The Three Realms Thief Chapter 1

The bright moon hangs high in the starry sea, and the rivers and earth are all white.

All living things compete for life.

When Xu Yuan opened his eyes, he saw such a beautiful scene.

“What a beautiful sight! It’s just what I wished for!”

He praised it, and a joyous anticipation rose in his heart.

A few hours ago—

He had just reached the pinnacle of the global esports league, becoming the annual champion and most valuable player in multiple esports games.

He was about to celebrate with friends.

Who would have thought the plane would crash into the sea?

He didn’t survive, but he came back to life in another world.

—The owner of this body is also named Xu Yuan, an ordinary high school student.

He had transmigrated to this world, into this student’s body, replacing him.

Since he had come, he would make the best of it.

Under this beautiful night sky—

Xu Yuan vowed to live a good life and fully experience the vibrancy and beauty of youth.

So.

First step.

Take a selfie and post it!

Xu Yuan took out his phone, adjusted the angle, snapped a picture, and immediately prepared to post it on his Moments.

Suddenly.

A pain beyond human endurance struck him.

He spat out a mouthful of blood with a “wah” sound, completely bewildered, and subconsciously looked down.

—There was a sword stuck in the chest of this body.

He hadn’t heard of anyone having a sword stuck in their chest when transmigrating.

Others just opened their eyes, got up from the ground, nodded solemnly, and said, “So I’ve transmigrated.”

Stuck by a sword—

How was he supposed to come back to life?

Xu Yuan no longer thought about posting on Moments. He laboriously stretched out his hand and tried hard to pull out the sword.

The sword didn’t budge.

It was stuck so tightly!

… Was there some special meaning to it?

Xu Yuan endured the excruciating pain, looked around, and immediately discovered the truth—

This was a three-tower, two-span steel-concrete composite girder suspension bridge, spanning across a large river, over ten thousand meters long.

At the highest point of the bridge tower, illuminating landscape lights formed four large characters:

“Mountains and Rivers Bridge.”

And Xu Yuan was pinned by a sword next to these four characters.

The long sword was firmly embedded in the steel structure of the bridge, leaving him suspended high above the river.

After understanding the situation, Xu Yuan couldn’t help but gasp.

—Suspended at such a height, with the river breeze blowing, he could enjoy the night view of the river and complement the four characters of “Mountains and Rivers Bridge.”

Who had such good taste?

To kill an ordinary student, and choose such a flamboyant location!

But this was a bit awkward for him.

He was about ten stories high from the reinforced concrete bridge deck below.

If he pulled out the long sword—

He would surely fall to his death.

What if he didn’t pull out the long sword?

Hey, guess what?

—He would just hang there in mid-air, watching the night view, bleeding, and eventually die!

“Can I have another body—any body that can move is fine!”

Xu Yuan murmured mournfully.

The long wind of the world didn’t care about him.

The bright moon hanging high didn’t care about him either.

No one cared about him.

His eyes were filled with resentment.

Damn it.

Dying once on Earth was enough.

But I’ve transmigrated, and you tricked me here just to let me die again.

Is that fun?

“I resist with my life… this seriously BUG-ridden…”

Xu Yuan uttered his last words.

Then he entered a dying state.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

Suddenly—

An invisible, vast and mighty force gathered between heaven and earth, transforming into a silent, immense, rare sound in the void, causing the corpse to tremble slightly.

The sound formed by this power had no consciousness or intelligence—

It seemed to have come in response to the corpse’s invocation.

Xu Yuan, with his head bowed, opened his eyes.

It was as if a switch had been flipped inside his body.

By some ineffable intuition, he immediately knew that this was because his body had died twice in a row, unleashing untapped potential and, together with his soul, summoning something.

Summoned…

What?

He didn’t know.

The only thing he knew was that he had awakened some kind of ability.

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly, and he looked towards the void.

—Two lines of glowing characters appeared in the dark night sky, flashing continuously:

“The battlefield situation is critical. Do you want to enter the match immediately?”

“When ready, please say ‘Ready’.”

Xu Yuan laughed hollowly.

Indeed.

In his previous life, he trained in the computer room every day, or participated in esports competitions.

Let alone this kind of hallucination—

He even dreamed of playing matches.

But now.

He had transmigrated to an unfamiliar world, so why was he still having hallucinations of esports matches?

He must be crazy.

Xu Yuan felt waves of dizziness, and the blood foam he spat out increased, gradually blocking his windpipe, making it impossible to breathe.

There was no other way.

With a sadness of “dying before achieving success”—perhaps also an extremely strong reluctance—

In his dying moments.

