Reborn; A Slave to the World - Chapter 7: Lurking in the Shadows

He Bai won the lottery, became rich, and reached the pinnacle of life. Then, he inadvertently took a picture of the Film Emperor Di Qiuhe being killed. And after reporting this case to the police, he was reborn in a midst of confusion.

He Bai: I don’t have any horrible relatives to abuse. Why was I reborn?

Di Qiuhe: But I do.

He Bai: I also haven’t been betrayed or harmed by anyone. Why was I reborn?

Di Qiuhe: But I have.

He Bai: I just want to have some money to live freely and eat well. I already achieved that goal, so why was I reborn?

Di Qiuhe: I have money, but don’t live freely or well.

He Bai angrily flips the table: So what’s the use of my rebirth! Just to make me suffer again?!

Di Qiuhe (Holding and Touching He Bai): Be my lover, you’re only responsible for eating “lollipops,” you won’t eat any bitterness.

He Bai: Leave!

So basically, this is a sweet story of a naive and cute person who goes back to the past, flaps his little butterfly wings, and helps the man who used to be last life’s big Film Emperor, but in this life, is still a miserable Great Devil King, to walk towards the pinnacle of life (while also dragging someone home)!

- Description from novelupdates

This is a world where humans, demons and mysterious beasts coexist. Humans cultivate mysterious qi. Demons cultivate corporeal bodies. Mysterious beasts cultivate soul perception. A legend says that in the middle of an endless rainforest, there are extremely powerful existences; they are called demon kings. Some demon kings have a tyrannical corporeal body, some are experts in illusions. Some demon kings are proficient in magic, some can even move mountains. Some demon kings are able to sense things thousands of miles away. These demon kings rarely appear in the human world. Even if they emerge in the human world, they would reincarnate in human form; assimilating with mankind while seeking to breakthrough realms…….

A mechanical engineer Poul Nielsen along with his best friend Jonathan Axelsen a civil engineer died after a truck crashed at the coffee shop where they were hanging out and got transmigrated in a late 19th-century parallel world, in the country of Avalonia. It was at the height of the second industrial revolution and to survive daily, they’ll have to work like others to earn pennies to get by the day. However, the two didn’t settle for less. They want to be the Edison, the Chrysler, the Rockefeller, the Carnegie, the Ford, and the Westinghouse of this new world.

This world doesn’t seem to have electricity? Then let’s start an electric power distribution company. Light is not enough, let’s build appliances and motors as well to make our business profitable.

This world doesn’t seem to have vehicles and ground transportation relies solely on horse-drawn carriages and trains. Let’s start an Automotive Manufacturing Company.

Huge infrastructure projects such as metro stations, skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels, and dams? Let’s start a Civil Engineering firm and build miracles in this world.

There is always money in guns, they say. Fine, let's invest in another venture, the arms manufacturing company.

And before we even know it, we will be the richest men in the world. However, the path won’t be easy as fierce competitions are up ahead. Robber barons who would do everything just to crush their competitors. Predator against predator, and government intervention.

DESTINY GAMES. It has been 85 years since Earth-11 became aligned with Yggdrasil and 73 years since Icon became the first demigod from Earth. Icon, as the first demigod, was privileged to weave the thread of fate for everyone. He was supposed to cut off Yggdrasil and free Earth-11 from the grasps of the other Earths and their god kings. That’s why everyone helped him climb the tower of Destiny. But instead of ridding earth of Yggdrasil, he turned the destiny of mankind into seven rings of immortality. The first ring was for the immortality of power. The second was for the immortality of the knowledge. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth were for the immortality of the mind, energy, body, and soul. The last ring, the ring of the paragon, was made to rule them all. Icon kept the ring of the paragon for himself and became a dictator. He ruled with an iron fist for many years. His was a reign of terror. But he was eventually vanquished by the collective effort of the world. It has been 62 years since then. Icon is no more, but the damage he had done still remains. Earth-11 is still connected to Yggdrasil. The deadly games of the Tower of Destiny still remain, and the fight for the seven rings of immortality still continues. Kelvin Thorn has just awakened his ability. It came at a good time too since he is running for his life. The ability he awakened saved him, but it came with a cost. He must climb the tower of destiny under the witness of the whole world and accumulate destiny, or he will die. His situation is not unique. Everyone that awakens, which is mostly everyone, must climb the tower of destiny. It is one of the curses that Icon left behind before he died. But Thorn is different because the seventh ring found him. The tower of destiny is where everyone granted power by destiny, be they humans, non-humans, or otherworlders, must fight in games of might, skill, and knowledge to gather the power of destiny. They will either die or eventually overcome death. Kelvin will be one of the latest in the line of billions of others in this struggle.