Chapter 00003: Survive Great Tribulations, There Must Be a Chance for Revenge
# Survive Great Tribulations, There Must Be a Chance for Revenge
Chapter 3
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 3: Survive Great Tribulations, There Must Be a Chance for Revenge
Although physics no longer exists in various forms in the world around us, it does not prevent everyone from living in a reality that is highly influenced by it.
As a sophomore in the Mechanical Engineering Department of Tianmen University, soon to be a junior, Ji Jue never doubted that his future rested on solid foundations.
But this watch was truly peculiar.
There were far too many things that puzzled him; it seemed that everywhere he looked hinted at the strange craftsmanship and design behind it.
Yet, he did not dare to dismantle it, choosing instead to set it aside for a future opportunity.
Unfortunately, years passed without a chance arising, and he grew accustomed to wearing it.
It was strange, but could he really just throw it away?
Leaning back in his chair and stretching his limbs, he noticed that a plate of watermelon had somehow appeared beside his desk.
Turning his head, he saw that the others had already finished eating and were engaged in casual conversation.
Only the youngest one, busy with homework, peeked out from behind the counter, gazing hungrily at his share.
"Thank you, Aunt Lu!"
Ji Jue smiled and waved to the child, dividing his portion to give him half.
“Little Ji, about that…” Aunt Lu suddenly remembered and slapped her forehead. “The emergency responder exam, how did it go?”
“I just registered.”
“That’s not right.” Lu Feng, another one nearby, caught on. “Didn’t you pass last year?”
“The part I took last year was for emergency first aid,” Ji Jue chuckled. “This year, I helped out in the extreme sports club at school for a while, so I thought I might as well take the exam for injured patient rescue. That makes me a Level Two lifeguard now.”
“Is it really useful?”
Lu Feng looked puzzled.
His impression of lifeguards was of sunbathing at the beach in baggy shorts, doing nothing but soak up the sun, enjoying the sea breeze and the waves.
If they were lucky, they might even apply sunscreen for beachgoers, gaining praise through their expertise and a busy night but that was completely different from Ji Jue, who seemed to cram every day into a 48-hour stretch!
“Why bother with this? You’re already helping out, going to college, busy with papers… What’s the point of taking this exam anyway? It doesn’t seem useful.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lu activated her skill—Mother’s Furious Stare!
In Aunt Lu's eyes, a child who excels in studies can find reason in everything they do.
How could someone like Lu Feng, who had failed to get into college and then enlisted in the army, becoming a drifter back home, dare to question a good student? Does she not have enough strength in her ears to make an impactful slap?
“I can't help it; I’m just unlucky,” Ji Jue said with a self-deprecating smile, showing the cut on his hand, caused that very morning by A4 paper.
Aunt Lu fell silent, gazing at the scar that crept up from Ji Jue's neck, and after a long while, sighed quietly without saying anything else.
“Computer! Computer!”
The second girl gasped, pointing behind Ji Jue, “The computer is smoking!”
“Wait, what the heck…”
Ji Jue’s face turned pale, and he quickly looked at the documents on the desk.
Before he could move, the computer screen went black and became unresponsive.
It was completely dead.
After checking, Ji Jue reluctantly concluded: it was indeed an old computer.
Actually, to call it an old computer was a bit unfair; it was more like a patchwork creature cobbled together from various used parts.
Over the years, it had been patched, replaced, and only the original frame remained.
Sadly, his computer had crashed like this multiple times before.
Ironically, because of this, Ji Jue developed a saving obsession.
Important documents were saved on the hard drive, the cloud, and his phone in three copies, and every time he paused, he habitually hit the save key.
If he was lucky, he would only lose a few hundred words, and he could just rewrite it.
As for the computer…
Ji Jue scratched his head, deciding he would just have to venture across the street to that second-hand repair shop, a “mountain of junk,” to see if there were any working power supplies.
Buying a new computer?
That wasn’t a problem if he saved enough money but he dreaded the thought of spending months saving up, only to accidentally spill a glass of water onto the new machine shortly after purchasing it…
What would he do then, aside from being mad and shedding small pearls of despair?
After all, he had no hope left when it came to his rotten luck.
Since he could remember, Ji Jue's luck had never been good.