Xu Yuan vaguely opened his mouth and painstakingly uttered those three words:

“Ready.”

The words had barely left his lips.

The entire world suddenly fell into a strange silence.

The wind stopped.

The torturous sword wound miraculously disappeared.

A blue progress bar silently appeared before Xu Yuan, gradually filling up.

Glowing characters continuously flickered above the progress bar.

“Ability activated successfully.”

“Currently entering match:”

“Road to Survival and the Resurrection Match that Must Be Played When Stuck by a Sword During Transmigration and Unable to Survive.”

“Difficulty: Easy (Beginner).”

“Time coordinate: Three hours ago.”

“Requirement: Repel the kidnappers.”

“Description: The original body was kidnapped and killed. To resurrect in his body, you must eliminate all threats beforehand.”

“Failure means death.”

“Success means survival and a新手 gift package!”

The progress bar finished loading.

In an instant.

The bright moon was gone.

The wind stopped.

The steel bridge, along with the river view, disappeared.

Xu Yuan found himself standing in the hallway of a teaching building.

The afterglow of the sunset faded into the deep darkness of the night.

Dusk had passed, and night was just beginning.

—Time had gone back three hours!

Xu Yuan was stunned.

This “match” must be his awakened ability.

It was truly incomprehensible.

However, this gave him a little more sense of security.

As long as he was facing a match, he psychologically “subconsciously” calmed down.

First of all—

What type of match was this?

MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)?

FPS (First-Person Shooter)?

Or Real-Time Strategy, Card Collecting, Sports Simulation, or Fighting?

He waited for a few breaths.

There were no more prompts in the void.

It was as if everything that had just happened was just a dream.

Xu Yuan sighed.

Regardless.

He already knew the key to the match.

—Stop this kidnapping!

Xu Yuan strode towards the end of the hallway.

Since it was a match—

He had to do one thing first.

He walked into the restroom and began to urinate.

—If he didn’t take care of this small problem now, and had an urgent need to urinate during the match, it would become a big problem.

Do not look down on any small matter.

As a professional player, every problem must be treated seriously!

Xu Yuan quickly drew an “888” with his hand, feeling that his micro-control skills were still there, and then satisfied, he put his hand away.

Back in front of the sink, he turned on the faucet.

Splash!

Ice-cold water flowed down his hair, gradually completely clearing his mind.

Xu Yuan took a breath and looked up at the mirror above the sink.

The lonely incandescent light shone down, reflecting a face intertwined with sadness and pain.

This wasn’t him.

This was the “Xu Yuan” of this world.

Damn it, he’s even a little handsome?

Xu Yuan gently rubbed his forehead.

His head hurt as if it was about to explode.

He raised his hand.

His hand was also trembling violently.

At this moment, he tried to recall what the original body had experienced, but found no clue.

The original body knew nothing when he was kidnapped.

Right now.

He only knew that the monthly exam was coming, and the teachers were having a meeting.

So there weren’t many people in the hallway.

It was dark.

In three hours, this body would die.

Tsk…

So troublesome.

He had to prepare for battle in advance!

As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw several lines of shimmering small characters appear in the void:

“Professional store opened.”

“Congratulations.”

“The store has now been opened for you:”

“Alien’s Armory.”

“Attention!”

“Because you are a beginner, you are allowed to use your original armory once. After your successful revival, this armory will be replaced.”

“This beginner mission is in easy mode, and you will receive beginner guidance.”

Alien?

Xu Yuan was a little confused.

Then he saw countless motes of light appearing in the void, gathering and forming around him, taking the shape of a room.

—It was somewhat like a holographic image or VR technology.

Xu Yuan stood in the room, with shelves made of wooden planks on all sides.

The shelves were filled with a dazzling array of weapons.

AK-47, M416 Assault Rifle, AWM, Barrett Sniper Rifle, UMP45, P90 submachine guns, and SPAS-12 Shotgun—

There was even an M249 machine gun!

Xu Yuan’s eyes lit up, and he even whistled.

Bro, I get it.

—The so-called alien is me.

These are all the equipment I usually use.

And—

This match should be a VR FPS (First-Person Shooter) game!

Besides grand real-time strategy tournaments, he often entered a virtual cabin to play these types of games to relax.

So, I need to stop the kidnapping, right?

Let me see what these kidnappers are made of in this world—

Hmm?

As soon as his hand touched the AK on the shelf, two lines of glowing small characters suddenly popped up:

“You can use any item in the store.”

“After the beginner mission ends, the store will transform, and all items must be purchased with payment.”

—So that’s it.

