The first time Li Xiaonian loses everything, it happens so quickly that there is barely time to be angry about it.
Years of effort disappear overnight. Wealth, rare treasures, influence, hard-earned achievements inside Star Wind, all of it becomes meaningless when the people standing closest to him decide he is worth more as a stepping stone than an ally. By the end, there is no dramatic miracle waiting for him, only the unpleasant realization that trust can be far more dangerous than any enemy.
Then he wakes up.
Not in some distant future, not in a strange world, but back at a point where none of it has happened yet.
For most people, a second chance would be enough. For Li Xiaonian, the more interesting surprise is discovering that something from his previous life seems to have returned alongside him.
Shadow.
In his past life, it was an opportunity he stumbled across without fully understanding. This time, he knows exactly how valuable it can become. The problem is that knowing an opportunity exists and successfully claiming it are two very different things.
That distinction ends up mattering more than he expects.
Star Wind is not treated as a simple game by the people living in this era. Officially it is entertainment, but almost nobody actually believes that anymore. Careers are built inside it, fortunes change hands because of it, and powerful organizations invest enormous resources into securing advantages that can affect the real world. People log in searching for adventure, but many stay because too much is at stake to walk away.
Li Xiaonian understands that better than most.
He remembers which opportunities sparked bidding wars, which hidden events altered the balance of power, and which names would eventually become famous throughout the entire player community. Some of that knowledge is useful. Some of it turns out to be surprisingly unreliable. After all, changing one decision often leads to ten unexpected consequences.
What makes Shadow especially valuable is not simply the resources attached to it. Certain abilities hidden within it allow Li Xiaonian to bypass obstacles that would normally require years of effort, giving him access to skills and expertise that most players spend entire careers trying to develop.
The story follows someone who has already experienced success, failure, betrayal, and regret, then gets dropped back at the starting line with all those memories intact. Li Xiaonian isn’t trying to become a hero. He wants enough power, influence, and control over his future that nobody can corner him the way they did before.
Whether the future agrees with that plan is another matter entirely.
