‘So I’ve been reborn?’
Ripples of confusion spread through Mo Shao's mind as he looked at the long-unseen, small security booth before him.
At first, he suspected it was an illusion, but after a thorough check, he estimated that he had likely been reborn.
‘I really have been reborn!’
Mo Shao stood up and looked into the distance, confirming it once and for all—this was a scene of reality completely different from the arrival of the apocalypse.
What’s more, there were... such vivid emotions!
‘But...’ Following that came an even greater confusion.
‘Why was it me who got reborn?’
Mo Shao felt entirely bewildered. He just closed his eyes and opened them to find himself reborn? He had been living perfectly fine before; the world was a bit crappy, but it was still developing...
It hadn't reached any kind of world-ending climax, right?
He hadn't obtained any time-reversal items or abilities, and one could even say he didn't have many impressive things on him—at least compared to others.
Moreover, he had no enemies and hadn't been betrayed by any women or brothers. There was no reason for a rebirth!
In fact, after the apocalypse arrived, Mo Shao had headed for the Phantom Realm and hadn't stayed in the Real Realm for long.
He had spent the entire apocalypse purely doing wilderness survival.
His connection with the real world had faded to an incredibly exaggerated degree.
Though, it wasn't that he wanted it that way...
He was simply a combination of a person with no sense of direction and bad luck. Since he lacked any wayfinding abilities, he ended up wandering inside the Phantom Realm until his death.
On the rare occasions he entered the Real Realm, it was only at a few small settlement nodes—most of which had already been destroyed, leaving only ruins.
His understanding of information from the outside world... relied entirely on some massive Phantom events.
Was he reborn to become a prophet? Or perhaps to hoard supplies? Could it be the "turn everything over to the state" type of scenario?
But... Mo Shao glanced at his phone—the apocalypse was only minutes away! What the hell was he supposed to say in that time!
Not to mention, the network had been completely cut off a few hours before the apocalypse due to the early signs of its arrival!
There wasn't even time to send out a warning!
So, what exactly was the purpose of him being reborn?
Without giving Mo Shao more time for confusion, the apocalypse arrived!
“Screeeech—”
A piercing, tearing sound filled every corner of the world, making Mo Shao reflexively cover his ears.
He only raised his eyes warily once the sound vanished, gazing at a scene deeply etched in his memories.
In the distance, on a patch of grassland, several blocky houses appeared silently!
Their art style was completely different from reality!
As for the nearby real-world items, only the security booth and the school gate remained... and perhaps some leftover scraps?
Another solo start, Mo Shao thought, shaking his head with some helplessness as he stepped out of the security booth.
It wasn't just here; it was happening everywhere across the globe.
Because this wasn't a normal zombie apocalypse or a natural disaster—it was a "Fantasy Manifestation" apocalypse.
All sorts of things from movies, novels, anime, and games were descending into reality!
And the Phantom Realm he mentioned before referred to these fantasy worlds, while the Real Realm was, naturally, the original physical world.
Each Phantom Realm thrust itself into reality like a blade, carving the real world into a shattered Real Realm.
The world was now like a broken mirror. Those cracks contained the Phantom Realms, serving as an extension of space.
This meant that the size of the Earth hadn't actually changed—at least not outside the Kármán line.
But below the Kármán line, the surface area and volume of the Earth had been expanded by an unknown number of times.
The Phantom Realm facing Mo Shao was a village from the game Minecraft, a realm with many resources.
However, there weren't many "Dead-bound" items worth acquiring inside, at least for him.
Of course, despite thinking that, Mo Shao was already looking directly in that direction.
In the early stages, one couldn't afford to be picky.
There were plenty of things in there!
In his memory, there were no high-danger fantasy domains near him. The only one with a bit of risk...
Seemed to be a volcanic cave from the game Arknights?
There were indeed many Originium Slugs inside, as well as a Pompeii, making it quite a threat.
But those bugs were quite the shut-ins; as long as he didn't actively provoke them, nothing would happen.
Furthermore, at the very beginning of the apocalypse, all creatures in the Phantom Realms were in a "standby" state.
They had no consciousness and acted according to their most basic "settings"—one could even say they were incredibly rigid.
Once they "regained their senses" later on, they would become difficult to handle. Right now was the golden period for development!
Now that he was starting over, although he didn't have a clear direction yet, it didn't stop him from setting a goal!
First, he certainly couldn't follow his old path. He didn't want to spend the entire apocalypse lost in the Phantom Realms again!
Perhaps he could try to reach the peak of the world?
And the first step to reaching the peak was, naturally... to first "change his account."
Starting up his small electric patrol scooter, Mo Shao drove directly toward the village. Though he stopped and started walking after only a short while.
After all, while it was true that there was a plain ahead—it was a plain from Minecraft.
There were many one-block elevation changes, and one block in Minecraft... was a meter high!
Driving was essentially impossible.
However, he still clearly remembered that the first fantasy object—abbreviated as a Phantom Object—he ever obtained was found near here.
It was a motorcycle from the world of Wuzhandao (Luo Luo's Adventures). It wasn't the character "Speedwheel," but a generic grey model that had never appeared in the series.
Well, although every Phantom Realm had its corresponding items—for example, the village had Villagers and Iron Golems—there were also some "crossover" items.
This was most common in the first batch of surfacing Phantom Realms, which was also the most chaotic period.
Soon, he found his former account—a grey motorcycle filled with industrial mechanical beauty.
It was still in the standby phase, even lacking energy. It was precisely because of this that he had been able to turn it into his account back then.
Otherwise, how could a person beat a motorcycle robot?
So, now it was time for a detailed explanation—what exactly was the situation with "changing accounts" and "Dead-binding"?
First, one thing must be made clear: in the initial stage, humans in reality cannot use items from the Phantom Realms.
This is a consequence of the incompatibility between the laws of the Real Realm and the rules of the Phantom Realms.
However, this phenomenon can be changed through certain means.
Initially, a person can use their physical body to bind one "Dead-bound" fantasy item.
By changing their own "laws," they can then gain a "Live-bound" interface, which allows them to use fantasy items.
To put it figuratively:
People of the Real Realm are like smartphones, while fantasy items are AAA games on a PC.
"Dead-binding" is like connecting the phone to an external device, and the number of "Live-bindings" is the number of external devices the phone can support.
However, in the most basic state, there is only one Dead-binding slot and one Live-binding slot.
But just like in a game, there are various hidden secrets.
Aside from "Dead-binding," there is another hidden method to use fantasy items—Transformation.
Before any Dead-binding takes place.
One can directly transform themselves, obtaining the abilities and system of that specific individual.
This is what is commonly known as changing accounts.
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