The Infinite Reboot Company [Infinite]

[Chinese Dreamcore, Bizarre Style]

Shen Mi is the boss of the "Infinite Life Restart Company," which offers life restarts. Customers can return to any point in time they choose and live their lives again, as long as they clear a specific instance.

He runs his business in peace, hidden deep in the mountains. Then one day, Chen Yin, director of the Supernatural Investigation Bureau, pushed open the company's old wooden door with a thoughtful look.

"There have been frequent cases of people vanishing under bizarre circumstances in recent years. No bodies, no trace of the missing. Our investigation shows they all visited this place, the so-called 'Infinite Life Restart Company.' Boss Shen, care to explain?"

Shen Mi finally managed to bluff Chen Yin, who had come to investigate, into leaving. He hurriedly brought out the customers he'd hidden away and began the "entry ceremony" so they wouldn't miss their window.

The instant the instance opened, Chen Yin, who had already left, suddenly rushed back in and was accidentally dragged inside with them.

Shen Mi: "I object!"

The instance: "I don't care!"

Chen Yin: "I knew it!"

Shen Mi, the one who'd objected, soon realized something was off. Chen Yin wasn't bound by any of the instance's rules. He came with cheats built in.

Shen Mi: "Great!"

Chen Yin: "Brilliant!"

The instance: "Get lost!"

Everyone who enters an instance, Shen Mi included, is assigned a fixed role. Chen Yin is the only exception: he can choose his role freely. So...

When Shen Mi is the star performer, Chen Yin plays a guild president, showers him with money to book a private show, listens to him sing by day, then takes him home at night to enjoy a romantic rendezvous...

When Shen Mi is a concubine banished to the cold palace, Chen Yin plays a tyrannical emperor, acting cruel and ruthless in public while secretly keeping him up all night...

When Shen Mi is someone's son, Chen Yin plays a father whose love shakes heaven and earth, chasing after him and demanding he call him "Dad"...

Chen Yin: When you're out in the world, you choose your own identity.

Shen Mi: I refuse to accept this.

The instance: I don't know, I didn't see anything, I have no idea.

It was bad enough having to see that infuriating, smug face every day inside the instances. Shen Mi never expected Chen Yin to keep pestering him after they got out, too. Unable to take it any longer, Shen Mi prepared to shut down the company and run, only to find Chen Yin blocking the reception desk, eyes shining with excitement.

Chen Yin: "So when does the next round open?"

Shen Mi: "…"

After Chen Yin left, Shen Mi schooled his expression and retreated into the shadows. The doorman's soft voice drifted over.

"Boss, he really doesn't remember you."

The instances have a set number of stages. Once Shen Mi clears the final one, he'll achieve his ultimate goal. He chooses to face the near-impossible challenge, where death is almost certain, alone.

As he sets foot on the road destined to destroy him utterly, a familiar voice reaches his ear.

"Little fox, I'm here to take you home."

Serious character descriptions: An intensely curious, relentless black-panther gong who won't stop until he uncovers the truth × a smiling fox shou with a calculating mind, countless secrets, and a talent for hiding them as deeply as possible

Not-so-serious character descriptions: A clingy big dog gong whose words can poison you and whose energy and physical stamina are absurdly high × a shou whose words can shut you down, with brains and skills but on his last legs and with his health bar constantly dropping

1v1, happy ending

The outline is complete, and the instances are set. "Xiangxu" is a specially coined name for the instances in this novel.

Xiangxu One: "Sea Corpses, Haunted Towers, Jade Palaces" (completed)

[Helpful tip: Mirages are beautiful, but whatever you do, don't stare at them.]

Xiangxu Two: "No Way Out, No Road to the West"

[Helpful tip: The bus is about to depart. Passengers, please be sure to board on time.]

Xiangxu Three: "Fireworks Fade, Cruelty Remains"

[Helpful tip: Stay safe when watching fireworks, and be sure not to get hit by sparks.]

Xiangxu Four: "Three Palaces, Six Grievances, Unappeased"

[Helpful tip: Regardless of your gender, please be sure to protect the child in your womb.]

Xiangxu Five: "Heart to Heart, Reward the Meritorious"

[Helpful tip: No matter how beautiful you are, don't let a camera take your picture.]

Xiangxu Six: "Deep Wounds, Old Hatreds"

[Helpful tip: No matter how badly you want to perform, don't let them write you into the script.]

