, but I don't have the creative ability to replicate them, and it'd be too easy for someone to expose the truth—especially now in the information age. By this time, popular celebrities no longer have any privacy, and if I mess up, people might find out that I've been reborn.
"I can't buy lottery tickets either. In my past life, I never put in the effort to remember a string of meaningless numbers, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't have gotten the prize anyway. The people running the lottery are even shadier than those in the financial sector."
He rejected these options one by one. Finally, he raised his head and looked at the clock in the living room.
The time was 5:52 p.m.
"November 17, 2107, at 6 p.m. sharp, is when the 'Demon Realm' is released to the public!"
"'Demon Realm' was developed by the Federal Government, and it's the culmination of Earth's most advanced technologies. It's the first next-generation game to employ comprehensive virtual reality technology, and it was created not only for entertainment, but to relieve people of the pressures of society!"
Ye Kong's eyes gradually brightened, as if a fire were burning behind them.
"According to how things panned out in my previous life, under the widespread promotion from the Federal Government, 'Demon Realm' replaced traditional manufacturing and production industries. It became humanity's largest economic supply chain, solving the unemployment problem that came about in the information age.
"This meant that 'Demon Realm' became humanity's second world! At the same time, because 'Demon Realm' was a whole new world, even when the tycoons and financial powers of the real world entered the game, they didn't have the same level of influence they had in the financial sectors. Any newcomer, then, had the chance to make it big! It was the birthplace of countless new legends!
"I have six years of experience in 'Demon Realm.' In my last life, I dedicated my entire life to 'Demon Realm,' so I know far more about the game than I do about any other industry!"
Ye Kong's gaze hardened with determination. He turned around and entered his bedroom, then stood in front of his bedside cabinet.
"Only 'Demon Realm' will allow me to make full use of the advantages of my rebirth!"
Ye Kong opened the cabinet. There was a black-and-white colored helmet, marked with the letter "D," lying inside. It was the most basic VR helmet out there, but even so, a "D" grade VR helmet would have a fixed price of 3000 Federal Credits.
Ye Bai had saved her prize money from the Tang Soo Do Championship (2500 Federal Credits), along with half a month's worth of pay, in order to buy the helmet.
All this because of a casual remark he'd made.
"'Demon Realm' is about to be released to the public. It would be nice if I had a VR helmet."
Ye Bai had always done everything she could to satisfy her older brother's requests. In order to afford the helmet, she'd spent the last two months at school nibbling on steamed bread and pickled vegetables, but she never complained.
Ye Kong only learned about this through interactions with her classmates. If it wasn't for them, he probably would have gone his whole life without ever finding out.
"I was a burden to you in my past life. I kept adding to your load without a second thought."
Ye Kong opened up the VR helmet, lightly placed it over his head, and plugged in the device that connected the wearer's mind to the game. He leaned back against the bed's headboard and looked at the clock on the wall. It was three minutes until 6 p.m.
"In this life, I don't want to be a burden to you."
Ye Kong shut his eyes, and tightly clenched his hands into fists.
"In this life...
"I'll save you from your destiny!"
The hour hand on the wall clock moved, finally coming to rest at the 6 o'clock position.
Ding ding ding!
The clock sounded, and the indicator light on the VR helmet turned from red to green, indicating that his consciousness had been connected to the federal government's global network through the virtual device.
At this time...
More than a billion players from all 24 time zones plugged in to all kinds of virtual devices and entered the "Demon Realm" servers. They participated in an unprecedented event in human history!
Connecting player's mind to the game system...
Connection complete.
Constructing player's in-game replica...
Construction complete.
The notification came on in an old-sounding voice. "Young explorer, please tell me your name."
Ye Kong opened his eyes and found himself in a spacious tree hollow. In front of him stood a humongous tree trunk with the face of an elderly person. It was the source of the voice he'd just heard.
"As expected, I ended up joining the Yggdmillennia Server region!"
Ye Kong recognized the speaker. The tree was one of the countless branches of the Yggdmillenia Tree, and it represented its will. It was the first in-game NPC (non-player character) that players entering the Yggdmillennia Server would encounter.
The region where new players spawned was determined by the players' real world login location (based on the first login attempt). Ye Kong's current location of Shangshui City was in the GMT +8 Linjiang State, so he spawned in the Yggdmillennia Server, which corresponded to the GMT +8 time zone.
Under the Federal Government's rule, the real world wasn't divided into countries anymore. Instead, it was split into 24 time zones, each corresponding to one hour of the day. These zones were then named GMT +1, GMT +2, GMT+3, and so on.
Additionally, because the area each time zone covered was very large, the Federal Government split each time zone into several states. For instance, the GMT +8 time zone was divided into Beiyang State, Zhongyu State, and Linjiang State.
Shangshui City was part of the Jiangnan Province in Linjiang State, and was within the GMT +8 time zone, so it was really no surprise that Ye Kong was assigned to the Yggdmillennia Server after logging into the game.
The overworld of "Demon Realm" was composed of 16 regions, which corresponded to the 24 time zones in the real world—some time zones had small populations, so it became necessary to merge two time zones into a single region. This was why there were less regions than time zones.
