Chapter 1: Rebirth in Despair

A gray sky, a boundless black swamp, and a huge, semi-transparent Ecological Sphere in the distance—these were the last scenes Lin Lei saw before he lost consciousness.

……

“Lin Lei, Lin Lei, the teacher is calling you. Wake up quickly!” A soft, gentle voice spoke, accompanied by light pats.

Lin Lei’s consciousness instantly returned. He jerked his head up, only to be startled by the surroundings.

He was surprisingly not near that desperate Ecological Sphere, but in a bright classroom. He was surrounded by familiar classmates, his beautiful and gentle deskmate Yan Siyu, and an angry teacher on the podium. He was clearly in a high school class.

This must be a dream! Definitely! Lin Lei smiled with unspeakable desolation. God was truly generous to let him experience such a real and heartwarming dream.

Since it was a dream, he might as well do whatever he wanted! Lin Lei stood up, ignoring the shocked looks of the whole class. He cupped the delicate face of his deskmate, Yan Siyu, and kissed her.

Warm, soft, with the natural scent of a girl like orchids and musk, added to the girl’s ragged breathing from the sudden attack, it was like a small hand gently stroking Lin Lei’s face. All of this felt so real, so real that Lin Lei’s heart trembled.

After a long while, Lin Lei let go of this beautiful girl he had been so fond of back then. Looking at the girl’s blushing, delicate face and her slightly dazed eyes, Lin Lei had to admit that his heart was drunk again.

“Lin Lei! You… you are lawless! Get out!” The English teacher, Zhao Enxiang, shouted in a thunderous rage.

He was truly furious. He had taught for so many years and never encountered such a student. Sleeping was one thing, but actually forcing a kiss on a female student in his class! He felt his authority was being challenged like never before.

But the next scene almost made his glasses fall off.

Lin Lei was also very angry. Was it easy for him? Even in a dream, someone came to disturb him. It was really a buzzkill. He walked straight up to the podium, slapped his hand on the teacher’s desk, and roared directly, “Zhao, I’ve put up with you for a long time! Is what you teach even English? I’ve never heard anyone speak English with a Cantonese accent!”

Let’s not talk about Teacher Zhao’s teaching level for now, but his character wasn’t great. He would insult students in class whenever he pleased, using the harshest words. Many female students were scolded to tears directly. Now, taking advantage of the dream, Lin Lei was venting his anger.

Zhao Enxiang was an old teacher with considerable teaching experience. His only flaw was that his spoken language was not very standard. No matter how he practiced, it carried a weird tone, which he had always regretted.

Being exposed by Lin Lei to his face was absolutely naked sarcasm. Looking at the students below who wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, he trembled with rage.

His hands shakily pushed the glasses on his nose bridge, ignoring the white chalk dust on it. He picked up the textbook on the podium and prepared to hit Lin Lei on the head.

This high school English textbook was a thick one. With this angry strike, even if it didn’t cause a concussion, a big bump on the head was certain. Didn’t he see that Teacher Zhao was hitting with the corner of the book?

Lin Lei was startled too. It seemed Old Zhao had lost his mind. It was better to dodge first. Lin Lei glanced at his deskmate Yan Siyu, seeing that she was still dazed, he felt a pain in his heart. He was in a dream now; if he left the classroom, he didn’t know if he would see her again.

He couldn’t hesitate. Teacher Zhao’s attack was imminent. Lin Lei turned around and ran out of the classroom.

On the balcony, inexplicably, Lin Lei had the impulse to jump straight down. This was the third floor, only about six meters from the ground. Since it was a dream, why not try? Maybe he could even fly, hehe.

Lin Lei pushed with his hand, jumped directly over the balcony, and leaped downstairs.

“Hiss! Why does this feeling of weightlessness feel so real? Could it be real?” Lin Lei was a bit shocked. If this was real, this height of six meters, although it wouldn’t kill him, would at least break his legs or give him a concussion. He would be the one suffering.

“Damn it, why haven’t I woken up yet? Doesn’t waking up in shock happen when people dream of jumping off a building?” These thoughts flashed through Lin Lei’s mind.

At this moment, Lin Lei had already reached the second floor. He even saw a teacher in a classroom on the second floor staring blankly at him, apparently scared.

A soft voice suddenly rang in Lin Lei’s mind: “Detected that the Host is in a free-fall state. Automatically adjusting body posture.”

