March 12, 2027, 12:01 PM
"No… no…"
A young man suddenly opened his eyes inside a small two-room apartment.
His name was Fan Hao.
He looked around in confusion.
"Where am I…?"
His eyes slowly widened.
"This place… isn't this my old apartment?"
A shocking thought appeared in his mind.
"Did I… return to the past?"
"That's impossible…"
But then he remembered something.
"The Return Clock…"
"It actually worked…"
What happened was something unbelievable.
On March 22, 2029, a strange event occurred.
A game called Against the Guardian suddenly connected to the real world.
In this game, the entire world was built on cultivation, blending both Eastern and Western elements—kingdoms, knights, and empires—where power came from Qi, not magic.
Mana and Qi were essentially the same type of energy.
At first, everyone thought the system would control everything.
But that didn't happen.
After three days, people discovered how to use their in-game abilities in the real world.
At the same time, the entire world expanded several times in size.
New lands appeared everywhere.
Different kingdoms, cultivators, towers, and portals began to emerge across the world.
The towers stayed fixed in one place, so they were not a problem.
But the portals were dangerous.
If they were not cleared in time, monsters inside them could come out at any moment.
Because of this, fear spread across the entire world.
Ten years later…
The world had become a living nightmare.
Earth's humanity was struggling to survive.
Even so, Fan Hao became a powerful cultivator and a skilled fighter.
But in the end…
He died.
Not at the hands of enemies—
But because of betrayal.
His own girlfriend, Lin Yue, killed him.
She had fallen in love with a rich second-generation heir.
To protect her relationship with that man, she chose to kill Fan Hao.
Fan Hao's expression turned cold.
"I was not killed by my enemies…"
"I was killed by someone I trusted…"
In his past life, he also possessed a priceless treasure—
The Return Clock.
It was a unique item.
The only one of its kind in the entire world.
Because of this, countless people wanted to kill him and take it.
But with his intelligence and strength, no one succeeded.
Until the very end…
He was betrayed.
Fan Hao clenched his fists tightly.
"I lost everything…"
"My power…"
"My closest people…"
He took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"There are still ten days left before the game launches."
"I need money."
"A lot of money."
The best option right now—
Lottery tickets.
In his past life, he lived a very difficult life.
He had to rent a VR gaming pod just to play the game.
He saved money little by little—
Only to buy expensive things for his girlfriend.
But in the end…
Lin Yue still betrayed him.
She had secretly cheated on him for almost ten years.
Even so, Fan Hao still managed to become one of the strongest cultivators in the world.
He slowly stood up.
"What's done is done…"
"That was my past life."
His eyes became calm and determined.
"This time…"
"I will change everything."
After that, Fan Hao took out his mobile phone and sent a message to Lin Yue.
"From today onwards, our relationship is over.
I know you are at a hotel with Lou Mang."
A reply came quickly.
"I've wanted to say this for a long time too."
"Fine. Break up."
"You're too poor anyway."
"Haha…"
Fan Hao looked at the screen and smiled coldly.
"Good."
"Now I need to arrange money."
"First… the lottery."
He clearly remembered—
There was a lottery worth 10 million yuan.
Without hesitation, Fan Hao took the 1,200 yuan he had and left the apartment.
After walking for a while, he arrived at a lottery shop.
He stepped inside.
"I want to buy a lottery ticket."
The shop owner looked at him.
"Which one?"
"The 10 million yuan lottery."
"And I want to choose a specific number."
The owner raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. What number?"
Fan Hao spoke calmly:
"13… 3347… 50… 01."
The owner nodded while writing it down.
"Wait a moment."
Then he suddenly asked,
"Kid, why this specific number?"
Fan Hao didn't hesitate.
"Someone told me my luck is very good today. If I use this number, I'll win."
The owner sighed and shook his head.
"Stay away from those kinds of people."
"How much did you pay for that 'luck'?"
Fan Hao replied casually,
"Not much. Just 9,999 yuan."
The owner laughed.
"Then your money is already gone."
"These lotteries happen once a year. The chance of winning is extremely low."
Soon, he handed over the ticket.
"That'll be 599 yuan."
Fan Hao took the ticket.
"Thank you."
Just as he stepped out—
His phone rang.
It was Han Yueli.
His childhood friend.
He answered the call.
"Hello, Yun'er."
"Where are you?" she asked.
"I'm at the market."
There was a short pause.
"I just saw your girlfriend… with another guy."
Fan Hao replied calmly,
"I know."
"We broke up."
"…Okay."
After a moment, he said,
"Can you lend me 20,000 yuan?"
"I still owe you 100,000 yuan, but I'll return 200,000 this afternoon."
There was no hesitation.
"Don't worry. I'll send it now. Call me if you need anything."
"…Thank you."
Fan Hao lowered his phone slowly.
In his past life, no one was willing to lend him money.
He was already in debt—over 1 million yuan.
Almost everyone he knew had already lent him money before.
Four years ago, his parents died in an accident.
Since then, he had spent all the money they left behind.
Now, at just 17 years old, he was completely alone.
An orphan.
In his previous life, he did everything for his girlfriend.
Even if he wasn't the richest—
He had given her everything he could.
Ding!
A notification sound rang.
[Bank Notification: 20,000 yuan has been credited to your account.]
Fan Hao smiled slightly.
"Thanks, Yun'er…"
After that, he headed toward the antique market.
His eyes became sharp.
"I remember…"
"There's an antique here…"
"Worth 3.4 million yuan."