In his past life, Ye Kong had also logged in to the Yggdmillennia Server region.
In this life, he came back to the same place with six years of relevant game experience.
"Young explorer, please tell me your name."
The old face on the tree trunk reiterated its question. It was the Newbie Guide of the Yggdmillennia Server. It wasn't equipped with advanced AI, so its dialogue was simple.
Each region had a unique Newbie Guide with its own flair. For example, the Stygian Night Kingdom Server's Newbie Guides were the heirs of the God of Despair and Destruction, Nidhogg; the Asgard Server's Newbie Guides were the strong and beautiful Valkyries; and the Jotunheim Server's Newbie Guides were the half-breeds of Frost Giants and other species.
In the Yggdmillennia Server, The Newbie Guide could be thought of as the Yggdmillennia Tree itself.
Because it still hadn't received a response to its question, the old face was preparing to repeat himself yet again, when Ye Kong replied.
"O mighty Yggdmillennia Tree, my name is 'lacuna.'"
Ye Kong bowed slightly, having decided on his game ID. In his past life, he used this very same ID, 'lacuna', and became the Legendary Swordsman of the Yggdmillennia Server region.
"Lacuna" (Kong Bai in Chinese), the game ID he had chosen, was the combination of his and his sister's first names.
Ye Kong's gaze was determined. This game ID was not just a memory from his past life but a reminder of his bond with Ye Bai. Using this ID demonstrated the strength of his willpower.
"You have successfully chosen your name. Please select your first character class. 'Demon Realm' has fifteen character classes, which belong to four metaclasses. I will now proceed with a brief introduction, explaining the differences between the character classes—"
The old face opened its mouth, and a multitude of sticks and branches grew out of it, forming a screen frame in front of Ye Kong. Liquid started to flow within the tree branch frame, and soon after, a pictorial introduction of the fifteen character classes was displayed in the liquid screen:
The fifteen character classes belong to four metaclasses:
Strength-type Profession: Gunslinger, Berserker, Weapon Specialist
Dexterity-type Profession: Assassin, Ranger, Swordsman
Stamina-type Profession: Sentinel, Holy Cavalier, Death Knight
Intelligence-type Profession: Cleric, Priest, Bard, Magician, Sorcerer, Warlock.
Of the Intelligence-type professions, the first three character classes were healers, while the latter three were either offensive attackers or spellcasters.
The four metaclasses had different fighting styles, and like in the game rock-paper-scissors, some were better against others. For example, Dexterity-type professions did not do well against Strength-type professions, because Strength-type professions tended to have a high Resistance stat, which was a definite advantage against Dexterity-type professions.
Even so, character-class advantages didn't really affect game balance. In his past life, there were many cases of highly skilled Assassins beating Weapon Specialists at the same level. Players' skills were relevant in many aspects of the game, and without engaging another player in combat, one wouldn't know if the opponent was a top-class professional, or a newbie tripping over his own feet.
Ye Kong's eyes were fixed on the Swordsman class introduction shown clearly on the screen.
Character Class: Swordsman
Play Difficulty: Extremely High
Comment: Not recommended for beginners.
Out of the fifteen first character classes, the Swordsman was exceedingly unique. It was very difficult to play, and its early game skills had a high Strength Attribute requirement.
Due to these factors, the Swordsman was generally seen as the most unpopular class before Level 30. Basically, nobody wanted to form a party with a Swordsman to hunt mobs, and instance dungeons were out of the question.
Even after Level 30, the Swordsman wasn't that strong of a character class. It was only at the higher levels that the Swordsman could show its full potential and uniquely shine.
Because Ye Kong chose to play a Swordsman in his past life, he struggled to form any parties at the start of the game, and his equipment and levels fell far behind those of other players. At one point, he was so poor he couldn't even afford the potions required to join instance dungeons.
If it wasn't for Ye Bai's financial support, he would've starved in the real world long ago.
Later, when Ye Kong reached Level 50, in what was probably a show of pity from heaven, he unexpectedly received an inheritance quest for the "Nyx Swordsman." When he completed the extremely difficult quest, he became the only Nyx Swordsman in the server.
Once he reached Level 50, the skillset of the Swordsman increased greatly, and the character class finally started to show its true worth. Additionally, Ye Kong had a Legendary Class within the Swordsman class, so his strength soared even further. It only took him half a year to move up from his initial rank among the top million and become one of the top 1000 players in the Yggdmillennia Server.
In the end, Ye Kong was an elite gamer, ranking 104th in the Yggdmillennia Server. He was also one of the top ten Swordsman players. If it wasn't for the terrible start he'd had, his rank could have been even higher, and if he had had more time, he could have easily made it into the top 50!
"I choose the Swordsman class."
Ye Kong chose the Swordsman class without hesitation. It was the character class he was the most familiar with, and it was the class he had poured his heart and soul into. Whether it was leveling progression, equipment acquisition, or skill usage, Ye Kong had a distinct advantage others couldn't replicate!
Now that he had returned with a new life, he definitely had to play to his advantages!
In his past life, his choice of the Swordsman class had crippled him.
In this life, he would take the Swordsman class to new, brilliant heights!