"January 1, 2000, Blue Star."
"According to expert observations, a black bird suddenly appeared, regurgitating a massive stomach that swallowed the entire sun. Then, the bird retracted the stomach and vanished."
"The sun disappeared, and Blue Star entered the Dark Age."
"However, life on Blue Star did not become extinct, and humans managed to survive. Currently, a large number of researchers are studying the reasons behind this."
"On the same day, gods appeared on Blue Star in large numbers, most of whom were hostile and slaughtered humans."
"Led by countless unsung heroes, humanity established the United Government and built several large Safe Zones, where humans have since lived. For some reason, the gods cannot enter these Safe Zones to slaughter humans, and many researchers are studying this phenomenon as well."
"This period of history marks the Descent of the Dark Age on Blue Star. There are three key points to remember. They weren't tested last year, so they will definitely be tested this year! Believe it or not! The first key point..."
Qin Siyang, sitting in the corner of the classroom, sighed:
"Studying history won't save humanity. Especially when it's such a flawed history."
"In this world, only knowledge related to Sequence Abilities is meaningful."
He turned his gaze to the window.
Through the protective glass, he could vaguely see one or two bizarrely shaped gods drifting in the night sky above.
Blue Star had entered Eternal Night, so the view outside the Safe Zone was always the same, no matter when you looked up.
A faintly flickering starry sky.
And the so-called "gods" wandering beneath it.
"Students, next, we'll talk about the gods. There are key points here too, so listen carefully. This is the first round of review, perfect for filling in gaps."
"After Eternal Night, some strange creatures appeared on Blue Star, with appearances that varied wildly."
"But they have one thing in common: they are aggressive and possess undying bodies."
"Humans believe these creatures are divine punishment for the sins committed before the Descent of the Dark Age, so they are called gods..."
Bizarre creatures with undying bodies, yet they are praised as "gods."
Hearing this, Qin Siyang couldn't help but scratch his head.
It's always like this.
At the end of science lies theology.
People attribute everything they can't explain to the gods.
"Everyone should note that the sections on gods and the Dark Age are mandatory for the college entrance examination, regardless of whether you're in science or arts..."
The students weren't very enthusiastic.
Everyone knew that in this world, only by awakening a Sequence Ability could one truly have a foothold.
As for the college entrance examination for ordinary people—only those who rank in the top thousandth of the Safe Zone can enter higher education institutions and have a chance to secure a decent job with the United Government.
But in such a vast Safe Zone, ranking in the top thousandth was too difficult.
Even the top five in the entire school couldn't guarantee it.
Qin Siyang couldn't achieve it in his past life, and he couldn't achieve it in this reborn life either.
In his previous life, Qin Siyang was an orphan, and his college entrance examination results were not ideal. He later passed the postgraduate entrance examination and secured a somewhat decent job after graduation. However, in middle age, he was laid off by the company, and while demanding compensation, he was accidentally killed by a security guard, only to be reborn at the age of eighteen.
After being reborn, the people around him were almost the same as those he knew in his previous life.
But the originally normal world had turned into this bizarre version.
It was like a Parallel World.
This Parallel World was dominated by gods and Sequence Ability Users.
Having never awakened a Sequence Ability, Qin Siyang felt a deep sense of grievance: "Heavens, why haven't you let me awaken a Sequence Ability? Are you making me a sacrificial pawn in this rebirth?"
After the Dark Age Era, various creatures mutated. Countless species went extinct, and countless new species were born. Humans also began to mutate.
That was when Sequence Ability Users emerged.
On January 1, 2005, in the Blue Star Calendar, exactly five years after the Descent of the Dark Age, the first Sequence Ability User was born.
He possessed an incredible ability—to transform one hand into a revolver.
His revolver could fire six bullets a day.
Many people thought this mutation was meaningless because humanity's current enemies were the undying gods.
If nuclear bombs couldn't kill the gods, what use was his revolver?
But unexpectedly, what nuclear bombs couldn't achieve, the revolver actually could.
He killed two "small gods" that were rapidly crawling on the ground.
Even though those gods looked like giant cockroaches, they were still undying gods.
Sequence Ability Users could kill gods!
They shattered the public belief in the gods' immortality.
Humanity rejoiced, seeing hope in counterattacking the gods!
His awakening heralded a new era, and many people subsequently awakened Sequence Abilities.
The stories of humans killing gods gradually became less rare. In fact, most Sequence Ability Users earned substantial rewards by hunting gods.
However, the small spark of Sequence Awakening did not change the reality of humans living within the Safe Zones. Because in the five years after the Sequence Awakening, the most dangerous large gods remained undefeated.
Yet, Sequence Abilities changed the internal dynamics of humanity.
Outside the Safe Zones, gods reigned. Inside the Safe Zones, Sequence Ability Users ruled—
Sequence Ability Users became the "gods" within the Safe Zones.