Xu Yuan grabbed a sniper rifle and tried its feel.

It was light.

—This world places great emphasis on cultivating students’ physical fitness, so this body’s strength was quite good.

Tsk.

This felt almost identical to what was simulated in a virtual cabin.

Combined with his combat awareness, strategic vision, reaction speed, and tactical choices—

It was simply a perfect match!

“Please note.”

“The first wave of enemies is about to arrive.”

“Current time: 7:48 PM.”

“At 8:00 PM, criminals from the underground human trafficking organization will infiltrate the school.”

“They will climb over the eastern wall, gather in the bamboo forest behind the gymnasium, and then disperse to various teaching buildings, using special instruments to search for your whereabouts.”

“The match is about to begin.”

Xu Yuan glanced at the combat prompt and quickly began selecting weapons.

A sniper rifle was a must.

Then grenades.

Submachine gun.

Shotgun too.

Wait, there are good things in this box!

He quickly armed himself.

A few minutes later.

East side of the campus.

Wall.

Xu Yuan, carrying a large camouflage backpack, squatted behind a trash can in the corner, staring at the street outside.

—He wondered if the game prompt was reliable.

If those criminals decided it was too cold, the moon was too beautiful, and turned over a new leaf, wouldn’t he have been waiting there for nothing?

Suddenly.

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed.

“They’re here.”

Across the street, seven or eight figures swiftly approached.

They silently climbed over the wall and landed in the bamboo forest below.

“Are all surveillance devices down?”

“Don’t worry, boss.”

“Even if we run into those weak teachers, just take them out.”

“Good, now prepare to move—what’s wrong?”

The leader’s lowered voice suddenly rose.

Several people looked down.

They saw that among their companions who had climbed over the wall together, two had fallen to the ground, twitched a few times, and then stopped moving.

“Boss, they’re dead.”

The subordinate checking the situation spoke with a trembling voice.

Xu Yuan smiled silently.

While these people were jumping over the wall, he quickly fired two sniper shots.

Two headshots.

—On this cool and pleasant autumn night, our cold shots are also to let everyone get off work a little earlier.

But why were there also special effects?

Xu Yuan clearly saw a few gold coins jump out from the two decapitated thugs.

The gold coins hovered in mid-air, then gradually disappeared.

“Hey, what’s up, you can earn money in this game?”

Xu Yuan silently asked in his mind.

Two lines of flashing small characters immediately appeared:

“Eliminating enemies will generate gold coin rewards.”

“In the future, refreshing any item in the shop will require payment in gold coins.”

—So that’s how it is.

Xu Yuan put away his枪, hunched over, and quickly moved to the other side of the wall.

Under the cover of night.

Wearing a tactical helmet, he could clearly see the enemy through the thermal imager.

In the distant bamboo forest.

Suppressed commotion had already begun:

“Damn it!”

“It’s an ambush!”

“It’s an assassin, damn it, get out here!”

“Bastard, we’ve been set up!”

The crowd was in an uproar.

Xu Yuan played with a grenade, curiously observing the human traffickers.

—Would they abandon the mission?

If they gave up the mission, then I would have completed my mission.

It’s so cold, if I could go back to my dorm early and scroll through my phone in bed—

“Silence!”

The leader shouted, “This mission cannot fail! Form a defensive battle formation!”

Xu Yuan’s gaze darkened.

Damn it!

Are you trying to make me work overtime?

He slowly shuffled his feet, squatting, and casually pulled the pin from a grenade.

—On this cool and pleasant autumn night, we throw a few grenades to help everyone get off work a little sooner.

The commotion from the grenade would also be enough to attract the attention of the entire school.

The teachers would definitely become alert.

What test papers.

What college entrance exam.

Come protect minors for me!

Xu Yuan looked down at the grenade—

To deceive the enemy, he hid the grenade inside a hollow dart.

This way, when the enemy saw the dart, they would either dodge to the side or swing their weapon to block.

They wouldn’t duck down.

And they certainly wouldn’t see a dart and shout, “Oh no, run!”

Indeed.

This might be a bit rude.

…Rude?

Xu Yuan sighed and murmured:

“May Allah bless you, may Jesus forgive my sins, and may you go to the Pure Land.”

After finishing, he threw the grenade.

“Careful, it’s a dart!”

The leader shouted, swinging his blade to block the incoming projectile.

The other professionals around him also perked up, their eyes fixed on the dart.

What a skilled assassin.

To hide in the dark and throw darts.

But the dart-throwing skills don’t seem that great!

In other words—

There was a chance to fight!

Everyone’s fighting spirit was ignited, and one by one they drew their weapons, eager to engage.

