Chapter 2

Moving his eyes away from the screen, Wu Ming thought for a moment and finally understood what had happened.

He was indeed dead, but for some unknown reason, he had been reborn three years ago, before the great disaster. Although this was unbelievable, it had truly happened.

The reason Wu Ming was so certain was that he saw the same news report.

Multiple regions around the world had been hit by meteorites, causing heavy casualties, and the governments of various countries had sealed off the scenes. This news was already unusual, as meteorites hitting different parts of the world simultaneously would make anyone suspicious. However, Wu Ming knew that not only was there a big problem, but it was a huge problem.

Wu Ming had experienced the same thing before.

At that time, he and others discussed this headline news with great curiosity. Of course, they only treated it as a strange event, and after a few days, they forgot about it. No one knew or investigated the truth.

Thinking about his previous life, Wu Ming realized how ridiculous he had been, missing the best opportunity to prepare, which led to his passive struggle for survival for three years, achieving nothing, and ultimately dying a tragic death. Now, reborn, he clearly knew the 'truth' behind the meteorite fall. Thinking about what would happen in seven days, Wu Ming involuntarily shivered.

Clearly, Wu Ming knew how terrifying the events of seven days later would be.

However, since he had been reborn and had the chance to relive everything, Wu Ming would absolutely not 'sit and wait to die' like in his previous life.

Perhaps due to his experience in the new world, Wu Ming immediately calmed down and focused, which was something he had developed through long-term training.

Looking at the news on the screen about the 'meteorite fall,' Wu Ming sneered. This news was false. Things did indeed fall from the sky and destroyed many buildings, but they were not the 'meteorites' mentioned in the news. They were something else.

If not for those who had been to the scene or government officials with access to classified information, no one would know what had fallen. However, Wu Ming knew because, in the new world, this was not a secret.

The things that fell from the sky were 'cards.'

These cards came from an 'alternate dimension,' which some people in the new world called the 'entrance to hell' or the 'demon card space.' In any case, there were many names for it. The cards in the new world came from that alternate dimension.

Wu Ming knew that the cards contained a unique energy called 'yuanqi.' When they fell, they were surrounded by a powerful yuanqi shield, which, when it rubbed against the air, created a meteorite-like effect. This shield would protect the cards from damage for a period, meaning that even bombs could not destroy them, let alone move them.

If there were 'Awakened' individuals to collect them, they could obtain these extremely valuable cards. However, this was clearly impossible at the moment.

The alternate dimension had not fully opened, so the mysterious yuanqi that could 'awaken' humans had not yet permeated this world. Without Awakened individuals, the cards could not be collected.

If some cards were not collected and reached a certain time limit, they would automatically 'activate.'

Wu Ming knew that the first wave of cards that fell from the sky last night included mostly 'parasitic beetle' cards. Once a parasitic beetle card was activated, the creature would be released. The parasitic beetle was a terrifying monster that could break through the skin and burrow into the brain, turning the host into a savage insect-human. As Wu Ming knew, many humans died from attacks by these insect-humans.

The new world's official classification for this monster was a Level 1 creature. In the new world, many powerful Awakened individuals could easily kill them. However, in the current situation, the appearance of parasitic beetles would be a disaster.

According to Wu Ming's memory, more cards would fall from the sky over the next seven days, and on the evening of September 10th, at 9 PM, all the cards would be activated.

At that moment, human history would be completely rewritten.

Wu Ming could not stop this, or rather, he did not have the ability to stop it. As an ordinary person, Wu Ming's greatest advantage was his self-awareness. He could not save the world, but he could prepare adequately to face the disaster before the cards were activated.

Seven days was not a long time, and every second counted.

At this moment, a middle-aged man walked in, dressed in a well-tailored suit with neatly groomed hair. The employees in the company immediately stood up to greet him.

"Manager Xiang, good morning!"

This man was named Xiang Ming, the manager of the company's technology department and Wu Ming's direct superior. He had always been at odds with Wu Ming and would find ways to make things difficult for him. Wu Ming knew this was because, at a gathering six months ago, he had not given Xiang Ming face by drinking. Xiang Ming, with his narrow-mindedness, had harbored a grudge and targeted Wu Ming ever since.

