The night gradually deepened. Countless men and women kept vigil on rooftops, stood by windows, or waited quietly in open spaces.
A few days prior, the news had reported that an unprecedentedly magnificent meteor shower was approaching. On the day of the meteor shower, most regions of China would experience clear, fine weather.
Scientists predicted this meteor shower would appear around midnight, adding a profound stroke to the romantic experiences of countless couples.
As time slowly arrived, the meteor shower appeared right on schedule. Numerous meteors, shining like sprites, streaked across the heavens as if ten thousand horses were galloping, leaving brilliant trails against the starry night sky.
Cheers and excitement erupted from countless people on the ground. Especially among the couples in love, many made lifelong vows to stay together at this very moment.
Yet, in the dark expanse of space, a blue light was rapidly rushing towards this azure planet. Mixed in with the countless meteors, it pierced through the atmosphere. Sheltered by the meteor shower, it broke through all obstacles and arrived in this world.
After breaking through the atmosphere, the blue light gradually grew smaller, falling straight towards the ground, but its speed did not diminish in the slightest.
By the time it neared the ground, the blue light had shrunk to the size of a grain of rice, and the radiance it emitted was not as intense as before.
The blue light passed through skyscrapers of steel and concrete, crossed over countless streets and streams of traffic, and finally flew through the window of a residence in a somewhat old residential building, leaving behind only a barely detectable small hole in the glass.
Inside that window was a bedroom. On the large bed in the bedroom lay a young man whose sleeping posture wasn't particularly graceful.
The blue light shot straight into the space between his eyebrows. A flash of blue light instantly enveloped his entire body.
"Ding. Detected unknown life form. Genetic grade: Extremely Weak. Physical strength: Extremely Weak. Mental power: Extremely Weak. Willpower grade: Strong. Initiate system fusion?"
"Ding. System energy critically depleted. Defaulting to fusion option. Performing basic modification on host. Will automatically enter hibernation state after modification concludes."
After this voice faded away, the blue light enveloping the young man slowly contracted. A moment later, the young man and the clothes he wore had completely vanished, leaving behind only an empty bed.
...
Early morning. The sun rose as usual, lighting up the sky amidst the sighs of countless people.
Su Chen was currently sitting bolt upright on a massive, rugged landmass full of gullies and mounds. He stared blankly into the distance, his mouth agape and unable to close for a long time, his mind a complete blank.
Just where was he?
The ground wasn't soil, but something woven from enormous, crisscrossing ropes, dotted with regular pits and holes so dense they covered the entire landmass, looking utterly creepy. And the mountain peaks in the distance were even more bizarre.
He had seen snow-capped white mountains, lush, green, wooded mountains, and the desolate sand dunes of the northwest.
But could anyone tell him, what was the deal with these multi-colored mountains full of holes everywhere?
Being multi-colored was one thing, but this mountain was actually bent and folded? Were you seriously trying to be funny?
And most importantly, how could there be a giant cartoon bear on that mountain?
And it was actually smiling?
Was Newton's coffin lid about to blow off again?
Since when did the laws of force look so cartoony?
Su Chen really wanted to ask that mountain, with such a unique personality, did your family know about it?
But that could only remain a pipe dream. Su Chen didn't dare go over. With such strange ground, who knows what terrifying things might be hidden beneath.
He tried looking down through the holes in the ground, but all he saw was darkness, with no clue what lay below.
Su Chen very much wanted to believe he had transcended worlds, but the reality of the situation told him things definitely weren't that simple.
Looking up, beyond those mountains, there seemed to be another, more distant sky. But the color of that sky seemed... even stranger.
Looking up at the sky, feeling the light shining on him, he naturally sought the source of the light.
Judging from the sun's position, even if he couldn't figure out his location, he could at least determine the time.
So...
Blocked once again by the mountains, he did not see the sun that should have been in the sky.
Su Chen felt somewhat lost, craning his neck to look up.
Above his head was a white sky, snow white, not a hint of blue, just like the ceiling in his home.
Well, how to put it~
The more he looked, the more this sky felt like a ceiling.
Although both things were overhead, they were supposed to be different. How did they look so similar now?
Su Chen's gaze slowly shifted, and soon he discovered something else.
That cloud floating in the sky... why did it look a bit like the light bulb back home?
That round, rolling shape looked exactly like the energy-saving lamp hanging in his room.
With its curves and coils, it really did seem like a light bulb.
But its size and distance...
If the energy-saving lamp in his room fell from the ceiling, at worst it would give him a bump on the head, or shatter and cut him a few times.
But that "cloud" Su Chen saw, the one that looked like an energy-saving lamp...
From such a distance, such a massive thing-if it fell down all of a sudden, it would probably smash him into nothingness, not a hair left.
He wanted to see his surroundings, but his view was blocked by this ring of strange mountains. Su Chen was quite helpless. There was no other way. If he wanted to know where he was, there was only one option left.
Climb the mountain.
He jumped a few times.
He bounced a few times.
Su Chen discovered his physical fitness had inexplicably improved significantly.
He could leap three feet high, jump several meters far. His whole person was like a little superman who had suddenly evolved.
He did a few push-ups and found he could do them easily even on a single finger.
If he went to work moving bricks now, his income could probably multiply several times over.
So, had he stepped onto a new path in life?
"Forget it."
Su Chen shook his head. The current problem wasn't how many bricks he could move in a day, but where the hell he was right now.
Warm-up complete, he set off easily.
A large mountain was nothing much in Su Chen's eyes now. Bent and folded, although this mountain was ugly and a bit ridiculous, it was remarkably easy to climb.
Could be considered a minor advantage, he supposed.
Humming a little tune, singing a song, Su Chen climbed the mountain with ease. But as the breeze blew, he felt chilly all over. Without the constraint of clothes, running around really added quite a bit of trouble.
Being stark naked was truly unbearable...
After some effort, working up a full sweat, he finally managed to reach the mountain top.
'I must ascend the mountain's crest, to hold all mountains in a single glance.'
There was no layered sea of clouds as one might imagine, no broadened chest from overlooking everything.
But when Su Chen saw the scene before him, he couldn't help but utter a heartfelt exclamation.
"Fuck!"