2026-07-31 06:41:55Ethan stared at his phone.
The screen kept lighting up.
Chloe ❤️ Calling…
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Just like before.
Five years ago, seeing her name would have made him smile.
Now…
It only reminded him of betrayal.
He let the phone ring until it stopped.
A few seconds later, it rang again.
Ethan answered this time.
“Where are you?” Chloe asked.
“I’ve been calling you.”
Ethan leaned against the wall.
“What do you want?”
His cold voice caught her off guard.
“What kind of question is that?”
“I just wanted to hear your voice.”
Ethan almost laughed.
Five years ago, he would have believed her.
Now he knew better.
“You don’t need to.”
There was a short silence.
“Ethan… are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Then why are you talking like this?”
“I’m just busy.”
“You promised we’d have dinner tonight.”
“I know.”
“Don’t forget. Ryan reserved a private room for everyone.”
The moment Ethan heard Ryan’s name, his eyes turned cold.
So…
It really was the same day.
Nothing had changed.
Everything was happening exactly as it had in his previous life.
Only this time…
He knew what was coming.
“I won’t be late,” he said calmly.
“Good.”
“And Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“Wear something nice.”
The call ended.
Ethan looked at the phone for a few seconds before placing it on the table.
“Wear something nice…”
He smiled bitterly.
In his last life, he had worried about impressing Chloe.
He had even planned to propose to her that night.
Now he knew she had already chosen Ryan.
The proposal…
The ring…
The humiliation…
It had all been meaningless.
A familiar voice echoed inside his head.
[Daily Mission Available.]
A blue screen appeared in front of him.
Mission: Spend $5,000 before midnight.
Reward: Beginner Gift Pack.
Failure: No Reward.
Ethan blinked.
“That’s it?”
“Just spend five thousand dollars?”
The system didn’t reply.
Another message appeared.
Funds have been transferred to the Host’s account.
His phone vibrated.
He quickly opened his banking app.
His balance changed instantly.
$10,284.37
Ethan took a deep breath.
“It actually works.”
This wasn’t a dream.
The money was real.
He looked around his tiny apartment.
Five years ago, ten thousand dollars felt impossible.
Now it had appeared in seconds.
A slow smile spread across his face.
“This life…”
“I’m going to live it differently.”
He quickly changed into a clean shirt and grabbed his wallet.
Before leaving, he looked around the room one last time.
“I won’t stay poor for long.”
…
Outside, the city looked just as busy as he remembered.
Cars filled the roads.
Street vendors shouted at passing customers.
Office workers rushed toward nearby buildings.
Everything was familiar.
But Ethan wasn’t the same man anymore.
He walked into the nearest taxi.
“Downtown Grand Mall.”
The driver looked at him through the mirror.
“That’s one of the most expensive malls in the city.”
“I know.”
Twenty minutes later, the taxi stopped in front of a huge shopping mall.
The glass building reflected the afternoon sun.
Luxury cars filled the parking lot.
People walked in wearing expensive clothes and designer watches.
Ethan paid the driver and stepped out.
As soon as he reached the entrance, a security guard looked him up and down.
His simple clothes stood out immediately.
“Can I help you?” the guard asked.
“I’m here to shop.”
The guard frowned.
“This mall mostly sells luxury brands.”
“I know.”
The guard forced a smile.
“The supermarket is around the back.”
Ethan understood what he meant.
The man thought he couldn’t afford anything inside.
In his last life, Ethan would have felt embarrassed.
Today…
He didn’t care.
“I’m not looking for the supermarket.”
Without saying another word, he walked past the guard.
The guard wanted to stop him.
Just then, another security officer whispered, “Let him go. If he causes trouble, we’ll deal with him later.”
Ethan heard every word.
He simply smiled.
“They’ll learn soon enough.”
As he entered the mall, the system spoke again.
[New Mission Triggered.]
Find Sophia Bennett within thirty minutes.
Reward: 100 System Points.
Ethan stopped walking.
“Sophia Bennett?”
He didn’t recognize the name.
“Who is she?”
The system remained silent.
Only a countdown appeared before him.
Time Remaining: 30:00
The timer immediately began to count down.
Ethan looked around at the crowd.
Hundreds of people filled the mall.
Families.
Students.
Businessmen.
Tourists.
Finding one person among them seemed impossible.
But Ethan had learned something about the system.
It never gave impossible missions.
He took a deep breath.
“Alright.”
