Chapter 1

An Xiaohai let out a groan of pain, waking up from unconsciousness.

His entire body was throbbing, especially his right chest, where the pain felt like it was piercing through his bones.

The smell of urine lingered in the air. His cheek pressed against the damp, rough concrete floor, and the chill against his skin slowly helped his disoriented mind regain a bit of clarity.

“Is this hell or reality? Am I dreaming? Is this the world after death…?”

An Xiaohai struggled to get up, but as soon as he lifted his body, the sharp pain in his right chest made his vision blur with stars, his entire body felt weak, and he collapsed back to the ground.

No, this isn’t a dream… The feeling, the memory—it’s all so real! So real, it’s haunted him for thirty years!

An Xiaohai had an exceptional memory, nearly to a pathological extent. In professional terms, he was a mild hyperthymesia patient.

He had never shared this with anyone.

Before the age of nineteen, An Xiaohai’s life was like paradise. As an only child, he was showered with affection by his family.

Thanks to his hyperthymesia, no matter how mischievous he was, his grades always remained top-notch. In that era, where academic success was everything, people only indulged him further.

In 1992, when he was eighteen, he was accepted into the National University of Defense Technology, instantly becoming a local sensation, admired as a role model and the brightest young man in the village.

But from that point on, his luck seemed to vanish. Soon after, he found himself plunged into a dark abyss.

In the summer of 1993, while visiting his village, he got entangled in a fight, accidentally stabbed someone to death, and his life took a 180-degree turn into unending darkness.

The first trial convicted him of manslaughter, sentencing him to ten years. His family refused to accept the verdict and immediately appealed.

But the very next night after being taken into prison, tragedy struck—he was inexplicably stabbed in the lower back by a fellow inmate.

After numerous rounds of treatment, he still lost a kidney, leaving his body permanently weakened.

Meanwhile, his family’s appeal was unsuccessful. Due to more fights in prison, his sentence was extended by another three years.

The physical and mental blows utterly crushed An Xiaohai’s spirit. He spiraled into despair, and his hyperthymesia, once a source of pride, turned into a haunting nightmare.

Each painful memory was etched vividly in his mind, each tormenting him with horrifying clarity.

Though his family fought tirelessly on his behalf, An Xiaohai gave up on himself, succumbing to bad habits in prison, which led to further extensions of his sentence.

It wasn’t until twenty years later, in 2013, that An Xiaohai finally walked free.

Twenty years of imprisonment transformed him from a vibrant youth into a weak, middle-aged man with a criminal record.

Back home, his four grandparents had all passed away within a few years of his imprisonment. His mother, to pay for his medical bills and fight his case, had sold everything and was drowning in debt.

When his mother picked him up from prison, he returned to a makeshift shack made of canvas, surrounded by heaps of trash she had collected for a living.

Twenty years had changed not just his life but the entire world around him. Everything outside was unrecognizable.

At nearly forty, without a degree, job experience, or good health, and with a criminal record, An Xiaohai found himself nearly incapable of surviving in society.

Thankfully, not everyone had given up on him. Besides his mother, who supported him by scavenging, he still had his childhood friends Pan Zhuangzhuang and Lin Xuan’er, who had grown up with him.

Especially Lin Xuan’er—An Xiaohai’s tragic turn began in part because of her.

With the three of them working together, it took An Xiaohai nearly seven years to finally begin picking himself up again.

But fate, having tormented him once, seemed unwilling to stop.

First, Pan Zhuangzhuang mysteriously fell into drug addiction, becoming a stranger to himself, cycling in and out of rehab, and avoiding An Xiaohai entirely.

Then, Lin Xuan’er died in a tragic accident, hit by a truck on her way back to the village in the early hours of a rainy morning.

These blows shattered An Xiaohai’s already fragile spirit, nearly dragging him back into despair.

Only his mother’s unyielding presence managed to pull him back to life once again.

By this time, however, his mother was nearly seventy, at the end of her strength.

“Xiaohai, I can’t hold on anymore. Promise me you’ll live well and never give up…” These were her final words before passing.

An Xiaohai held his mother’s frail body in his arms and sat there all night, knowing in his heart that if it weren’t for him, she might have passed long ago.

The daily visits from debt collectors alone would drive anyone to madness.

“I’m sorry, Mom. Forgive me… I really can’t face this world alone…”

Drowning in despair, An Xiaohai held his mother’s body, slipping into a quiet stillness until he too ceased breathing three days later.

In his final moments, he saw a vast dark sea. His mother, Lin Xuan’er, Pan Zhuangzhuang, and his grandparents all stood there on the water, smiling at him.

An Xiaohai had no courage left to keep going. Smart as he was, he couldn’t ignore that everything he endured seemed orchestrated, more than just bad luck.

In the darkness, an invisible hand seemed to blot out the stars above, obscuring any light from reaching him.

By the time he realized, he was already a weakened man, with one kidney, a convict with no chance to fight back.

So, let it end here.

This was the tragic life of An Xiaohai. And it all began in the summer of 1993.

Moonlight poured in from the small iron-barred window, prompting An Xiaohai to open his eyes once more.

“This isn’t a dream! Dreams aren’t this vivid! Could it be… I’ve been reborn? Or… was those thirty years a dream?”

The pain gnawing at him only sharpened his awareness.

A surge of excitement welled up in An Xiaohai. If none of those tragic events had happened yet, he might actually have a chance to turn the tide!

The excitement spread warmth through his body, dulling his pain somewhat.

Summoning every ounce of strength, he flipped himself over.

Yes, it was the same cell! He remembered every damp stain, every mark on the walls.

The pain in his chest and abdomen flared up again—two ribs recently broken by his cellmate Liu Jun.

Liu Jun, who, in a few hours, would drive a sharpened toothbrush into his lower back, destroying his kidney and ruining his life.

But none of it had happened yet!

An Xiaohai’s body jolted. Bearing the pain, he gritted his teeth and sat up. He had to act. If he let that tragedy unfold again, he’d be trapped in darkness once more!