New Shanghai

**24 April, 2100**

**In a Detached Villa**

A young man with dark black hair opened his eyes and looked around in confusion.

"Am I dreaming?" Xu Qianghua muttered as he got up and surveyed the room he once slept in before the game "Immortal Odyssey: Paths of Destiny" merged with the real world, causing everything on this planet to disappear.

He looked around the king-size bed and found his mobile terminal device, the modern version of mobile phones used decades ago. When the terminal turned on, the first thing he saw was today's date which was exactly one month before the game would be available in their terminals, merging with the real world three days later.

"I got clichéd!" Xu Qianghua exclaimed upon seeing the date on his terminal. He quickly accepted this fact because he was not originally from this world, but from Earth. Both worlds had many similarities, except that this world was more advanced in technology. Here, no countries were vying for dominance. After World War II, the population united to create a true United Nations with no countries in charge, no borders, and no need for passports—a significant improvement in Xu Qianghua's opinion.

Returning to the present, Xu Qianghua quickly opened his terminal and checked the latest news to see if anything differed from his memory, preparing for what was to come in a month. After an hour of checking, he breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing had changed from what he remembered.

He closed his eyes and reached out in his mind. 'Hey, system, are you there?'

After a few seconds of silence, a voice responded. [Yes, host, I am here. What can I do for you?] The system's voice was warm and sisterly.

Sighing, Xu Qianghua thought, 'I got this system when I first transmigrated to this world, and it's still here after my rebirth.'

'Did anything weird happen just now?' Xu Qianghua asked.

[You mean your rebirth? Then yes.] responded the system.

'What the hell just happened?' Xu Qianghua asked impatiently.

[Do you remember the stone you found in that secret realm before you went back in time?] asked the system.

'The stone I found in the cave of that secret realm, labeled as one of the most dangerous on the planet?' Xu Qianghua asked, surprised.

[Yes, host. That stone wasn't just any stone; it contained a high amount of time and space laws. It must have activated when you used it as a paperweight before bed. The layer of restrictions came undone, and you were engulfed in a space and time storm that, for some reason, the storm didn't leave your room.] the system explained.

[When that happened, I sensed it and tried to bring you back to where we were before, but it was too late. So I used the power of the storm to send you back before the game merged with the real world. However, I couldn't control it perfectly, so I didn't know the exact date or time you'd be sent back to] the system concluded.

"I see," Xu Qianghua muttered.

'Do I still have the items from before I came back?' he asked, worried.

[No, a lot of items were lost when I tried to control the space and time storm and did not protect them. But some items weren't lost due to their strength and the laws that reside in them.] informed the system.

'And those are?' Xu Qianghua asked.

[The items you got in that cave.] replied the system.

"Huh?" Xu Qianghua exclaimed. 'Is there nothing else?'

[No,] the system replied.

'But there were less than 10 items in there,' Xu Qianghua protested in his mind.

[Yes,] the system responded cheerfully.

'Why are you happy about this? There were so many items that could help me during the beginning stages of the merge,' Xu Qianghua directed his anger at the system.

[Yes, but you couldn't use them at all. The world hasn't evolved to a middle world, which is necessary for many of the items stored in the system space.] the system explained in a defensive tone.

Hearing this, Xu Qianghua calmed down. 'Sorry about that, I just got heated,' he apologized to the system.

Then, as if recalling something, he asked, 'Why weren't these items lost? Weren't they also sealed?'

[Because all of them stayed in the same place for so long that they were immune to the space and time storm and weren't sucked into it.] the system explained.

Sighing, Xu Qianghua started to think about the game that merged with the world he was in. The game *Immortal Odyssey: Paths of Destiny* wasn't created by any company or government. It was something the will of the world created, with the help of the supreme will, to protect the planet from an upcoming challenge and to evolve towards a greater future.

Knock, knock, knock.

As Xu Qianghua was lost in thought, he heard a knock from outside his bedroom. A girl walked in and stopped mid-step, shocked.

"Brother Qiang, you woke up before I even came in. That is surprising," she said, her eyes wide with astonishment.