Chapter 1: Returning to the Days of Privilege

Yulan Garden Community, Y City.

Yu Yan opened her eyes in the darkness, her gaze sharp.

With a sudden movement, she leapt out of bed and assumed a defensive posture—yet all around her was unnaturally calm. There was no corpse of the golden-spotted demon leopard she had slain with all her might, nor any lurking spatial falcon waiting for an opportunity to strike. All that surrounded her was a faint, both unfamiliar and familiar, glimmer of light.

It was the red glow of the electric mosquito repellent, accompanied by several indicator lights from smart home devices.

A surge of joy welled up in Yu Yan’s heart. Had she returned to before the arrival of the instance world?

She rushed instinctively to the neighboring room and flicked the light on with a snap. Her daughter’s sweet, slumbering face instantly brought tears to Yu Yan’s eyes.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Yun Duo’er grumbled, disturbed by the harsh light, rolled over, and burrowed her little head deep into the soft pillow. “It’s too bright, turn it off.”

“Oh!” Yu Yan fumbled to switch off the light, unable to suppress the upward curve of her lips—

Thank goodness, her daughter was still alive.

Not only alive, but still able to complain with such vigor! Back in her own room, Yu Yan giggled foolishly for a while before suddenly recalling something and called out, “Xiao Rong? Xiao Rong?”

Silence answered her; there was no response.

Yu Yan’s momentarily relaxed nerves tensed again as she rummaged through her memory to find her smart wristband.

As expected, the AI was no longer functioning. Not only that, all her smart devices at home were completely paralyzed. Comparing her current surroundings, Yu Yan immediately understood—she had been reborn into the novice welfare period of the instance world.

For a moment, Yu Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Even with a second chance at life, she still could not reunite with her loved ones. She couldn’t even warn those dearest to her that the cruel instance world was about to reveal its ferocious nature, nor tell them what to be wary of.

The only consolation: her daughter was still alive!

And now, reborn, Yu Yan’s mind teemed with three years’ worth of knowledge from after the instance world’s arrival—enough to arm both herself and her daughter to the teeth! Perhaps, with newfound strength, she might even have a chance to find her family?

This possibility ignited a fierce light in Yu Yan’s eyes.

The novice welfare period lasted only six short hours; she had no time to waste.

Although the chip in the smart wristband was now useless, the calendar still worked. Yu Yan glanced at the time: June 23, 2033, 3:22 a.m.! Over three precious hours of the novice welfare period had already slipped by, making Yu Yan’s heart ache.

She hurriedly gathered her disaster-preparedness flashlight, lifeline rope, wire saw, and stuffed them into a large-capacity travel backpack. Next came Yunnan Baiyao, band-aids, gauze, and she dashed to the kitchen for two kitchen knives.

Seeing there was still room in the bag, she filled a large thermos with cooled boiled water and wedged it inside.

With her backpack packed full, Yu Yan took a deep breath and, in swift succession, opened the door, closed it behind her, and double-locked it! She locked the door for fear her daughter might wake in the middle of the night, find her missing, and go out searching—only to stumble into an instance.

Though it was a novice welfare period, this “welfare” was not for everyone. A single misstep, and death in the instance could come at any moment!

Jinguiyuan was a high-rise with two elevators and two apartments per floor. Yu Yan’s family lived on the fifteenth floor, and for the first three days after the instance world’s arrival, the elevators would still function. Yu Yan eyed the elevator nearest her door warily, then avoided it and took the other one down.

Now, she was racing against time—entering this B-level instance was hardly worth it.

But perhaps on the way back, she could consider bringing her daughter to “play” inside. She had a score to settle with what was in there!

Her eyes darkened as she sped along the streets on her electric scooter, weaving and winding her way through the city. What should have been a fifteen-minute journey took over forty minutes—she was careful not to stray into other instances and waste precious time. At last, she saw a vast expanse of lush lotus ponds.

By now, it was past four in the morning; a pale glow tinged the eastern sky.

The emerald lotus leaves overlapped in endless layers, and the pink blossoms swayed in the breeze. Buds and seed pods occasionally flickered in her vision, and a gust of wind carried the fragrance of lotus to her nose.

Yet Yu Yan broke out in a cold sweat, her thin summer shirt instantly soaked. If not for the novice welfare period, she would have kept as far away from this pond as possible. This was one of the most infamous 3S-level hellish instances in the world—the “Reflections of Lake and Sky.”

Such a poetic name had become the grave for countless unfortunate souls who had stumbled into the instance.

Yu Yan took a deep breath, tied one end of the lifeline rope to a sturdy locust tree by the lotus pond, and the other end to herself, securing it tightly before removing her shoes and socks and stepping into the water. The moment her feet touched the pond, the environment around her transformed in an instant!

A piercing wind howled, whipping her clothes violently.

Beneath thick, oppressive clouds, a jagged iron cliff jutted into the sky, and a monstrous beast—over a dozen meters tall—let out a deafening roar at her.

Its gaping maw reeked with a stench so foul it was almost tangible, and a suffocating, murderous aura made her blood run cold.

Even though she was mentally prepared, Yu Yan still couldn’t help but shudder from head to toe.

If she hadn’t been reborn, she would likely have lost half her life to terror by now—if not dead already, then surviving only by sheer luck and nerve! Yu Yan squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to ignore the overwhelming stench filling her nostrils.

The beast’s furious roars thundered in her ears, and her sensitive skin felt as if it were splitting apart inch by inch.

It was as if her body were being flayed, piece by piece.

Suppressing all discomfort, a flash of greed and ambition crossed her tightly shut eyes. The illusory power of the Twelve-Petal Spatial Lotus was truly formidable—even with ninety-nine percent of its strength suppressed during the welfare period, most people who entered would have little hope of escaping unscathed.

But because of this, a rich haul was almost guaranteed!

Yu Yan calmed her mind, gradually sensing the thick mud beneath her feet, the chill of water soaking her from the waist down.

She bent forward cautiously, probing her hands into the mud and taking step after step further in. Soon, her chest, neck, chin—until finally her entire head was submerged beneath the lake. Yu Yan did not panic; instead, she held her breath.

Only when her lungs burned with discomfort did she straighten up for a gulp of air.

She repeated this again and again… Until, at last, when she tried to surface for air, she suddenly inhaled a mouthful of water.

Coughing violently, Yu Yan retreated along the lifeline rope, gasping for air between fits of coughing.

After some moments, she finally managed to catch her breath, tears streaming down from her tightly closed eyes.

Even so, there was no question of giving up!

Yu Yan rested for a while, changed direction, and continued her search… Heaven rewards the diligent—after an hour, her hands finally closed around something round and plump! Delight surged through her heart, but she dared not open her eyes for even a moment.

At this critical juncture, opening her eyes would mean being lost in the illusion in an instant.

For the illusion’s influence grew stronger with the depth of the lotus lake.

The deeper she ventured, the more potent the illusion became. Yu Yan carefully dug out the object, keeping her mind taut, clutching it tightly as she pulled herself back along the lifeline rope…