“Let’s find Sophia Bennett.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 109: Legacy Reawakened
The blue screen flickered.It was unstable.Unlike the flawless interface Ethan had relied on throughout his journey, this one was fractured.Tiny cracks spread across its edges as though the system itself had suffered tremendous damage.The familiar mechanical voice spoke again.It was weaker than Ethan remembered.Yet…He smiled.After everything that had happened…It still sounded like home.Legacy System…Emergency Restoration… 7% Complete…Warning… Core functions unavailable…Reason… Legacy sacrificed during the Final Convergence…Ethan’s heart pounded.“So…”“You survived.”The screen remained silent for a moment.Then…A new sentence appeared.Correction…This unit did not survive.This unit… was remembered.The words struck him harder than any attack ever could.Remembered.Not rebuilt.Not repaired.Remembered.The blue screen slowly continued.Human belief…Shared memories…Legacy fragments carried within countless lives…Emergency reconstruction successful.Ethan finally un
Chapter 108: The Sky Breaker
The crack spread across the blue sky.It didn’t happen all at once.Thin fractures crawled outward like veins across glass, stretching from one horizon to the other.Each new crack released a faint silver light.The peaceful meadow beneath Ethan’s feet trembled.Birds that had been singing moments before suddenly took flight.The gentle breeze vanished.An unnatural silence swallowed the world.Ren’s small hand instinctively reached for Ethan’s.His fingers were trembling.“They found us.”Ethan looked down.“Who?”Ren swallowed.“The ones who don’t want us remembered.”Another deafening roar echoed overhead.This time…It was closer.The sky shattered a little more.Chunks of blue light drifted downward before dissolving into countless glowing particles.Ethan had seen worlds collapse before.He had watched stars disappear.Yet…There was something uniquely terrifying about watching the sky itself come apart.Not because it looked destructive.Because it looked…Wrong.Like reality w
Chapter 107: The First Face
Every step echoed inside Ethan’s helmet.Crunch.Crunch.Crunch.The lunar dust compressed beneath his boots as he followed the countless footprints stretching toward the enormous black doorway.Mission Control remained connected through his communicator.“Ethan, your oxygen levels are stable.”“Heart rate elevated, but within acceptable limits.”Dr. Brooks’ calm voice filled the silence.Professor Orion spoke next.“Distance to the structure: four hundred meters.”“Proceed carefully.”“I will.”Ethan answered.He never took his eyes off the doorway.The closer he came…The larger it became.From orbit it had looked massive.Standing beneath it…It was overwhelming.It rose into the endless darkness above him like a mountain carved from midnight.Its surface reflected nothing.Not sunlight.Not stars.Not even Ethan himself.It was as though the doorway refused to acknowledge reality.Back on Earth…Sophia stood inside Mission Control.Her hands remained folded tightly together.She h
Chapter 106: The Man Who Walked Through Silence
By sunrise…Ethan had made his decision.He would go.Not because he trusted the beings beyond the black doorway.Not because he believed they meant no harm.But because he had seen something in the message that no one else seemed willing to acknowledge.They had asked.Twice.First…May we speak?Then…One may come.An enemy didn’t ask permission.An enemy simply invaded.Whatever waited beyond that door…It wanted to be heard.Whether that was a blessing or a trap…Only one way existed to find out.The launch facility came alive before dawn.Floodlights illuminated the enormous launch pad while engineers hurried around the silver shuttle.Unlike the bulky spacecraft used during the early years of space exploration…This one had been built after the Seven Days.Human technology had advanced dramatically with knowledge recovered from the Architects.Its engines were cleaner.Its shields stronger.Its navigation system could cross the distance between Earth and the Moon in less than th
Chapter 105: The Invitation
No one celebrated.Although the footprints had stopped appearing…Although the black doorway had remained closed…Not a single person inside Mission Control believed the danger had passed.If anything…The silence felt heavier.It was the silence of two strangers looking at one another across a great distance.Waiting.Wondering who would speak next.Dr. Elena Brooks stood beside the communications console, replaying Ethan’s transmission.“My name is Ethan.”“You asked if you could speak.”“You can.”She listened to it three more times before finally muting the speakers.“I’ve worked in aerospace for seventeen years.”She slowly shook her head.“I spent my entire career preparing for first contact.”She smiled weakly.“I never imagined it would begin with… permission.”Professor Orion nodded.“Neither did I.”Hours passed.The black doorway did not move.The Moon remained quiet.Scientists continued monitoring every satellite, every telescope, and every sensor aimed toward the far sid
Chapter 104: Beyond the Black Door
The three knocks echoed through Mission Control.Slow.Steady.Deliberate.Every person in the room froze.No one spoke.No one breathed.The sound wasn’t coming from the speakers anymore.It seemed to resonate through the walls themselves.Three knocks…Yet it felt as though something enormous had struck the fabric of reality.Then…Silence.Emergency lights flickered back to life.Rows of monitors rebooted one after another.Technicians hurried to their stations.“Power is returning!”“I’m reconnecting to the lunar station!”“Signal stabilizing!”Dr. Elena Brooks leaned over one of the consoles.“Get me visual confirmation.”The largest monitor flashed.Static filled the screen.Then the image cleared.Everyone stared.The giant black doorway still stood on the Moon’s far side.Exactly where it had been before.Silent.Motionless.Almost…Innocent.Kai slowly let out the breath he had been holding.“I hate doors.”Lyra looked at him.“You hate everything.”“I especially hate mysteri
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