The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
Everyone could recount that period of history.
In 2037, natural disasters swept across the globe relentlessly shrinking humanity's living space.
By 2042, just five years later, humanity was on the brink of extinction and forced to seek new paths for survival.
In 2047, eleven individuals carrying the hopes of humanity had ventured into the vast expanse of space, hoping to find a habitable planet. Those who remained, while waiting for this slim hope, began to make extraordinary efforts.
In 2050, a global technological explosion initiated the "Earth Project."
By 2055, the United Nations issued a global declaration, announcing the creation of a temporary sanctuary for humanity—the Noah System.
In 2060, four billion humans descended underground, entered life-support pods, and connected their brainwaves to the Noah System to live in this world in a different state.
—Noah?
—In three seconds, you will die from a sniper shot. The second rewind is about to begin, 3—2—1—
The rewind completed, and Ye Xiao opened his eyes.
What greeted him was sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves.
Squinting from the glare, he sat up while clutching the long sword in his arms. But before he could gather his thoughts, he heard the approaching clamor.
Changing his position, he crouched on a thick tree branch about ten meters above the ground.
Ye Xiao casually peered through the dense foliage below and saw a three-person team being surrounded by skeletal wolves.
There were about fifty skeletal wolves, forming a crescent-shaped encirclement that was steadily closing in.
The team had already been pushed near the tree where Ye Xiao was perched.
Ye Xiao propped his chin with one hand with his bangs fluttering in the wind and tickling him slightly, so he shook his head. In his other hand, he held a cold, black scabbard.
Just as he was about to assess the situation further, his gaze suddenly sharpened as his pupils contracted as he stared at the man in the black coat with silver trim. He murmured, "...Ling Chen?"
It was Ling Chen.
In the next second, Ye Xiao swiftly straightened up to stand steadily on the tree branch.
He rubbed his right wrist, which was wrapped in white bandages, and glanced down to estimate the height. Then, with the sword in his left hand, he slightly bent his knees and leaped down!
The hem of his clothes billowed in the forest breeze that revealed a glimpse of his pale, slender waist.
Meanwhile, below the tree.
Jiang Cancan was holding a gray TA-series assault rifle and retreating while pulling the trigger, and with his voice hoarse, he said "Damn it, my reputation as a sharpshooter is ruined! How many times have I missed now? My mindset is falling apart!"
Jiang Mu, with his eyes fixed on the data displayed on his screen, said in a steady but slightly anxious voice, "The wind direction remains abnormal. The hit rate has dropped to thirty-five percent."
"That low? This is infuriating! I could hit these bone wolves, but the damn wind keeps blowing the bullets off course!" As he spoke, Jiang Cancan recalculated the trajectory, factoring in the wind error, and fired three shots in quick succession, but only hitting two skeletal wolves.
Jiang Cancan widened his eyes and shouted, "Missed again! Damn it! I'm going to lose it!"
Ling Chen, who had been leaning against the tree trunk, chuckled at this, "Well, the Captain approves. Go ahead." As he spoke, his posture was relaxed with a faint smile playing on his lips and showing no trace of tension despite the horde of skeletal wolves surrounding them.
"Forget it, forget it, no time, no time..."
Glancing at Ling Chen, whose face was still pale, Jiang Cancan felt his wildly beating heart gradually calm down. He wiped the dust and sweat from his face and moved closer to Jiang Mu. "Xiao Mu, we're running low on bullets. You calculate the positions, and I'll shoot. If we can raise the hit rate to seventy percent, we can break through and get Chen-ge out safely."
Jiang Mu nodded steadily. "Alright, aim at three o'clock, slightly to the—"
At that moment, a flash of blade light suddenly appeared in their vision.
With a sharp whistling sound, three skeletal wolves were sliced diagonally by the blade before disintegrating into black particles that fell to the ground. Only then did Jiang Mu see that the one who had charged into the encirclement with a long blade was a black-clad... youth?
Ling Chen, who had been leaning against a tree trunk to stay upright, locked his gaze on the sudden newcomer with his brows furrowed tightly. He whispered a reminder, "Cancan."
