The Rebirth Glitch: Burning My Way to the Top

Still the boys' dorm.

South Block 2.

Qi Feng's team clearly heard the blood-curdling screams coming from South Block 3.

Soon after, they learned through the chat channel that Yuan Feng was most likely killed—by Lei Ming.

They held a quick meeting to discuss whether they should go and help.

Final decision: don't go.

After all, no one in their group had the confidence to beat Lei Ming.

Qi Feng wasn't surprised Yuan Feng died. He had sensed it earlier through his Intuition Talent—something bloody was going to happen to Yuan Feng soon.

But what about Kai?

Qi Feng had a gut feeling Kai was still alive.

Maybe even had a lucky break.

Could be he clung onto Lei Ming's thigh and survived.

If that's true, then he made the right choice—Lei Ming was way more dangerous than that fool Yuan Feng.

Still, Lei Ming's good days might be numbered.

There were already people in the area chat reporting his killings.

On the forums, the official team had posted a warning to all players not to break the law or kill recklessly. They also announced that an S-Rank Special Task Force officer had been dispatched to arrest Lei Ming.

Right now, Lei Ming really was being hunted.

Running for his life, he finally realized how much of a liability the bold "Rank #8" title hovering above his head was.

No matter where he went, he drew attention like a beacon.

And thanks to the public backlash in the chat, everyone treated him like a monster. People scattered like roaches the moment they saw him.

Lei Ming didn't even have time to explain that he didn't kill Yuan Feng.

All he could do was run like hell.

As fate would have it, the sky darkened and rain started pouring.

After sprinting for over ten minutes in the downpour, Lei Ming suddenly noticed—his mental stats had all increased.

From barely 1 point each, they jumped to over 5.

And in the chat, people were talking:

"Holy crap! I got soaked for 10 minutes and all four stats jumped past 3!"

"Dude, I got over 4 in everything! My strength even passed 5!"

"No way! I'm running outside right now!"

"Hold up—none of you think this is weird? We don't know jack about this apocalyptic world yet. Maybe don't act on impulse?"

"Exactly! What if it's temporary and turns us into zombies later? Better wait and see!"

"Morons. This rain is fine. I see 5+ stats. That ain't fake!"

"Let them be paranoid. I'm gonna enjoy the boost while it lasts!"

"Totally. This rain is cursed, don't go out!"

"Yes yes, terrible rain. Don't touch it." (Clearly mocking now)

The sarcasm was obvious—those warning others just didn't want to share the benefits.

But Kai knew the truth. The rain was very wrong.

Yes, it temporarily boosted stats—for four hours.

Then at midnight, the rain would stop.

And all those who got soaked would enter a ten-hour debuff period.

That ten-hour window... would later be known as The Darkest Ten Hours.

Dimensional rifts would erupt across the city.

Waves of alien monsters would pour through.

Those drained by the rain couldn't even walk straight, let alone fight.

Tens of thousands of people would be slaughtered like livestock.

Chaos. Anarchy. Civilization crumbled.

Some who weren't soaked took advantage of the weak, looting, killing.

That night, humanity saw the true face of the apocalypse—merciless and dark.

Kai knew the truth.

But he didn't say a word.

He wasn't trying to be a hero.

Even in the chat, those who questioned the rain were mocked. Nobody would believe him.

He left South Block 3 and headed for Qi Feng's team in South 2.

Using his newly gained stealth talent and Death's Grasp, he moved silently.

Meanwhile, Qi Feng's team was buzzing over the stat boost from the rain.

Everyone wanted to go out and get drenched.

Except Qi Feng.

His Intuition screamed danger.

"I think there's something off about this rain," he warned. "Remember the system message? 'Slaughter descends. Apocalypse begins.'"

"But so far... nothing's felt apocalyptic."

"This game's not gonna hand out stat boosts for free. Something's up."

"We should wait and see what happens to the people who went out."

Qi Feng had the aura of a student council president—rational, persuasive.

But reason couldn't beat greed.

Several teammates ignored his advice and ran out to get soaked.

Only Aiya and Qiao Kun stayed.

That made Qi Feng trust them more. He believed these two would go far.

He stopped trying to persuade the others.

But the moment they left, Qi Feng was hit by a crushing sense of danger.

Then it happened.

A wire—thin as a hair—shot out from the void and wrapped around his neck.

Cold. Lethal.

Before he could react, his brain went blank.

His body exploded.

Or at least, that's what it looked like.

When the dust settled, there was no corpse.

Only a weird, yellow-brown doll lying where Qi Feng had stood.

A scapegoat doll.

Qiao Kun, who had helped identify this life-saving item before, immediately recognized it.

It had taken the fatal hit for Qi Feng.

Even without his own Intuition Talent, Qiao Kun now felt the same deadly aura.

If it weren't for that doll, Qi Feng would be dead.

This was a threat far beyond Qiao Kun's pay grade.

He didn't even think about revenge.

The second he saw the doll, he bolted.

But the wire didn't spare him.

It wrapped around his neck—and a heartbeat later, his head hit the ground.

Aiya stood frozen.

She saw the president vanish and a creepy doll appear.

Then—thud—Qiao Kun dropped dead.

And then...

She felt something cold wrap around her own neck.