Chapter Two: The Cycle of Destiny

Saburo Sakai possessed exceptional control over his aircraft. With both twenty-millimeter cannons and two machine guns blazing from the Zero, he sealed off every angle of escape for the Wildcat. As the ace pilot of the Japanese forces, Sakai had absolute confidence in his ability to take down the Wildcat in close combat with the Zero.

Chen Hao’s only advantage now was speed. With his Sky-Splitting maneuver boosting his speed by fifteen percent, his standard Wildcat surpassed even the premium Zero. In this critical moment, he remembered a particular trait of the Wildcat: its airframe was far sturdier than the Zero’s, and the fuel tank was coated with a special layer—so even if hit by machine gun fire, it wouldn’t explode.

Chen Hao decided to gamble. He avoided the Zero’s twenty-millimeter cannon fire, then deliberately took the machine gun rounds. The Wildcat was struck repeatedly; one bullet hit the fuel tank, but thanks to the special coating, it did not explode.

Sakai’s attack, certain of victory, failed. Because of Chen Hao’s Sky-Splitting maneuver, he misjudged the Wildcat’s speed, and the twenty-millimeter cannons missed their mark.

Chen Hao’s Wildcat was hardly in better shape. While the fuel tank survived thanks to the explosion-proof coating, the left wing was hit and caught fire. He had braved machine gun fire, sparing himself from the cannons, all for a split-second firing opportunity. Almost simultaneously with the fuel tank being struck, he pressed the trigger.

The Wildcat’s twin fifty-caliber machine guns unleashed a furious barrage at the nearby premium Zero. Sakai, true to his reputation as the king of aces, managed several quick rolls to evade Chen Hao’s attack even in such a perilous situation. Yet a radiant smile bloomed on Chen Hao’s face, for he had already considered this outcome when firing—Sakai might dodge his bullets, but he could not escape Sutherland’s firepower.

Sutherland was an American air combat ace. He seized upon the sudden opportunity; as Sakai maneuvered his Zero to evade, Sutherland’s own premium F4F Wildcat opened fire. Under Sutherland’s fierce attack, Sakai’s Zero’s fuel tank ignited, exploding violently midair.

Though the Zero outperformed the Wildcat, it sacrificed defense for agility and range; once hit, there was no chance of survival. After the Zero was shot down, Sutherland gave Chen Hao a thumbs-up, only then noticing the Wildcat’s left wing ablaze. He shouted urgently, “Chen, bail out now!”

Chen Hao did not hear Sutherland’s call, for he had received a system prompt: “Player Chen Hao, you successfully cooperated with Sutherland to shoot down Saburo Sakai’s Zero, altering the local storyline. In the cooperative mission, you played a crucial role; mission completion grade: S. You may choose from two reward options.”

“Reward One: Standard reward ‘Eagle of Battle’. As you have completed the mission perfectly, after bailing out you have a ninety-five percent chance of survival. You will be received by Vice Admiral Fletcher and awarded a deluxe F4F Wildcat.”

“Reward Two: Top-tier reward ‘Cycle of Destiny’. If you don’t bail out after your Wildcat is hit and perish with your aircraft in the Pacific, you have a one percent chance of discovering the Moon Pyramid of aliens, gaining an opportunity for destiny to cycle—everything begins anew.”

Chen Hao didn’t even look at the first reward; he was drawn to the “Cycle of Destiny.” If destiny could cycle, if everything could start anew—would he choose again to become a soldier? Chen Hao had always known that becoming an air force pilot was a choice made after failure; his wishes in the game had never been this.

He had no idea what the “Cycle of Destiny” reward truly entailed, but the promise of a fresh start moved him deeply. If only he could begin again, he was willing to pay any price, for he had missed far too many opportunities. Had he not missed them, perhaps he would already be a figure of renown in the game, or at the very least a minor warlord in the Chinese zone, rather than an ordinary naval aviator.

Chen Hao did not bail out. He chose the one percent chance for the Cycle of Destiny, plunging with his F4F Wildcat into the Pacific. Once the choice was made, his body became immobile, helplessly sinking with the Wildcat toward the seabed. In his heart, he prayed ceaselessly, hoping the system’s Moon Pyramid would appear.

Just as despair threatened to engulf him, a silvery pyramid appeared before his eyes, its gentle light enveloping his consciousness. Within the pyramid, his experiences in the game flashed before him again and again, renewing his regrets over many past choices.

