Rebirth: Is This Hell?

"Brothers! Big news!"

"Walter just pulled a *Longevity Elixir* from the green Slot Machine!"

"What the hell?! Doesn't the green Slot Machine cost 10 years of lifespan to spin?"

"And the *Longevity Elixir* from the green Slot Machine can extend your life by at least a hundred years, right?!"

"Giving up 10 years for 100! That's a huge win!"

"Too bad, though…"

"Too bad Walter, like us, is just a Life Cacher owned by the Backstabber Club!"

"Life Cachers are nothing more than lifespan storage for the strong! Whatever we pull from the Slot Machine, good or bad, we have to hand it over to the club!"

"The *Longevity Elixir* Walter pulled will just be taken by the club without mercy! There's no way he'll get to keep it!"

"Sigh, don't be so negative…"

"Even though Life Cachers have low status and the stuff we pull isn't ours, at least we don't have to face the monsters directly!"

"Even if a monster gets pulled from the Slot Machine, the club's big shots take care of it, and we Life Cachers don't have to worry!"

"Honestly, I think being a Life Cacher in the Backstabber Club isn't so bad. At least our lives aren't in immediate danger…"

"And look at Walter. He pulled a *Longevity Elixir*, and the club will probably reward him!"

"After pulling that *Longevity Elixir*, Walter should be able to move to a private room with better living conditions! He won't have to starve anymore!"

"Pfft! What's there to be jealous of about having a private room? Is being a Life Cacher really something to be proud of?"

A thug with tattoos on his arms lay lazily on a straw mat, his face full of disdain.

"We Life Cachers may not have to face the threat of monsters, but living in this dirty underground garage is just waiting for death!"

"Our lifespan keeps getting consumed every time we spin the Slot Machine, and we don't have any way to extend it!"

"If this keeps up, we'll all die from old age sooner or later!"

"Look at that loser in the northwest corner. He's only got a little over a year of lifespan left, and he doesn't even dare to spin the Slot Machine. He's been starving for days!"

"If we keep living like this, most of us will end up like him!"

"If you ask me, we should follow George's example!"

"George pulled a +1 to all attributes from the Slot Machine and became an official member of the club!"

"Sure, as an official member, you have to go out and fight monsters… but at least you have the right to keep the rewards from the Slot Machine!"

"If you're lucky, you might grow stronger and change your fate!"

The tattooed thug's expression grew excited as he spoke about "changing fate." But another guy, wearing black-rimmed glasses, scoffed and retorted:

"From what I've heard, on the Slot Machine that George used, the other nine options were all negative effects! That +1 to all attributes had less than a 0.1% chance!"

"George pulling that reward was pure luck! He must have had the blessing of his ancestors or something!"

"The Slot Machines that we Life Cachers get to use are all trash with mostly negative effects!"

"Thinking you can pull something good and change your fate? That's just wishful thinking!"

"George's situation was a one-in-a-million case! It's not something we can hope for!"

The tattooed guy couldn't find any words to argue back after hearing that.

It was true—the idea of changing their fate through the Slot Machine was beautiful.

But it was completely unrealistic!

For those of them who were raised by the club as Life Cachers, their fate…

Most likely, they would just live out their days in mediocrity, waiting for death.

If they were lucky, they might be like Walter, pulling a *Longevity Elixir* and getting a slightly better place to live.

And when they finally died of old age, they might at least have a more dignified end…

Sigh. This world.

The weak aren't even worthy of dignity or dreams!

---

"What are you guys talking about? Why's the mood so gloomy?"

A booming voice suddenly came from the entrance of the dirty, messy underground garage.

Instantly, all the lazy Life Cachers lying on their straw mats stood up.

They welcomed the newcomer with enthusiasm, like greeting a hero:

"Walter's back?!"

"Is it true you pulled a *Longevity Elixir*, Walter?"

"With that pull, your benefits should improve, right? Are you not coming back to this underground garage anymore?"

The Walter being surrounded by praise looked like a young college student.

His appearance was ordinary, and his body reeked of the stench of not having bathed in half a month.

But at this moment, his face was glowing with pride, and he even let out a satisfied burp.

Facing the praise from his fellow Life Cachers, he arrogantly tilted his chin and said:

"Yeah, I was lucky and pulled a green-quality *Longevity Elixir*!"

"The boss immediately agreed to improve my benefits!"

"I, Walter, won't be coming back to this underground garage anymore."

"I only came back because the feast the club rewarded me with was too much for me to finish alone, so I brought the leftovers to share with you guys!"

"Oh, hell yeah! Walter's the man!" The underground garage erupted with cheers, as if Walter were their savior!

These Life Cachers usually barely had enough to eat or wear.

