Chapter 1: Reborn and Beaten by Guns

  Remember in one second

  A person sat on the railing of the riverbank, Zhang Jialian silently gazing at the water below his feet. If it weren't for a bright full moon hanging in the sky, this place would be a secluded spot where one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. To know that the nearest streetlight is still 500 meters away, and this is an undeveloped area. Although the developed areas nearby aren't anything special either.

  Apart from Zhang Jialiang, who else could have imagined that ten years later, this place would be so prosperous, with towering skyscrapers and dazzling city neon lights filling both sides of the river. This small, unknown river suddenly became the favorite lover's lane for local young people, with "heart-to-heart" and "sixth sense" trash piling up as high as a small mountain every morning.

  。

  Such a magnificent scene Zhang Jialian had also experienced, and had left many beautiful memories here, but that was only ten years later. Now this place is just a suburb of the suburbs, and he is not the business genius who dominated the commercial sea and called the wind and rain, but just a college student waiting for graduation and assignment.

  Zhang Jialian in his previous life. Although he had excellent grades, due to having no connections and being intentionally framed by others, he was unable to stay at school or remain in the Magic Capital, but instead was assigned back to his hometown of Yicheng County Government Office as a clerk.

  So, the determined Zhang Jialian chose to give up his allocation and stay in Shanghai. Starting from a small salesperson, he owned his own company within three years, and became a business magnate with great influence in this magical city within ten years, becoming a business genius in people's eyes, and an inspirational legend in parents' mouths.

  However, just as the company was about to go public, Zhang Jialian unintentionally offended a big shot's son and went to prison twice. The company was also investigated and confiscated, and all its prosperity vanished into thin air.

  Past events are unbearable to recall, he patted the old railing and jumped down, standing under the bright moonlight, secretly swearing that since heaven didn't let him die in hiding, but instead brought him back to over a decade ago, he would make the most of it with a bang, repay kindness with kindness, revenge with revenge, and most importantly, strive hard and prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

  Having thought of this, Zhang Jialian made up his mind. The lessons of the past life told him that in this life, he must enter the system, become an official and protect the peace of the people.

  He straightened his waist and Zhang Jialian went to school, tomorrow is the day of public allocation, everything has been decided, wanting to continue staying in school or staying in Shanghai is no longer possible, it's better to go back to hometown! Although government affairs are busy, the concept of four modernizations will be emphasized again by the chief designer.

  At this critical moment, Zhang Jialian firmly believed that with his own talent and the experience of two lifetimes, he would definitely be able to stand out soon. The only regret was that his previous self had not paid much attention to the political situation in his hometown. However, what's the point of competing with others if a person who has lived for two lifetimes can't even surpass them? It's better to live a peaceful life, earn a hundred or two million, buy a few houses, and collect rent as a landlord.

  Of course, Bao Zheng's life was not what Zhang Jiaolong wanted. His previous life had too many regrets to make up for.

  。

  As he turned the corner, he suddenly heard a loud roar of cars coming from the front. Looking at the two flashing car lights in the dark and the urgent howling sound from the engine, Zhang Jialian could judge that the wheels should have fallen into the mud pit in front.

  This road doesn't even have streetlights, so it's easy to imagine what the road conditions are like. Moreover, getting stuck in the mud at this late hour, if no one lends a helping hand, I'm afraid I'll really have to spend the night here.

  Zhang Jialian has always been a helpful person, seeing such a scene, naturally accelerated his pace, and indeed saw a black Santana with four wheels turning rapidly, but because the two wheels on the left had already fallen into the mud ditch, the rear wheels seemed to be stuck, the wheels were only futilely bringing out large pieces of mud, but still couldn't let the car move forward.

  However, this is also a blessing in disguise. Entering the ditch, the car surprisingly did not overturn. After all, it's Santana. If not, the people on the car would not be worried about spending the night here, but destined to spend the night in the hospital.

  "Need help?" Looking at the burly man who jumped out of the car, Zhang Jialian also quickened his pace and walked over with a smile.

  This kind intentioned greeting however gave the big fellow a great surprise, but it can also be understood, no one would have thought that in this remote suburb, in the dark of night, there would still be people lurking about.

  After taking a closer look at Zhang Jialian's appearance under the car light, that person seemed to have put his mind at ease. Zhang Jialian was handsome in appearance, dressed neatly, and young in age, looking every bit like a university student.

  So the big fellow just smiled and nodded in agreement, saying: "Alright, alright, thank you for your hard work." However, his smile with a face full of horizontal flesh was even uglier than when he cried. Although it was a bit rude, this was indeed Zhang Jialian's true feeling inside.

  Anyone who is a normal person, seeing such a fierce ruffian, would definitely choose to avoid him, as seeking good fortune and avoiding evil is the root thought of every person, let alone on this dark night. However, Zhang Jialian was someone who had read the classics, so he naturally remembered the sage's ancient teachings: "To judge people by appearance is to err like Zi Yu." Moreover, as a main player on the school football team, his body was full of unspent energy, so he wouldn't worry about this big fellow who looked very much like a bad person.