“Do you know why you failed repeatedly in the game?” A mechanical voice sounded in Chen Hao’s ear.

“Because I never found the right path for development, so I kept failing,” Chen Hao answered.

“You are mistaken. Many of your choices were actually correct. When the game first launched, you wanted to become a prominent figure, and when you created your character, you made the right decision by allocating your free attribute points to culture. Your reasoning was that most notable figures in modern history were cultured.”

“You sought out a great scholar to learn knowledge and persisted for two months, but some players around you thought you were wasting time. You wavered and abandoned your studies, thus losing the chance to enter Baoding Army Officer Academy, and missed the opportunity to recruit a famous general…”

“Later, you aspired to be a general. You succeeded in entering the Yunnan Military Academy. After graduation, your first command—the double-flank breakthrough tactic you devised—was correct. But, indecisive, you again listened to others and held your ground, awaiting reinforcements, resulting in your company’s annihilation and the loss of Cai E’s trust. So you gave up, thinking you lacked the talent to be a general.”

“After another failure, you wanted to be an industrialist. You completed many tasks, made meticulous plans. Then, your friends convinced you your plan was deeply flawed, so you abandoned your long-planned rubber stock investment, missing the best chance to get rich…”

“You are a gifted individual. Your repeated failures stem from a lack of confidence, always indecisive and losing your sense of self. If only you had believed in yourself, you would certainly have succeeded!”

Chen Hao asked, perplexed, “But I always act arrogant, thinking I’m amazing! Everyone around me calls me egotistical—how can you say I lack confidence?”

“You are gifted in many areas, so you are conceited, yet the realities of your environment have instilled in you an underlying extreme inferiority. Thus, your character contains both arrogance and self-doubt, with confidence being the missing ingredient,” the mechanical voice replied with contempt.

Chen Hao had to admit the mechanical voice was right. Many of his choices in the game were correct, but he ultimately erred by listening to others. The tragedy was that, whenever the outcome was revealed and he told people his initial decision had been right, they always accused him of being wise after the event.

Having realized his greatest flaw, Chen Hao’s anticipation for the Cycle of Destiny grew. If he could start again, he would surely make the right choices. Excited, he asked, “Who are you? Can you let me begin anew? If you can, I am willing to give anything.”

“I am what you earthlings call an alien, from the distant celestial Dragon Star, accidentally trapped within your invented game, ‘War’. I have only consciousness left; I cannot escape and can only play the role of what you call an NPC.”

“The intelligent computer ‘Genesis’ rules everything in the game ‘War’. I cannot defeat him, nor can he kill me. I carry a cognitive testing system; within this game, you are among the highest intelligence players, yet you never trust yourself and instead believe those much less intelligent than you—how absurd!”

“Our Dragon Star has only me remaining as a conscious entity, existing for over ten thousand years. You are the first high-IQ fool I’ve met. I reached an agreement with the ‘War’ intelligent computer: he is willing to give you a chance. When you complete a high-difficulty mission with S-grade performance, you have a one percent chance to arrive at my Moon Pyramid, where I can offer you the Cycle of Destiny.”

“I possess the last consciousness-transmission device of Dragon Star, capable of using the ‘War’ game’s data system to send your consciousness back to your body at the game’s inception, along with ten years of memory. This is the ‘Cycle of Destiny’ reward. I hope you, this fool, can gain confidence, achieve the highest status in the game, and then use your in-game rewards to barter with ‘Genesis’ for my freedom.”

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity, alien. From now on, I will be confident and never again easily abandon my ideals.”

Chen Hao recalled the famous inscription from Westminster Abbey in London:

“When I was young, I dreamed of changing the world; as I matured, I found I couldn’t change the world, so I set my sights on changing my country; entering old age, I realized I couldn’t change my country, and my final wish was simply to change my family—but even that was impossible.

Now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: if I had only changed myself from the start, then perhaps I could have changed my family; with the support and encouragement of my family, perhaps I could have done something for my country; then, who knows? I might even have changed the world.”

“You have finally understood. Make good use of it!”

The mechanical voice sounded again, and the Moon Pyramid’s silver light shimmered. A dazzling white light enveloped Chen Hao’s consciousness, sending his ten years of memory back through the vast data system of the game ‘War’.