Rain tapped steadily against the window of a small fourth–floor apartment, the quiet rhythm blending with the distant hum of traffic from the streets below.
Inside, the room was dim.
A single desk lamp illuminated stacks of books, scattered cables, and an aging but powerful gaming computer.
The screen cast a cold blue glow across the face of a young man sitting in front of it.
Josh adjusted his glasses slightly as his fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard and mouse. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were razor sharp—focused with an intensity that only appeared when he was playing.
On the monitor, chaos unfolded.
Explosions tore across a digital battlefield.
Enemy players darted through ruined buildings and broken terrain.
But one figure moved through it all like a shadow.He was precise,efficient and unstoppable.
Josh leaned slightly forward.
Three enemies left.
He could hear footsteps through his headset—faint but clear.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Too slow.
His character turned the corner and fired.
Headshot.
Another player tried to flank him.
Josh anticipated it before it even happened.
Headshot.
Only one opponent remained.
A frustrated voice suddenly burst through the voice chat.
"Are you kidding me?! How did you even know I was there?!"
Josh chuckled quietly.
"Lucky guess."
On the screen, the final opponent appeared behind cover.
Josh didn't even hesitate.
One shot.
Victory.
The name at the top of the leaderboard glowed proudly.
Black_Wolf
The name had become legendary in competitive gaming circles.
Tournaments.
Online championships.
Esports competitions.
Josh had won them all.
People speculated endlessly about him.
Some called him a prodigy.
Others insisted he had to be cheating.
But no one could ever prove anything.
Josh simply played as he always does
and he always won.
Yet despite the fame his username carried…
His real life was painfully quiet.
Josh leaned back in his chair, stretching slightly as he glanced around the apartment.
The room wasn't messy, but it wasn't lively either.
Just shelves of books.
A couch.
A small kitchen.
And silence.
Only old family photos of when he was a child with his parents decorated the walls.
No messages buzzed on his phone.
No voices filled the apartment.
Josh exhaled slowly.
Another win…
And no one to even brag to.
He shook his head slightly.
It had been years since his parents died. The accident had taken everything at once, leaving him alone with a small inheritance that barely covered living expenses.His other relatives has left the country years ago before his parent's death and no one has heard of them since.
Tournament winnings helped.
But they weren't consistent.
So he worked part-time at a quiet bookstore a few blocks away.
It wasn't glamorous.
But he liked books.
Stories were easier than people.
Suddenly—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Josh blinked.
Someone was knocking at his door.
He glanced at the clock.11:45 pm.
This late?
He leaned toward the microphone.
"Hey, give me a minute," he told the person waiting in the next match lobby.
"Don't take too long," the other player replied. "I want my rematch."
Josh smirked.
"You mean your second defeat."
He removed his headset and stood up.
The knock came again.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Josh walked toward the door slowly.
But halfway there…
He stopped.
A strange feeling crept over him.
It wasn't fear exactly.
More like a quiet alarm ringing in the back of his mind.
Josh had always trusted his instincts.
Gaming had sharpened them.
And right now…
Something felt wrong.
He stayed a few steps away from the door.
"Who is it?" he asked.
There was a brief pause.
Then a voice answered from the other side.
"Room service."
Josh frowned immediately.
Room service?
He lived in an apartment building.
There was no room service.
Did someone get the wrong door?
Still…
His instincts didn't calm down.
Josh slowly pulled out his phone.
If something weird happened, he could call the police instantly.
But then—
The knocking stopped.
Silence filled the hallway.
Josh blinked.
That's strange.
For a moment he simply stood there.
Then curiosity got the better of him.
He slowly stepped closer to the door and leaned forward to look through the peephole.
The moment his eye reached it—
BANG!
The door exploded inward with terrifying force.
Josh didn't even have time to react.
The hinges snapped instantly as the entire door slammed into him.
The impact knocked the air out of his lungs and sent him crashing backward onto the floor.
Pain shot through his back as the broken door landed on top of him.
Before he could even think—
Three masked men rushed into the apartment.
Each of them held a gun.
Josh's heart dropped into his stomach.
Shit.
One of the men stepped forward.
The leader.
"Well well…" the man said mockingly.
