C1 Rebirth Five Years ago

The sound of buzzing filled her mind, and a sharp pain tore through her chest. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and she couldn't breathe.

Qiao Mo's eyes snapped open.

She was in the water.

Could it be that her soul had entered some kind of fifth dimension after death? Or maybe someone had come to save her from the fire, and she hadn't died after all?

How was that possible? She was sure she had been burned to a crisp!

Instinctively, Qiao Mo's hands moved upward.

The vast, empty sea stretched out before her, and she felt as insignificant as a grain of sand in the ocean.

Just a moment ago, she had been in the fire, surrounded by intense heat and thick smoke, struggling to breathe, suffocating. The searing heat clawed at her, her skin burned with pain, her muscles spasmed, then went numb. Her ears were filled with a sizzling sound, her nose overwhelmed by the smell of charred flesh, her body floating above the flames.

She had watched herself being consumed by the fire, an immense sadness engulfing her.

Two shadowy figures, one dark and one light, carried her across the threshold of death. On either side of the path, blood-red flowers bloomed, and at the bridge, she begged the old woman to spill the water meant to make her forget.

The old woman gave her a push, saying, "One life, one chance."

Qiao Mo coughed up several mouthfuls of seawater, her legs kicking as her lungs burned with excruciating pain.

About forty nautical miles off the eastern Pacific coast.

Five years ago, when she was 20, she was working a summer job on a yacht and accidentally fell overboard that night.

"Damn!"

She... was reborn... five years ago!

That night, she went to the deck to grab something. As she reached the back of the yacht, she slipped, fell, broke through the railing, and silently plunged into the sea. With a loud "boom," she lost consciousness.

When she came to, she struggled to the surface, only to see the yacht's stern speeding away, fireworks slicing through the night sky.

Ha! Given another chance, she vowed to live well and never repeat past mistakes.

And... she would settle every score!

After drifting at sea for a day and a night, battling dehydration, hunger, and exhaustion, she passed out. When she awoke on a beach, the sky was painted with clouds like colorful cotton candy.

Qiao Mo cried tears of joy.

In her previous life, she had survived alone on this snake-infested island for over five months.

In this new life, armed with survival skills from her past, Qiao Mo fought for survival daily, transforming her once frail 20-year-old body into one with muscle and definition.

Fifty-seven days passed, and as the peak of summer arrived, the sun turned the island into a scorching furnace. Qiao Mo lay resting in a cave.

Time's up... they should be here!

The sound of a helicopter echoed in the sky. A chopper flew toward the island as Qiao Mo quickly scrambled down the cliff, sprinting across the beach with the speed of a hundred-meter dash, waving his arms and shouting excitedly.

The helicopter hovered briefly before landing on the beach, just a few yards away from Qiao Mo. The cabin door swung open, and seven or eight men jumped out. Each was fit and muscular, dressed in camouflage, bare-chested, with tattoos on their arms.

They were carrying... guns! Two barrels were pointed right at him. Qiao Mo swallowed hard in fear.

A man in white jumped out of the helicopter. He was incredibly handsome, the kind of guy who could make any woman's heart skip a beat. He removed his sunglasses, glanced up at the towering cliff, and then looked directly at Qiao Mo.

Qiao Mo stood frozen, mouth agape in an "O" shape, staring blankly.