Past Memories

[Ding!!! An amount of a million dollars has been sent to your real-world bank account.]

"It is about time to solve real-world issues. System Log Out." James said as he logged out from the game.

Back To The Real world____

The current Earth's size and population tripled after the "Extinction". The Earth was currently divided into five main regions called the "Cardinal Continental Regions." As the cardinal in the name suggests, the regions were called the Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Central continents. James found himself in the Northway country of the Central Continent which was the leading modern country of the earth as of now. With a population of about 6 billion people in the country, one had to climb and claw their way through the social and wealth ladder to secure a peaceful and healthy life later on. There were very few opportunities to capitalize on to change one's situation, this lead to a dramatic increase in crime and other vices. James' family could be said to be well of, as they stood in the middle class, regular people category of the Northway societal hierarchy. Surprisingly, the Extinction didn't happen to be dramatic as its name suggests, individuals of the magic era on earth were all about their business, running magic academies and whatnot, then bam time was reset to its current technological era. Everyone forgot about all that magic crap, the world went back to the scientific era, and surprisingly everyone had memories of whatever they were doing from birth till the current time on the "extinct" earth. People lived their lives without the knowledge of magic and mana until Zero Evolution Online came which shook the very foundations of science and technology. There were virtual reality games but not one as lifelike as Zero Evolution Online. This created a storm as everyone wanted to feel the new magical world. Even though time turned, it seems the fate and karma between people of the "magic era" earth were also translated to the current "extinct" Earth. James had a relationship with people he had relationships with in the magic era earth in the "extinct" Earth. In this life, he attended high school with Andrew and Tabitha in a public school which ran on free tuition paid and provided by the government. After his parents died when he was at the age of 10, he decided to continue school to be able to become a big and able person and to be able to provide for and support his sister. During the six years of their education, he got closer to Tabitha but drifted apart with his childhood best friend Andrews. Andrews seemed to be bitter about something but he never had the chance to check up on him. After their graduation, they had to take a 2-year break before going back to college. During their normal conversations, Tabitha told James about her "so-called real" parents reaching out to find her and send her back home, and therefore she will be leaving Wingfield City forever.

"I have been wanting to say this to you but never had the courage to. I love you, James." Tabitha said as she kissed James on the lips as left without waiting for his reply

' I love you too.' James muttered as he touched his lips. Even though he knew he could see Tabitha again at The North Institute; the best college institution in the Northway country, he knew he could not afford the tuition fees since the rest of the money their parents left will have to go into Lisa's education and their daily expenses, therefore James decided to shut of Tabitha's memory since he knew he would not have her. This was all that happened in James' life before Li Feng reincarnated to become him after the Extinction. It might be because of the high soul strength but Li Feng was able fully to acclimate to James' body which allowed him to feel every bit of his emotions; love towards his sister Lisa and Tabitha, that was how Li Feng completely merged become in an essence, James.

"Now with the money I got, I can take care of the first-semester fees college, Lisa's high-school fees, and move us to a residence closer to the university. I can get in with the good grades I already have. I don't need the education all I want to do is find Tabitha."

"Hey big brother, I am back from school. Did you login to the new virtual reality game?" Lisa asked as she came through the door.

" Yes, my beautiful Lisa" James said as he pulled Lisa's cheeks.

"Ah!!! Big brother stop that. I am a grown woman now. A lot of boys in my class asked me out but I rejected them all since they were not as cool as a big brother." Lisa said as she looked at her big brother in pride.

''Huh?? Do you have their names and address?" James said to Lisa.

"No I only have their names, I don't have their addresses," Lisa said as she didn't know this was a trap set by James.

'How dare these brats hit on my little sister' James thought as he gritted his teeth.

''Lisa would like to move with big brother to a bigger house in the capital city?" James asked Lisa as he planned to go to the North Institute to be able to have contact with Tabitha. North Institute with its high-profile students had the maximum security any institution could offer. Individuals with no relation to a particular student were not allowed on the premises of the institute.

" Yes. Big brother, Lisa will go anywhere with you. But what about my school?" Lisa said as she asked James about her education.

"Don't worry you can transfer your grades to the Ice North High School. With enough money, you will be able to continue your education there at your current grade."James said to Lisa as he patted her.

"But brother how will we get the money? Nooo!!! Big Brother don't tell me you sold your kidney for this. Lisa is ready to give her kidney too." Lisa said as she thought about an exaggerated way of getting to solve their entire financial situation.

"Haha, you are so cute even when you exaggerate stuff. No, I didn't sell my kidney. Even if I wanted to sell my kidney, it will be too special for anyone to use. Even yours is more special than mine don't worry we won't be selling anything. Your brother made big cash from playing the game. Isn't your big brother the best?"James said to Lisa with a smug look as he patted her hair once again.

"Yes, big brother is too special. I believe big brother if you say we are secured then we are secured. I'll go and pack my stuff and get ready. " Lisa said as she sang a happy tune as headed to her room. After this interaction, one may consider Lisa a gullible person but that was so far from the truth. Lisa, as much as James had to bear the loss of their parents. If one will consider it critically, one can even conclude that it hit her harder than James. She was eight years old when she lost both her parents, she had to mature earlier mentally, than her peers. Throughout all that struggle only her big brother held her by the hand and guided her for seven good years. She had education, clothing, food, and other basic amenities. Her brother, James didn't tell her but he worked multiple jobs during and after school hours. Without that, the money their parents left wouldn't have lasted all this while. She saw all that but pretended not to, she grew up seeing her big brother as her parent, who will only think about her wellbeing. When it came to the matters of James she trusted him 150%. She was really intellectual, not any less than James. She felt nothing was impossible for her big brother, so she went along with all his plans.

( A/N: Do not forget that all those experiences, were the experience of the old James. Li Feng just happened to reincarnate into his body, but due to his high soul power, he was very sensitive to James' emotions as he fused with his soul. Unbeknownst to Li Feng, he had been close to death on several occasions. The soul was the main consciousness and driving force of the main human body. The soul granted an individual his personality, his traits, his physical appearance even the size of his Ding Dong. But since Li Feng's reincarnation he has just been playing around with death, had there been any mistake, his soul would have been extinguished from various factors and all that reincarnation miracle saga would have come to an end. So basically, Li Feng merged with James' soul and his emotions. He had the feelings, James had before he took over his body, so one can say his love for his sister was the same unconditional one but now Li Feng makes his decisions with his own emotion since he is now James.)

"Now come to think of it I can't feel any change in my strength. What the fuck?" James said as examined himself for the first time after logging out of the game.