Prologue

At midnight, even in a metropolis, many neighborhoods had already sunk into tranquil darkness. Yet this did nothing to dim the dazzling lights of Jiangzhou’s most bustling nightlife district, where dozens of entertainment venues gathered in a riot of color and revelry. The rain, a mere drizzle, only served to accentuate the gleaming glass façade of Feifei Bar—a building whose brilliance seemed to rise from the earth itself, exuding an aura of extraordinary opulence. Beneath the golden glow, the transparent stone slabs and the swarm of alluring hostesses in fiery attire framed the grand electric escalator, upon which Bai Haonan’s ascent drew no small amount of attention.

It was not only that this tall young man carried, as if by right, a girl drunken almost beyond consciousness draped over his arm; nor that, at this hour, he still wore dark glasses. He was impossible to ignore—too ostentatious by far.

Even the ranks of hostesses bowing in unison at the door, or the crowd of ride-hailing drivers who surged forth at the commotion, hesitated to approach him: “Boss, do you need a ride…?”

Reeking of alcohol, Bai Haonan ignored them all. With the eager assistance of the lobby manager, he ushered his companion in her tight skirt into the passenger seat of a blue Porsche parked outside. With a casual pat on the manager’s shoulder, he climbed behind the wheel, and to the throbbing beat of rock music, the sports car roared away—leaving a trail of envy in his wake.

Her face was hidden, but the woman sprawled in the car left a lasting impression with her cascade of black curls, alabaster long legs, and curvaceous figure—a vision of beauty matched with a luxury car, the stuff of countless men’s dreams.

Once clear of the brilliant lights of the entertainment center, Bai Haonan switched off the music, tossed his sunglasses onto the suede dashboard, and let the earlier excitement fade into a dull haze beneath the weight of alcohol. He did not spare so much as a glance for the woman beside him, now dead to the world, his eyes drifting aimlessly as he drove on autopilot. Back to the hotel, he thought; his mind felt almost drained, as though the last few hours had exhausted all its reserves.

A few hours ago?

A vacant smile had just begun to form on Bai Haonan’s lips when a brand new phone—tossed onto the dashboard—rang out. As if startled awake, he grabbed it with his left hand, and the moment he answered, a furious voice exploded at him: “You bastard! You finally showed up—you made me lose seven million! Prepare to die, you son of a…”

A familiar yet distant voice raged in his ear. His foot pressed absently on the accelerator, while his mind went utterly blank. Then, from the right, the woman sprawled in the seat gave a guttural retch and her whole body tensed—a clear sign she was about to vomit.

On the verge of mental collapse, Bai Haonan, phone still blaring with curses, slammed the brakes on instinct, intending to shove the woman out to be sick. At that instant, some roaring sound seemed to rush in from the distance.

All in a moment, as he turned toward the passenger seat, he caught—out of the corner of his eye—the windshield suddenly darken. An enormous object slammed into the low-slung sports car with a thunderous bang. The vehicle’s light frame was tossed into a violent roll.

The phone flew from his grasp. All he could see was a blur—tumbling—accompanied by uncontrollable screams.

If it were like the endless tales of rebirth found online, he would open his eyes in another world, perhaps as a noble lord or a useless mage.

To hell with that.

There’s no such thing as effortless reincarnation and second chances.