The voice was very fast. It wasn’t exactly a voice, but more like a stream of information printed directly into his mind. Anyway, Lin Lei understood it completely, and at the same time, his body began to adjust automatically.

Just as Lin Lei was feeling at a loss, his toes touched the ground. Another stream of information flashed through.

“Activating momentum buffering mechanism!”

“Stage one buffering started. Arches tightened. Falling momentum remaining 95%!”

“Stage two started. Heel-knee system began to bend. Leg muscles absorbed recoil energy. Falling momentum remaining 40%.”

“Stage three started. Hips sank. Upper body leaned forward. Hands touched the ground. Hand joints bent. Upper body muscles absorbed recoil energy. Falling momentum buffering complete.”

“During the buffering process, internal organ system absorbed 5% energy. Brain absorbed 3% energy. Within the safety line. No danger.”

……

Lin Lei was truly shocked this time. He hadn’t controlled his body at all during the landing process, yet his body completed the landing nearly perfectly.

He didn’t feel any discomfort now, only feeling his muscles warm, which was actually a bit comfortable. If not for the information flowing through his mind like water, he would have thought it was instinct. But now, everything seemed bizarre!

If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t think about it. Wasn’t he dreaming right now? Lin Lei looked back at the third floor and saw Zhao Enxiang’s shocked expression. Hmm, there was also a teacher on the second floor looking at him in surprise. Lin Lei bared his teeth and made a face at Old Zhao.

Zhao Enxiang had never experienced such emotional ups and downs in his life. If his heart was any weaker, he would have been sent to the hospital directly.

Just a moment ago, he was fuming with rage, and then he was scared cold by Lin Lei’s jump. Now, seeing Lin Lei was safe and sound, he let out a breath of relief, feeling weak all over, leaning most of his body weight against the balcony.

He couldn’t handle this student anymore. He was too crazy!

At this moment, seeing the new P.E. teacher Li Dasong downstairs, Zhao Enxiang hurriedly shouted, “Dasong, catch him quickly! The student in the plaid shirt down there.”

Li Dasong had just graduated from university a year ago and came to this school to teach P.E. He was tall and strong. He was a member of the school track and field team in university. Sprinting was his specialty.

He had just let the students do free activities on the playground and wandered over to the teaching building. He happened to see Lin Lei jump off the building and was clicking his tongue in wonder. Students these days were really daring. Jumping off the third floor without hesitation. And what exactly did Teacher Zhao do to force the student to jump so decisively?

Li Dasong was curious, his heart itching like a cat scratching. Hearing Zhao Enxiang’s shout, he went straight up to catch him. This student was too reckless; it was better to control him first.

Over here, Lin Lei saw a tall guy rushing towards him with an unfriendly look. Without thinking, he jumped up and started running away.

Li Dasong was also a young man, and running was his specialty. He couldn’t stand being provoked. Seeing this kid dared to run, he strode after him.

Just like that, a teacher and a student ran one after the other on the campus road, both very fast. Fortunately, it was class time and didn’t attract attention. Otherwise, the whole school would definitely be watching.

Li Dasong was one thing; he could run a hundred meters in under eleven seconds in university. This result was decent in China. Although he hadn’t trained much recently, he could still run a hundred meters within twelve seconds.

But damn it, why was the student in front running like a rabbit? The distance between them wasn’t shrinking; instead, it was getting farther and farther.

Lin Lei was excited now. Haha, he used to be skinny and weak in high school. His hundred-meter sprint time was definitely over thirteen seconds. How could he feel as fast as lightning like now? Dreaming was indeed different; his wishes came true.

God wishes to destroy a man, he first drives him mad.

Lin Lei was mad now. He ran frantically. He didn’t die, but he fell.

This fall was heavy. While running, Lin Lei’s left foot brushed against his right heel, and he flew out directly. He was airborne for nearly five meters, fell to the ground with a smack, and slid another two meters. His knees and elbows instantly felt a burning pain.

A stream of information flashed in his mind:

“Abnormal ground contact. Detection shows bones, internal organs, and brain are intact. Surface joint skin damaged. Damage level D. No danger.”

“Starting to repair skin wounds. Time: 1800 standard seconds. Please supplement various nutrients in time to accelerate body recovery.”

