Chapter 1: Turning Back Time

Blue Star, Year 2132 of the Planetary Calendar.

The twentieth year of the alien invasion.

After yet another cataclysmic blow, humanity’s numbers dwindled until only one remained.

Qin Hao stood upon the desolate earth.

He lifted his head and saw the skies above splitting open, spatial rifts unfolding one after another as alien intelligent races began their descent.

He seemed to hear their jubilant cheers, exulting over the vast profits reaped by humanity’s extinction.

In his ear, a woman’s voice from the system sounded:

[Ding. Remaining number of intelligent humans on Blue Star: 1. Autonomous survival failed. Invasion permitted.]

That lone “1” was Qin Hao himself.

He had struggled to survive for twenty years, but ultimately could not withstand the enemy’s methods of annihilation—beset by countless monsters, defeated by viruses, perishing in a hostile world.

Humanity was lost.

But Qin Hao was not yet defeated.

Suddenly, a card glowing with golden light appeared in his hand—a card that brimmed with divine power.

It was a Time Card.

Qin Hao poured all his remaining strength into the card and raised it high above his head.

“Time Reversal.”

In the sky, the myriad advanced civilizations poised to invade Blue Star stared in stunned disbelief at the radiant point of golden light.

In the next instant, time itself began to hurtle backward.

...

Blue Star, Year 2112 of the Planetary Calendar. August. Summer.

The stifling heat lingered even deep into the night, making the air restless. At 10 p.m., the street food stalls thrummed with noise and life.

A busy waiter suddenly froze mid-motion, almost dropping his tray, but a deft flick of his wrist steadied it.

Qin Hao opened his eyes and gazed at the bustling scene.

Vivid life, a lively crowd, noisy arguments deep into the night—none of them fearing alien beasts would encircle and tear them apart.

This was the world before the apocalypse.

He was truly back.

So this was the power of the divine.

Qin Hao drew a deep breath of the muggy air, his spirits soaring.

Just then, a sudden scream erupted from ahead.

A drunken man, reeking of alcohol, had grabbed a female student in a white dress, his greasy hands groping her chest.

The girl, sitting at the next table eating skewers, shrieked in terror at the assault. Her companions—two men and three women—were stunned for a moment, then exploded with rage.

“What the hell are you doing? Let her go!” one of the men shouted, stepping forward and punching the drunkard in the face.

The man staggered backward, dragging the girl down with him, while the other drunken friends—who had been laughing a moment ago—suddenly rose to their feet.

Four or five burly men surged forward.

“Screw you! Are you looking to die?” they spat, and immediately began beating and kicking the young man. One of them raised a beer bottle and smashed it over one of the college boys’ heads.

Not only that, but the first drunk, emboldened, began tearing at the girl’s clothes right there in the street.

“Let go of me! What are you doing?” she sobbed in panic.

The crowd scattered in confusion; no one wanted to get involved. At most, they hurried off to call the police from a safe distance.

Witnessing all this, Qin Hao suddenly heard a voice in his mind.

“Ding! Congratulations, you have bound the Hero System (Beta). Your user number: 0.”

“This system is provided by the Universal Peace Alliance. Your planet has been detected by multiple cosmic civilizations, all aware of its vast stellar energy. The cosmic races intend to jointly invade and strip this energy.”

“In accordance with the Peace Treaty, you and your kind—humanity—may attempt autonomous survival. If any human reaches the divine level, no other race will be permitted to invade Blue Star.”

“The Universal Peace Alliance will support you through the Hero System.”

“Heroes shall save humanity. To become a hero, you must start with the smallest deeds.”

“A random mission has been issued. Please check your tasks.”

Random Mission:

[Ruffian Violence]: A group of drunken ruffians are committing acts of violence. As a hero, you must bravely confront evil.

Success conditions: Prevent the violence, protect the victim.

Mission reward: Hero Points: 100.

(As this is your first mission, an auxiliary item is granted: Basic Strength Potion, duration five minutes.)

In an instant, Qin Hao found a glass vial in his hand, filled with a bright red liquid.

A Basic Strength Potion.

How familiar it all felt.

This was exactly what he had seen before reversing time.

The same time, the same place, the same incident.

But Qin Hao knew the outcome would be different this time.

Before reversing time, Qin Hao was startled by the system, but the potion suddenly appearing in his hand convinced him it was no joke.

Seeing the college boy beaten to the verge of death and the girl about to be humiliated in broad daylight, fury surged within Qin Hao and he drank the potion.

But the potion was calibrated for alien physiology—far too potent for a human. Qin Hao’s punch killed the drunken man instantly.

He spent the next ten days in detention, until the first crisis erupted.

This time, it would not end that way.

Qin Hao pocketed the Basic Strength Potion, unused, set his skewer aside, and limbered up.

Weak—far too weak. His unenhanced body had barely any muscle, his bones fragile as glass.

But he had twenty years of apocalyptic combat experience. These angry, brawling men before him were nothing but rabble in his eyes!

Qin Hao strode forward, seized one man by the hem of his shirt, and with a sharp upward tug flipped the shirt over the man’s head, blinding him. While the man struggled with his clothes, Qin Hao kicked him hard, sending him crashing against the wall.

He didn’t bother with him, but plunged into the melee, grabbing the arm of the man wielding a broken beer bottle poised to stab the college student.

Crack!

Qin Hao dislocated the man’s arm.

“Argh!” the man howled, dropping the bottle.

With a swift chop of his hand, Qin Hao knocked him out cold.

He then approached the first drunk, seized his arm, clamped down, and dragged him away from the girl with a forceful jerk.

“Let go!” he roared, his voice brimming with righteous fury.

The man, crippled by pain, released the girl, and Qin Hao pulled her to safety, away from the disgusting, obese attacker.

Just then, Qin Hao heard a rush of wind behind him.

“Look out!” someone shrieked.

He saw, as if with eyes in the back of his head, one of the drunk’s friends raising a chair to smash him.

Qin Hao spun aside and kicked the man square in the belly.

The man crashed to the floor with a resounding thud.

Now, only Qin Hao remained standing.

[Ding! Mission complete. Hero Points +100.]

[Received the gratitude of An Shiyue. Hero Points +100.]

[Received the gratitude of Chen Jiao. Hero Points +50.]

[Received the gratitude of Ye Lan. Hero Points +50.]

[Received the gratitude of Lin Ruilong. Hero Points +40.]

[Received the admiration of Wang San. Hero Points +5.]

[Received...]

A string of system notifications rang out in Qin Hao’s mind.