The evening sky looked gloomy, cloaked in gray clouds that filtered the sunlight into a dull orange hue. State High School 89 was gradually becoming deserted. The chirping of geckos echoed from the school's rooftop as students trickled out. On a concrete bench in the back garden, Mo Fan sat with his best friend, Gilang. They had just left a boring extra class.
"Bro, if life were a quadratic graph, I'm sure mine's hit the lowest point," Gilang complained, biting into a piece of fried tempeh.
Mo Fan grinned. "Relax, Lang. The difference is, graphs can go up again. Our lives? Flatlined. Like my ex's chest."
"Ha... ha... ha... ha..."
Gilang burst into laughter. "Damn, you're such an asshole, Fan."
"An asshole, but realistic," Mo Fan replied casually. "I've accepted reality ever since my dad left me and my mom for a massage therapist."
Swooshhh...
Leaves rustled in the twilight wind.
The atmosphere fell quiet for a moment, but Mo Fan patted Gilang's shoulder. "Don't be all moody. You only live once, and if I reincarnate into an isekai world, I'd probably get unlucky again!"
"You talk like you know you'll be unlucky," Gilang said.
Mo Fan just smirked. "Call it a strong hunch."
The sun continued to set. Gilang lifted his bag. "Which way are you going home?"
"The back alley. Near the AC repair shop. It's faster than going this way."
"That place is sketchy, Fan. Just yesterday someone from the other class got jumped," Gilang warned with concern.
"Relax. My wallet only has a few coins, and I lost my pride in the second semester. Nothing left to steal." Mo Fan thumped his chest with fake bravado.
Gilang stared at him for a long moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just patted his shoulder. "Alright then, be careful. If you die, I'll skip school to attend your funeral."
"But don't forget to bring nasi uduk. I don't like flowers."
[Hahaha… Their soft laughter faded into the distance.]
They parted ways at the gate. Gilang went toward the main road, while Mo Fan walked into the quiet alley.
Mo Fan's footsteps echoed softly between old buildings and graffiti-covered walls. The evening breeze turned cold.
Huuuuhhh...
The wind howled against the empty walls.
In the middle of the alley, three figures appeared from behind a wall. Two were bulky, and one was tall and skinny with a sinister face and a long scar on his cheek.
"Well, well... schoolboy all alone, huh?" said the one in the center, flipping a pocket knife in his hand.
Mo Fan froze. "Sorry, bro, I'm just passing through..."
"Passing costs money, boss," said the chubby one, shoving his chest.
Mo Fan stepped back. "I don't have anything, man. I swear. My wallet only has enough change for some instant noodles."
Click! Click!
The knife snapped open with a sharp sound.
The leader stepped forward until the knife touched Mo Fan's cheek. "Let's see. Don't make me angry."
With trembling hands, Mo Fan reached into his pocket and handed over his worn wallet. One of them rifled through his bag, pulling out a cracked phone and a tangled charger.
"Man, I'd be embarrassed to throw this at a dog," they mocked.
"Please, just take everything. But please don't hurt me… please…" Mo Fan begged.
"Ohhh... the good boy's starting to whimper. How about we leave you something to remember us by?"
BUK!
DOORR!
WAKK!
Brutal blows landed on his body.
BUGHH!
A punch to the gut dropped Mo Fan to his knees, coughing hard. Then the kicks came—relentless. Blood dripped from his lips. A hysterical scream burst from his mouth as one of the muggers slashed his arm with the knife.
SWISSSHH! CRASSSH! AARGHHH!!!
"AAARGHHH! PLEASE!! IT HURTS, MAN, I'M BEGGING YOU!!!" Mo Fan screamed, pleading.
"Keep yelling. Maybe an angel will come. Or a jinn. Hehehe."
The fat one laughed mockingly.
"Arrrggg...! P-Please...!!"
Mo Fan cried, begged, screamed... but they kept beating him. Until finally, a knife stabbed into his side. The world began to fade.
DUK DUK DUK... A weakening heartbeat.
HUUUKH... A final breath.
FLASHBACK
"Fan, don't forget to eat, even if it's just rice with soy sauce," his mother's gentle voice echoed in a fading memory.