It was commonplace to find a noodle package without seasoning, and tearing a whole strip of skin while peeling an orange was practically expected.
Back in elementary school, he was the only one nearly kidnapped during a spring outing, and during high school, he found himself lost on the streets trying to work for tuition only to stumble into a scam.
He narrowly escaped with quick thinking.
Even later, when he tried to find work at a car repair shop, he accidentally entered through the back door and nearly got kicked away by Lu Feng, who had just returned from the military, thinking he was a thief.
So many misfortunes, it was hard to put into words.
After years of struggling, just being alive and managing to get into college made him lucky enough.
He thought he might finally catch a break, but on the first day of school, after having the school's most famous braised pork rice, he ended up in the emergency room due to a massive food poisoning incident, nearly losing consciousness…
Lu Feng was truly amazed.
During his time serving in the military in Middle Earth, he had seen many hardships, but he had never encountered anyone as unlucky yet resilient as Ji Jue.
Even in the chaotic city of Cliff City, Ji Jue was one of a kind.
After the computer broke, Ji Jue stopped tinkering with it.
With nothing else to do, he decided to guide the third and youngest siblings in their summer homework.
He enthusiastically recommended several practice books he had used back in the day to Aunt Lu.
They didn’t even need to buy anything; his old materials were available at home, just needing a quick erase before reuse, saving money without any waste. “Come on, don’t be polite! We’re all neighbors; I have a set of unused Wang Thirty Volume exams at home!”
He successfully garnered respect from Lu Feng, shock from the second girl, fear from the third sibling, and sadness from the youngest.
Being helpful is a good thing!
Ji Jue cheerfully munched on the melon slices Aunt Lu had cut for him, while the youngest, who seemed to know his ‘end was near’, began crying for snacks.
“I’ll go buy some.”
The instigator, Ji Jue, wiped his hands on his pants, savoring the resentful glances from behind. “I’ll just take the opportunity to grab a free power supply on the way.”
“Bring me a bottle of cola,” the second girl chirped, thankful for her recent escape from the trials of university.
“Bring me cigarettes.”
Aunt Lu, busy with the accounts, didn’t lift her head. “Tell Zhang Min to put it on my tab.”
“Alright, thanks, Aunt Lu.”
Ji Jue didn’t hesitate any longer, humming a tune as he headed out.
The summer sun was bright, and a refreshing sea breeze blew in from afar.
Even the stray dogs seemed to lounge in the shade, enjoying the coolness.
The tea houses on either side were bustling, with old men in vests scratching their feet and sipping tea, playing cards, in the usual harmony of lively chatter.
As Ji Jue whistled, he walked about ten meters before stopping at the convenience store to grab what he needed.
After a moment of thought, he also splurged on a few popsicles for everyone.
He unwrapped his first popsicle, leaning against the cool breeze from the air-conditioning, and took a hefty bite, letting out a satisfying sigh as the sweet, cold flavor spread through his mouth.
With that, even the blazing sun felt bearable.
Popsicles were the best.
As he hummed while leaving the store, he suddenly heard a piercing noise coming from behind.
In the street, a tricycle loaded with cardboard suddenly veered off course like a mindless fly, cutting a wide arc through the air.
Amidst the crowd's startled shouts, it knocked over a stall displaying bamboo steamers, spilling hot water everywhere.
It was like a rampaging hippo.
Heading straight for Ji Jue!
“Oh dear—”
Ji Jue instinctively crushed his popsicle in panic, unable to dodge in time and grabbing the tricycle’s handlebars with both hands, staring at the old man pedaling.
The old man’s eyes were bloodshot and foaming at the mouth.
It was as if he was having a seizure, his body convulsing violently.
And yet…
He didn’t stop pedaling!
Ji Jue felt a rush of dread.
Why, old man, you’re in this state… Surely, today is not your day to claim victims?
In an instant, the piled-up cardboard in the cart tilted due to inertia, snapping the plastic straps holding it together, collapsing, and tipping the entire tricycle over.
Both Ji Jue and the old man were pinned beneath it.
He could see the cardboard quaking, then a weakened hand managed to poke out from beneath, pushing away the debris.
Ji Jue emerged, covered in dust, gasping heavily.