Boom—

The earth shook!

The wall collapsed.

All the accumulated snow in the bamboo forest was shaken off.

The power exceeded expectations!

Xu Yuan scrambled and rolled dozens of meters away, hastily pulled out the earplugs from his ears, and still shaken, patted his chest, exclaiming:

“A spring thunderclap announces peace, and timely snow heralds a bountiful harvest!”

—When he was young, the elders would say that if you were scared, you should quickly say some auspicious words.

He truly was a good wanderer.

Even when killing, he still cherished the customs of his hometown.

Lines of glowing text slowly formed in mid-air.

“The mission should be complete.”

Xu Yuan rubbed his hands, thinking to himself.

But the prompt was completely different from what he expected:

“Emergency!”

“There’s another group, members of an assassin syndicate, who just climbed over the north wall.”

“Your friend was alone practicing martial arts in the gymnasium—the bad guys didn’t find you, so they kidnapped her instead, and they’ve already taken her!”

“What?! My friend?”

Xu Yuan was greatly surprised.

“You were originally going to the gymnasium to practice martial arts, but you didn’t go, so as a chain reaction, this happened.”

“Do you want to rescue your friend?”

“Chase,” Xu Yuan shouted.

Anyway, it’s a game, so he might as well see it through to the end.

“The enemy’s car is about to pass the back gate of the school!” The glowing small characters reminded him.

Beginner’s treatment is truly good.

At least the intelligence is timely!

Without another word, Xu Yuan took off running.

He picked up speed, and while running, he pulled out several long parts from his large camouflage pack and assembled them with a “click-click” sound.

By the time the parts were assembled, he had already climbed onto the wall at the back gate of the school.

A gray minivan roared past.

“That’s the car—wait! Don’t blow it up! Your friend is still in the car!”

The glowing small characters turned bright red.

Under the frosty moonlight.

Xu Yuan stood on the wall, holding up a recently assembled shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launcher.

—Of course, he was using a rocket launcher to finish the match early and go eat hot pot.

Please understand.

He was about to press the launch button, but the beginner’s hint pulled him back.

Right.

The hostage was still in the car.

“Such a bother, who designed this kind of match scenario.”

Xu Yuan couldn’t help but complain.

“This is not a scenario, it’s a real-life situation, please face the current crisis seriously!” The glowing small text reminded him.

Xu Yuan sighed.

If this minivan escaped, he definitely wouldn’t be able to catch it!

Even if he caught up, he’d have to fight desperately.

Might as well—

He raised the anti-tank rocket launcher and pressed the launch button directly.

Boom!!!

The rocket flew out in a streak of smoke, blasting a large crater in the road ahead.

The minivan braked hard, but kept skidding on the icy road until it barely stopped near the large crater.

“Ambush!”

A loud shout came from inside the car.

The car door “clattered” open, and several thugs jumped out, armed with weapons, looking around guardedly.

Good opportunity!

Xu Yuan’s eyes suddenly became vacant, and he seemed to enter a state of detachment from the world.

He tossed the rocket launcher, raised his sniper rifle, and without using the scope, fired four shots in quick succession.

In the barely perceptible sounds—

Blood splattered from the heads of the four thugs, their bodies went limp, and they fell to the ground.

Xu Yuan slowly exhaled, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Calm down.

Just a blind shot.

But his touch felt a bit rusty; the last shot almost missed the head, which was quite nerve-wracking.

Fortunately, there were no teammates from his team watching here, otherwise they would surely be making a fuss.

Xu Yuan also threw his sniper rifle, pulled out a tactical knife from his backpack, picked up five grenades, then jumped off the wall, observing his surroundings while slowly moving to the minivan door and peeking inside.

A girl was lying on the seat, fast asleep.

Is this my friend?

…He remembered, yes, it was her.

Xu Yuan said nothing more, reached out, and pulled the girl into his arms.

Lines of faint small characters jumped out, appearing on his retina:

“Congratulations.”

“Beginner mission completed!”

More prompts kept appearing.

But Xu Yuan didn’t have time to look at them right now.

Although the sniper rifle had a suppressor, that rocket had genuinely produced an explosion sound.

To avoid unnecessary trouble—

He had to leave the battlefield immediately!

He carried the girl and practically sprinted away from the minivan.

—And without looking back, he threw five grenades.

• ttkan• Сo

Boom!!!

The fire lit up the night sky.

Just destroying the evidence.

Basic operation, nothing special.

Under the night sky.

A weary voice echoed from afar:

“A spring thunderclap announces peace, and timely snow… heralds a bountiful harvest…”