Chapter 1: Strange Dream

Under the dim yellow sky, the last rays of the setting sun faded slowly.

Ding Yu swung an old hoe, its front end bound with a black iron block, digging again and again into the yellow earth beneath his feet, feeling as if he were about to go mad.

Before he fell asleep, he had been a senior university student in the capital, about to graduate—how could he open his eyes to find himself trapped inside the body of a filthy, ragged teenager using primitive tools?

Ding Yu could clearly feel the extreme fatigue and hunger of this frail body, yet he felt like a spectator locked in a cage, forced to watch the body’s owner labor endlessly, unable to interfere even as every swing of the hoe weakened the body further.

“Zhu Zi, hold on a little longer. We only rented this set of ox gear for seven days—we must return it tomorrow. If we finish turning over most of this wasteland before nightfall, the rental fee won’t be wasted. When we get back, I’ll give you and your older brother an extra half bowl of bean porridge.” A hoarse male voice came from nearby; though the language was utterly unfamiliar, he understood it effortlessly.

As Ding Yu was still stunned, the body’s owner looked up and replied in the same language:

“Father, don’t worry—I can still hold on.”

Only then did Ding Yu see, on the other side of the wasteland, a middle-aged man with deep wrinkles on his forehead and a tall, thin young man in his twenties, driving a yellow-haired old ox from front and back—the former gripping the reins around the ox’s neck, the latter straining to hold up a crude wooden sled behind it.

Both men wore tattered clothes, gasping for breath, as if they might collapse at any moment, yet they still pushed the yellow ox forward with all their strength, leaving long, uneven furrows across the wasteland.

The frail teenager gritted his teeth and continued swinging the hoe.

Ding Yu could even clearly sense the boy’s heart pounding wildly, his breath thick with the stench of damp soil, the air gradually growing damp and heavy.

Suddenly, a thunderclap split the horizon, gales howled, dark clouds swallowed the sky, and rain the size of soybeans poured down in torrents.

“Bad luck! Zhu Zi, hurry and bring the oilcloth—cover the ox and the tools!” The middle-aged man turned pale, immediately dropped the sled, and dashed into the downpour to help the tall youth control the startled ox.

The small boy answered with a shout and sprinted toward a gray cloth bundle by the field’s edge.

*Thud.*

The boy slipped on the muddy water, fell hard in the rain, and lay sprawled in the puddle, unable to rise.

“Zhu Zi!”

“Younger brother!”

The cries of the middle-aged man and the tall youth rang out weak and desperate through the rain.

………

“Ah!”

Ding Yu sat bolt upright on his single dorm bed, staring blankly at the red-and-white mecha game poster pasted on the opposite wall, still shaken.

That dream was too real!

Even now that he was awake, the cries of the middle-aged man and the tall youth still echoed in his ears!

*Slap. Slap.*

Ding Yu slapped his own cheeks hard twice, finally snapping back to himself.

A dream is just a dream—no matter how real or strange, now that he was awake, he wouldn’t dwell on it.

Ding Yu grimaced at his reddened cheeks, glanced once more at the poster, then suddenly leapt out of bed.

I almost forgot! In a few days is the public beta launch of the world’s first virtual game, “Star River”—today I have to pick up my pre-ordered headset.

He had participated in the internal test of this game, even created his character ahead of time before the test ended, planning to make a big splash during the public launch.

Thinking of this, Ding Yu shoved the strange dream from his mind, opened his dorm door, and headed out to find his roommate to collect the headset together.

But as soon as he opened the door, he froze, staring in shock at three men in crisp black suits standing before him—one of the men standing slightly behind held a square silver metal box in both hands, its surface bearing a miniature radar-like disc pointed directly at his dorm door.

“You’re Ding Yu?” The lead man, a square-faced man in his forties, held up a photograph and compared it to Ding Yu’s face before speaking.

“I am… who are you…?” Ding Yu stared at the metal box in the other man’s hands, his face filled with suspicion.

“Student Ding Yu, we need you to go somewhere for an investigation. Don’t worry—you haven’t broken any laws. It’s merely that relevant authorities require your assistance for questioning. Here’s my credentials.” The square-faced man smiled, tucked away the photo, and produced a green identification card bearing the national emblem.

“Recruit me?” Ding Yu was stunned. He glanced hastily at the card, remembering only a large red stamp with the words “Special Affairs Office” printed beneath it.

“Can I call home first to let them know I’m safe?” Ding Yu returned the card and shifted his eyes as he asked.

“You’ll be allowed to call once we arrive. But for confidentiality, we must temporarily confiscate your phone and all other electronic devices. We’ve already notified your university administration—you can rest assured and don’t overthink this.” The square-faced man explained briefly, then gestured; the other two men stepped behind Ding Yu, clearly urging him to move.

“At least let me change clothes—I can’t go out like this!” Ding Yu, now genuinely alarmed, protested.

“Then change quickly, Student Ding. We’re pressed for time.” The square-faced man glanced at Ding Yu’s short-sleeved pajamas and nodded reluctantly.

……

Half an hour later, Ding Yu sat in the back of a stretched black sedan, wearing a blue casual suit, staring blankly out the window at the distant sky.

Beside the fiery red sun in the blue sky loomed a massive, hazy celestial body.

The giant body appeared twice the size of the sun, entirely shrouded in pale yellow light, making it impossible to see what lay beneath the glow—as if the sun now had a twin brother beside it, less blinding but larger.

“This… what is this? It wasn’t there yesterday.” Ding Yu murmured.

“It appeared last night,” the square-faced man replied calmly, then pressed a switch; all the car windows rose a black metal panel, sealing off the outside completely.

Ding Yu swallowed hard and dared not ask further.

Was it his imagination, or did the square-faced man’s gaze toward him now feel strange? Could his abduction be connected to that giant thing in the sky?

He felt a creeping unease.

After driving for over three hours, the sedan finally stopped and opened its door automatically.

Ding Yu stepped out and glanced around—then froze in shock.

(Wang Yu’s first novel on Fanqie platform—please support generously ^^)