It was a relief this time that he wasn’t seriously hurt.
Lucky it was a junky tricycle; if it had been a truck, wouldn’t he have…
But soon, he heard the screams around him.
The crowd, which had gathered, erupted in chaos.
Instead, a deafening, soul-shaking roar filled the air.
—A horn!
“What the hell is that noise?”
Ji Jue turned slowly to find a strong wind blasting his face.
And there it was, barreling down the street towards him—a monstrous vehicle, its steel face smeared with mud, packed with a load far beyond permissible limits.
Measuring sixteen point five meters long and two point five meters wide, it was a semi-truck, a Southern Wind to be exact…
Rushing straight at him!
“What the hell…”
Ji Jue froze.
In that moment of frozen despair, he could see the driver’s face behind the wheel, twisted in an expression of despair that rivaled his own.
He forgot to breathe, his hairs stood on end, and wanted to scream, but no sound came out in time.
There was no escaping.
What flashed through his mind was not curses, but an indescribable confusion, disarray, and even… a sense of calm.
What a classic plot twist.
Was this perhaps a sign that he’d finally accumulated enough good karma, and today would be his chance to be reborn?
Wait, don’t just transmigrate, will there be a cheat?
Which side will he stand on? Does he have a system? He’s heard of shameless authors who don’t bother giving their protagonists any cheats while they pit them against hellish difficulties and still claim it won’t hurt the main character—it’s all a lie, and heaven knows they might just abandon the story…
No, wait, don’t rush!
Ji Jue suddenly noticed the blind spot—this isn’t just him here!
What if it’s not him who’s being reborn? What if it’s the old man on the ground?
Then wouldn’t his fate be grim?
In the future, if that old man gets transported to another world, opening a harem and dominating the demon king, would he remember a certain unlucky boy named Ji Jue who tried to con him? Would he think back on it as a lesson and start doing good deeds?
He better not die in vain.
But it seemed he really was about to meet such an end.
In that moment of realization, Ji Jue finally understood what that oncoming endless darkness represented.
He was going to die.
Death.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock…
A crisp sound rang in his ears, rhythmic, neither quick nor slow, like the footsteps of death creeping closer.
There was no escaping it.
92… 97… 98…
Ji Jue stared blankly at the monstrous truck that was inching closer, watching as its treads ground into the earth, sending debris and dust swirling into the air.
The engine roared, fire belching from the cylinders, the pistons clattered like thunder, and sparks danced in a fiery rain as the brake pads scraped against the discs.
99…
He wanted to yell, “Stop!”
Please stop, just stop, stop…
STOP STOP STOP——
He shouted:
——【Stop】！！！！！！！！
Crack!
In that instant, the watch’s face, pushed to its limit, suddenly returned to zero!
The loud screech of metal ceased, the wind calmed, and torrents of mud and debris erupted from the shattered truck bed, sweeping across the street and flying into the air, much like a landslide.
Finally, like a gentle rain, it began to fall.
Covering Ji Jue’s dazed face.
Beneath the dirt, his eyes blinked as he stared at the truck’s hood, barely inches from the tip of his nose.
The hood trembled, showing crack lines as if mourning its fate.
Soon after, a violent crashing sound echoed as the truck’s chassis buckled.
The entire vehicle seemed to collapse like a house of cards, splitting apart, with the searing hot drive shaft piercing through the chassis, jabbing skyward.
Ji Jue collapsed to the ground.
In his daze of confusion and bewilderment, he slowly raised his hand, feeling his blood-stained face, only to find it coated in red—the taste of his own blood.
Around him, screams and angry shouts erupted.
The noises grew louder.
Children wept, crying for their mothers, while a bewildered mother rushed out from a shop, witnessing the chaos.
She became like an enraged bear, tearing the car door open and sending her furious slap raining down on the driver’s face.
There appeared a member of Lu Feng’s group who kicked the old man aside and rushed over, anxiously assisting Ji Jue, shouting questions in a panic.
But all this faded into the background for him.
The only thing echoing in Ji Jue’s mind was the sharp clang from the truck in its final moment.
It reverberated through his bones and instincts like an earthquake.
That was the roar of machinery, responding to his words.
It said, 【At your command】.
(The chapter ends)