  "Alright, let's push together." Zhang Jialian walked towards the back of the car with enthusiasm. As he moved, he naturally took a glance at the situation inside the car, a cautious habit he had cultivated in his past life.

  Inside the car, apart from a driver, there were two women sitting in the back seat. One of them was lying in another's arms, seemingly asleep. However, due to the lack of light, their faces couldn't be seen clearly.

  。

  But this made him suddenly suspicious, now is mid-June, the weather is most comfortable day, plus the car was stuck in the mud ditch, according to common sense, people on the back seat should get off and wait.

  Otherwise, when pushing the cart, you have to add the weight of two people, how inconvenient. Even if one of them is already asleep, the other should get off the car too. In this weather, staying in the car is not as comfortable as being outside! Is it because girls are too spoiled?

  Zhang Jialian quietly came to the back of the car, his arms exerting a slight force, but pretending to use all his strength. He said casually, "Big brother, are you going home? You should be more careful in the future, it's not early or late, and there are no streetlights on this road at night, driving is so dangerous." As he spoke, Zhang Jialian took a deep breath, as if he had used a lot of force just now. Because he suddenly woke up with a start, this road only led to the abandoned factory at home, and nowhere else.

  "No way, I still have kids at home, I'm in a hurry to go back." The big man pushed the cart with effort, perfunctorily. However, no matter how hard the big man tried, Zhang Jialian was slacking off over there, and the cart moved forward slightly, but still couldn't get out of the muddy ditch.

  "I think we're not going to make it, let's call the sister-in-law to come down and push too! Or ask her to get off and stand for a while, also good to reduce some weight." Zhang Jialian said with a very unintentional tone, waving his hand, looking very strained.

  The big man hesitated for a moment, then pushed again with force, and found that the two people's strength was indeed not enough. He nodded, walked to the driver's side of the front seat, and began to ask questions.

  This further solidified Zhang Jialian's judgment, it seems that sometimes the teachings of the ancients are not necessarily correct! It is wrong to judge people solely by their appearance, but it is also incorrect to pay no attention to appearance at all! This guy indeed looks like his appearance, he must not be a good person, otherwise, he would not even ask the driver for permission for such a small thing as asking the woman in the car to get off and stand for a while. According to common sense, it should have been directly talking to the woman in the back seat!

  Having thought of this, Zhang Jialian quietly untied the sandbags tied to his legs and moved his body, making emergency preparations.

  "Hey, big brother, come and take a break with a cigarette." Zhang Jialian smiled and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit a match, and walked towards the large man who was negotiating with the driver in the car. His eyes, however, were paying attention to the woman being held in someone's arms in the back seat. The lighting from the match was indeed poor, and it was hard to make out the faces inside the car.

  。

  The big man saw Zhang Jialian walking over, a hint of ferocity in his eyes, and stretched out his hand to push Zhang Jialian behind the car, clearly not wanting him to stay in the back seat.

  Zhang Jialian suddenly remembered that it was the night before he refused to be assigned, more than 30 police cars came to the school, saying that a girl had been kidnapped, and the matter was noisy, even the station in Magic City was strictly checked for almost a month. However, at that time, he was busy with his own career and didn't pay much attention to this matter. Now thinking about it, could it be that the kidnapped girl was her?

  Human life is at stake, Zhang Jialian naturally would not shrink back, and rushed towards the big man, shouting angrily: "Kidnapping women can be sentenced to death, don't you know?!"

  The big man was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing, pulled out his dagger, and with a fierce glint in his eye, charged over: "You little brat, whether you die or not is none of my business, but one thing's for sure, you're definitely going to die right here."

  Although he has now alerted the enemy, Zhang Jialian does not regret it at all. Having a clear goal is better than randomly hurting people! As a business genius in later generations, he also encountered many assassinations and naturally attached great importance to self-defense, having practiced Jeet Kune Do for some time. His combat power was quite high.

  Otherwise, no matter what, a person with high skills would naturally have a big heart and wouldn't make such a reckless move just to verify their own ideas.

  Zhang Jialian stood calmly on the spot, as if frightened into stupidity, quietly waiting for the arrival of the big man. At the same time that the dagger was thrusting forward, he suddenly stretched out his hand to pull over the big man's arm, and with a sudden jerk, his right foot kicked fiercely at the big man's armpit, which had been pulled open. A loud cry of intense pain was emitted.

  Another man in the car, seeing the situation was not good, pushed open the door and jumped out, surprisingly still holding a shotgun. Zhang Jialian saw this and quickly pulled the big man in front of him, wanting to use him as a shield. But he did not expect that the man would recklessly start firing without any hesitation. The big man and Zhang Jialian both let out a pained cry, and one sharp pellet even shot into Zhang Jialian's eye and straight into his brain.

  It's really frustrating! Just reborn and died like this. Zhang Jialian thought reluctantly, but in his heart, he didn't regret his decision at all. If given another chance to choose, he would still do the same thing.

  Although unwilling and unregretful, Zhang Jialian's consciousness finally dispersed, a bright red haze before his eyes, a deafening roar in his ears, his body went limp and fell to the ground, unable to stand up again...