"So this is where the famous Black_Wolf lives."
Josh froze.
They know who I am.
"How—"
The man chuckled.
"You gamers think you're anonymous online don't you? Well news flash,there's something called tracking"
"But you've won a lot of tournaments."
The gun pointed directly at Josh's face.
"And that means…"
"A lot of money."
Josh's mind raced.
Three armed men.
Nowhere to run.
Think.
Think.
The leader smirked.
"If you want to live…"
"Hand over all your money and valuables."
Josh slowly raised his hands.
"Alright," he said calmly.
"I'll give it to you."
Inside his mind, calculations ran rapidly.
Three opponents.
Two meters between us.
Guns.
Bad odds.
But Josh had spent years thinking about worst-case scenarios.
Living alone forced him to.
Which was why his apartment wasn't as defenseless as it looked.
He slowly stood up and took a few steps backward toward his desk.
His fingers brushed against a rope tied to the grommet hole in the desk.
He quickly untied it with his fingers.
Suddenly—
A heavy box full of stones dropped from a hole in the ceiling.
One of the criminals barely had time to react before he was hit on the head by the box containing the stones and slammed violently onto the floor. Unconcious.
"What the—?!"
The leader turned in shock.
Josh didn't waste the opportunity.
He kicked the support leg of a nearby shelf.
The shelf tilted.
Then collapsed.
Several heavy boxes filled with books crashed directly onto the second criminal.
The man screamed as the weight knocked him down and pinned him as he went unconcious.
For a brief moment…
Only the leader remained standing.
Josh sprinted toward the wall where there was a switch.
One more trap.
Just one more—
BANG!
The gunshot exploded through the apartment.
Josh felt something slam into his body.
A burning pain spread through his chest.
His legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
The leader lowered his gun slowly.
"Well look at that."
"You almost had me."
Josh tried to stand.
His body refused.
Blood spread across his shirt.
So this is what getting shot feels like…
The criminal walked over and kicked him hard.
Josh groaned.
"Gaming champion, huh?"
Kick.
"Trap genius, huh?"
Kick.
"Still just a loser in the end."
Josh clenched his teeth.
He refused to scream.
Eventually the man got bored.
"Pathetic."
He turned away and began stealing valuables from the apartment.
Josh's vision blurred.
His breathing grew shallow.
So this is it…
Dying in my own apartment.
Not exactly heroic.
After several minutes, the criminal walked back.
But Josh was gone.
The man frowned.
"…Huh?"
He slowly turned around.
CRACK!
A baseball bat smashed directly into his face.
The criminal collapsed instantly.
Josh dropped the bat.
His body trembled violently.
He fell to his knees as blood poured from the gunshot wound.
The room spun around him.
"So…"
Josh whispered weakly.
"This is how I die…"
The floor beneath him slowly faded.
Darkness swallowed everything.
He felt like he was falling.
Endlessly falling into a cold void.
Then a voice echoed through the darkness.
Soft.
Gentle.
"I won't let you die."
Josh tried to speak.
But the darkness consumed him.
…
…
When he opened his eyes again—
Four unfamiliar faces stared down at him.
A man.
A woman.
And two small girls.
All smiling.
Josh blinked slowly.
The man had dark hair, a thick moustache, and bright blue eyes.
The woman beside him had long white hair and soft green eyes.
The two girls looked identical—twins with dark hair and green eyes.
They looked about four years old.
Josh stared at them in confusion.
Where… am I?
The man suddenly laughed with excitement.
"Vanessa! He looks just like you!"
The woman smiled warmly.
"Yes you're right.He really does."
Josh's mind raced.
What is going on?
He tried to move.
But his body felt…
Small.
Weak.
The man leaned closer.
"He's looking right at us!"
"What a cute little boy"
Josh was really confused.
His thoughts crashed together as memories resurfaced.
The gunshot.
The blood.
The darkness.
The voice.
His eyes widened.
Wait…
Don't tell me…
Did I die?
Slowly, horrifyingly, the truth began to settle in.
A new body.
Unknown people.
A completely different place.
Josh's mind formed a single conclusion.
I…
I think i might have been transmigrated.
End of Chapter 1