A newcomer appeared in Mist Harbor, the City of Sin. No one knew where he came from, but the moment he showed up, he drew countless eyes.
They said the newcomer was nimble and a formidable fighter.
They said he was brave, daring to enter Mist Harbor's most terrifying slum alone with nothing but a dagger.
They said he was brilliant and could plan for every eventuality.
They also said he was loyal to a fault, willing to fight the whole world to the death for anyone who asked for his help!
The savvy people of Mist Harbor sized him up in secret and concluded that sooner or later, he'd die because he put loyalty first. Many warned him earnestly that softhearted people didn't last long in Mist Harbor.
They watched, ready to laugh, as the newcomer repaid kindness and stirred up a citywide commotion. They watched him become friends with the people who had come to kill him, turning them into sworn brothers who would share each other's fate. They watched him take on seven gang strongholds in a single day to avenge someone. They watched him become the slum boss's godson in just three days. They watched him go from a walking ATM to the king of gamblers in just five days. Then they watched him turn around, stab someone in the back, raise the banner, and, on the seventh day, humbly accept the leadership position, thanks to everyone's support.
Wait, wasn't something off here? What happened to putting loyalty first? There wasn't supposed to be a knife sticking out of the word "loyalty," was there?
The stunned organizations scrambled to use their brains, scrutinizing the newcomer, Xiao Xu, from every angle.
Xiao Xu was tall and slender, with clear black eyes. Even the little rounded mole on the tip of his nose gave him an innocent, guileless air. He looked like a good kid with the word "simple" written on his forehead.
The organizations: Maybe Brother Xu's just lucky?
Xiao Xu tilted his head and happily accepted the title of "lucky."
After all, in this dream, whether in the present, the past, or the future, Xiao Xu would never have a weakness, would never make a mistake, and would always be on the path to victory. Luck would always be on his side.
Because he already knew, had already seen it coming. Everything happening now was just history repeating itself, and all he had to do was casually pluck the threads of fate until it bent to his will.
Standing atop countless discarded save files, all he had to do was say with absolute certainty...
"Your next line is... 'How do you know about this? There's a traitor among us!'"
"And the line after that is... 'Please spare me.'"
"He would play the most ruthless hunter, become the most terrifying nightmare, and rouse everyone from this endless deep sleep, returning them to the waking world."
In the year 345 of the New Era, Xiao Xu, a rookie just starting out, fell asleep right where he stood, and slept his way into a massive survival game. No, not a game, but a collective dreamscape: more than ten million dreamers, whose combined dreams gave rise to an isolated island of sin within the dream, Mist Harbor.
Xiao Xu's only mission was to raise the people of Mist Harbor's Fear Points as high as possible by any means necessary, using the most ordinary nightmares to scare them awake.
Everything in the dream was absurd. The cautious newcomer Xiao Xu was careful at every turn, and the cautious newcomer Xiao Xu fell into every trap. Not a single one was missed.
As soon as he entered the dream, he was targeted by every faction and trapped in a passive superposition of "kill him on the spot" and "take him in as a dog," unable to escape.
Xiao Xu, clutching the Mist Harbor Survival Guide and still trying to keep a low profile: Wow, it looks like nobody's going to let him off.
Well, nothing to be done, Xiao Xu thought. He was going to fight the whole world anyway.
Xiao Xu dropped the act, tore off his disguise, and slapped a terrifying filter onto himself. Saying, "My cheat is reloading, reloading, and reloading again!" he charged in.
Because of the mission, Xiao Xu was always changing his approach to get close to his targets and build a connection with them, so he could strike straight at their deepest secrets and max out their Fear Points.
As a result, Xiao Xu took on many identities: the one true sworn brother who was loyal to a fault, the world's most devoted godson, the beautiful, strong, and tragic undercover agent who had bided his time, the student who "respected his teacher," the bodyguard who "put his employer first," and countless others, both imaginable and unimaginable. As long as it brought him closer to a target and could prove useful, Xiao Xu could slip into any secret identity with ease.
Until one day, a man came up to Xiao Xu. While the king of secret identities, Xiao Xu, watched him warily and defensively, the man shed his own disguise and revealed Xiao Xu's original identity, the true name he had lost in the gap between moments ever since he first awoke from the dream.
The man lowered his eyes and said, "I've always believed that you'd come back, that you'd reclaim your name, and... reclaim me, too."
The man, who had always believed that dreams were reality, smiled in relief. Even so, his conviction had never wavered.
Xiao Xu, the "returned soul": Wait
Xiao Xu rubbed his forehead. He wasn't dead yet, so there was no need to rush into dying for love.
Well, nothing to be done. Since things had come to this, he might as well reload!
Also known as:
#Satisfying to fight! Satisfying to scare people!
#How does he know that? Who's the traitor?!
#Why are the Fear Points like this?
#Since things have come to this, might as well reload!
#Infinite rebirth in a nightmare world
A little reading guide:
1. Reloading loop + B-king vibes + supernatural abilities
2. Updates follow the rankings before signing a contract, then daily updates afterward.
3. Xiao Xu is an affectionate nickname :D
4. The story is plot-driven.
5. The romance is one-on-one, with a fated-meeting, childhood-friends sort of dynamic. They're both pretty chill, but when two chill people get together, things get really intense =v=
6. Lots of original worldbuilding, a whole lot of it!!! The entire story is fictional! Completely fictional!
Theme: No matter how good a dream is, it's still a dream
Why did it suddenly go back to normal as if the network cable was pulled out? Normally Xiao Xu wouldn't have been killed by a knife without knowing anything about it? Looking forward to the update 🐶
When Xiao Xu wakes up, he needs to integrate the previous clues~
Xiao Xu (excited): Then join me in destroying the world! 🐶
Sister Chen cleverly devised a fishing plan, and Xiao Xu accidentally fell into the grudge game (๑´0`๑) It turns out to be Xiao Chen Heixinmi
Isn't the boss updated? Qwq
Hahahaha Xiao Xu is so cute!
It's great, I feel so good watching it 🐶
Although it's a bit late, the chaos and confusion in Boss Tie's 🐶 dream are also delicious.
I'm so touched. I wake up from my dream 🙏
It's okay, boss, I feel everything is pretty good now. Xiao Chen also introduced a lot of information (this character is actually quite attractive) (whisper bb)