C7 (2)

Xiaoming, practicing tea brewing at the Eight Immortals table, spoke without looking up. "Ah! It's alright. It beats sleeping outside." Wu Ziming, rising from the cabin, shook his head dismissively. What more could one ask for in these conditions?

Suddenly, an idea struck Wu Ziming. "Brother Xiaoming, could you tell me about the other worlds?" Intrigued by his curiosity, Xiaoming looked up. "Sure! I can talk about it. This Wilderness world is a collapsed one, surrounded by five parallel universes."

While explaining, Xiaoming opened his palm to reveal a small hole, projecting a light screen in front of Wu Ziming. "This data was all gathered in Moonglow City. Since each world's history is unique, we refer to them by their dynasties."

Xiaoming paused briefly, then tapped an icon, and a variety of geographical information appeared before Wu Ziming. "The first world is that of the Han Dynasty, where historical events unfolded differently. Their Liu Xiu wasn't as remarkable, and Wang Mang overthrew him. The Han Dynasty swiftly progressed and unified the globe within fifty years."

Moving on, Xiaoming clicked on the second icon with the Tang character. "In the second world, the Tang Dynasty diverged from our history at the time of Li Longji. The An Lushan Rebellion, which brought tears to later generations, was nipped in the bud, leading to the Tang Dynasty's flourishing and eventual global unification a century later."

"And the third world is ours." Xiaoming's face took on a peculiar expression as he slid to the fourth icon. "How to put this? Can you believe that the mighty Ming Dynasty was toppled by those frail invaders?"

"Ha! Invaders?" Wu Ziming racked his brain for any recollection of the term, recalling a minority group mentioned in history class from north of the three provinces. Yet, they were all wiped out in a severe snow disaster. At that time, the Ming Dynasty had formidable artillery and machine gun squads. How could they have been defeated?

"That's not the end of it. Centuries later, the Ming Dynasty fell again, this time to the Japanese. That's the history of the fourth parallel universe, a world with an abundance of people suffering from delusions of grandeur."

Xiaoming let out a sigh as he recounted the story. While organizing the data, he noted that the inhabitants of the first three parallel universes had ridiculed those from the fourth universe.

The last image he scrolled to stood in stark contrast to the thriving worlds of the others; it depicted a world of utter devastation and ruins.

"The history of the fifth is much like that of the fourth world. The largest nuclear power station in Russia caused the destruction of half the world due to an attempt to improve nuclear power.

The survival rate for the people of that world is the lowest, except for those who undergo soul transmigration," he explained.

Xiaoming then displayed photos of the inhabitants, who, unlike typical humans, bore molten, crack-like features on their faces.

Wu Ziming, seated on the edge of the bed, was utterly astonished. He had initially thought that ancient people from other dynasties were the ones transmigrating, but the reality was far more extraordinary.

"So, how many Earthlings are there in this world now?"

"Roughly a thousand, give or take. The numbers fluctuate; new people arrive daily, and transmigrators pass away. Those who can adapt manage to survive."

Xiaoming took a sip of tea and offered Wu Ziming a reassuring smile. "If you act with reckless abandon in this world, thinking you're the protagonist, death will be the only outcome."

Wu Ziming nodded earnestly, taking the advice to heart. Having witnessed Xiaoming's astonishing physiology, he had already glimpsed the harshness of this new world.

After meticulously cleaning the tea set, Xiaoming stored it away in the cabinet across from the bed.

"Oh, and on your left, there's a red button that controls the cabin door, and the green one is for hibernation mode. Be careful not to mix them up. It's late, and we've got an early start tomorrow."

With everything said and done, Xiaoming climbed into the upper bunk and sealed the cabin door. "Oh, Ziming, could you turn off the light?"

Silence followed.

Once the lights were out and he was in bed, Wu Ziming closed his eyes, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Despite being saved by fellow villagers, he couldn't bring himself to fully trust them just yet.

His mind racing, he eventually sealed the cabin door. The side exit closed gently, and a soothing melody filled the airtight chamber, offering a semblance of peace in an otherwise chaotic world.

After going through so much, Wu Ziming felt quite exhausted. He drifted off to sleep to the soothing melody of a lullaby.

In his dream, Ziming found himself back in his familiar and cozy home. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was hearing the sounds of a video game.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"Hey, wake up, wake up, Wu Ziming, kid, the ice sheet DLC is now free."

Roused by the persistent knocking on the window, Ziming had barely sat up when his head made abrupt contact with the ceiling.

"Ouch!"

Looking around, Ziming realized this wasn't his home at all, but a cabin with a ghostly face pressed against the transparent door.

"Yikes!"

Thump!

Ziming's head met the ceiling once more, leaving Xiaoming's face streaked with lines of frustration.

"I warned you to watch your head last night."

Massaging his forehead, Ziming reached out with his left hand and pressed a green button on the wall. The cabin began to vibrate as the walls around him filled with a gel-like substance.

"Entering hibernation, please lie down..." A sweet, otherworldly voice echoed in the cabin, followed by a robotic arm that gently pushed Ziming back onto the bed.

"Ah, great."

Xiaoming's mouth twitched as he massaged his forehead. After a chaotic rescue attempt, Ziming, now snug in his blanket, sipped a green concoction to regain his strength.

Suddenly, he noticed the sky outside was still pitch black. "Isn't it too early for work? The sun hasn't even risen."

"The real grinders are up at this hour. Without an early start, how can one climb the career ladder and reach the pinnacle of success?"

As Xiaoming spoke, his tone took on a slick quality.

"Uh..."

"Come on, get dressed and help me pick up supplies from Great Tiger Village."

Once dressed, Ziming followed Xiaoming downstairs, where the kitchen was already bustling with activity.

In the lobby, Baihe was practicing yoga with a face mask on, while Ding Fu lovingly watered his cherished plants with a watering can.

After exchanging greetings, they headed to the kitchen where Mark was busy prepping a mountain of ingredients.

Although he was alone, he handled the task with ease.

There were no elaborate knife techniques like those in novels and movies, just a deep understanding of the ingredients and fluid cutting motions.

Upon hearing someone arrive, he didn't bother to look up and simply remarked, "Xiaoming, you sure got up late today."

"I didn't get a wink of sleep the night before last. You think I'm like you? Up all night, playing with knives and guns."

Xiaoming's grown-up smile was beyond Wu Ziming's innocent comprehension.

"Was there a fight last night?"

Gazing into Wu Ziming's naive eyes, Xiaoming couldn't tell if he was feigning ignorance or genuinely clueless. He had to fudge an answer.

Meanwhile, Mark, with a smug grin spreading across his face, boasted, "Ah, last night I claimed a general's head amidst a sea of soldiers. My spear flew like a dragon, my arrows never missed their mark."

Xiaoming couldn't let Mark corrupt an unsuspecting newcomer, so he quickly ushered Wu Ziming toward the back courtyard.

As they reached the doorway, Mark's voice followed them.

"By the way, we're running low on donkey meat in the cold storage. Stock up on more; for some reason, it's all the rage lately."

"Maybe it's the recent rumors claiming donkey meat keeps you strong."

"You believe that nonsense?"