"Let's play, Fan! You're my favorite striker!" shouted Gilang from their childhood.
"Mo Fan… I like you, but… I'm not sure you're brave enough to say it first," whispered Han Mei, the girl he always admired from afar.
Ha... ha... ha...
Faint laughter... silence...
Mo Fan's soul drifted across the stars, entering a body that had the same face and name as his... in a cultivation world, now lying at the bottom of a cliff.
"UGHK—!!"
GLUBUKK!!
The sound of a body hitting stone.
SSHHH...
A strong wind whistled from the chasm.
His body coughed violently, lungs gasping open. The smell of blood and earth flooded his senses. He lay sprawled on sharp rocks... at the bottom of a ravine.
The sky above wasn't Earth's. Dark green clouds hung low, and two small suns hovered in the distance. The air felt strange. Thick. Filled with foreign energy.
Mo Fan looked at his hands. Thin. Bloody and wounded. But... this wasn't his body. Though the face? He saw a blurry reflection in the nearby water.
"I'm... I'm still alive?! I thought I was dead...!" Mo Fan stammered in confusion.
"I... Isekai! I reincarnated into an isekai world!" he shouted excitedly.
"Cha... ha... ha.. ha... ISAKAAAAIII… I HAVE ARRIV—"
Before he could finish, he screamed in pain,
"Aaaghhnn... my head hurts like hell!" clutching his skull.
Suddenly, the memories of the body's former owner flooded his mind.
An old man in white robes sneered, "You have no spiritual roots, you worthless trash!"
"A useless child! You've shamed our family!"
Then came beatings—one after another—until he was nearly dead. In the end, his own family threw him into a ravine.
That body had died. And now, Mo Fan from Earth had taken over.
"Huuuhhh..." Mo Fan exhaled slowly, digesting the tragic memories.
"No matter how shitty my life was... turns out yours was worse," he muttered, comparing his fate to that of the original Mo Fan.
Suddenly, his energy surged.
"Holy crap... this isn't just isekai! This is... a cultivation world, dammit?!"
"Oww... oww... argh... my body's wrecked, dammit..."
He tried to sit up, pain shooting through every limb.
"Okay... in novels, this is the moment the system shows up."
Mo Fan said eagerly and confidently.
"Come on, system! Cheat! God-tier manual! Sexy aunt from the dragon clan?! COME TO ME!!"
He closed his eyes and smiled, certain the system would arrive.
But reality said otherwise...
KRIIIKKK... Kreeekkk...
Silence.
"Hello? System? Cheat? GUI? Pop-up? AI assistant?!"
His face twisted in disappointment.
KRIIIIK...
Cold wind blew, leaves fell in silence.
"JUST ONCE I ASK!! I GOT STABBED TO DEATH, REINCARNATED, AND I DON'T GET ANYTHING?!"
ZRAKK!!
Mo Fan kicked a rock, blood spurting from his foot.
"AARRGGH! DAMMIT!! THIS WORLD SUCKS! STUPID GOD!! ARE YOU ENJOYING MY SUFFERING?!"
He grabbed his bleeding foot, furious.
He looked up at the sky, veins bulging.
"HEY GOD!! I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING ME!! DON'T JUST STARE, GIVE ME SOMETHING USEFUL, DAMN YOU!!"
Mo Fan collapsed weakly.
"Even God doesn't seem interested in helping me."
He tried to stand, grimacing.
"What dynasty is this, dammit... I don't even have a signal."
OOWK!
A strange animal barked in the distance.
A faint sound approached. Mo Fan turned.
A weird bird the size of a dog barked from the top of the cliff.
"Oh God... is that a bird or a soul-reaping demon?"
He took a deep breath.
"Calm down... calm down... don't panic, Mo Fan..."
"Alright, strange world... I'm Mo Fan. From Earth. I used to be a good kid. Now? I'm dead. And the dead... don't have any reason to be good anymore."
"And for you, Mo Fan..."
As if speaking to the one who died.
"It's okay. Since you're gone, I'll take revenge for you. Since our faces and names are the same... Let's trample this world beneath our feet...
Cha. ha... ha..ha..gha.. ha.. ha...."
His laughter echoed through the ravine.