Xiangxu Seven: "Shamate, Love's Funeral, Beyond Help"

[Unintelligible corrupted text]

Xiangxu Eight: "Life Sentence, Near the Grave"

[Helpful tip: Keep fit, and you'll be in shape to serve your sentence.]

Xiangxu Nine: "?"

[Helpful tip: --]

A note before reading:

1. The authenticity of the Tui Bei Tu remains controversial to this day. In this novel, the book serves as a foundational element for an instance. I make no judgment or investigation into whether it is authentic. The interpretation used is from the edition written by Xu Wenqi and published by Shaanxi Normal University Press. This is stated here for clarity.

2. All references to divination, feng shui, metaphysics, and the like in this novel apply only to its fictional world. In the real world, please trust science.

3. All interpretations of divination, feng shui, metaphysics, and the like in this novel serve the plot and are not definitive answers. Please don't treat them as such.

4. This novel contains foreshadowing and twists. Before finishing it, please don't express your dissatisfaction with the story in an uncivil or unfriendly way. If you're still dissatisfied after finishing it, please express that appropriately. I will carefully listen to and reflect on all feedback offered in a civilized and friendly manner. Thank you for your cooperation~

---- Upcoming: The Nth Perspective ----

The god Fan Yuzhen spent everything he had on his "Perfect World" project, only to destroy the world under his own rule.

Standing alone atop the ruins where all life had been annihilated, he resolutely chose to kill himself in atonement. Just as he was about to drown in the River of Oblivion, a mysterious hand pulled him back. Only then did he learn that an organization of higher-dimensional beings existed above the gods.

The higher-dimensional organization said it could give him a chance to redeem himself. All he had to do was reflect on his mistakes and reform at the [Sanctuary of Pure Spirits], where he would receive a gentle cleansing. Then they would restart the collapsed world.

Fan Yuzhen entered the legendary [Sanctuary of Pure Spirits] with deep gratitude... only to discover he'd been thrown into a super-hell where the dead outnumbered the living.

Fan Yuzhen: ???

Where's that promised "gentle cleansing and chance to reform"?

System: [The world under your rule has been divided into seven regions. These seven regions exist within the "Surveillance Perspective World." Clear an instance to light up one region and close one surveillance perspective. Once all seven regions are lit and the Seventh Perspective is closed, the world under your rule can be restarted.]

Fan Yuzhen: I get it. This is atonement. (Grunting his way through instances)

[Ding! You have lit up one world region! The First Perspective is closed!]

[Ding! You have lit up two world regions! The Second Perspective is closed!]

Fan Yuzhen: Yes! Victory is just around the corner!

[Warning! One lit region has turned gray! The Eighth Perspective is closed!]

[Warning! Two lit regions have turned gray! The Ninth Perspective is closed!]

[Warning! When all remaining regions turn gray, you will explode along with the System!]

After that, the regions kept flickering back and forth between lit and gray. The once fixed Seventh Perspective turned into an endlessly distant Nth Perspective!

Fan Yuzhen: ...???

Even more outrageous, that icy, handsome man whom the gods feared and avoided, the Holy Judge who held the power of life and death over them, always looked at him with the complicated expression of someone watching a cat wreck a house and blow up the kitchen.

Until one day, unable to take the torment of the instances any longer, Fan Yuzhen shouted indignantly, "Who the hell designed this damn system, anyway?!"

The Holy Judge, polishing his blade, calmly replied, "I did."

Fan Yuzhen: "..."

Fan Yuzhen: "Then why are you fighting your way through it too?!"

The Holy Judge: "I designed two versions of the Holy Judgment System, Heaven Mode and Hell Mode. Someone secretly merged and altered them, causing the current situation. I'm here to fix it."

Fan Yuzhen: "So that means..."

"Yes," said the Holy Judge. "It was a mistake at work on my part, and you got caught up in it."

Fan Yuzhen: "..."

The world really is one enormous ramshackle operation.

Some time later...

Fan Yuzhen: Thanks for asking. I'm in an infinite-flow world, and the Holy Judge is my bodyguard, sugar daddy, savior, system designer, and bug fixer... and, ahem, my partner.

Damn it! I came here to serve my sentence, but ended up running off with the one who sentenced me!

[Reading Guide]

1. A cold on the outside, soft on the inside Holy Judge gong × a former idealist god turned snarky shou.

2. The instances are thrilling, but the romance is even more thrilling. The villains keep bouncing between being force-fed dog food and getting killed off.