This was the apocalypse for humanity. But it was a paradise for Sequence Ability Users.
Stories of people begging on the streets in the morning and ascending to the top after awakening a Sequence Ability in the afternoon were widely circulated within the Safe Zones.
Compared to studying hard, awakening a Sequence Ability was the true path to changing one's fate.
Qin Siyang, after being reborn, still hadn't awakened a Sequence Ability.
He thought that as someone chosen by fate, he should have some luck on his side.
But three days had passed, and he was still just an ordinary student living on the fringes of the Safe Zone.
He wanted to learn more about Sequence Awakening, but there was almost no one around him who could explain it clearly.
This was understandable. Anyone with relatives or friends who were Sequence Ability Users or had some understanding of Sequence Abilities wouldn't be living in the remote edges of the Safe Zone.
"Students, the awakening of Sequence Ability Users is humanity's hope, but we still need to be grounded and study hard..."
Sequence Awakening?
He immediately raised his hand and looked at the homeroom teacher who was teaching history.
"Qin Siyang, do you have a question?"
"Teacher, why hasn't a single one of our classmates awakened a Sequence Ability? How can we awaken a Sequence Ability?"
"Hasn't this question been addressed already?" The homeroom teacher frowned: "No one knows the reason for Sequence Awakening. If I knew, I'd awaken a Sequence Ability myself."
Immediately, a classmate interjected: "But I heard that Zhou Yang's uncle from the neighboring class awakened a Sequence Ability! Why can't I awaken a Sequence Ability?"
"That's Director Zhou! The proportion of United Government officials awakening Sequence Abilities is already high!"
"But..."
"No buts! Instead of talking about unrealistic dreams here, you should prepare well for the college entrance examination!"
"In six months, you'll be taking the college entrance examination. If you don't study hard and get into a college, you'll have to work after high school graduation!"
"Can you let me have some peace of mind? Open your assignments, and I'll check them!"
The homeroom teacher's emotions grew more intense as he spoke, and he eventually began pounding the desk in frustration.
But Qin Siyang, having lived two lives, could see that the homeroom teacher wasn't frustrated because he was disappointed in his students.
Only the top five in the entire school had a chance of getting into college. And the top student in their class was only ranked thirtieth in the school.
In other words, everyone in the class would have to work after graduating high school.
The homeroom teacher couldn't possibly be unaware of this.
His agitation and anger were clearly not out of concern for the students' futures.
Qin Siyang detected a sense of unwillingness and jealousy in his eyes.
Unwillingness to be an ordinary person.
Jealousy of others awakening a Sequence Ability.
When it was Qin Siyang's turn, the teacher noticed that he hadn't done his homework.
"You talk so much in class, I thought you'd finished your homework."
"Not doing your homework, yet always dreaming unrealistic dreams."
"Go stand at the door as punishment! Come back once you've cleared your head!"
"Okay."
He wasn't the only one who hadn't done his homework, but he was the only one called out to be punished. It seemed his earlier question had angered the teacher.
Someone once said that human anger fundamentally stems from one's own incompetence.
Perhaps that's true.
Qin Siyang walked out of the classroom.
Being punished to stand was a trivial matter to him.
If it weren't for the school cafeteria providing meals, allowing this income-less orphan to fill his stomach, he wouldn't even bother attending school.
He would definitely spend all his energy pondering over Sequence matters.
It was just as well, the outside of the classroom was quiet. He could think quietly about the method of awakening a Sequence.
Even though it was just idle thinking, it was better than not thinking at all.
As far as he knew, the probability of the rich and powerful in this world awakening Sequence Abilities was very high.
While students like him, living on the fringes of the Safe Zone, rarely produced an awakened individual among thousands.
"Sequence Awakening isn't entirely random; it seems to favor the rich over the poor."
He sighed deeply.
"If the conditions for Sequence Awakening are related to quality of life, then I fear I might never awaken a Sequence."
Looking up at the window, he could vaguely see a few gods wandering beneath the starry sky.
"Gods, huh?"
"If you are gods, then I, who can be reborn, must have some divine power too, right?"
"In that case, I can round it up and say I'm a god too."
Qin Siyang chuckled softly.
Suddenly, he saw what seemed like an eye slowly opening in the dark sky, looking at him.
That pitch-black pupil didn't seem human.
It looked more like it belonged to a bird.
This eye hanging in the night sky was massive and round. If it indeed belonged to a bird, it could probably swallow the entire Blue Star in one gulp.
Qin Siyang frowned and glanced at the other students from different classes who were also punished to stand in the corridor. Some of them were idly looking out the window, but none seemed to notice this eye.
Was he the only one who could see it?
He and the eye locked gazes for a moment, and he immediately felt as if the eye was exerting some kind of interference on him, making him dizzy.
Then, a piece of information appeared in his mind.
...
[Sequence "God Eater" Awakening]