A Reborn Start and a Phantom Thief’s Folly

The time spent honing my consciousness within the womb always flew by, so swiftly that I barely perceived its passage. When I next opened my eyes, my body had matured to a point where I could distinctly feel the presence of my limbs, and my neural development seemed almost complete.

According to some fantasy novels, this world within the womb might contain something akin to ‘innate qi.’ Yet, I had unequivocally proven that these notions were, indeed, merely ‘rumors.’

‘Ugh… it seems I’ve been quite thoroughly poisoned by novels, haven’t I?’

‘But how to put it… it wasn’t quite right, yet not entirely off the mark, was it?’

Training my mind as an infant certainly offered an incredibly rapid boost; no matter how long I meditated, I never felt my concentration waver.

Actually, it was probably because my entire field of vision was dim. Even if I wanted to be distracted, there was nothing to divert my gaze, allowing me to focus completely, wasn’t it?!

By now, I could distinctly perceive a stream of consciousness vastly different from my initial state. It had evolved from feeling like a ‘strand of hair’ to feeling like a ‘thick strand of hair.’

‘…So what? What’s the difference…!’

‘Heh, regardless, the stream of consciousness had undeniably grown significantly. It had increased by at least three to five times. However, given that in my previous life, I had relied entirely on my exceptionally high-quality superpower to compensate for my insignificant mental energy… which was truly pathetic.’

Days such as these continued unabated. Though I had no sense of time, one day, I finally felt the vibrant rush of living air.

”It’s here! It’s here!”

”Doctor Liu!”

Yet, my luck seemed somewhat unfavorable. It appeared I wasn’t the first to emerge.

“This one, it’s a boy!”

A simple, masculine voice resounded.

“Excellent, a very healthy baby boy.”

Slap!

“Waaah!!”

A loud cry reached my ears… For some reason… it felt somewhat unfamiliar.

“Madam, the child is born, look!”

The doctor’s mood was also one of delight, seemingly overjoyed by the arrival of the newborn. Whether his joy was genuine or feigned, in that miraculous moment of life’s advent… it no longer mattered.

Immediately afterward, I too felt a sudden, intense contraction.

“Hoo-hoo.”

“Madam, another one! It’s a boy and a girl, twins!”

“…Oh… it’s finally over… such a hassle…”

A sweet voice, profoundly familiar yet difficult to recall, uttered this reluctant complaint.

‘However… oh, so it’s boy-girl twins. It seems I’ll have a lovely older brother this life… hmm…’

‘…Wait! The doctor said… it was a boy? Earlier? Doesn’t that mean… Oh, Suye, I bless your Maria.’

“…But… this infant…”

Doctor Liu’s voice held a hint of worry.

“Why does it seem… a little too pale, and… the hair…”

“Doctor… she isn’t crying.”

“Slap her.”

Slap…

A sharp pain shot through me… I couldn’t help but cry out.

“Waaah waah waah!!!!”

‘This is humiliation! Nurse! I!! I!!’

‘In my mind, I assessed my delicate body, which possessed the mighty strength to crush even a Malaysian Hercules ant…’

‘…Fine, nurse, you win.’

Soon, my tiny body was swaddled. The soft swaddling clothes I touched conveyed an unbearable chill.

‘How I wished I had no consciousness at this moment. Just like that ‘beast’ who was born before me!’

‘…In any case! I would absolutely never acknowledge someone less than a day old as my older brother. Never!’

When I woke again, I was able to open my eyes. Yet, upon seeing my open eyes, the familiar figure before me showed no expression of joy.

‘Wait! This is.’

‘Although he looked far too young… but… was this?’

‘My father?! The father who had toiled so hard to raise me for eighteen years?’

‘Could it be… not reincarnation as I’d imagined… but rebirth?! Reborn into my own home?’

‘You’ve got to be kidding me?’

I tried to say this, but only wails and cries emerged.

The man before me spoke.

“…This child… Weren’t the previous checks supposed to be for a single birth? How can it be twins?”

“This… I apologize, even if you ask us, it’s difficult to answer… After all, your wife only had one check-up, and that was at three months…”

“Then… this child’s… eyes… what’s wrong with them?”