The only way they could get supplies from the club was by spending their lifespan to spin the Slot Machine.

Being able to enjoy Walter's leftovers was like a dream come true for them!

Sure enough, when the food cart was pushed in, even though the plates were filled with Walter's leftover scraps, the Life Cachers swarmed it like starving refugees who hadn't seen food in years.

Some were so hungry they even started fighting over it.

The commotion finally woke up a skinny young man in the northwest corner of the garage.

Jexon groggily squinted his eyes.

He felt weak all over.

The air was filled with the foul stench of rot and decay.

What the hell?

Wasn't he supposed to have been killed by a flash of golden light when he used up a million years of lifespan to spin the golden Slot Machine?

How could he still have consciousness?

Could this be… hell?

Hell's environment really sucks.

Just as Jexon was thinking this, a shadow suddenly blocked the light in front of him.

Then, something seemed to drop beside him.

Whatever it was, it smelled delicious, and Jexon's mouth immediately started watering uncontrollably.

At that moment, his mind began to clear up a bit.

And the only thought left in his head was—

Hungry!

So damn hungry!

He could clearly feel his stomach clenching into a knot, and his back was practically stuck to his chest!

He thought he could eat an entire cow!

As he was thinking this, the person standing beside him spoke with a malicious tone:

"Jexon, out of our old school friendship, I, Walter, brought you a dog bone."

"Even though I've already gnawed all the meat off of it, it's still a silver-backed jackal bone, packed with nutrients!"

Nearby voices started chiming in:

"Wow! Walter's really looking out for his old buddy! Giving Jexon such a nutritious bone!"

"Jexon's so lucky!"

Further away, some Life Cachers were whispering:

"Why do I feel like there's bad blood between Walter and Jexon?"

"Of course there is! Didn't you see how that bone has no meat left on it? He's clearly insulting Jexon!"

"I heard that back in college, Walter and Jexon both chased the same girl…"

"Not really 'chased the same girl.' More like, Walter harassed Jexon's girlfriend."

"Tsk tsk, do you know who Jexon's girlfriend was back then?"

"Who?"

"Bethany!"

"??? What?! Beth? Bethany?! The Bethany I know?!"

"You mean *the* Bethany, who's ranked first on Cedar City's longevity leaderboard?!"

"Yeah! The same Bethany who's revered by all four major powers of Cedar City, the only person who knows how to make Longevity Elixir, and the top alchemist in Cedar City!"

Bethany's reputation was so overwhelming that no one could believe it—

Someone so high and mighty, with such a bright future ahead, could have once been involved with a Life Cacher living in this filthy underground garage.

But on second thought, it wasn't that hard to believe.

After all, the apocalypse game and the Wheel of Fate had only arrived a month ago.

In just one month, the whole world had changed drastically!

People's circumstances had taken a sharp turn as well!

For instance, Walter had supposedly been a rich kid before the apocalypse.

But now, in the apocalypse, he'd fallen to the lowest level of Life Cacher, struggling to eat and survive!

Or take the club president, He Zheng. Before the apocalypse, he had been a regular security guard.

Now, he was one of the top 100 fighters on Cedar City's power ranking!

And Bethany's rise to her current position was purely due to her insane luck in pulling the Longevity Elixir recipe from a Slot Machine

.

So, if Bethany had once dated a loser like Jexon before the apocalypse, it wasn't that hard to believe.

With these thoughts in mind, a few Life Cachers curiously went over to take a closer look at the "loser" Jexon.

He was actually pretty good-looking.

But he looked incredibly weak.

He probably didn't have many days left to live.

While the Life Cachers were silently judging him, they suddenly saw—

That "loser" Jexon suddenly opened his eyes wide.

His gaze, sharp as a blade, swept over the crowd like he was looking at a bunch of ghosts.

He even called out in disbelief: "Wal… Walter? Is that you, Walter?"

"Weren't you supposed to have starved to death already?"

As soon as he said that, Walter's face turned as dark as night!

"Shut the hell up! I'm alive and well! You're the one who's about to starve to death, you bastard!"

Cursing, Walter kicked the dog bone next to Jexon, sending it flying. "Starve to death, you worthless dog!"

"Don't think I don't know—you've only got a year left of lifespan!"

"With just a year left, you can only afford to spin the lowest-grade white Slot Machine!"

"In a few days, I'll be waiting to see your corpse!"

Jexon listened to Walter's tirade, completely dumbfounded!

A horrifying thought flashed through his mind.

And then, in his heart, he silently called out: **Status Panel!**

Immediately, a screen appeared in his vision, the same one that had appeared for everyone after the apocalypse game began.

Name: Jexon

Level: 0

Lifespan: 1 year and 30 days