3. The worldbuilding is grand but never dull. The main idea is: "You can still laugh in the face of despair."

1v1, happy ending, both leads are inexperienced

---- Upcoming: The Empty Building ----

In Nanfa Town, a small building along the street is known as the "Empty Building." The reason is that, starting one day, anything left inside overnight would vanish by morning, people included.

After that, the building's doors were locked tight, and no one dared go near it.

Then Shen Yangqu arrived. Ignoring everyone's warnings, he rented the Empty Building and moved in. While everyone waited for the next day's headline, Shen Yangqu opened the front door first thing in the morning and cheerfully greeted the onlookers.

"Good morning. I slept wonderfully last night. How about you?"

The panda-eyed crowd who'd kept watch all night: "???"

Not only did he live there comfortably, he also opened a little shop on the ground floor, with a unique business model: customers browsed and took what they wanted, then paid of their own accord.

As for him, he either sat by the door sunbathing and reading the paper, or went to admire the scenery at the lavender estate behind town. He didn't even close the shop when he left during the day, but at night he shut the doors so tightly no light could get through.

Strange rumors about the Empty Building at night began to spread.

Some said they'd heard a fierce fight inside. Some said something had screamed all night. Some said they'd seen strange light through the crack beneath the door. Others said they'd seen Shen Yangqu sneaking around in the sanatorium at the northernmost edge of town in the dead of night...

But no matter what rumors swirled the night before, at 8 a.m. sharp the next morning, he always opened the door and greeted the street with a warm, "Good morning."

His peaceful, leisurely life was eventually disrupted by wave after wave of outsiders. He wasn't gentle with them as he was with the townsfolk. In fact, he was terrifyingly cold, refusing to let them set foot in the shop.

One night, just as he was about to close up, a hand suddenly grabbed the doorframe. Without even looking up, he said, "I'm not coming out. Get lost."

"I'm not here to ask you to come out of retirement. I'm here to ask you to take me as your apprentice." A peerlessly handsome face appeared through the crack in the door. "The strongest demon hunter, still unsurpassed to this day, the God of Agelessness."

Li Chongguan, head of the Demon Hunting Bureau, wanted to ask Shen Yangqu, the renowned and retired sole S-rank demon hunter, to help with a difficult problem. But every group he'd sent before had been kicked out, so he traveled all the way to Nanfa Town to ask in person.

He arrived in a hurry at dusk and was quick enough to grab the little shop's door just as it was about to close. Before he could speak, a voice full of disgust came from inside. "I'm not coming out. Get lost."

Hearing the cold, resolute tone, he knew his chances were slim, so he changed tactics on the spot. "I'm not here to ask you to come out of retirement. I'm here to ask you to take me as your apprentice, God of Agelessness, the strongest demon hunter still unsurpassed to this day."

The person on the other side said, "Who are you?"

"I'm the head of the Demon Hunting Bureau..."

"Li Chongguan?" The other man's expression grew even more disgusted. "That supposedly wicked little geezer? The one whose theories and magic tools got my master killed? My greatest wish is to tear out his heart and feed it to dogs."

The "wicked little geezer" silently pushed the business card he'd been about to pull out back into his pocket. "...I'm his biggest hater. I can't stand that nonsense of his about 'demons being useful.' It's utter rubbish!"

Shen Yangqu raised an eyebrow, his expression unreadable, then opened the door. "Come in."

From then on, the rumors about the Empty Building grew even more mysterious.

People said they'd seen Li Chongguan on the second floor, which Shen Yangqu never let anyone enter.

People said that after the two started living together, they'd occasionally disappear for a while, then return together.

People said that once, only Shen Yangqu came back, covered in blood. He kept the shop closed for seven days and seven nights before opening it again.

People said that during the days Shen Yangqu was alone, he would silently kick pebbles at the town entrance and gaze into the distance.

People later said that the second floor of the Empty Building seemed to have been filled, too.

*Waiting for you to come back and fill the Empty Building means waiting for world peace, and to spend eternity with you.

Shou: A concept god who ranks second in multiple power-system ability categories but is overwhelmingly first in overall combat strength (most people can only cultivate one power system), gentle by nature (most of the time), and kills while delivering souls to the afterlife.

Gong: A moneybags with unbeatable gear who can't cultivate abilities due to his special constitution. Since he has no ability, he can't enter the ability rankings, so his strength remains a mystery. He plays dumb to coax the shou into joining his company.

1v1, happy ending

Theme: Cherish the present