Rebirth of the God Hunter Legend

Chapter 3 Freshmen
"Truly a chosen one, working tirelessly from dawn till dusk without incident, only to be struck by natural disasters and man-made calamities overnight... Alas..."

Cold and damp, Ling Chuan felt as if he were sinking into the deep sea. The last image in his memory was Mo Ran's panicked face, adding another regret he had left unfulfilled in this life. However, there was also some unexpected gain. At least he proved that consciousness does not immediately dissipate after death, but rather slowly descends into the unknown world, just like now.

Where am I going... to hell? Thinking back on my life of over thirty years, apart from ripping off countless players in games, I haven't done anything heinous. How could I be going to hell?
"Waaah... Xiao Chuan, wake up! Xiao Chuan! Waaah..."

A woman's voice.

As he sank into despair and was filled with confusion, Ling Chuan suddenly heard a mournful cry. It was muffled, as if it were coming from under a blanket. But for some reason, after hearing this cry, the feeling of sinking stopped, and then he slowly moved towards the source of the cry.

As he approached, a tiny, rice-grain-sized glimmer appeared in his consciousness, growing brighter and brighter until, after a burst of dazzling white light, darkness returned.

Is this hell? Was that the whisper of a demon just now?

"Feixue, Feixue, cheer up. Nobody wanted to see this outcome. With how advanced medicine is now, Xiaochuan will definitely wake up one day."

The man's voice was deep and resonant, yet it carried a profound sadness.

"But I can't accept it. He's only twenty years old, just at the age to enjoy life. Why? Why did this happen? Yi Han, tell me why?!"

"Feixue, calm down, this is a hospital."

That's the voice, Fei Xue? Twenty years old? What does that mean?
I wanted to open my eyes, to see the owner of the voice, to know what was happening, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open them.

Sleep paralysis? It sounds like it. In that case, let's use a scientific solution for now. If the eyeballs can't move, we'll force them to control the fingers with our willpower.

Once, twice, things that tested his willpower had never stumped him. Finally, after forcibly controlling it dozens of times, his fingertips finally twitched.

"Didi didi didi!!"

A loud alert emanated from the nearby equipment, and a series of violently fluctuating lines jumped high within the holographic projection.

"Ogawa?!"

"Director Wang! Come to the ward quickly! Yes! Xiao Chuan is responding! Hurry!"

His fingers moved, as if unlocking a closed shackle. Ling Chuan slowly opened his eyes, and the next moment, a familiar yet strange scene was deeply reflected in his pupils.

White walls, blue curtains, a cool and quiet environment, and two faces that occupy half of the field of vision, filled with joy and tears, and so handsome that they are moving.

"You are... Ah!!!"

The words had barely left his lips when an unbearable burning pain surged into his head, like scalding hot oil being poured onto his brain. Familiar images flashed rapidly like two kaleidoscopes, depicting two drastically different lives intertwining and merging, ultimately becoming two vivid replays of death. One scene showed him saying goodbye to Mo Ran, only to be struck by a holographic advertising device falling from the sky; the other showed him driving at night when a side-mounted magnetic levitation truck swerved to avoid him, resulting in a collision. At that moment, the two kaleidoscopes completely merged into one, until they vanished as grains of rice.

"Xiao Chuan!! Xiao Chuan!! Don't scare me! Director Wang! Director Wang, please take a look!"

His eyelids were turned over, and light shone into his pupils. After a brief moment of disorientation, Ling Chuan slowly woke up. He looked at the pale-faced woman in front of him and the white-clad doctor with a look of surprise in his eyes, and weakly uttered a single word.

"sister……"

"..."

The silence lasted only two seconds, followed by a warm embrace and a cathartic wail. Normally, such actions and sounds would be very disturbing for the patient, but for him, they brought an unbelievable sense of peace and warmth. Unfortunately, after the mentally taxing ordeal he had just endured, weakness and drowsiness instantly overwhelmed his body, and he fell into a deep sleep before he could give any signal. When he woke up again, the warm sunlight was already shining into the ward through the curtains.

Looking up at the time projection showing March 21, 2060, Ling Chuan let out a deep breath. At that moment, this modern man who revered science and data was conquered by reality. Yes, he had been reborn, and returned to ten years ago, only this body no longer belonged to him, but to a young man also named Ling Chuan. Ling Chuan, twenty years old, was born in May 2040 at the First People's Hospital of W City. His parents died in a plane crash while on a business trip abroad when he was thirteen, leaving him and his older sister Ling Feixue, who had just entered university, to depend on each other. During this time, some relatives wanted to take Ling Chuan in, but considering Ling Chuan's near-collapse and his special age, Ling Feixue resolutely chose to end her university studies and shoulder the responsibility of the entire family with her naive experience. Coincidentally, at that time, the game "Sanctuary III" was in open beta, and in order to take care of both Ling Chuan and her work, Ling Feixue chose to join the studio.

