C1 Rebirth of Destiny

"As Comet Number 6 passes overhead, a widespread dust fall is expected. For your safety and health, please avoid outdoor activities."

The sound of the loudspeaker from the receding tour bus was still crystal clear.

Lin Yuan gazed around, his eyes glazed. Professor Fang stood at the podium, earnestly lecturing on atomic physics, but few in the classroom were paying attention—some slept, others scrolled through their phones.

At the back of the lecture hall, the alluring campus belle, Yang Yang, was nestled in Young Master Soong's embrace, their affectionate display enough to make Lin Yuan's skin crawl.

Glancing down, he noticed his once mangled hands were now pristine and whole, fingers flexing with ease, palms unblemished.

Could it be... I've been reborn?

"Hahahaha!"

Lin Yuan's laughter boomed through the room, tears streaming down his cheeks in a cathartic release.

"Would you please step outside, young man? You're disrupting the class," Professor Fang said, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses with a look of displeasure.

Lin Yuan wiped the tears from his eyes, curbed his laughter, and with a deep bow to Professor Fang, strode out of the lecture hall.

The new teaching building, the immaculate campus, the occasional passing faculty—it was a sight he hadn't seen in ages.

Shaking his head slightly, Lin Yuan checked his watch: 9:51 AM, just nine minutes until the apocalypse.

A short time, but for Lin Yuan, it was enough.

Nine minutes was ample compared to the aimlessness of his past life—enough to prepare.

His pace quickened, escalating to a sprint. Lin Yuan burst into the No. 4 cafeteria's kitchen, grabbed three sharp boning knives from the rack, and dashed for the storage room.

Having worked part-time there, he knew the layout well.

The storage room door was locked. Lin Yuan didn't hesitate, delivering a forceful punch.

With a loud crash, the wooden door splintered open. He reached through, swung the door wide, and strode purposefully toward a row of shelves.

Wires, pliers, and a stainless steel pipe as long as a person - these seemingly simple items were Lin Yuan's greatest source of protection at this stage!

He glanced at the time: 9:56 AM. With precision, Lin Yuan bound two bone-cutting knives back-to-back onto the steel pipe using the wires. He then found a large tarp and tightly wrapped the handle of the pipe, ensuring that it wouldn't vibrate upon impact with a hard object.

9:58 AM. Just two minutes to go.

Lin Yuan grabbed a bundle of plastic rope and concealed himself in the corner of the storage room, amidst sacks of rice and flour. He wrapped the rope around the makeshift gun barrel and silently watched his watch, anticipating the apocalypse.

"Director, the student who took the knife is hiding in the storage room," a voice announced from outside. Footsteps followed; at least five or six people entered, searching the room. Yet, they failed to spot Lin Yuan tucked away in his corner.

The second hand on his watch crept towards twelve, signaling the onset of chaos.

A thunderous "boom" echoed through the heavens, and the ground shook violently. The once-clear sky darkened in an instant, resembling the dim light of an impending sunset.

In the lecture hall, students who had been dozing off or glued to their phones were jolted awake, staring in disbelief at the suddenly darkened windows.

The shaking intensified, buildings swayed, and Professor Fang, in a burst of urgency, dropped his chalk and bellowed, "Earthquake! Quickly, leave the building! Head to the sports field, the parking lot!"

Students snapped to attention, screaming as they fled the hall, joining others in a frantic dash to the school's open spaces.

Alone in the storage room, Lin Yuan remained motionless, his eyes wide with amazement as a blue plant sprouted from a flour sack, blooming and fruiting rapidly.

In under two minutes, a cluster of purple, grape-like fruits matured. Lin Yuan swallowed hard and delicately plucked the bunch. This was an unexpected boon; he hadn't anticipated the stamina-boosting grapes to materialize so close at hand.

No sooner had he harvested the fruit than the plant withered, and the once-hefty sack of rice and flour disintegrated into dust.

After popping a deceptively soft yet surprisingly firm purple grape into his mouth, Lin Yuan's strength swiftly returned to its peak. Concealed within the dust of pulverized rice, he remained perfectly still, invisible in the dim light to anyone not looking closely.

"Monster!" A cry of terror erupted, soon joined by a crescendo of voices that swelled into a deafening roar. Lin Yuan recognized the clamor: goblins had breached the perimeter and were now attacking the humans!

Once more, footsteps echoed outside the storage room, distinct from the sound of leather or sneakers on the floor. It was the squishy patter of wet, bare feet fresh from a shower.

Lin Yuan stayed motionless, his eyes narrowed, watching as two goblins, no taller than 1.5 meters and clad in animal skins, with oversized ears and mouths brimming with sharp teeth, swaggered into the room.

One goblin grunted in confusion, its keen nose detecting the scent of a living being, yet finding nothing after a thorough search.

The other goblin, sniffing vigorously, edged closer to the corner where Lin Yuan lay in wait.

Now was the moment!

With a swift thrust, Lin Yuan's steel spear, tipped with the lethal Bone Eviscerating Blades, impaled the neck of a goblin. Dark green blood spurted as the weapon emerged from the back of its head.

The other goblin froze, shocked by the sudden turn of events. It hadn't anticipated a hunter lurking in the shadows.

Letting go of the spear, Lin Yuan drew the remaining Bone Eviscerating Blade from his waist and charged at the surviving goblin.

"Gah!"

The goblin snapped to attention, brandishing its wooden club in a furious attempt to strike Lin Yuan.

But Lin Yuan was too quick, his own physical condition too compromised to evade the blow.

In a split-second decision, he braced for impact, choosing to meet the assault head-on.

As the clash neared, Lin Yuan's body shifted subtly, his left hand slicing through the air with force.

The wooden club, not yet at full momentum, was caught by his left arm, eliciting a sharp "crack." Ignoring the searing pain, Lin Yuan's right hand deftly maneuvered the Bone Eviscerating Blade, tracing the seams of the goblin's neck. In an instant, a snarling head tumbled to the ground.

Emerald green blood gushed forth, and it wasn't until more than ten seconds had passed that the Goblin's body finally toppled over.

Lin Yuan exhaled deeply and moved to the next body, straining to yank the steel spear free.

The Goblins had been too close for comfort. There was no time to retrieve his spear, forcing Lin Yuan to rely on the short Bone Eviscerating Knife in a desperate struggle. Thankfully, his past life's combat skills were intact, enabling him to dispatch the remaining Goblins with ease.

As the green corpses grew rigid, streams of black mist, invisible to others, emerged and soared directly toward Lin Yuan.

A look of exhilaration spread across Lin Yuan's face. He made no attempt to evade, instead welcoming the black mist into his body.

As the mist infiltrated him, his muscles quivered sharply. Lin Yuan gripped his fists hard, feeling his arm muscles coil and flex like steel cables. His physical attributes had doubled, at the very least!