Jiang Cancan snapped back to attention and cursed himself for being distracted.
He quickly focused and, following Jiang Mu's directions, took down five skeletal wolves in quick succession. But in that short span of time, the mysterious figure had already slashed through seventeen skeletal wolves with his blade.
Wherever the blade swept, black particles rose into the air.
A testament to his ferocity.
Swallowing hard, Jiang Cancan tightened his grip on the gun stock with his palms slick with sweat. "Holy shit, this is a one-sided massacre!"
Just then, he noticed Ling Chen gesturing for him to come over. Jiang Cancan took two quick steps forward. "Chen-ge?"
Ling Chen kept his eyes fixed on the wolf pack and the figure spinning and slashing within it. He licked his dry lower lip and, without turning his head, ordered Jiang Cancan, "Give your gun and the remaining bullets to Xiao Mu."
Jiang Cancan complied without hesitation.
"Squat down. Your Chen-ge needs a tripod."
After Jiang Cancan crouched down, Ling Chen pulled a deep gray K57 from his gun holster and rested it directly on Jiang Cancan's shoulder.
At this point, only his right hand was functional.
He placed his index finger on the trigger while silently calculating the trajectory and deviation.
With a loud "bang," the bullet embedded itself squarely into the skull of a skeletal wolf.
As the gunshot faded, the wolf's body disintegrated.
Then nine shots followed in quick succession, and by the last gunshot, not a single bullet had been wasted.
Jiang Cancan remained perfectly still but was muttering under his breath, "What happened to the promised thirty-five percent hit rate?"
The smile that had been hanging on Ling Chen's lips was gone and was replaced by a fierce killing intent that sharpened his handsome, arrogant features.
Hearing Jiang Cancan's comment, he scoffed, "That's you."
In the few seconds it took to speak, he had already efficiently dispatched two skeletal wolves that had tried to sneak up on them.
The figure wielding the blade within the wolf pack glanced in their direction and gave a slight nod.
Jiang Cancan: "The nod... is he praising your marksmanship, Chen-ge?"
"No," Ling Chen replied with his eyes darkening as if speaking to himself. "He's telling me to coordinate with him and take down the alpha wolf."
At that moment, Ye Xiao took a few running steps and leaped into the air with his toes kicking up a few dry leaves.
Upon mid-air, he spun with the cold light of his blade leaving a streak of afterimage on their retinas. Six skeletal wolves leaped after him and charged straight at him from three directions.
Just as Ye Xiao swung his blade to strike, a particularly robust skeletal wolf that had been hiding within the pack quietly circled around to his right before silently positioning itself behind him.
Yet Ye Xiao seemed oblivious and was fully focused on defending against the attacks from the three directions.
Just as the alpha wolf leaped to pounce towards Ye Xiao's back like a predator, the sound of a gunshot pierced the air.
The bullet struck the wolf's skull.
The force shattering the bones into black ash and dust.
Hearing the gunshot, Ye Xiao no longer held back.
With a horizontal sweep of his blade, a flash of cold light passed through and the six skeletal wolves quickly vanished.
In just a few minutes, the pack of over fifty skeletal wolves had dwindled to two or three.
As if intimidated by Ye Xiao and the long blade in his hand, they retreated in unison with the eerie blue flames in their eye sockets dimming.
Ye Xiao stood still with his breathing still steady.
He glanced in Ling Chen's direction once more then took several quick steps before his figure darted forward with incredible speed. With two strikes, he dispatched the remaining wolves.
Jiang Cancan, who was still half-kneeling on the ground acting as a tripod, couldn't help but comment, "This kind of in-your-face, stomping-on-the-enemy's-face-and-slashing-through-them-like-vegetables show-off style is so much like you, Brother Chen!"
Although Jiang Cancan had absorbed most of the recoil, after firing several shots, Ling Chen's right hand still trembled uncontrollably.
He released the K57 and leaned back against the tree trunk and returned to his lazy stance with his hands slipping into his pockets without a word.
Meanwhile, Jiang Cancan fumbled to catch the gun that was sliding off his shoulder and making a fuss.