The moment Xiang Ming walked in, he said to Wu Ming, "Wu, is the test version of the project you developed yesterday ready? I need to report to the headquarters today. Write a detailed product description immediately, and we will have a meeting at 9:30 AM!"

The colleagues around them all stuck out their tongues, thinking that Xiang Ming was ruthless. The test version developed yesterday needed a detailed description today, and it was already 8 AM, leaving only an hour and a half to prepare. Normally, this would be insufficient time, let alone after Wu Ming had worked overtime all night.

At that moment, everyone looked at Wu Ming with sympathy. Li Xia, who had also heard, was indignant and wanted to say something but thought that as a receptionist, her words would be useless, so she held back.

Under normal circumstances, Wu Ming would have been angry but would have swallowed his pride and written the document, as Xiang Ming, though a jerk, offered a high-paying job. For the sake of his job, Wu Ming would not easily conflict with his superior.

However, Wu Ming was not the same Wu Ming anymore.

This was a critical period where every second counted. How could Wu Ming waste time writing a pointless document? As Xiang Ming was about to return to his office to make a cup of coffee, Wu Ming walked over and said five words before leaving.

For a moment, the office was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping. Even after Wu Ming left, the sound of his unbelievable words still echoed in everyone's ears.

"I quit!"

Yes, Wu Ming chose to resign, a decision he had to make. Any sane person who knew a terrible disaster would occur in seven days would not continue working. The addition of 'I' at the beginning was purely personal preference, as Wu Ming had long been annoyed by Xiang Ming.

Wu Ming had many things to do. He did not want to live like in his previous life and needed to prepare adequately for the massive changes in seven days.

Leaving the company building, Wu Ming took a deep breath. At that moment, his phone rang.

Pulling it out, Wu Ming smiled; it was Li Xia calling. He knew she would call to ask if he had gone crazy, so he answered the phone.

Sure enough, as soon as the call connected, Li Xia bombarded him with questions: "Wu Ming, I admit you looked cool just now, and for a moment, I almost felt a bit moved, but life goes on. Are you crazy? Or are you planning to switch jobs? Do you know how angry Xiang Ming is? He's slamming the table and throwing cups, saying he'll make it impossible for you to find a job in this industry in Yushan City. He's a small-minded person, so why are you getting into a fight with him?"

Hearing the news, Wu Ming felt a sense of relief, but he could not explain to Li Xia at this moment. He had to come up with a reason to get her off the hook.

After finishing the call with Li Xia, Wu Ming went to a street vendor for breakfast, planning the things he needed to do over the next seven days.

First, he needed to understand the cause of the disaster. According to the official news from the new world, it was due to a collision between their living space and another space, creating a 'wormhole-like' passage. The cards came from the other space.

Currently, the passage between the two spaces had only created small wormholes due to the first collision, and only ordinary cards could pass through. It would take two months of continuous collisions for the passage to fully open.

Only when the passage was fully open would a large amount of yuanqi flow in, and with sufficient yuanqi, humans would start to awaken. In his previous life, Wu Ming had awakened eight months after the disaster, which was relatively late compared to others.

Awakened individuals were those whose bodies had been transformed and strengthened by yuanqi. They were much stronger, faster, and had better reflexes than ordinary people. The biggest difference was that Awakened individuals could use yuanqi to harness the power of the cards.

This was the key.

This time, Wu Ming planned to awaken as early as possible.

In the new world, humans had invented a 'yuanqi collection device' to gather the wandering yuanqi. This allowed even those with low potential to gradually awaken. In his previous life, Wu Ming had sold everything to buy such a 'yuanqi collection' device, which allowed him to barely awaken after eight months.

Fortunately, Wu Ming knew the structure of this device, and it was not difficult to manufacture. Although it was only the first collision between the two spaces, small wormholes already existed, and some wandering yuanqi had seeped through. Collecting it early could lead to an earlier awakening.

Only by becoming an Awakened individual could he survive, which was the top priority.

In addition, he needed to prepare a large amount of supplies to deal with the disaster. After the first wave of cards was activated in seven days, various terrifying monsters would appear, and parasitic beetles were just one of them. Therefore, he also needed to prepare some self-defense equipment.

Thinking about all this, Wu Ming felt that time was running short.

He wrote down the things he needed to prepare on a piece of paper, quickly finished his breakfast, and immediately left.

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**End of Chapter**