This Was the Day Lin Yan Lost Everything
Chapter 1
The screens turned on at exactly noon.
Not just in the city center, not just on phones, but everywhere. Inside apartments. On buses. In hospitals. In classrooms. Even the old broken screens that hadn't worked for years suddenly flickered to life.
Red letters filled the world.
The Ascendant Trials have returned.
For a second, no one reacted. It felt unreal, like a prank taken too far. Then the numbers appeared beneath the words.
Contestants: 100,000+
Duration: 1 year
Rewards: Godhood. Immortality. Wealth beyond measure.
And then the bounties appeared.
Silence broke into noise. People screamed. Others laughed nervously. Some dropped to their knees. Shops shut their doors without warning. Cars crashed into one another as drivers stared at the screens instead of the road.
Lin Yan stood in the open square, frozen. His heart pounded so hard it hurt. Around him, people moved like trapped animals, looking for exits that didn't exist anymore.
His parents were only a few steps away. His father stood straight, face tight, eyes sharp. His mother clutched his arm, her fingers trembling even though she tried to hide it. They were not poor, not rich, just ordinary people who had lived quietly their whole lives.
Lin Yan wanted to shout. Wanted to tell them to run, to hide, to disappear. But the words stuck in his throat.
Another screen lit up. Names began to scroll. Thousands of them. Faces appeared next to the names, pulled from records, cameras, and systems no one fully understood. Above some faces, golden symbols appeared.
Top Ten — Day One
A cheer broke out somewhere in the crowd. It sounded wrong. Sick.
Then someone tried to leave.
He pushed through the people, sprinting toward a side street. He didn't make it ten steps. A sharp flash cut through the air. The man collapsed, his body hitting the ground with a dull sound. No blood splashed. No warning came. He was just gone.
The square went silent.
Then the bounty appeared above his body.
1,000,000,000
People understood instantly. This was not a choice. This was a hunt.
Lin Yan felt his chest tighten. He turned toward his parents just in time to see his father squeeze his mother's hand. They didn't look scared anymore. They looked decided.
"No," Lin Yan whispered, finally finding his voice. "Don't."
They didn't hear him. Or maybe they did, and chose not to turn around. They stepped forward with the crowd moving toward the registration gates that had risen from the ground like something alive.
The gates were tall and dark, covered in glowing lines that pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat. Contestants lined up, some shaking, some smiling too hard, some already calculating how to survive.
Lin Yan pushed forward, but people blocked him from every side. The crowd swallowed his parents bit by bit.
Screens above the gates changed again.
Once you enter, your name will be public.
Once you enter, your life is a price.
A woman nearby sobbed. A man laughed loudly and said this was his chance to become a god. Someone punched him in the face.
Lin Yan's mother stepped onto the platform first. The light scanned her body. Her name appeared. The bounty followed instantly. Not gold. Not yet. Still red. Still alive.
His father followed. Same process. Same cold system voice.
Registered.
Lin Yan felt something break inside him.
The gates opened. His parents walked through. They did not look back.
The city changed the moment the gates closed behind them.
Drones rose into the sky. Screens updated every few seconds. Names disappeared as fast as they appeared. Somewhere nearby, another body fell. Then another. The crowd began to spread out, fear pushing people into alleys, buildings, and hiding places.
Lin Yan stood alone in the square, shaking. He watched the bounty board update again. His parents' names were there. Clear. Bright. Targeted.
A message flashed beneath their faces.
Open Season.
Lin Yan clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. His mind raced, but one thought burned brighter than the rest.
This was not their world. They would not survive this.
A scream echoed from a nearby street. Lin Yan turned just as someone tackled another contestant, a knife flashing once before both figures vanished into the crowd.
The Trials had begun.
Lin Yan backed away slowly, his heart pounding, his breath shallow. He didn't know how to fight. He didn't know how to cultivate. He didn't know how to survive a world where people were worth more dead than alive.
But he knew one thing.
If he did nothing, his parents would die.
The screens dimmed for a moment, then lit up again with new words.
Top 20 Rule Activated.
Until then, everyone is prey.
Lin Yan looked up at the sky, at the machines, at the gods watching from wherever they hid. His fear hardened into something darker.
This was the day his life ended.
And the day his real path began.