I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun - Chapter 718: HQ (2)

“THE NEW GATE”, an online game that trapped its players and turned into a death game, was now releasing the thousands of players that had been dragged into it, thanks to the efforts of Shin, one of the most powerful players. But after having defeated the last boss and freed everyone, he was swallowed up by a strange light and found himself inside the game world 500 years in the future and unable to leave.

“The greatest equalizer in life is death. If it becomes possible to cheat death, equality and fairness would be shattered, and all ethics, morals, common sense, and laws would be thrown into disarray.”

In a dystopian world 100 years in the future, where immortality is no longer just the stuff of fantasy, the pursuit of eternal life has become a universal obsession. Everyone is constantly toiling away in a never-ending hamster wheel, dedicating the entirety of their lives to work and earning money for the chance at an eternal afterlife in a vast cyber interface known as the Metaverse.

However, some are not content with merely existing for all of eternity in a cyber reality, and those people turned to the exploitation of blank slates, humans with advanced brain functions that can have alternate personas uploaded into their minds, essentially acting as vessels to extend the lives of others. Adam is a blank slate who wakes up one day with no memories and an unclear past. In his journey to uncover his past, he inadvertently unearths the heinous secrets lurking in the dark underbelly of this dystopian world, sending his life careening on a wild trajectory completely out of his control…

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Everyone said that Yi Qing was the number one Sword Cultivator in the world, with a swordsmanship and cultivation that no one could surpass. Whether it was when he was cultivating in the Lower Realm, or when he was in the Ten Heavens of the Upper Realm, he has always been undefeated.

“There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery.” — Dante AlighieriThis is a quote that dictates my life perfectly. Ever since I was a young boy, I enjoyed playing games, so much so that I carried that passion even into my sophomore years, all the way to my death.My story in life isn't all that tragic compared to the more unfortunate out there. I am your typical game creator. I made indie games and visual novels for a living.Naturally, being out of passion and an unknown solo developer, I tried my best to get my work out there, working additional jobs, doing side hustles, both online and locally, all just to survive, and all just to sponsor my work.However, in a world where competition is vast in the game industry, everything I make only ends up at the bottom rank. Because of this, I never gave up, but as I went into my thirties, this passion of mine separated me from my family.These days they don't even talk to me anymore. Depressed, alone, and on the verge of a mental breakdown, I lost all hope, and it didn't help that I had two months of rent due and bills that needed to be paid.But all that changed one night when I got a mysterious message that suddenly appeared on my laptop screen:“You who despair! Would you like a second chance at life? If yes click and offer up your life worth's negativity to me, if no forget this message completely!?”At that time, I clicked Yes by accident.But as the message said, I died due to a heart attack and reincarnated into the World of Purgatory. This was the greatest mistake of my life, as it changed it forever. However in this world I came with the power called the Administrator — a power I gained as a newborn Negative Spirit.With this power I exist as an Entity of Dreams, but even without a physical body, I was determined to make my wish come true: to be a game creator. But unlike other devs, my dreams are different. I can create scenarios in the dreams of men, forcing them to play my game. If they win, they walk out of here as an Awakened Spirit Warrior; however, if I win, the abilities they would have gained in my trials go to me. In this game of mine, anything could be wagered. In reality I have nothing to lose as the Administrator. But to the players, what they wager could be a matter of life or death.