Below was a list of complex chemical molecular formulas. Then the formulas started to combine into nouns Lin Lei could understand, such as protein, glycolipid, sterol, phospholipid, and so on. It really gave Lin Lei a headache.

Lin Lei had no time to digest this. He was truly stunned now. The real pain, real people, real environment—everything revealed to him that this was not a dream!

Then what about the cold Ecological Sphere in his mind, the gray Savage Planet, and his memories of escaping again and again?

What about that despair deep in his marrow, the severing of hope for all mankind? Was that a dream?!

Zhuang Zhou dreamed of a butterfly. Was he a butterfly? Or was he Zhou? Lin Lei was lost.

The confused Lin Lei didn’t notice a big hand touching his leg. This hand felt the left and right legs, the thighs and calves. The owner of the hand was also muttering words. The scene became even more bizarre.

Just as the hand touched his foot, Lin Lei suddenly realized. He looked back and saw a dark, burly man giggling foolishly. Gosh! This guy was a pedophile! And a foot fetishist too!

Lin Lei kicked without thinking, sending Li Dasong tumbling backward.

After kicking the man, Lin Lei froze. Yan Siyu, Teacher Zhao, and this Teacher Li in front of him were all people from his high school days. Especially this Teacher Li, who was a new P.E. teacher transferred here when he was a senior.

Senior year, senior year. It was less than a year before the Layite People invaded Earth. Could it be that God was moved by his unremitting pursuit of freedom and sent him back?

Yes, it must be. Lin Lei instinctively blocked out other doubts in his mind and chose the answer he hoped for most.

With this answer came the questions. Lin Lei suddenly realized that in this rebirth, he couldn’t change anything!

Yes, the time was too short, at most a year. His power was too insignificant to fight against a Fifth-grade intelligent race, the Layite People.

Could it be? Could it be that he had to experience that pain again? Nearly seven billion humans wiped out in a day, leaving less than a million. His familiar classmates dying painfully in front of him one by one.

Lin Lei clearly remembered that the war happened ten days after the college entrance exam. The world became dark, the sun in the sky disappeared, and black rain kept falling.

He was gathering with a few good friends at the time. Three days after the disaster, the friends around him died one by one. They weren’t killed directly by the war but died under the black rain. The water had strong radiation. One of his classmates drank the water because he was too thirsty. Within half an hour, he started vomiting black blood profusely.

He said at the time, “I know this water is poisonous, but I’m so thirsty!” Shortly after, he died. His entire stomach and intestines were almost rotted away. The cells collapsed because their gene chains were destroyed by the strong radiation. Lin Lei lost his last companion. He wanted to cry but had no tears!

Until the end, he was saved by the Layite People and kept in an Ecological Sphere less than a hundred square kilometers on the Savage Planet, Mote Planet.

The entire human race lost Earth, lost their foothold, and lost their future.

The flame of hope had just ignited, only to be ruthlessly extinguished by the cold reality. The excitement that had just risen in Lin Lei’s heart turned into deep sorrow. He cried loudly, his cries shaking heaven and earth.

Li Dasong looked at this crying boy, feeling baffled. He just wanted to understand his muscles and bone structure to see if he was suitable for sprinting.

He just touched his leg! Was it necessary to cry like this? Could he be a girl disguised as a boy who felt taken advantage of? That wasn’t right either. If a girl looked this rugged, she might as well just bash her head against a wall.

He was also confused by Lin Lei’s crying. The two of them stood there at the school gate, baffling the guard at the entrance.

“Hey, I say, what is going on with you two? Watch your image.” The guard started to shoo them away. If the leaders saw this, he would get scolded too.

“Ah, oh, hehe, sorry. I’m the new P.E. teacher here. This student skipped class, and I’m taking him back, hehe.” Li Dasong finally reacted. Didn’t he come to catch him? What was happening now?

He pulled Lin Lei up from the ground and walked towards the school infirmary. The kid was crying so vigorously, so he surely wasn’t badly hurt, just some scrapes, although the wounds on his hands and feet looked quite serious.

Sigh, he’s a boy. How could he be so spoiled!

Lin Lei stopped crying too. He wiped his face casually and obediently followed behind Teacher Li.

After crying, he figured it out. So what if he was powerless? So what if it was despair? As long as he did his best and had a clear conscience, this life would not be in vain!