Chapter 1

In a room on the eighth floor of a building in the Riverside Community of Riverside District, Sanzhen City.

Zheng Xiaotian sat up.

"Phew..." Zheng Xiaotian exhaled deeply and then took a deep breath. The feeling was as if he had been underwater for a long time without breathing, without oxygen.

"So, I didn't die?" Zheng Xiaotian quickly stood up and walked to the window. He pulled the curtains and looked out, seeing a scene of prosperity: people sending their children to school, others returning from morning exercises, and some still half-asleep heading to work.

Zheng Xiaotian was a bit confused. In that dreamlike world, he had clearly felt people's despair, the arrival of the apocalypse, advanced warships, and various strange but highly destructive weapons. It was like a realistic and sci-fi dream.

Zheng Xiaotian raised his right hand in surprise.

"When did I get this watch? And why does the time show the end of 2014? Shouldn't I be on December 31, 2015?" Zheng Xiaotian swallowed, everything was so bizarre.

On the watch, a row of red letters appeared, showing a one-hour countdown.

"What's going on?" Zheng Xiaotian looked at the watch.

"Time travel will begin in one hour, and your mission will start at that time." The voice seemed to echo in Zheng Xiaotian's mind. He immediately suspected he was hallucinating.

Zheng Xiaotian shook his head and walked out of the room.

Feeling the air in the sky, Zheng Xiaotian thought the apocalypse must have been a dream. In the dream, the end of 2015, one year later, the world ended. Then, in the first wave of high-tech combat, he turned to ashes, completely powerless. After that, everything went black, as if he was about to fall into hell.

"Why am I thinking about this again!" Zheng Xiaotian shook his head. He decided to use his talent in writing to write down this dream. Who knows, he might become a famous online writer, earning millions of yuan a year. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, luxury villas, what couldn't he buy? With cars, money, and houses, he would also have women.

"Xiaotian, it's unusual for you to go out so early. Is there a ghost in your house?" A woman in her thirties smiled and asked Zheng Xiaotian.

"Um..." Zheng Xiaotian scratched his eye with his right index finger, unable to respond to the woman's teasing.

"Hehehe, Auntie seems to have scared you." The woman raised her right hand to cover her mouth and laughed.

"Auntie, you laugh like a hen. Does your husband know?" Zheng Xiaotian retorted.

"Who are you calling a hen early in the morning? And who are you insulting as being old? I'm your aunt? I'm your sister." The woman stepped up to Zheng Xiaotian and grabbed his ear.

To say that the relationship between neighbors could be so good was a bit exaggerated. The two of them, no, the three of them, including her husband, had a truly special relationship. The woman was named Su Jiaoya, and her husband was an outsider. After struggling, they had finally bought a house. Seeing Zheng Xiaotian, a child living alone, something must have touched them, so they often invited him over for meals, and even gave him money when he needed it, without expecting repayment.

"Sis, you're my real sister, even if you say you're my younger sister. I'm wrong, it really hurts!" Zheng Xiaotian complained.

"Are you taking advantage of me again?" Su Jiaoya tightened her grip and said, "Who is your younger sister?"

Although she was happy when praised for her youth, it was embarrassing to be praised like this.

"Immortal, immortal, is that okay?" Zheng Xiaotian was almost in tears, it really hurt.

"That's better!" Su Jiaoya let go of his ear and said, "If you have time later, come to my place for dinner. Today you're in luck, I have river shrimp and big crabs for you."

"Shrimp? Crabs? Did you hide them in a spatial ring?" Zheng Xiaotian looked at Su Jiaoya's empty hands and asked.

"I just bought them. If I die, who will bring back oxygen? Of course, I'll buy them when it's time to eat." Su Jiaoya said irritably.

"Um, okay then." Zheng Xiaotian nodded, then he looked at Su Jiaoya seriously and asked, "Are you sure you're not buying frozen shrimp and crabs?"

"Eat it if you like, or don't come!" Su Jiaoya walked toward the community.

Zheng Xiaotian watched Su Jiaoya's back and sighed, feeling good to be alive.

Then, Zheng Xiaotian became suspicious. Why did he feel good to be alive? Had he died before?

Zheng Xiaotian shook his head, dispelling his chaotic thoughts, and started to wander around the community.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, 59 minutes had gone by.

"The time portal will open in one minute, and the transfer will begin." The voice seemed to explode in Zheng Xiaotian's mind.

"Another hallucination?" Zheng Xiaotian was surprised.

"59, 58, 57... 10, 9, 8, 7... 3, 2, 1. Time portal, open!" When the words "open" echoed in Zheng Xiaotian's mind, he thought, "Damn, is this the third act of hallucination? Why three times?"

Then, Zheng Xiaotian felt more than just a hallucination; it was a full-blown illusion. Space and time distorted, and a powerful suction force enveloped him, pulling him in.

---

In another place, Bai Xiaofei was operating a computer.

"Buy two bottles? Better to be prepared?" Bai Xiaofei muttered, then shook his head. "No, no, buying two bottles would leave me with no money. Buy one bottle, and use the rest to buy something else. Hmm, divine weapons are out of the question, but medicine, food, and water, yes, water is the most important. This money is enough to buy a lot."

Bai Xiaofei reached out to change the quantity of medicine from two to one. Just as his hand was about to press the Enter key, a loud bang was heard, and something heavy hit his hand, then fell onto his body.

"Transaction for two bottles successful. Total: 140,000! Your account balance is now zero." The computer displayed this message, but in the room, both of them had fainted and couldn't see it.