The Rebirth Glitch: Burning My Way to the Top

"Kai? That fireball you used to cremate the corpse—was that your gift?"

The same team leader who had just explained to Lei Ming that the drop rate for crystal cores from dimensional bugs was only 1% suddenly walked up to Kai.

Behind him followed his team.

One girl with twin pigtails and a cute, doll-like face leaned toward a boy and whispered,"Who is that guy? He's not only clinging to the global #1 Yuan Feng, but even our president is paying attention to him?"

The boy whispered back, "His name's Kai. Honestly, he's kind of petty. He's been holding a grudge against our president for years… over some small misunderstanding."

Kai looked at the man walking toward him and gave a calm smile."Yeah. F-rank. Corpse Burner talent."

Qi Feng stared into Kai's placid eyes and felt a strange unease—like something was slipping out of his control.

He remembered it clearly. After that incident three years ago, he and Kai had slowly drifted apart.

Whenever they crossed paths, Kai would always look at him with cold eyes.

But now… that coldness was gone. What replaced it was something worse—calm.

Coldness can be a sign of hate mixed with helplessness.

But calmness?

That's indifference laced with arrogance.

And that calm, dismissive look made Qi Feng incredibly annoyed.

Kai really was calm.

Because in his past life, he'd already taken revenge on Qi Feng.

In this life, doing it again would be child's play.

Their feud started three years ago.

Back then, Kai had made it out of a dead-end rural town and gotten into the country's most elite university—Beijing U.

He was the first and only student in his high school's history to ever make it that far. The school practically worshipped him.

But once in the capital, Kai was a stranger in a strange land—no family, no friends.

Qi Feng was the first person who didn't judge him for being poor. He extended a hand of friendship.

And Kai accepted it.

But—

During his freshman year, because of his poor family situation, Kai applied for need-based financial aid.

The school kept these things confidential out of respect.

The application process was strict—but someone with Kai's background should've passed without a hitch.

Except Qi Feng screwed it up.

Without asking, Qi Feng used Kai's name to order tons of luxury brand clothes and high-end smartphones online.

Kai had no idea. When the packages showed up, he was completely confused.

Because of those unexplained luxury goods, Kai was labeled a fraud and lost his chance at aid.

Even worse, the story somehow got out.

No one knew the truth about Kai.

Before his college entrance exams, his father—his only family—was killed in a car accident.

Not wanting to distract Kai before the exam, his dad left instructions for his uncle to hide the news until it was over.

The driver had paid a hefty settlement. That money was meant for Kai's education.

But his scumbag uncle embezzled every last cent.

Kai's classmates had no clue. They thought he was the kind of cold-blooded bastard who ignored his dad's death just to chase money.

The truth?

Kai didn't even know his father was dead until the exams were over.

And he never saw a dime of that settlement.

The money he used for college? Every cent came from working his ass off during summer break.

But the rumors made him out to be a monster—some heartless jerk leeching off his dead dad's tragedy and lying to get financial aid.

That flood of hate came out of nowhere and crushed Kai's hopes for college life.

He had no idea what he did wrong. He hadn't offended anyone.

But with his father gone, his uncle stealing from him, and his classmates treating him like trash, Kai spent three years of college in numb isolation.

Until the slaughter game began.

In his past life, on day one of the apocalypse, Qi Feng extended him another olive branch.

Kai shut him down.

And that's when the nightmare began—being hunted, ambushed, betrayed.

He was so busy staying alive, he didn't even have time to figure out what his gift actually did.

It wasn't until day five that he finally realized the true use of his fireball.

And his revenge on Qi Feng? That came months later.

Right before Qi Feng died, Kai finally figured out why he'd been targeted.

It all went back to freshman year's month-long military training.

Their instructor had taught them a revised version of a military martial art. Kai's form was flawless. He got tons of praise.

Even more, the instructor—after learning about Kai's background—had privately considered sponsoring his education.

That instructor?

Qi Feng's uncle. A legit martial arts master.

Qi Feng had spent years trying to become his disciple.

But the guy didn't even look at him.

Instead, he sang Kai's praises.

All it took was that little spark of jealousy—for Qi Feng to ruin Kai's life.

Kai's reputation tanked.

Even the instructor thought he was some shameless scum who took hush money and didn't care about his dad's death. He dropped any idea of helping him.

From then on, Qi Feng used his charm and connections to become a campus superstar.

Kai, on the other hand, faded into obscurity—just another invisible face in the crowd.

Qi Feng didn't even bother remembering him anymore.

Until the apocalypse hit.

Qi Feng awakened an A-rank talent: "Intuition."

It gave him freaky good instincts—he could sense opportunity and danger more easily than anyone else.

And when he ran into Kai, something told him—this guy is dangerous. He's going places.

So, he tried again to recruit him.

When Kai refused, Qi Feng didn't hesitate.

He used his family's power to hunt him down, determined to kill this future threat while it was still small.

And now, in this life, it's playing out the same way.

Qi Feng heard that Kai's talent was just F-rank corpse burning, but instead of mocking him, he smiled politely and extended another offer:

"I've always regretted what happened three years ago—the financial aid mess. But the world's different now. No one's gonna judge you for your past anymore. Kai, would you consider joining us? Serve the Qi family."

He held out a business card.

All around them, people started whispering:

"Qi family? Wait, that Qi family?"

"Holy shit! President Qi Feng is part of the Qi family?! Dude's got the looks, brains, and now the background? He's literally a walking drama lead!"

Some people were salty:"C'mon, the world's gone full Hunger Games. Who still cares about rich family crap?"

But Kai knew better.

He'd lived it.

Even after the apocalypse hit, those big families still had way more leverage than the average person.

Even now—before society had totally collapsed—they were stockpiling supplies, gathering talent, building armies.

By the time the chaos peaked, these families already had a huge head start.

Most of the future superpowers in the wasteland? Backed by families.

Take Qi Feng for example.

With his talent and family support, he quickly pulled together a large network of elites and built a massive organization called Zhi Pavilion.

Zhi Pavilion became famous among survivors for sharing rare strategies and leveling guides.

In Kai's past life, after he became strong enough, he destroyed Zhi Pavilion just to get revenge on Qi Feng.

That move made him public enemy number one.

And in this life…