After a few seconds, the forest fell silent again.
The previous wolf pack now was like a nightmare that had been awakened. Only a few piles of black ash remained on the ground and scattered with the wind.
Ye Xiao sheathed his blade. The dark scabbard concealing the sharp, cold light. He tightened his grip on the hilt and took a few seconds to mentally prepare himself before looking at the man leaning against the tree.
Ling Chen's dark military boots added to his already towering height of 187 cm, making him appear nearly 190 cm tall. His relaxed posture and the casual smile on his lips made him seem unapproachable and also diverting the attention from his slightly pale complexion.
But Ye Xiao noticed.
"Are you hurt?"
Jiang Cancan and Jiang Mu almost simultaneously tightened their grips on their weapons.
Ling Chen's gaze flickered briefly before a hint of a smile spread across his face but he didn't answer the question. "Thanks for stepping in earlier."
Ye Xiao didn't respond.
He stood still with his gaze fixed on Ling Chen's right arm, and softly confirmed, "You're hurt."
Ling Chen only saw his lips move slightly but didn't catch what he said.
He kicked Jiang Cancan's stiff calf.
Jiang Cancan immediately plastered a friendly smile on his face. "This... little brother," he said without a hint of embarrassment despite being over 180 cm tall and burly, "Hello! First time meeting you. You can call me Thomas Moszkowski, or just Brother Cancan!"
His enthusiasm received no response.
Jiang Cancan pressed on, "This is my twin brother, Xiao Mu, and this is our boss. Plus, there's a missing teammate. The four of us make up a cool team called 'The Blade'!"
Still no response.
Jiang Cancan, undeterred, continued, "What should we call you, little brother?"
Noticing that the person in front of him showed no reaction but occasionally glanced subtly at Ling Chen standing behind him, Jiang Cancan turned around and whispered to Ling Chen, "Brother Chen, it's time to use your charm!"
Ling Chen met Ye Xiao's gaze and noticed the other's eyes darting away in a fluster with his ears turning slightly... red?
This is getting interesting.
He raised the corner of his mouth, "You just saved us. Is there anything you need us to do? As long as it's within our capabilities, we'll definitely do it."
Ling Chen noticed that, when ignoring the intimidating aura from the long sword, and even from a distance, he could see that the black-haired, black-eyed boy had fair skin, a small face, and delicate features.
A small section of white bandage peeked out from the right sleeve that were wrapped around his wrist.
He was wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt and durable jeans, but the size was clearly too big because it did not fit well. The pant legs were rolled up twice that made him look even younger.
He withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and continued, "Or, we also have food and medicine. If you need it, we can keep enough for the three of us for today, and you can have the rest." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the boy holding the sword shake his head and then step forward.
Standing three steps away, Ye Xiao's clear and bright eyes focused intently on Ling Chen, "Candy."
Ling Chen: "What?"
"Candy, I want candy."
Jiang Cancan was stunned for a few seconds, then reached into his bag and rummaged around before pulling out two pieces of candy that had been tucked away for who knows how long. "I have some here!"
Ye Xiao didn't take his and just stubbornly looked at Ling Chen.
Patting his buzz cut, Jiang Cancan muttered softly, "Is he disdaining Cancan-ge and only wanted what Brother Chen gives? So picky?"
Ling Chen stood still while looking at Ye Xiao for a while then extended his left hand from his jacket pocket. He raised it and opened his palm to reveal three pieces of candy. "This is all I have left. It was a milk candy. Do you want it?"
Ye Xiao nodded seriously. He switched the hand holding the sword sheath and reached out with his right hand to pick up the three pieces of milk candy from Ling Chen's palm before carefully placing them into the small pocket of his jeans.
After making sure they were safely stored, he lifted his fair, clean face with his thick, long eyelashes fluttering slightly. The distinct curve of his eyes arching like a crescent moon, and smiled at Ling Chen.
Author's note:
Brother Chen: What reward do you want?
Brother Ye Xiao: I want candy!
Brother Chen: Alright, alright, here you go! All the milk candy in the world is yours!