I drifted awake, dazed, and realized I was floating. It dawned on me then that I had kicked the bucket. Well, so be it; there was nothing to regret, after all, I had fought for my country. If I didn't go, should I have sent my children instead?
As the saying goes, what’s done is done. I drifted in a certain direction, drawn by an unseen force. The more I floated, the more "drifters" I saw around me. At first, it was novel, but after a while, it lost its luster. After about a day or so of drifting, I finally arrived at my destination: the Yanhuang Descendants Reincarnation Step. I realized that, after all this time, this was the place for reincarnation. I didn't give it much thought—it seemed I didn't have much of a brain left anyway—and just followed the flow inside.
I’d never been here before, so I had to look around. I was peering this way and that when, suddenly, I spotted my old commander from my military days! Sure enough, he had passed on too. In this strange world of spirits, I promptly walked over and laid on the flattery. He looked at me with a complicated expression and the first thing he asked was, "Was the information sent out?"
I puffed out my chest and told him, "Absolutely. A mission assigned by the commander must be completed." Hearing this, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled knowingly. He then led me away, saying we had a special passage. I remarked that privilege exists everywhere! He explained that those of us who fought for the nation are entitled to special treatment. Not only can we choose to be reincarnated as the child of a wealthy family, but becoming an Emperor is also within reach. It all depends on how much you contributed to the nation; the greater the contribution, the better the benefits. These "national contributions" are known as Ethnic Merit.
My heart started to race. I hadn't fired a single shot on the battlefield—how many points could I possibly have? If I had known, I would have risked my life to take down a few enemies, just so I could be born into wealth in my next life!
The commander saw my concern and said, "Merit points aren't calculated that way. When the time comes, there is a mirror that will reveal your merit; it will be clear at a glance." I didn't think much more of it and drifted along. Along the way, I saw many familiar faces—not familiar spirits, but people I’d been on the battlefield with. It seemed we had all perished.
Suddenly, I saw a sign saying that time-travel was an option. Thinking about that was wonderful, but unfortunately, I didn't know how many points I had. Finally, it was my turn. The mirror shone on me, and—holy crap—why was my head glowing? Everyone else just had a faint mist, but I was like a miniature sun! Seeing their shocked expressions, I knew I was set. My Ethnic Merit points must be massive. In that case, why settle for being a rich kid? I absolutely had to time-travel. Wouldn't it be grand to head to the Cultivation World and take a few fairy maidens as wives?
I made up my mind: I was going to travel through time. Don’t they say all time-travelers get a Golden Finger? If the conditions were good, I’d ask for a Portable Space, and let’s see... maybe a Semi-Divine Magical Treasure too. If I still had points left, I’d ask for more. You can never have too much of a good thing.
My muttering gave the official a start. Damn, if he’s allowed to do this, will there be anything left in the Yanhuang Netherworld? He rushed to find the Underworld Emperor and said, "There’s a guy here with a frightening amount of merit points. He keeps rattling on about wanting to time-travel, a Golden Finger, a Portable Space, and even a Semi-Divine Magical Treasure. How much of our resources will we have to give away?"
This special passage already consumed a massive amount of resources. Letting people reincarnate as rich kids or Grand Generals was already a loss. If this guy used up all those merit points, there wouldn’t be a scrap of resources left in the Netherworld. The Underworld Emperor was also shocked. He hurriedly checked my personal file. He didn't know what to expect, but when he saw it, he was startled too. He wiped the cold sweat from his brow and kept reading.
Finally, he was overjoyed. "Ah, it turns out this guy committed suicide. He still had forty or fifty years of life left, meaning he arrived early." He immediately had an idea. "Wait and see what I do later," he told his subordinates. When they asked if they still had to give him all those things, he replied, "Just watch my lead, you’ll see."
The line was incredibly long. Good grief, I had been waiting for half a day. Damn, and this was the "VIP" passage! I couldn't imagine how long those without connections had to wait—probably eighty or a hundred years just to reincarnate. At least I had this privilege, I thought, feeling smug and even more excited at the prospect of time-travel.
Finally, it was my turn. I opened my mouth and blurted out, "I want to time-travel! I want a Golden Finger, I want a system, I want a Portable Space that can grow, and—oh—I’d like a Semi-Divine Magical Treasure too." I kept my voice very low as I said this, terrified I wouldn't have enough points.
I looked up and stole a glance. The official didn't make a sound. That probably meant it was a done deal. Although I felt a bit nervous, my heart was blooming with joy. Once I’m in that other world, I’ll be unstoppable. I’ll be able to dominate the heavens, the earth, and everything in between!