*Rustle rustle* *Swish*

"Hah! Hah! Hah!"

"Catch him! And we'll be rich boys!"

"There! He went that way!"

Near the border of the forest, a man in light armor was running towards a city. Behind him was a small army. There were names on their heads, telling people what their nicknames are. This was inside the game 'Heavens', the most popular VRMMO that mankind has ever made.

That small army pursued a man named Fei Long. He was frantic. He was surrounded from all sides and was all alone. He was made a public enemy by a large guild in the game and thus was in this situation. He sought help from some of his friends in university but they said they were busy and cut all contact.

He was looking all around, hoping a way to escape. He was currently running towards the city, one of the safe zones in the game. If he made it then he could log off safely and think of a way to escape. When he looked in front of him, he saw a familiar silhouette. It was one of his friends, reaching out to him.

In desperation, he ran to him and grabbed his hand. But what greeted him was a sword, instead of a hand of help.

'No. No no no! If I die now I'll revive at-' (Fei Long)

"I'm sorry, Long." (Friend)

"Why?"

With a last look of disbelief, his body transformed into tiny fragments of light and disappeared.

"Good job friend! Our guild will reward you heavily."

"Yeah. Thanks." (Friend)

Fei Long revived at the city that he ran from an hour ago. This city was owned by a large guild and he was banished from it. So he revived near the city gates, just inside the safe zone. He could not enter the city as he was banished but, there were also players blocking his way. He sighed and tried to log out but just as he was about to, he was pushed out of the safe zone.

Normally one cannot attack inside a safe zone but accidental bumps or some minor physical contact was not classified as an attack. So if you locked someone's arm, the system would not register it as an attack but if you in anyway deal damage; accidental or not you were attacked by the city guards.

This was one of those instances. Fei Long was pushed out by two 'friends pushing each other while having fun and bumping into a stranger' At this moment Fei Long understood he was trapped. These people would kill him continuously, until he hit Level 0.

He got out of his VR Capsule and walked to the balcony. This was the only way to save his avatar, forcing a log out. He would die once as he left whilst in combat but that was okay. He was left with nothing anyway.

He breathed in the fresh air. The night sky was especially beautiful tonight. He untied his shoulder length hair and let it dance with the wind. After taking a shot of brandy he sat on the ledge of the balcony. His apartment was on the 12^th floor so the view was exceptional.

He breathed one last time and imagined diving into a pool.

"The wind feels nice."

He spoke to himself once before closing his eyes with the comfortable beating of wind on his cheeks.

…

*Thump*

"Ugh…"

Jiang Long opened his eyes on the floor. He reached for the edge of his bed to use it as a support.

"What the?"

When he looked around, he saw a nostalgic view, his dorm room.

"Didn't I… Die? What the hell is going on?"

He rushed to the bathroom to look at the mirror. What he saw was himself from 15 years ago.

"You've got to be- AGH! Shit."

He had quite the party last night. Drinking heavily with his friends and running away from a small army?

"Wasn't I in my apartment until a while ago? This was my room yes. And this is me, from my college years. But I am- wait, what year is it?"

He walked to his desk, where his computer was open. He looked at the date of his computer: 15 October 2088. He checked the date online: 15 October 2088. The news sites, the newspaper. He even asked the cleaning lady. The date was 15 October 2088.

"What the hell? I've travelled back in time? Is this a Xianxia novel!?"