Chapter 1

When a cold night breeze blew past, Hu Biao shivered noticeably.

At this moment, he was in a small forest filled with weeds and wild trees, under the cold moonlight, the temperature around him was no more than 10 degrees Celsius.

The more critical issue was that Hu Biao was only wearing a pair of underpants and a pair of flip-flops.

Apart from this, he had no other clothing on his body, not even a pair of socks.

Thus, when a sudden cold night breeze blew, the goosebumps on his entire body rose uncontrollably.

Like a quail in a storm, while his body shivered, he also began to rack his brain, trying to figure out one thing:

What a disaster!

Why, just a minute or two ago, did he still remember himself in the cheap rental apartment on the second ring road of Maocity, lying on a shabby single bed he had bought from a second-hand store for 120 yuan.

And he had closed the doors and windows, drawn the curtains, and turned off the lights.

Even in the hot weather of June in Guangdong Province, he had even turned off the electric fan and lay straight on the bed, gritting his teeth to bear the intense discomfort in his body.

As a result? Perhaps it was the high fever in his head that caused Hu Biao to hallucinate?

In any case, after his vision blurred, he found himself in this unfamiliar place.

A small forest about the size of a football field, filled with weeds and wild trees; next to the forest was a small hill about ten meters high, covered with tall wild grass.

Without hesitation, Hu Biao pinched a piece of skin on his thigh with his right hand and twisted it hard.

The intense pain in his inner thigh quickly told him that everything he saw was real.

Yes! He had been magically transported here; during the entire magical transportation process, nothing particularly unusual seemed to have happened.

The sudden change of scene was so unexpected.

If there was anything different, it might have been when he was half-asleep and picked up his phone to check the time, and casually tapped on a pop-up dialog box on the screen.

Because his head was so muddled at the time, Hu Biao didn't have time to read the specific content of the pop-up.

Then, he seemed to have arrived here...

Perhaps during the time before he was transported here, Hu Biao had already endured various physical complications from his illness and was now in a short period of calm.

Or perhaps the cold temperature here had lowered his body temperature, especially the fever in his head.

In any case, when Hu Biao started to think clearly, he found his mind unusually clear.

Upon observation, he realized this was a very remote small forest, with no lights, vehicles, or people around.

Only the chirping of crickets and the sounds of various unknown insects were heard in a chorus.

The fireflies flying around added to the serene environment.

Seeing this, Hu Biao first confirmed a fact: the cheap rental apartment he lived in, located in the urban-rural fringe of Maocity, was indeed remote, but not to this extent.

In his memory, his rental apartment was surrounded by many alleys and old buildings, inhabited by people from various regions and professions.

However, within a few kilometers, there was absolutely no such large forest.

Secondly, Hu Biao could not recall any memory of leaving his apartment and walking to this place.

Therefore, combining these two points, Hu Biao was almost certain that this small forest was not near his rental apartment in the urban-rural fringe of Maocity.

He had not arrived here through any normal means while half-asleep.

In the past, if Hu Biao had suddenly encountered such a situation, he might have felt worried, panicked, excited, and other complex emotions.

But now, after a major change in his life, he remained very calm.

Indeed! His current situation was already so bad, how much worse could it get? At worst, he would just die a few days earlier.

After sorting out his thoughts, with a hint of self-mockery, Hu Biao decided to climb the small hill behind him to take a look.

After all, many wilderness survival shows, like Bear Grylls and others, have said:

If you get lost in the wilderness, the first thing to do is to climb to a high point nearby to check your surroundings and determine your location.

Hu Biao found this very reasonable.

At this moment, he couldn't just post on social media, and besides, he didn't bring his phone when he was transported here.

Just before he set off under the moonlight, he suddenly noticed that he was still tightly clutching the hospital diagnosis report in his left hand.

It was the content on this report that had condemned him from his peaceful life to his current desperate state.

After a moment's hesitation, Hu Biao's hands began to work hard.

He quickly crumpled the diagnosis report into a ball and threw it away, and the paper ball flew far in the night breeze...

******

Hu Biao, male, from Hunan Province, is a single man with an ordinary appearance, personal experience, education, and family background.

In three months, he will be 27 years old.

Since graduating from an unknown third-tier university about four years ago, Hu Biao has changed jobs several times; his most recent job was as a junior employee at a decoration company in Maocity.

After deducting social insurance and housing fund, his monthly salary is about 4,000 yuan.

Under normal circumstances, he would never be able to earn the "small goal" that some people talk about so casually.

Moreover, it is now 2021, and such an income is indeed a bit low, making Hu Biao a typical "moonlighter."

Sometimes, by the end of the month, he even needs to use Huabei to get through.

However, this kind of life is a common reflection of many young people today.

If everything had continued normally, perhaps in three to five years, when Hu Biao was in his thirties, he would have found a not-so-outstanding but marriageable partner.

Ultimately, with the help of his parents, he would have paid the down payment on a house in the suburbs of a third-tier city, married, had children, and started the next phase of his life, paying for the house and car.

Unfortunately, Hu Biao would not be able to wait for that day.

Just over a week ago, Hu Biao's body suddenly showed multiple symptoms, such as loss of appetite, fatigue, fever, and in recent days, photophobia, hydrophobia, and fear of wind.

Terrified, Hu Biao took leave from his boss via WeChat and rushed to the hospital.

Whether his leave was approved by his strict boss and whether he could keep his job were no longer important to him under the threat to his life.

After detailed examinations and tests at the hospital,

The bald middle-aged deputy chief doctor, with a sympathetic tone, informed Hu Biao:

"Son! I'm sorry to tell you that with current medical technology, your condition cannot be cured, and there is no effective way to alleviate or control it.

So, you can continue to stay in the hospital if you want, or you can check out.

The main thing is that after you check out, during the period when your symptoms are alleviated, you can eat whatever you want and visit wherever you want.

In short, you should try to fulfill any unfulfilled wishes you have."

Heaven help him! Upon hearing this, Hu Biao felt as if the sky was falling.

Like a puppet, during the period when his body was not affected by the illness, he went through the discharge procedures and returned to his rental apartment to lie down.

During this time, he did not inform his parents, relatives, or friends.

Otherwise, how could he tell his elderly parents that in a few days, the whole village would come to their house for a feast?

After the feast, they would play music and send their only son on his way?

Therefore, in his current desperate state, Hu Biao was not particularly afraid of the magical event that had happened to him.

The pig at home didn't have to wait until the New Year; it could be slaughtered now.

However, after asking himself if he could face everything calmly, Hu Biao struggled to climb the small hill next to the forest and, upon seeing the scene not far away,

He was still stunned speechless for a while.