"Kacha."

As she was sorting through the merged memories, the door opened quietly with a soft sound, and a figure peeked out. Upon seeing the awakened Ling Chuan, the figure gestured for him to be quiet with delight in her eyes.

Only then did Ling Chuan notice Ling Feixue lying by the bed. Her eyes were closed, and half of her face was covered by slightly messy hair. Although less than half of her face could be seen, her stunning beauty, which had left a deep impression on him yesterday, could not be concealed.

At the same time, Yi Han sneaked up to the bedside like a thief, took off his suit jacket, straightened the blanket on Ling Feixue's body, and whispered with a smile, "You're awake."

Ling Chuan stared at the man's unshaven stubble, a complex mix of emotions swirling within him. Logically, he should have been averse to this man, because in the original Ling Chuan's memories, this man was the culprit who had stolen his sister. But to him now, this man was an exceptionally good man—unassuming, not frivolous, sunny, easygoing, and capable. He and Ling Feixue had developed feelings for each other in high school and were even classmates in university. After learning of the Ling family's misfortune, he not only didn't distance himself but also offered help on multiple occasions. Despite being a star student himself, he didn't even participate in clubs, spending his days helping Ling Feixue. He even accompanied Ling Chuan to half of his school activities.

Ling Chuan blinked in response, then continued staring at the stubble. To be honest, he had an urge to pluck it out; it was quite unpleasant. But this person's face gave him a strange sense of familiarity. Was it an illusion? Or a coincidence?

"Do you have an appetite? Oh, it's no use if you do. Right now you can only drink some plain porridge. Once you've recovered a bit, I'll treat you to something delicious. Don't worry, it'll be as much as you want."

As she spoke, without waiting for Ling Chuan to accept it or not, she picked up the bowl of white porridge, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to Ling Chuan's lips.

Ling Chuan was speechless. He didn't have an appetite, but after experiencing two disasters in a row, he really wanted to eat something to calm his nerves.

He opened his mouth and sipped the porridge. The porridge was hot, and he could feel the warmth in his body after eating. Suddenly, he felt reassured that none of this was a dream.

Seeing Ling Chuan's satisfied expression, Yi Han offered him another spoonful. After eating seven or eight bites, Yi Han put away the porridge and said righteously, "Alright, that's all you can eat today. We'll increase it little by little later... What are you looking at the steamed buns for? Don't even think about them. They're for your sister."

After saying that, she took a tissue and wiped Ling Chuan's mouth clean.

Ling Chuan felt too embarrassed to remain silent any longer, so he forced open his mouth and said with difficulty, "Thanks, brother-in-law."

Little did he know that this simple form of address would cause Yi Han's hand to suddenly freeze. He stared at Ling Chuan in disbelief, his eyes wide, and stammered, "Little...Little Chuan, what did you call me? Say it again!"

The excited voice doubled in volume, and Yi Han suddenly looked at Ling Feixue. Seeing that she didn't move, he immediately lowered it three times and leaned closer to flatter her, "Xiao Chuan, shout it one more time, just one more time, be good!"

Ling Chuan felt embarrassed. Was he trying to coax a child? But he decided to give in anyway. Since he had inherited this body and memories, he was destined to inherit everything from him. Besides, even in his time, this person was old enough to call him "brother."

"Brother-in-law..."

"Oh! Yeah!"

Excited, Yi Han disregarded all etiquette, clenching his fist and raising his head in a gesture that showed off his muscles. Ling Chuan closed his eyes and remained silent, his mind already beginning to rewrite the "good man" label he had just labeled him.

Ling Feixue woke up with a start at the sound, staring at Yi Han in astonishment. She then glanced at Ling Chuan, who had his eyes closed, assuming he was still asleep. She then said angrily, "Are you crazy? What's wrong with you?"

Yi Han lowered his head and reached out to help Ling Feixue up, but his hand froze in mid-air. He didn't dare look at Ling Chuan, but instead helped Ling Feixue up and urged, "Let's go outside and talk, hehehe, hurry up."

Ling Feixue left the ward half-heartedly, making sure to close the door behind her.

Ling Chuan sighed softly, listening to the overwhelming joy that even the soundproof door couldn't contain, and his thoughts began to race again...

(End of this chapter)