My father’s voice seemed to tremble slightly.

“…Why are they red?… And… the skin color seems… a little too pale, doesn’t it?”

“…I apologize, this is very likely a genetic condition, somewhat similar to albinism… but the child is so young… it would be best to conduct a detailed examination before saying more.”

‘….Albinism?… What kind of joke is this?’

Only I truly understood the condition of my own body. For a newborn, this body was nothing short of perfect! My biological father, with whom I had been so close in my previous life, sharing intimate conversations, now seeing me, less than a day old, let out a sorrowful sigh.

Just as in my previous life, my family’s circumstances were far from ideal. Or rather, from around the time I arrived, the family began its decline. This analogy felt somewhat distorted; instead of a ‘downhill slide,’ it was more like ‘leaping off a cliff.’

Starting half a year prior, the entire world seemed to play a cruel joke on my father, utterly abandoning him. The reason? It was rather unspeakable…

But in my previous life, around the age of four, I seemed to vaguely understand that, back then, some ‘Phantom Thief XX’ character, upon witnessing the destitution and famine in a certain African region, suddenly became a Mary Sue…

‘Yes! Officer! That’s the one!’

It was said that all the funds in my dad’s company had been ‘donated’ away…

In my previous life, when I was seven or eight, after two moves, while playing some silly detective game in a small house less than 100 square meters, I discovered a deeply hidden wooden box. Being far from unintelligent, I naturally chose to secretly pry open the box, intent on uncovering the truth of this world… Yet, after learning the truth, I wished I had never sought it out at all…

I found a piece of paper. Compared to ordinary paper, this particular sheet was far more ornate. Of course, I wasn’t referring to the paper’s elegance, but the extravagance of its contents. It was so ridiculous, it made me want to devour someone. First, the opening line was a flourish of wild, unrestrained calligraphy, so grotesque it could almost be described as menacing.

****

[Dear Mr. Ye,]

[I, Phantom Thief X, can no longer tolerate the actions of your esteemed company! Those who commit many wrongs will inevitably perish by them; do you comprehend this truth, this principle?!]

Following this, the rest of the text was more conventional, having been printed.

[I have witnessed the suffering of the common people in the southernmost lands of Africa, ravaged by natural disasters and man-made calamities, with no escape; do you knew?!]

[Though there is no concrete evidence, your company’s growth from several million in assets to hundreds of millions within five years must surely have involved despicable Tricks!]

[Although your esteemed company has donated to many domestic orphanages, yet, with your company’s strength, even donating 80 percent would allow it to operate normally, right or 错 (wrong)?!]

[I merely wanna to help the weak, therefore, your company’s despicable and cruel means of accumulating wealth, we can no longer tolerate.]

[Therefore, yet I shall distribute your company’s assets—hmm, both liquid and fixed assets—entirely to their true owners who need to use them. This, is the will of heaven.]

[Respectfully yours, X]

****

‘…This isn’t merely a Mary Sue anymore; this! This! This requires therapy. Not only had they read too many novels, but… this person was schizophrenic, right? No, no! It would be better to say their mind was shattered rather than merely schizophrenic, wouldn’t it?’

In truth, my dad wasn’t someone devoid of compassion; as a competent man and businessman, he had previously undertaken numerous charitable activities for domestic ‘Hope Project’ sites… But my dad was the kind of person who simply didn’t care about poverty abroad!

“Listen, child, once you have money, use it to help the people ‘you want to help.’”

‘…Definitely not what most parents would say (referring to ‘people who need help’).’

“Daddy, Daddy, what about those poor people in Africa?”

My father smiled meaningfully.

“Child, wake up. When your dad thinks of them, his first impression is always ‘Peking Man’… or ‘Pleistocene’ and such… Child, my goal when doing charity was to alleviate poverty and help people, not to save endangered species…”

‘Ahem… setting aside the content of the above dialogue for a moment, let alone the fact that my dad’s company wasn’t some grand enterprise worth showing off—at best, it was considered a top company in the city… And playing with international donations? Was he really courting death?’

‘…Regarding this letter, my commentary was merely half a sentence: ‘That guy’s sick in the head…’’