Chapter 120: A Noble Goal
“This world is going to fall to the zombies… take care of yourselves.” After breaking down in tears, Luo Ying left those complicated words to his classmates and teacher, then turned and ran out of the school.
If he could save his classmates and teacher, he would’ve stayed. But unfortunately, he was alone and powerless—he couldn’t save them and might even get himself killed in the process.
With the apocalypse coming, Luo Ying knew there were many things he needed to prepare—food, water, weapons, duct tape, and more—but none of that was the most important. The most important thing was his sister!
His sister would die today. That was the greatest pain of his life.
He had to change that!
“Hey, Xiao Zhu, don’t go outside today. Don’t open the windows. Just stay home and wait for me to come back!” He called his sister Luo Zhu, urgently telling her.
“Okay.” A weak voice came from the other end of the line.
His sister Luo Zhu was two years younger than him, a first-year high schooler in the same school. But today she had a fever and was resting at home.
Today, a zombie whale would come ashore, its mouth filled with tens of thousands of zombified fish. These fish would become the root cause of the city’s fall into a zombie nest.
In his previous life, after finally escaping the school and rushing home, he’d found the window open. A fish had dropped into the house from the sky—and infected his sister.
This time, he would never let that happen again!
Thankfully, there was still some time before the zombie whale arrived. Everything was still within reach.
……
My name is Luo Ying, twenty-eight years old. I was once a Tier 5 Enhancer, known as the Shadow King—humanity’s strongest. I was just one step away from resolving the zombie crisis. Who would’ve thought that, at the most crucial moment, I’d be betrayed—ambushed by three other Tier 5 Enhancers, and died full of hatred.
Now I’ve been reborn ten years in the past. Even though my current body is just that of an ordinary person, I retain ten years of memories and battle experience. Everything I lost… everyone who betrayed me… I will take it all back!
“This time, I’ll seize the advantage from the start, and never let it go. I will become a Tier 6 Enhancer. No—Tier 6 isn’t enough. I’m going to reach Tier 8!” Luo Ying vowed aloud as he ran home.
“Oh? Really now? That’s quite the ambition.”
Suddenly, someone praised him beside his ear. Luo Ying jumped in shock, instinctively dropping into a combat stance.
When he saw who it was, his pupils shrank.
Tota Jiang Li.
His mind raced. He only knew that Jiang Li came from another world and was unbelievably powerful—nothing more. So it turned out Mr. Jiang had already arrived in this world ten years ago.
“And you are…”
Luo Ying pretended not to recognize Jiang Li.
He figured that his rebirth was too unbelievable. No one would believe him even if he said it out loud—not even someone as strong as Mr. Jiang. Plus, his rebirth was his biggest trump card—he couldn’t reveal it.
He knew Mr. Jiang, but Mr. Jiang didn’t know him. That meant he had an informational edge. He could use it to build a good relationship and learn how to become as strong as him… Luo Ying already had a full plan in his heart.
“Only been a few days and you already have amnesia?” Jiang Li immediately saw through Luo Ying’s clumsy act and teased him.
“Ah… sir, you were reborn too?” Luo Ying asked awkwardly.
“Reborn my *ss,” Jiang Li thought. Whether he was reborn or not made no difference—ten years ago, he was already in the Mahayana Stage. “Explain what happened.”
Jiang Li could roughly guess, but he still needed Luo Ying to confirm.
Luo Ying didn’t hold anything back. He told Jiang Li about the Tier 6 zombie that was about to be born, the Tier 5s fighting among themselves, how he almost saved humanity, and how he was ultimately betrayed by his comrades.
“I thought I was dead, but I never expected to wake up ten years in the past,” Luo Ying said with emotion. The whole thing was so bizarre that even after experiencing it himself, he found it hard to believe.
“It is pretty incredible.” Jiang Li didn’t know the full reason, but based on the system’s strange behavior, he figured it was likely related to the fragment of the Stairway to Immortality.
The Brahma Tower trembled slightly—it had probably figured out where its Zombie Buddhist Kingdom had gone. Since everything was back to ten years ago, those zombies had likely also returned to their positions from ten years ago.
“Did you ever encounter anything strange?” Jiang Li asked.
Luo Ying thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something. “Now that you mention it, yes. While going through my parents’ belongings, I found a pendant. I had a cut on my hand at the time, and some blood got on the pendant. It turned into a stream of light and entered my body.”
“But I didn’t notice anything change, so I didn’t think much of it. Are you saying… I was able to be reborn because of that pendant?”
Jiang Li nodded. That pendant was probably a fragment of the Stairway to Immortality, though he wasn’t sure why it took the form of a pendant.
“Old Bai, get me Immortal Changcun,” Jiang Li called Bai Hongtu, asking to connect with the all-knowing Immortal Changcun.
After hearing a brief summary, Immortal Changcun thought for a moment and said, “In theory, it’s possible. The Stairway to Immortality is the greatest creation of the Celestial Realm, crafted by countless great beings. It contains the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Dao of Karma, and more.”
“Each world has a different time flow. To unify everything, the Celestial Realm used the Stairway to Immortality to connect the myriad worlds and sync their time to match the Celestial Realm.”
“If, as you say, the boy has a fragment of the Stairway to Immortality inside him, it may contain part of the Dao of Time. To prevent the host’s death, it reversed time.”
“But it likely only reversed time in his own world. The Stairway’s power isn’t enough to rewind time across the entire multiverse. The Nine Provinces are still in Yan Calendar Year 4801.”
Jiang Li finally understood why the system had only reacted now. Luo Ying had already had the fragment before, but the system didn’t detect anything. It only responded once Luo Ying died and the fragment reversed time.
Immortal Changcun added, “You’re planning to extract the fragment from this kid? I don’t know how to do that.”
Jiang Li replied confidently, “It’s fine, I’ve got a way.”
“What way?” Immortal Changcun was curious.
“I just need to help him solve the zombie crisis.”
Immortal Changcun thought Jiang Li had lost his mind.
Due to the language barrier, Luo Ying couldn’t understand what Jiang Li and the old man were saying. But instinctively, he felt they were talking about something related to him.
Jiang Li turned to Luo Ying and said, “Luo Ying, how about we make a deal? I’ll help you wipe out the zombies, and you give me the thing that let you be reborn.”
Luo Ying was overjoyed. With this powerhouse’s help, the zombies could be wiped out before they even got going. Countless people would be saved. Of course he agreed.
Seeing the two happily making a deal, Immortal Changcun couldn’t help but throw a bucket of cold water on them.
“Jiang Li, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You might not be able to directly affect this world—only transmit sound or messages.”
“Huh?”