Chapter 1: Dream of Another World

The sky was a dim yellow, beneath the afterglow of a sun gradually setting in the west.

Ding Yu swung an old hoe with a black iron block tied to its front, digging into the yellow earth beneath his feet, one stroke after another, feeling as if he were about to go insane!

Before he fell asleep, he was a senior university student in Kyoto about to graduate. How was it that after opening his eyes, he was trapped inside the body of a dirty, raggedly dressed boy using primitive tools?

Ding Yu could clearly feel the extreme fatigue and hunger of this frail body, yet he was like a spectator trapped in a cage, able only to witness the body's owner working incessantly. Even though every swing of the hoe made this body weaker, he could not interfere in the slightest.

"Zhuzi, hold on a little longer. We only rented these ox tools for seven days; we have to return them to the owner tomorrow. As long as we finish turning over most of this wasteland before dark, the rental money won't have been spent in vain. Tonight, when we go back, I'll add half a bowl of bean porridge for you and your big brother." A hoarse man's voice came from not far away. The language used was clearly very strange, yet he understood it easily.

Just as Ding Yu was feeling surprised, the owner of this body looked up and replied in the same language:

"Father, don't worry, I can still hold on."

Only then did Ding Yu see that on the other side of the wasteland, there was also a middle-aged man with deep wrinkles on his forehead and a tall, thin youth in his twenties, driving an old yellow-haired ox back and forth. The former held the reins on the ox's neck, while the latter laboriously supported a crude wooden sledge behind the ox.

These two were also dressed in rags, panting, looking as if they might collapse at any moment, yet they still desperately urged the yellow ox to walk forward slowly, leaving several long, uneven, shallow gullies on the wasteland.

The frail boy endured his physical discomfort and continued to swing the hoe in his hand.

Ding Yu could even clearly feel that the boy's heartbeat was abnormally rapid, and the air between his breaths was filled with the thick, fishy scent of soil; the air was also gradually becoming damp.

Suddenly, a thunderclap sounded in the sky, a gale blew, dark clouds gathered, and a torrential rain as heavy as soybeans fell instantly.

"Oh no! Zhuzi, hurry and bring the oilcloth to cover the ox and the tools!" The middle-aged man was shocked, immediately let go of the sledge, and rushed through the pouring rain toward the tall, thin youth to help him control the somewhat startled yellow ox.

After the frail boy agreed, he ran toward a gray cloth bundle at the edge of the field in the rain.

"Thump."

The boy was careless, slipped in the mud, fell hard in the heavy rain, and lay there in the rainwater, unable to get up.

"Zhuzi!"

"Little brother!"

The shouts of the middle-aged man and the tall, thin youth sounded exceptionally panicked and weak in the heavy rain.

………

"Ah!"

Ding Yu sat up from the wooden bed in his university dormitory, his eyes staring straight at the poster of a mecha game on the opposite wall, still feeling a lingering fear.

This dream was too real!

Even though he had woken up, the shouts of the middle-aged man and the tall, thin youth seemed to still be lingering in his ears!

"Slap, slap."

Ding Yu used his hand to vigorously pat his cheeks twice, finally managing to collect his thoughts.

A dream is just a dream. No matter how real or strange it was, since he had already woken up, he naturally wouldn't dwell on it anymore.

Ding Yu grinned at his slightly red cheeks, looked at the poster on the wall twice more, and suddenly jumped off the bed.

Almost forgot! In a few days, it would be the day of the public beta for the first global virtual game, "Star River." Today, he had to go pick up the pre-ordered game helmet.

He had participated in the closed beta for this game and had even created his character in advance when the closed beta ended, preparing to make a big splash during the public beta.

Thinking of this, Ding Yu threw last night's strange dream to the back of his mind, pulled open the dormitory door, and prepared to find his close friend next door to go get the helmet together.

But the moment he opened the door, his figure couldn't help but stop. He stared in shock at the three men in crisp black suits standing in front of the door. A man standing slightly behind was holding a square silver metal box with both hands; on the surface of the box was a radar-like mini-disk, facing the dormitory door where he was.

"Are you Ding Yu?" The leading man, about forty years old with a square face, asked after comparing a photo in his hand to Ding Yu's face.

"I am... who are you..." Ding Yu looked at the metal box in the other man's hand, his face full of suspicion.

"Student Ding Yu, we need you to go to a place to conduct some investigations. Don't worry, you haven't violated any laws or regulations; it's just that the relevant department needs to summon you to ask some questions. This is my identification." After the square-faced man smiled and put away the photo, he took out a green ID card printed with the national emblem and handed it over.

"Summon me?" Ding Yu was stunned. He took the ID and glanced at it randomly, only remembering that there was a large red stamp on it, with a small line of text written: "Special Affairs Handling Bureau."

"Can I call home first to report that I'm safe?" Ding Yu asked after returning the ID to the other party, his eyes rolling.

"Once we arrive at the place, you will naturally be allowed to make a call. But before that, for the sake of confidentiality, Student Ding's mobile phone and all other electronic equipment must be temporarily confiscated. In addition, we have already notified your school leaders in advance, so you can rest assured and don't need to think too much." The square-faced man explained a few words, then waved his hand. The other two stood behind Ding Yu, looking like they were urging him to set off immediately.

"Then I at least need to change my clothes; I can't just leave like this." Ding Yu saw this and was truly a bit anxious.

"Then Student Ding, just change simply; we are in a bit of a hurry." The square-faced man looked at Ding Yu's short-sleeved pajamas and could only nod helplessly.

……

Half an hour later, Ding Yu, wearing a blue casual sweatshirt, sat in a stretched black sedan, turned his head, and stared blankly at the distant sky through the car window.

Beside the fiery red sun in the azure sky, there was unexpectedly an extra, glowing, huge celestial body.

The huge celestial body looked even larger than the sun, its entire body shrouded in pale yellow light, making it impossible to see what was under the yellow glow at all. It was as if a twin brother had appeared next to the sun, only it wasn't as dazzling, and its volume was a size larger.

"This... what is this? There clearly wasn't this thing yesterday." Ding Yu muttered.

"This thing indeed only appeared last night." The square-faced man replied calmly. Then, after pressing some switch, all the car windows rose with a black metal plate, completely shielding everything outside the car.

Ding Yu swallowed his saliva, not daring to ask anything more.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he vaguely felt that the square-faced man's gaze on him was a bit strange. Could it be that his being taken away was related to this big thing in the sky?

He felt a bit suspicious in his heart.

After the sedan drove for a full three hours, it finally stopped and opened its doors automatically.

After Ding Yu got out of the car, he scanned the vicinity and was greatly shocked.

(Wang Yu is publishing a book on the Tomato platform for the first time, and hopes everyone will support it ^^)